Reds Sting Rays In Game 1

By:  Coop


The Cincinnati Reds were in the Sunshine State taking on the Tampa Bay Rays.  The Reds had not won the 1st game of an Interleague series this year, but today they were trying to change that.  Well they did, they won 5-0. Mike Leake pitched well, and the Reds offense looked alive.  Here is how it all happened.


In the 1st, after a Fred Lewis single, Brandon Phillips hit one deep to center field, it would be good for a double, Lewis would score, 1-0 Cincy.  Make it 2-0 after Jay Bruce hit an RBI single to plate DatDudeBP.


Cincinnati resumed scoring runs in the 4th when the former Ray, Jonny Gomes, went yard to left for his 11th homer of the year to give the Reds a 3-0 lead.  Gomes by-the-way was a fan-favorite when he was playing in St. Petersburg, maybe not so much anymore.  A few batters later, Brandon came to bat and hit an RBI single to bring Janish home and make the score 4-0.  That would be it for the 4th inning scoring.


The Reds added 1 more run in the 7th when Scott Rolen reached on a fielding error by the 2nd baseman, Phillips would score, and it was 5-0.  And that is how she finished.


Mike Leake pitched well, he threw 6 innings of shutout baseball, along the way he gave up 4 hits, walked 2, and fanned 3.  


Tampa's pitcher, Jeremy Hellickson did not do so well, as he went 6 innings, gave up 4 runs, 3 earned, on 8 hits, 1 walk, and 9 strikeouts.


Milwaukee, St. Louis, and Pittsburgh were all idol today, so they pick up a half game in the standings, and are 3.5 games behind the Brewers, and are in 3rd place alone.


Tomorrow it looks like we will see a good pitching match-up as it is the Rays ace, David Price, going up against the Reds ace, Johnny Cueto.  Game time is set for 7:10 PM ET, and the game will be televised on Fox Sports Ohio.

6th Inning Rally Lifts Reds Past Cubs

Jonny Gomes celebrates with teammate, Brandon Phillips, after hitting a
home run in the Reds 7-4 win over Chicago. 

By:  Coop


The Cincinnati Reds were coming off of a 3 game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals.  Now, another foe was in town.  The Chicago Cubs hopped on a plane and headed towards the Queen City to take on the Reds for a 2 game series.  In the 1st game of the series Homer Bailey was on the hill for Cincy, while Carlos Zambrano was pitching for the team from the south side of the Windy City.  Bailey got roughed up early on, and his team was down 0-4, but a 6th inning rally by the Reds allowed them to win 7-4, here is how.


The 1st run of the game came in the 5th inning when Zambrano hit one to 3rd, Rolen came plateward with it, the throw went under Hanigan's legs, Pena was able to come in and score a run, 1-0 Chi-Town.  Same inning, Barney hit an RBI single, Zambrano scored, it was 2-0.


Then in the Cubbies 6th inning Carlos Pena hit a 2-run homer to right field, and the score was 4-0.  That was Pena's 4th homer of the year, 2nd against the Reds.


Many Reds fans, including myself, we saying to themselves "Oh boy, 4 runs, I dunno if we can do it.  Looks like this winning streak will come to and end."  But then we all remembered something.  We are the Reds, we never give up.  Some maybe, just maybe, we can get a rally at some point, take the lead, and win the game.


Well it happened. 


The Reds had a 7 run 6th inning.  The first 3 runs were scored by RBI singles by Votto, Phillips, and Bruce.  Then a Scott Rolen RBI double, and just like that the game was tied at 4.  Then a wild pitch allowed Bruce to come home from 3rd to give the Reds the lead. Then, with a man on and 1 out, Jonny Gomes came up to bat. Gomes had not hit a home run since mid-April.  But on May 16th, he went yard to right center field for a 2-run home run, his 7th long ball of the year.  You wanna talk about a guy that really needed a home run, well then talk about Jonny Gomes.  Hopefully that will end his terrible slump, and will get him back into the groove of things.


7-4 was the score after the 6th inning, and the best part about it, Homer Bailey was now eligible to get the win, well as long as his bullpen could keep the Cubs from scoring 3 runs.  Well, LeCure, Bray, and Cordero were able to do so.  


Homer Bailey needs to go buy everyone involved in that 6th inning rally a nice dinner for saving him from getting the loss.  Or he could simply just say thanks, either one.  Homer is now 3-0.  Coco Cordero picked up the save, his 8th of the year in 9 attempts.


The Reds will look for the sweep in game 2 at 7:10 PM ET.  Edinson Volquez will pitch for Cincinnati, while Matt Garza will climb the hill for Chicago.  The game will be televised on Fox Sports Ohio.

Votto And Cairo Help Reds Beat Cards

Miguel Cairo hit a 2 RBI single, helping the Reds beat the
Cardinals 5-3, Saturday

By: Coop


The Cincinnati Reds were coming off of a tough loss to St. Louis last night, and were looking to even up the series tonight.  The Reds were on national television, as they were on Fox.  Yes Fox, not Fox Sports Ohio, but Fox.  The same Fox that American Idol comes on.  Anyways, Cincy was looking to beat the Cardinals, go over .500, and be tied for 1st place in the Central.  Well, they did win, thanks to good pitching by Travis Wood, and key hits from Joey Votto and Miguel Cairo.  The Reds won 5-3.  Here is how.


For the first time in what seems like forever, the Reds kept a team off the board in the 1st inning.  But, they failed to keep them off the board for too long.  In the 2nd inning, Davis Freese hit an RBI single to right, Berkman scored, it was 1-0 Red Birds.  Then in the 3rd, Chris Carpenter hit a lead-off double, then was bunted to 3rd, then Colby Rasmus hit a sac fly to bring him home.  Great execution by St. Louis, get em on, get em over, get em in.


2-0 would remain the score until the 6th.  Brandon Phillips was on first via walk, and Joey Votto was at the plate.  Joey Votto did what Joey Votto does.  He hit a home run, a 2-run jack, his 4th homer of the season, and the game was tied at 2.  For those of you who like to know how far it was hit, it was about 410 feet to center field.


So the Reds tied it up, but in the 7th, Albert Pujols untied it.  He hit a long, and I mean long, ball to left field, right over the Reds bullpen, 426 feet, and the Cardinals had a 3-2 lead.


After the 7th inning was completed, the game went into a rain delay, after 42 minutes of sitting, we were ready to play ball.  Miguel Bautista was the pitcher, the same guy that started last night.  In a blink of an eye, the bases were loaded for Jay Bruce and the count was full at 3 balls and 2 strikes.  Well, Jay was patient enough to watch ball 4, and bring in a run, the game was tied once again, 3-3.  The next batter, Miguel Cairo, had them loaded, and he delivered.  He hit one into left field, Votto and Gomes would score, it was a 2 RBI single for Miguel, and the Reds had a 5-3 lead.


Logan Ondrusek had a 1-2-3 8th inning, and then in the 9th, Francisco Cordero had a 1-2-3 inning, picking up save number 3.  Alroldis Chapman, who pitched in the 7th, gets the win and goes to 1-0 on the season.


The starter, Travis Wood got a no-decision, but pitched well, as he went 6.1 innings, gave up 3 runs, off of 8 hits, walked one, and had 5 strikeouts.  


The Reds are now 11-10 and tied for 1st place.  Tomorrow they will try and be in first place alone, as they battle St. Louis at 8:10 PM ET.  That game will be nationally televised on ESPN.  Nice to see the Redlegs on national television, even better when it's two nights in a row.

Reds Smack Pirates To Even Up Series

Ramon Hernandez hit a grand slam in the Reds 11-2 win
over the Pirates, Saturday.

By:  Cooper Ledford


The Reds were coming off a disappointing loss to the Pirates last night, today they were trying to get their revenge and even up the series at a game each.  If they were going to do so, they would need to take advantage of the young pitcher, James McDonald, and Mike Leake would need to pitch well.  Well, the Reds got plenty of runs, and Leake looked very good.  The Reds won 11-2, here is how.


In the bottom of the 2nd, Jonny Gomes hit a solo home run, his 4th of the year, 1-0 Reds.  Then in the bottom of the 3rd, Joey Votto hit an RBI single to plate Stubbs, and the Reds had a 2-0 lead.

Jonny Gomes hit 2 long balls in the Reds 11-2 win over
the Pirates, Saturday.

But, Pittsburgh was quick to answer back.  In the 4th inning, with the bases loaded, Garrett Jones walked, that would make it 2-1.  Same inning, Cedneo hit a sac fly, Alvarez score, and that game was now tied at 2.  Until the 5th.


In the Reds half of the 5th, it was a run parade.  To start the scoring, Juan Francisco hit an RBI single, Cairo would score, and the Reds had their lead back.  But that lead would get larger.  Especially when Ramon Hernandez hit a grand slam.  It was a long one, 431 feet to left!  That got the 26,418 fans at GABP fired up, the score was 7-2.  Still in the 5th, when Leake on, Stubbs hit a 2-run jack to right, just clearing the fence, and the Reds increased their lead to 7.  

Mike Leake got the win in Saturday's game against
Pittsburgh.

That would be it for the 5th inning scoring, but in the 6th, the Redlegs were back at it.  Jonny Gomes hit a 2-run home run, his 2nd long ball of the day, 11-2 the score.  Gotta love what Gomes is doing so far this season, being patient, getting on base, and then when he gets that pitch he wants, he delivers, weather it's a single, a sac fly, or a home run, he delivers.  Jonny be good!


Cincinnati's bullpen would hold the Pirates for the rest of the game, allowing the Reds to win 11-2.  They are now 9-5 (what a way to make a living).  


Mike Leake got the win, as he went 6 innings, gave up 4 hits, 2 earned runs, and struck out 6.


Tomorrow the Reds will look to take the series lead.  Edinson Volquez will pitch tomorrow for Cincy, while the 'Burgh will run out Jeff Karstens.  Game time will be at 1:10 PM ET, and will be televised on Fox Sports Ohio.

Reds Win With A 6-Run 11th

Jonny Gomes (31) scores from 1st on a go-ahead double by
Ryan Hanigan.

By:  Cooper Ledford


After the Reds beat the Padres 3-2 in game 1, they were looking to get the series win.  In order for the Reds to get the win, they would need Sam LeCure to pitch well, and they would need to get some runs off of Clayton Richard.  Well, LeCure pitched great, but the Reds did not get many runs off of Richard, they got them off of the San Diego bullpen in the 11th inning.  This was a crazy game, the game was tied at 2 until the top of the 11th inning, where the Reds scored 6 runs all with 2 outs! Now that is amazing.  The Reds win it 8-2, here is how.


In the 1st inning, Jonny Gomes put the Reds on the board with an RBI double to plate Phillips, 1-0 Cincinnati.


The Padres would answer back in the 2nd when Gonzalez hit one into right field, Hundley would score, to tie the game.  But on that same play, while Gonzalez was going toward 3rd base, there was a throw that got past the Reds 3rd baseman, Scott Rolen, Gonzalez would try to take advantage of it and go home, but Scott Rolen gunned the ball to home plate for Hanigan to apply the tag for the out.  That is why Scott Rolen wins Gold Gloves.


The game would remain tied until the top of the 5th, when Drew Stubbs grounded out, but Bruce was able to come home from 3rd, 2-1 Cincinnati on top.


San Diego would once again tie it up in the 8th when Patterson hit an RBI ground-out Hundley scored, the score was 2-2.  But, the Padres would have taken the lead if it wasn't for the awesomeness of Brandon Phillips.  With a man on 3rd, and Venable was the batter.  Venable hit one to 2nd, almost in shortstop territory, Brandon Phillips barehanded it, and made the off-balanced throw to 1st for the out.  It was crazy, go to Reds.com to see the play.  


Okay, so the game still tied at 2, and we are going to the 11th inning.  There are two outs and a man on.  Hanigan is batting.  Hanigan hit one to left, it would be an RBI double, Gomes would come in to score, and the Redlegs had a 3-2 lead.  But, that was just their first run of the 6 they would score in this inning.  The next run would score when Chris Heisey hit an RBI single, Hanigan scored, 4-2.  The next run scored when Edgar Renteria hit an RBI single to center, Jay Bruce scored, 5-2.  Then, with two on and two out, Drew Stubbs made this one a laugher.  He hit a 3-run home run to center, 406 feet, and the score was 8-2.  That would be how the game finished.


Everyone is talking about this 6-run 11th, but right now I am going to talk about Sam LeCure.  Sam did great, going 6 innings, giving up only 1 hit, 1 earned run, 2 walks, and struck out 8, a career high for him.  Unfortunately he got a no-decision, but he proved a lot in this game.


So the Reds are now 8-3, and are 2.5 games up on Pittsburgh and Milwaukee for 1st place in the NL Central.


The Reds will look for the series sweep as Travis Wood will pitch for the Reds, while Stauffer will pitch for San Diego.  Game time is set for 6:35 PM ET and will be televised on Fox Sports Ohio.

Two Homers Lead Reds Past Padres

Reds OF, Chris Heisey, hit a two-run home
run in Cincy's 3-2 win over San Diego.

By:  Cooper Ledford


The Cincinnati Reds were coming off of a losing series in Arizona, and were looking to rebound in this series vs. San Diego.  It would be big if the Reds could take game 1.  In order to do so, Edinson Volquez would have to pitch better than he has in his first two starts, and the Reds top ranked offense would have to be able to get some runs off of San Diego's top ranked pitching staff.  Well, the Reds did not get very many runs, only 3, but it was enough for them to get the 3-2 win and go to 7-3, here is how.


San Diego got both of their runs in the 1st inning.  The 1st run came across when the bases were loaded, and Ryan Ludwick was hit by Edinson's pitch, 1-0.  The 2nd run was plated when Hawpe hit a sac fly to bring in Hudson, it was 2-0.  So Edinson Volquez's 1st inning struggles continue.


The score would remain 2-0 until the top of the 4th, when Jonny Gomes hit a 371 foot home run to left, a solo shot, his 3rd long one of the year, and the Reds were within a run.


Then in the 5th inning, with a man on, Chris Heisey hit a two-run home run, his 1st of the year, the Redlegs had a 3-2 lead.  


Edinson Volquez would last until the 6th inning, then in came Jordan Smith for 1.1 innings, Bill Bray for .2 innings, and Francisco Cordero for 1 inning, all of them scoreless innings, allowing the Reds to hold on for the win over the Padres.


Despite Edinson Volquez's shaky 1st, he was very good from then on out, as he went 6 innings, gave up only 3 hits, 2 earned runs, 3 walks, and had 5 strikeouts, and earned the win.  He is now 2-0 on the year, but is lucky he is not 0-2.  


Next the Reds will send out Sam LeCure, while the Pads will send out Clayton Richard.  Game time is set for 10:05 PM ET, and will be televised on Fox Sports Ohio.

<a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/video?vid=91ead217-02d2-422b-bf89-2d49dfb4c189" target="_new" title="">Reds roll over Padres</a>

Arroyo Helps Reds Get Back On Track

Brandon Phillips makes an impressive inning-ending play in
the Reds 6-1 win over the D-Backs, Saturday.

By:  Cooper Ledford


The Cincinnati Reds were coming off of their first losing streak of the season, and had a 5-2 record after starting 5-0.  Bronson Arroyo was trying to end that losing streak and give the Reds win #6, and that he did.  Bronson looked great through 6 innings, helping the Reds get the win 6-1.  Here is how.


In the 1st inning, Scott Rolen hit an RBI single to plate Phillips, 1-0 Cincy.  A few batters later, Jay Bruce hit a fly ball with Votto on 3rd and Rolen on 2nd.  Both runners would try and tag-up, Votto just touched home plate before Rolen was tagged out at 3rd, that was the 3rd out of the inning, but the run did indeed count, 2-0 the score.


Arizona would answer back in the 6th when Melvin Mora hit an RBI single to bring in Chris Young from 3rd, and the D-Backs were on the board.  But let's rewind--how did Young get to 3rd again?  Well he reached 1st then Bronson tried to pick him off, it was a throwing error that went into right field, Young would go all the way to 3rd, that's how he got there.  I guess Bronson's hair got in the way, ha ha.


The score would remain 2-1 going into the 9th inning.  The 9th inning was great for the Redlegs, as they scored 4 runs in the inning.  The first two run were scored when Jonny Gomes hit an RBI double down the 3rd base line, Votto and Rolen would come around to score, 4-1.  The 3rd run of the inning was scored when Ryan Hanigan hit an RBI single to plate Gomes from 3rd, 5-1.  And the final run of the inning, and game, was scored when Chris Heisey hit an RBI single to bring home Hanigan, 6-1 the score, and that's how she finished.


Bronson Arroyo got the win, as he went 6 innings, have up 8 hits (yes, that is a lot) 1 run (none earned--even though it should be earned since he was the one to commit the error) did not walk a batter, and fanned half-a-dozen.  


Arroyo couldn't have won this game without the help of his team's bullpen.  Bill Bray had a 1-2-3 7th inning, Aroldis Chapman had a scoreless 8th, and Francisco Cordero had a 3 up, 3 down, 9th inning.


This was an all-around team win for the Reds, everyone was important in this one.  


While the Reds are happy, Diamondbacks starting pitcher, Daniel Hudson is not.  He pitched a great game, going 7 innings, giving up 3 hits, and 2 earned runs, but gets the tough-luck loss.


The Reds go to 6-2 on the year, Bronson Arroyo goes to 2-0, and the Reds are 1.5 games ahead of the Pirates for 1st place in the NL Central.


Tomorrow the Reds and Snakes will play in the rubber game at 4:10 PM ET.  Mike Leake will battle with Joe Saunders.  The game will be televised on Fox Sports Ohio.

Hanigan And Arroyo Help Reds Complete Sweep Of Brewers

Ryan Hanigan rounds 3rd after hitting a 3-run home run,
Sunday vs. Milwaukee.  Cincinnati ended up winning 12-3.

By: Coop


The Cincinnati Reds were hosting the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday. The Reds were looking to complete the sweep, and go to 3-0 on the year.  If they were going to reach 3-0, Bronson Arroyo would need to look like he did in his last Spring Training start, and the Reds offense would have to get some damage done again Randy Wolf, who has been a Reds killer throughout his career.  Well, Bronson looked great, and so did the Reds offense.  The Reds won 12-3, here is how.


In the 1st inning, the lead-off man, Rickie Weeks, who hit a home run in game 1, went yard.  A solo home run, and the Brewers were up 1-0 early on.


The Reds would answer back in the 2nd when Johnny Gomes hit a long one to left center, Jonny's first hit of the season, and the game was tied at 1.  Paul Janish was not a fan of the tie, so in the same inning he hit an RBI single to plate Jay Bruce, 2-1 Cincinnati on top.


In the 3rd inning, the pitcher, Randy Wolf, hit a double, then Rickie Weeks would bring him home with a double of his own.  The game was tied at 2.


The Redlegs would answer back in the 4th when Drew Stubbs reached on an infield single, Ryan Hanigan would score, the score was 3-2.  Same inning, Brandon Phillips hit his first homer of the year, it was a 3-run jack to left, 6-2.


Then in the 5th inning, Ryan Hanigan hit a solo home run to put Cincy up by 5, 7-2.


In the top of the 6th, Ryan Braun went yard off Bronson Arroyo, 7-3 the score.


In the 6th, Scott Rolen hit a sac fly to bring in Brandon Phillips to put the Reds back up by 5.  Still in the 6th, with two men on, Ryan Hanigan hit his 2nd home run of the game, and Cincinnati had an 11-3 lead.


In the 7th, Miguel Cairo hit an RBI single to center, Heisey would score, 12-3 the score, and that's how she finished. 


While Hanigan was the star of the game, Bronson Arroyo can not be overlooked.  Arroyo went 7 innings, gave up 6 hits, 3 earned runs, did not walk a batter, and fanned 5, he got the win.  A nice outing for a guy who has mononucleosis, if you ask me.  Also in this game, Reds fans got to see Aroldis Chapman for the first time this season, as he had a 1-2-3 inning in the 9th, reaching a top speed of 103 mph.  


So the Reds drink the brew, and sweep Milwaukee.  They will next play host to the Houston Astros.  The first game of that series will be Tuesday at 7:10 PM ET, you can catch the game on Fox Sports Ohio.

Reds End Spring With Win Over Tribe

By:  Cooper Ledford


The two teams that were share Goodyear, Arizona, as their spring home, the Indians and Reds, were going at it today.  The Indians were playing host.  This was the final Spring Training Game for the Reds, as they will soon head back to Cincinnati and get ready for Opening Day.  This looked like it would be interesting, as the Reds had Bronson Arroyo on the hill.  If you missed it, Bronson has mono, and people were worried about him, and how good he would do this season.  Well, today, he looked fine, looked really good, but I'll talk about him later.   Back to the game, the Reds beat the Indians 8-3.  Here is how.


In the top of the 1st, Jay Bruce hit an RBI single to bring in Phillips, 1-0 Cincy.


Cleveland would answer back in their half of the 1st when Shin-Soo Choo hit a solo home run to tie the game.


Jonny Gomes must not like tie games, because in the top of the 4th, Jonny Gomes, who hit a homer yesterday, went yard, a solo home run, 2-1 the score.  The Reds would add another run in the 5th when Joey Votto hit an RBI single to plate Stubbs, the score now 3-1.


But, Cleveland would bring back the one-run game in the 5th when Choo hit his 2nd jack of the game, another solo homer, 3-2 the score.


There would be no scoring until the Reds half of the 8th when Juan Francisco hit an RBI single to bring in Mike Costanzo (remember him from yesterday?), 4-2 the score.  But that was only the 1st of the 4 runs the Reds would score in that inning.  The 2nd run was scored when Chris Heisey hit an RBI one-bagger to plate Francisco, 5-2.  The 3rd run was scored when Paul Janish grounded into a force out, but with Denis Phipps on 3rd, that would be an RBI, as Phipps would score, 6-2.  The final run of the inning was scored when Jake Kahaulelio hit a RBI single to left, Janish would score, 7-2 the score at the end of the rally inning.


The Tribe would add a run in their 8th when Jordan Brown hit a sac fly to bring home Sanchez, 7-3 the score.


In the top of the 9th, just for the heck-of-it, Ryan Hanigan added a run with an RBI single to plate Heisey, 8-3 the final, and that is how she finished.


As promised, I will talk about Bronson Arroyo.  The high-kicking #61 went 6.1 innings, gave up 6 hits, 2 earned runs, walked 1, and struck-out  3.  So a nice final Spring Training outing for Bronson in front of 4108 people in Goodyear, Arizona.


The Reds finish Spring Training Games with a 17-14-2 record.


So Reds fans, are you excited like me?  You better be, because Opening Day is only 2 days away.  Don't forget about it.  The Cincinnati Reds will battle the Milwaukee Brewers, Thursday, at 2:10 PM ET, the game will be televised on Fox Sports Ohio, and Local 12.  Pitching in that game will be Edinson Volquez.

Reds Beat White Sox

 By:  Cooper Ledford


The regular season is only three days away, but for now, there is still Spring Training Baseball.  With that, the Reds were visiting the Chicago White Sox in Glendale, Arizona.  It looked as if it would be a pitchers duel as it was Mike Leake pitching for Cincinnati, and Danks for the South-siders.  It ended up being a nice batting practice for the Reds, and a struggle for the White Sox, as the Reds won 9-1.  Wanna know how?  Good, here you go.


To start the scoring, in the 2nd inning, Jonny Gomes hit a solo home run, 1-0 the score.  Then in the top of the 5th, with two men on, Drew Stubbs hit a 3-run jack to right field, it was 4-0 Redlegs.


The Sox would answer back in their half of the 5th when Brent Lillibridge hit an RBI single to plate Quentin, it was 4-1.


But, not for too long.  In the 8th inning, some guy I have never head of, his name is Brian Barton, hit a 3-run home run, deep to left field, and the Reds had a 7-1 lead.  And then to make things better, another guy I have never head of, Mike Costanzo, went yard with a man on, a 2-run homer, and that would make the score 9-1, and that's how she finished.  But, not without some sweat and somewhat of a threat.  In the bottom of the 9th, Matt Maloney was pitching, there were 2 outs, and the bases loaded, the batter was Adam Dunn.  But, Matt was able to strikeout Dunn to finish the game.


Mike Leake is the winner, as he had a nice game, going 5.2 innings, did give up 6 hits, 1 ER, walked 2, and sat down 3 via strikeout. 


Tomorrow the Reds will play their final Spring Training Game as they play visitor to the Cleveland Indians.  Game time is at 3:05 PM ET, and will not be televised.  Then the Reds will hop on a plane to go back to Cincinnati and get ready for Opening Day, Thursday.

2011 Reds Batting Order And Rotation Predictions

By: Cooper Ledford


Here is my 2011 Reds Opening Day batting order with projected stats:


1. Drew Stubbs (.286, 21 HR, 85 RBI, 40 SB)
2. Brandon Phillips (.293, 24 HR, 91 RBI, 29 SB)
3. Joey Votto (.330, 37 HR, 119 RBI, 11 SB)
4. Scott Rolen (.300, 20 HR, 90 RBI, 2 SB)
5. Jay Bruce (.320, 32 HR, 100 RBI, 15 SB)
6. Jonny Gomes (.286, 25 HR, 89 RBI, 15 SB)
7. Ramon Hernandez (.300, 10 HR, 43 RBI, 1 SB)
8. Paul Janish (.290, 12 HR, 40 RBI, 19 SB)
9. Pitcher


Now here is my Projected Pitching Rotation:


1. Edinson Volquez (12-8, 3.12 ERA, 118 SO)
2. Bronson Arroyo (16-7, 2.94 ERA, 123 SO)
3. Johnny Cueto (14-9, 2.97 ERA, 129 SO) REPLACEMENT: Mike Leake (2-1, 1.22 ERA, 13 SO)
4. Travis Wood (12-5, 2.42 ERA, 119 SO)
5. Homer Bailey (13-9, 3.11 ERA, 110 SO) REPLACEMENT: Sam LeCure (1-2, 2.00 ERA, 12 SO)
   Starting season on DL            


Bullpen Strategy:
For 2+ innings: Mike Leake/Sam LaCure/Willis
6th inning: Willis
7th inning: Ondrusek/Smith
8th inning: Chapman/Ondrusek/Smith/Bray
9th inning: Cordero/Bray/Chapman

Reds Opening Day Projected Starters

By: Cooper Ledford, SWO SPORTS FOUNDER AND CEO


Pitcher-Bronson Arroyo

Catcher-Ramon Hernandez

First Baseman-Joey Votto

Second Baseman-Brandon Phillips

Shortstop-Orlando Cabrera

Third Baseman-Scott Rolen

Right Fielder-Jay Bruce

Center Fielder-Chris Dickerson

Left Fielder-Drew Stubbs
_____________________________________

The infield is not much of a question on who will be there, my predictions should be right.  The only possable question is Shortstop, Paul Janish could be there, he is a whiz with the glove, but his hitting is not as good as it could be.  Orlando Cabrera is a good defensive player, not as good as Paul, but good enough, and he can hit a lot better than Janish can.  Last year, Cabrera had a .284 batting average in 656 at bats, while Janish batted .211 in 256 at bats.  Also, Aaron Miles could be in the infield, depending on how he does in spring training, but I don't think that he is good enough to replace one of the current starters.  Miles hit .185 last year in 157 at bats.

In the outfield, there is a big question mark in left field.  If the Reds brought back Jonny Gomes, there in no question, he would be there.  However, if Gomes does not stay with the Reds, then there are a couple of options.  One is to put Drew Stubbs there, which is what I would do.  Another option is to bring up Chris Heisey, who is a very talented prospect.  And, you can't forget about Wladimir Balentien, who .234 average in 265 at bats.  The only thing that the Reds know for sure in the outfield is that Jay Bruce will play in right field.

In pitching, Edinson Volquez will not be back until somewhere around June or July.  Therefore, I would have my pitching rotation as followed:  Arroyo, Cueto, Bailey, Harrang, Maloney.  I would only have Maloney pitching until Volquez is fully healthy, and once he is done with is minor league assignment.  If Harrang is not doing well by the All Start break, I would trade him, I have had enough of his sub .500 pitching in the last few years.  After trading him, I would bring up the rookie Cuban pitcher, Aroldis Chapman to take his place, so the rotation would be as followed: Arryo, Cueto, Bailey, Volquez, Chapman.  If neither Chapman nor Volquez are able to pitch next season, and Harrang gets traded, I would start Mike Lincoln and Micah Owings.  Those to are not very good at starting, but if there is an emergency situation, then that's what I would do. 

Behind the plate will not be much of an issue, the only two cathers are Ramon Hernandez and Ryan Hanigan, and either can start if needed.  I would think that when Bronson Arroyo pitches, Ryan would be the main catcher, just because Bronson feels more comfortable around him. 

Some new Reds, fresh out of the minor leagues are: Chris Valaika, Chris Heisey, Yonder Alonso, Pedro Viola, Philippe-Alexandre Valiquette, Jordan Smith, Logan Ondrusek, Sam LeCure, and Enerio Del Rosario.

Opening day is on April 5th.  GO REDS!