Stubbs, Willis Spark Victory

Surprise Ballpark

By the third day out here I'm now itching for the real deal that is Opening Day and the regular season. Spring Training is great, but it doesn't have the pageantry of Opening Day, and it doesn't have the looming significance of regular season games. I'm not sitting there agonizing over Dusty's moves, or why that reliever threw a curve in a fastball count. Spring Training provides the ability to watch baseball with the luxuries of seeing the kids of the future and the men of the present without worrying about an outcome. In the regular season, yes a loss is normal because there are 162 games to play, but each game means more. You walk away feeling good or bad about your team. Out here in the desert, I can only walk away with more anticipation of the real thing. The Reds beat the Royals yesterday 5-2 in what was an excellent ball game - about as close as you can get to a regular season game in the spring. Surprise Ballpark looks nicer than Goodyear Ballpark, and is more wide open. But, the views at Goodyear are spectacular, with the mountains right near you in the background. Plus, Goodyear has that special aesthetic appeal of being newer.

Travis Wood deals a pitch to Eric Gordon

Anyway, let's get to the actual game. Travis Wood started and, other than a two run blast by Billy Butler, he looked pretty good. The lefty was moving the ball in and out, looking very much like the guy that was spectacular for the Reds in the second half. I'm looking forward to a full year of a good lefthander in the Reds' rotation. Lord knows the Reds haven't had a real good one since the days of Mr. Perfect, Tom Browning. Following Wood, Sam LeCure, Dontrelle Willis, and Matt Maloney all pitched a pair of scoreless innings each. They all looked excellent, and deserving of spots in the bullpen. If I had to pick two of the three, I would choose LeCure and Willis. Right now I think LeCure has better stuff than Maloney (Sam struck out 4 in two innings) and has the ability to pitch the 7th or 8th inning if absolutely necessary. There isn't a whole lot of separation between the two, but LeCure just has the look of a seasoned vet. As for Dontrelle, Walt Jocketty and the Reds may have struck gold. Willis looked physically fit and was snapping off beautiful breaking pitches. He made three very fine plays in the field, and struck out three as well. Willis has given up only two hits in 5 innings thus far, and has struck out 6. He looks to be a fine replacement for former stalwart Arthur Rhodes.

Stubbs readies himself to crush a pitch

I feel like a broken record on this, but Paul Janish really looks good swinging the bat out here. He hammered a ball to the gap that was run down, and blistered a single into center later. Edgar Renteria also looks very solid, and has been hitting the ball well, too. The star at the plate on Tuesday, though, was Drew Stubbs, who hit a bomb of a three run homer to left center. Meanwhile, Joey Votto, Scott Rolen, and Jonny Gomes do not look all that great right now. Votto struck out two more times yesterday and did not look like he was seeing the ball all that well. Rolen struck out once as well, but put together a few good at bats and made solid contact here and there. Gomes made pretty good contact a few times, but didn't look great either. The pitching is definitely way ahead of the hitting at this point.

Today, I take a break from the Reds, who head out to Peoria to play San Diego and former ace Aaron Harang. Instead, I'm headed back out to Surprise to check out the defending AL Champion Texas Rangers versus AL West rival Oakland. But, before I leave you, I'd like to take a look at five things that I think are absolute keys to the upcoming season for Cincinnati, if they want to defend their NL Central title:

Votto, Rolen, and Bruce

1. The health of Scotty Rolen. If the neck, back, hip, knee, or whatever ails the 35 year old third baseman, doesn't hold up, then the Reds could be in trouble. Joey Votto is the most valuable player on the team and in the league, but Scott Rolen is the heart and soul of the Reds. If he doesn't hold up, I don't think this team could realistically hang in there. Baseball is very much a mental game, and when you have a leader that provides a bulldog mentality for your team, it's important that he is out there. A lot. I keep hearing 120 games is the number for Scotty. That would be nice. It's about what he played last year. But if he has to play less to save his body for a potential October, then so be it. His clutch base hits and stellar defense are valuable all the time, but even more so when the season is on the line.

2. Who's the ace? Somebody has to be THAT guy for this team. Bronson Arroyo is the so-called stopper and big game pitcher, but he is not an ace. He can pitch in the big games, but in a game seven against Roy Halladay or Tim Lincecum? I don't think so. So who is that guy for the Reds? Edinson Volquez? Johnny Cueto? Homer Bailey? They need to find out, and hopefully this year. A run in the postseason without a true number one seems almost impossible these days.

3. Jay Bruce or Drew Stubbs. One or both of these guys need to have a breakout year. It would help take pressure off of the rest of the offense. Both of them seem to be on the cusp of greatness, and I think they can both definitely do it. But the Reds need them to make that jump this season. Such a jump, almost like the one Joey Votto made, would only be a boost to a team trying that has become the "hunted" instead of the "hunters."

4. Dontrelle Willis and Aroldis Chapman. I'm assuming these two are the lefties in the pen. Chapman has to be as electric as he was at the end of last year. And Dontrelle needs to do his best Arthur Rhodes impression, like he has this spring. One of these guys needs to be able to pair up with Nick Masset to be the setup guys to Coco Cordero. I'm not a fan of moving Chapman to the closer's role. I trust Coco, and think that moving him out of the role would only mess the bullpen up. Then, you try to put him in a position he is not comfortable with, and are essentially experimenting with someone who has never been a closer before, like Chapman. Everyone in the bullpen then has to move up a spot, so you are taking middle relievers and making them setup men. Things get risky at that point. I believe in gutting things out for the long haul, and I don't think one guy will cost the Reds a pennant.

5. Jonny Gomes. The Reds need a repeat performance of last season. His contract is up, and his job could be too, with Chris Heisey and Dave Sappelt waiting in the wings. Gomes is one of my favorite players, and I love the attitude he brings to the game. Really reminds me of Ryan Freel, but with more power and less speed. He's just one of those guys you root for. Nonetheless, he will be in the heart of the lineup again, and the Reds need him to be consistent for an entire season. We've seen he can carry a team for a month or more with his torrent hitting, but the Reds need Gomes for the big 162, and not just a few really good months.