Reds 3/23

Eight more nights of sleep before we get to see a regular season game.  It'll be here soon.  Interesting day for the squad though.  Lost 10-7 but some key things happened.... 

Willis walked three guys and gave up five runs in less than an inning.  He hasn't been consistent all spring, and as much as they would like to have Willis on the staff, is he really better than Chapman, Bray, and Maloney as lefties?  Right now, that answer is definitely no.  We all know the worst thing that can happen late in games is walks.  We all know how we feel when we watch and the opponents are getting free passes.  I for one do NOT want to deal with that all year.  That being said, Im not against Willis, I just want him to go to the minors and find what he lost and come back great.  Just not sure if it's in the cards.

Bailey didn't have his best outing, but I don't think it is anything to worry about.  He gave up four runs and nine hits in five innings, but he is just getting his work in.  I'd be worried if he was walking guys but he's not.  Remember in spring training pitchers don't have charts on the hitters like they do in the season, so you really just work on your pitchers and hit your spots, not necessarily pitch to the batters weaknesses.  So again, not a bad outing, just not great.

Fred Lewis might be out of the outfield race also.  I think if you have Heisey out there playing to his potential then Lewis just isn't needed.  If he makes the team, starts, and struggles, he'll be compared to Patterson and Taveras very quickly, and no, that is not a good thing.

Reds picked up Kyle McCulloch today from the White Sox.  Dude was once a first round pick.  Obviously he hasn't panned out, but for basically nothing, why not give him a chance?  It's not like the Reds are short on pitching and need him to step in now.  Maybe with a few years in the minors he'll get a coach that he clicks with and he'll get it.  I guess it's worth a shot. 

Only six more games until the Reds leave Arizona on Tuesday.  Right now the ten day forecast is calling for a high of 55 and cloudy on Opening Day.  Not great but better than the last few years.  But as we know, no one really cares, we just care that the season is back.  Til next time....

Curt