There's also going to be some cuts (or, more accurately, reassignments) today, Dusty Baker said there'd be 11. Some before the game and some after.
So, here's your lineup
Dickerson 8
Cozart 6
Votto 3
Rolen 5
Gomes 7
Balentien 9
Hernandez 2
Burke 4
Valaika DH
pitching
Bailey (4 innings)
Cordero (1)
LeCure (2)
Viola (1)
Del Rosario (1)
with backups Ondrusek and Valiquette
Those names, especially on the pitching side where innings are tough to come by, should give you a clue of what's to come.
"I've got to send some guys out, it's not a pleasant day," Dusty Baker said. "I don't care how many times you do it, it's not pleasant. There's no easy way to do it. So many guys know they're probably going to go."
Baker said it's a tough day for him when he has to make these cuts.
"Especially when you recall when you were there, I don't know many who haven't been there," Baker said. "Everyone's busted their tails this spring. It's been a great camp. We've got some fine young men here of high character and people tell us that everywhere we go. It makes you feel proud as a manager and the organization should be proud."
Baker said he remembers his first time being cut, it wasn't a surprise, so it didn't hurt too bad.
"The tough one is when you're the last day cut, that's the one I remember," Baker said. "I remember when they told me to ship my car north because I made the team at 8 a.m. and then at 4 p.m., my car was gone and I was off the team, they'd changed their minds. THat was tough."
* More Aroldis Chapman stuff: On when he was signed. "My reaction was I was pleasantly surprised and I didn't know what I was surprised about."
As for after he's seen him, "It couldnt do anything but increase. But it's increased even more because the more you get to see him, one inning here, two and now three, you've hear he gets stronger as the game goes on. We've still got a lot to find out. What's his maximum workload and capacity. Or do you rescue him when he's in trouble, after he walks two or three, do you go get him, or is he a guy that can walk bases loaded like J.R. Richard used to do and then strike them out. There's still a lot to learn about him."
* If you've got Chapmania, have we got the shirt for you.
* Dusty said he's heard from several other managers, coaches and scouts that the Reds have a good team.
"Every day," Baker said.
Is it gratifying? "Not yet. It'll be gratifying when you do it and when (the players) believe it. ... I hear it every day. They see our 25 -- and that's what you have to look at, because a lot of the guys that are in the games won't be there initially to help us. I play everybody. I did that. If they go, I try to play them until we get down to the cut point and we'll go from here."
It's better than hearing "your team stinks."
"I've heard it, too," Baker said. "(Not this year) and not last year, either. But I've heard that, 'what kind of team are you running out there?' I'm not lying. Or, 'how did you beat us today with that team?' I don't want to hear that shit."
* On Juan Francisco, Baker said he'll play some first, too, in addition to third and left.
On his spring, "It's been either tremendous or not very much... kind of all or nothing, it depends on if he's swinging at strikes or not. That's how I see it. I don't want to take away his aggressiveness, but he's got to work on his plate discipline. The word's going to get out and they'll start throwing it around his head. What makes it worse is that he can hit some of those."
* UPDATE: The first set of moves have been made: "Prior to today's game the Reds optioned to Louisville IF Yonder Alonso and LHP Bill Bray; optioned to Carolina RHP Jordan Smith and LHP Philippe Valiquette; assigned to Louisville RHP Jon Adkins and OF Josh Anderson...there are 48 players left in Major League camp."
* Once the NCAA Tournament games started, that was what was on. However, before that, Eastbound & Down
was on, and everyone was watching Kenny Powers.At one point, Ted Power walks in and says to Jon Adkins, "I had much better hair than that."
He also joked, "You know how much I'm makin from this thing? What do they call it? A technical advisor."
* Chatted for a second with Barry Larkin. He said he's been having a blast working with the minor leaguers.
He mentioned, in particular, shortstop Miguel Rojas, "he's special," Larkin said.
I'd heard from Todd Benzinger on the caravan that Rojas could play, defensively, in the big leagues right now and be one of the best in the game. Larkin didn't disagree.
Larkin told a story that the other day he was working on a drill with Rojas and the youngster just couldn't get it. Well, the next day Larkin comes out at 8:30 when he was scheduled to work with some of the young players. Larkin looks out and the field isn't pristine like it usually is in the morning. He asks one of the coaches if the groundskeeper had missed the field. Nope, Rojas was out at 7:30 perfecting the drill. When Larkin got with him again, he "owned that drill."
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So, of course, the question first was how did we go a year with Jonny Gomes on the team and no fights? Here's a guy who got into two in spring training in 2007.
