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Reds camp report
SARASOTA, Fla. -- Five things to know about the Cincinnati Reds:
1. Best part of Reds camp this spring will be the battle for the center field job, where versatile veteran Ryan Freel, intriguing '07 newcomer Norris Hopper and phenom Jay Bruce are competing. Bruce was chosen as the minor league player of the year by both Baseball America and the Sporting News last season but is only 20 and might need more seasoning. Bruce rocketed from Class A Sarasota to Double-A Chattanooga to Triple-A Louisville last summer, combining to hit .319 with 46 doubles, 26 homers and 89 RBI along the way. "The numbers he's put up, I don't care what level you're at, they're unbelievable," Freel says. "He's a good guy, he's got a good build (6-feet-3, 205 pounds), he's open to suggestions. He's not one of those guys who thinks he knows everything."
2. Pitching, pitching, pitching. It will make or break the Reds -- and it broke them last year. The Reds ranked 15th overall in the NL with a 4.94 ERA and allowed more earned runs (796) than anybody in the NL. Their starters ranked 11th in the league with a 4.86 ERA and their bullpen was last in the NL with a 5.13 ERA. Bronson Arroyo was a disappointing 9-15, and his ERA shot up nearly a full run a game (4.23, from 3.29). They need more from him this year and, after Aaron Harang, Arroyo and Matt Belisle, they need to find two more starters. Prospect Homer Bailey and veterans Jeremy Affeldt, Josh Fogg and Edinson Volquez (obtained from Texas in the Josh Hamilton deal) are among the clubhouse leaders. The Reds have 34 pitchers in camp.
3. New closer Francisco Cordero will get lots of attention in the ninth inning, but the Reds didn't sign him to a four-year, $46 million deal only for the ninth. The move allows them to push last year's closer, David Weathers, back to the eighth inning, which is a start toward improving their setup situation. "We identified him at our organizational meeting as being one of the top free agents, if not the top free agent, that suited our need," general manager Wayne Krivsky says. "We were aggressive and able to get it done."
4. The look of the Reds continues to evolve -- significantly. Of the 63 players in camp during general manager Wayne Krivsky's first spring -- 2006 -- only 14 remain. And of 32 pitchers there that first spring, not counting Bailey (who was in camp then as a non-roster invitee), only four remain: Belisle, Todd Coffey, Harang and Weathers.
5. Buh-bye, Sarasota? Unable to secure support to have their spring training facilities renovated, the Reds are in an exclusive negotiating window with the city of Goodyear, Ariz., through April 15. There is a very real chance that Cincinnati, which has trained in Sarasota since 1998 -- and in Florida since 1923 (except during World War II from 1943-1945 when they trained in Bloomington, Ind.) -- might leave after the spring of 2009. That could present a dilemma for teams in both the Cactus and Grapefruit Leagues because, with the Dodgers and Indians moving to Arizona next spring, it could leave 15 major league clubs training in Florida and 15 in Arizona. Without even numbers, someone would have to play split-squad games in each state every day, which would not be a desired situation later in March after a few rounds of cuts and as the regular season nears.