Early Reds Report

Here are your four starting pitchers:
Ryan Dempster, Jimmy Haynes, Danny Graves and Paul Wilson

Not so sure what to think about that. Jimmy Haynes as the ace makes me want to curl up in the corner in the fetal position. Danny Graves has spent the last two seasons being hittable and predictable as a reliever, pitching two innings at most, so what makes you think he'll be fine as a starter. Moving him to the rotation seems desperate to me. Dempster is nice to have, because he did pitch well at the end of the year, but he was horrible before that. Who will show up this year? And who is Paul Wilson, anyway?

The fifth starter can be any one of these pitchers:
Bruce Chen, Seth Etherton, Jose Acevedo, Luke Hudson, Pete Harnisch, Kent Mercker, Felix Heredia, Josias Manzanillo, Lance Davis, Jimmy Anderson, Pete Harnisch and Jose Rijo. I'll bet you the fifth spot jumps around a bit.

The relievers look strong, as usual. Since it's so cheap to get a good reliever core, I'm baffled more aren't smart enough to do so. Sullivan looks strong, and Williamson is the closer, for now. Fantasy players take note.

Ken Griffey Jr., Adam Dunn and Austin Kearns in the outfield, which looks strong on paper. Of course, injuries from our favorite brittle player, and the inconsistencies of youth can make this be a troublesome lineup. Can we expect consistency from them? I doubt it. Can Wily Mo Pena fill in as a capable backup? I doubt it again. But, still stonger than average.

The infield gives me fits, with weaknesses at each position. Brandon Larson is unproven at the MLB level, and looked terrible two callups ago. Hopefully he can learn to hit the pitching, but it could be rough. Larkin is old, and I think he's lost a step. He needs to let Felipe Lopez take over, who might be decent, and needs to grow as a major leaguer. A Boone is a second base for the first time, and I'm nervous about his defense at a new position. He should be fine, but changing locations is a big deal. Will Casey ever be the great player we once thought he could be? Let's hope he does better than last year. And the Passed Ball Brigade returns intact, as LaRue and Stinett are back.

So, will LaRue ever hit .300, like he was supposed to be able to do? Can Dunn do it for a full season? Can Larson do it at this level? Can Kearnes do it for a full season? Will Casey ever fulfill his promise? Will the Reds ever turn a decent prospect into a true big league force?

And hey, Bob Boone is back. The eye-rolling quotient will be high for Reds fans.

With all that, questions practically everywhere, you can still see some hope. There is an upside at almost every position, something good to hope for, which not every team can say. Still, I'll bet the Cards are able to trade for the guys they need to win the division again, and the Astros probably will be the main competition. I'm going to be nice and say 85 wins.