"Some city leaders in a Phoenix suburb are having second thoughts about spending $33 million for a new ballpark to lure the Cincinnati Reds to a new spring training home in Goodyear, Ariz.

"The issue is the money," said Councilwoman Joanne Osborne, who opposes paying for the new facilities. "It's about priorities. We don't have a downtown. We don't have a library. We don't have the things our citizens want and have asked for."

The Reds, whose current spring training home is in Sarasota, Fla., are interested in joining the Cactus League in 2010, but four Goodyear City Council members must agree to pay for the team's training facilities. Only three are on board.

Work has already begun in Goodyear on a stadium and practice facility for the Indians, who will move there next year from Winter Haven, Fla. To bring in the Indians, Goodyear split the $75 million cost for that project with the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority."

I suspect that ultimately this won't halt a move, but it's the first little hiccup I've seen regarding joining the Cactus League.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?name=spring_training

1. Yay! Uh, no actually. How'd we do in '09? Cueto.
2. Ew. No. He should. Yes.
3. Motorin! Probably.
4. So he spread his slump out (consistency!). No. Until Frazier.
5. I hope he wasn't leading off. Probably. I hear Carl Crawford's available.
6. So the pitching is perfect? No!
7. I'd say he's slimmer. 30.
8. What's their pythagorus? Buy low sell high!
9. Joy. Yup.
10. Then it's probably rhetorical.

   2. What if the Reds send Joey Votto down to Louisville to start the season until his bat heats up?  Is that a good strategy?  Not is my estimation. Votto needs to play at the MLB level, even if he's not in the lineup every day.

   3. What if Adam Dunn finally hits 50 home runs in 2008? Unfortunately that could happen. Big Bob wants to win but I don't think that he'd put up the really 'bib big' money for Donkey.

   4. What if this season Edwin Encarnacion puts up virtually the same numbers he did last season, but doesn't have the month long slump like he did last year?  Is that an improvement?  Should he still be the thirdbaseman of the future for the Reds? Yes and Yes

   5.  What if Corey Patterson bats .280/.330/.450?  Is he the CF in 2009?  If not, who is? Could be if Dunn is traded and Bruce is ready.

   6.  What if it appears that the only thing that is keeping the Reds from first place in July is the catching position?  Would you trade Votto or Bailey for someone like Kenji Johjima or Bengie Molina? No. Ross is a good game caller and defender. He's got some pop and is always dangerous.

   7.  What if Todd Coffey is returning to 2006 form?  How many innings would it take you to believe that he should pitch in the 8th inning again? - 6,000 innings, he just doesn't have the makeup.

   8.  What if the Reds are 3 games under .500, but only 5 games out of the playoffs on July 15th?  Should they be buyers or sellers (selling Dunn, Weathers, Hatteberg, Freel, Gonzalez, etc.)?-- Hard to answer without more hypothetical information. But in general Freel, Hatte,and/or Gonzo for the right componenet player(s) - Absolutely.

   9.  What if the Reds finish in 3rd place at 81-81? Does Wayne Krivsky still have a job? Probably. Although with Uncle Walt lurking in the shadows maybe not.

  10.  What if this wasn't a hypothetical question? Then it would be an exercise in tragic realism.

1. I hope the decision to protect Cueto's arm begins before we even know if we have a shot at the playoffs... meaning, I hope they limit his innings from his first start.  I'd have him on some kind of pitch count.
2. No, you start Votto with the big club and he opens up at first base next Monday.  He needs to start learning how to handle issues as a big league player.  Baker says he's a slow starter... is there really enough evidence to back that up?  Actually, Votto has a few hits these past few games anyway.  If Hatteburg isn't on the bench, then we have absolutely no one on that bench I'd feel good about in late innings.
3. I hope Adam Dunn hits 50 HRs this year as I plan to put him on my fantasy team - its not a draft league.  He is probably priced out of the Reds budget already unless he is willing to take a cut rate to stay.
4. Edwin is the 3B until somebody better comes along.  I think that should hold true at every position.
5. Count me down as someone naive enough to be rooting for Corey Patterson this year.  He has the tools, but has never put it all together.  He could be a comeback player of the year candidate, or else, he's back to the bench in about a month for The Bruce!  I'm willing to hope for the best - even if that means Bruce plays another year in the minors.  I see Bruce in RF next year anyway.
6. Catcher?!  We're talking 'bout... catcher?!!  (Now just imagine Alan Iverson saying it.)
7. That would be great to see Coffey become a contributor.  I agree with the earlier post.  He hopefully won't be needed in the 8th because Weathers is doing the job, but its starting to look like we may need a new candidate for that 7th inning position.
8.  Buyers.  Making the playoffs would be great, but I wouldn't sell the future for a quick first round exit.  A sub-.500 team ain't making the World Series, and that should be the goal.
9.  I think that would be acceptable.  I don't think this is a playoff team yet.  I'd like to see Cueto, Volquez and Bailey get some time under their belts.  But the next two years should be fun.  And I'd keep Krivsky.
10.  Are you implying you have some kind of time travel ability where you have traveled 4 months into the future where you can begin to see all of these patterns emerging, but don't how to set the time machine to October to find out if any of them actually worked out that way and so this is maybe hypothetical, but maybe not, but you don't know for sure?  Is that what you are doing here?

1. Should that happen, we'll do the same thing that Cubs fans did. We'll be pleased to make the playoffs, we'll perhaps have some doubts about the excessive innings but in the end we'll say that the ends justify the means. Then, in 2010, when Cueto has Tommy John surgery, we will crucify Dusty Baker (probably rightly so), blame him for ruining a great young arm (probably rightly so), and deny that we ever supported said abuse in pursuit of our 2008 NLDS exit.
2. It seems that Votto's bat has already started heating up. He hasn't earned the 1B job (and one could easily argue that Hatteberg has), but I'd still be irritated if it didn't go to him. Unless the team has serious doubts about Votto's ability to hit in the future, keeping him in the minors just seems like an unnecessary lack of patience with a future cornerstone of the team. I feel sorry for Scotty, as he's pretty much done nothing but hit since arriving on the team and still hasn't shown any signs of slowing down, but it's time for us to go Canadian.
3. The fact that the Reds haven't even tried to get any contract talks going tells me they're not planning on keeping him at all. Teams (and players) usually like to avoid negotiations during the season, and if we wait until after the year I see some issues. If Dunn hits .240, piles up more strikeouts than he did last year, and his defense regresses any, the Reds will use that performance to justify not re-signing him. If he takes a leap forward, hits .270 with 50 homers and some pretty big RBI numbers, they'll use that performance to justify it saying he has priced himself out of their range. I may very well just be being cynical about Castellini (as well as Krivsky and Dusty's philosophies), but I think the only shot Dunn has at coming back to this team is something right along the lines of what he did last year: .261, 42 HR, 109 RBI, and some improved defense.
4. Developing consistency is an improvement, but I'd be disappointed with that kind of season out of Edwin. I'd have to think he'd still be the 3B of the future by default, but he would no longer be regarded as a key piece to the team. I suspect his name would emerge in a lot of trade rumors next offseason though he ultimately wouldn't move. Then we'd go into next season with him being touted as a breakout candidate and whatnot. I think that similar numbers to last year would disappoint, but really do nothing but put him in a bit of a holding pattern.
5. If Corey Patterson hits .280/.330/.450 this year, I'm betting he cashes in in free agency and thus would not be part of our team in 2009. I don't think CF will go to Bruce (as he'll be replacing Griffey in RF), so unless Stubbs has a big year and is able to end with some strong numbers in AA, I'm guessing Patterson's replacement would come from outside of the organization.
6. No on both counts, especially Molina. I'd happily try to trade for them, but moving major league ready prospects for old, slightly above average catchers is a move the Reds can't afford to make. I'd explore trade routes with lower level prospects, but if the Reds are going to be in a position that close to first this year, I think Votto and Bailey will have something to do with it.
7. I actually think Coffey will return to his prior form. I wouldn't put an inning count on him returning to the 8th, but rather, if Burton and Weathers (and perhaps Bray) were to falter and Coffey is pitching well, he'd deserve a shot. I still think he's got it in him to be a good pitcher, and I won't write him off because of one bad year like a lot of people seem to want to do with him and Freel.
8. What they should do is something that's tough to tell in a hypothetical, but I can tell you right now that if the Reds are 5 games out of the playoffs come July, there is absolutely no way they'll be sellers regardless of their record. I actually think that that's the situation we're most likely to be buyers in, with Wayner hoping to give the team a boost by acquiring somebody likely mediocre and old but with a big name.
9. That's a tough one. I think if the general sentiment is that the Reds should've done more than finish .500 (let's say they were in a position for a playoff spot in July but faltered some the last two months either because of a lack of moves or because of some bad moves), he'll have a hard time sticking around, but if most people are pleased with a non-losing season (and I suspect they will be), we'll get to enjoy Sweaterpants for another year, albeit on thin ice -- if the Reds don't get a playoff spot by 2009, Wayne will not be around in 2010.
10. Then you would be a witch and thus would have to be burned.

No. 3 - I think Dunn is more likely to return if he has a good year assuming that the team continues to think it can contend.  Given the contracts for Harang, Arroyo, Cordero and Phillips, they're not thinking of rebuilding.  And with EdE, Bruce, Votto, Bailey, Volquez and Cueto they should get relatively cheap production that will help balance the heavier contracts on the payroll.  If Dunn has a monster year, they'll realize that they can't come close to filling his absence in the lineup and that they need him to contend.  And with Junior gone, the OF defense will be less of a sore spot.  

Of course, all bets are off if the Yankees or Sox swoop in with an 8/160 offer.  But Dunn will have some competition next winter with at least Teixeira and Burrell on the market, so it's not like he's going to be the only belle of the ball.  

The 18-hour flight that brought the Boston Red Sox to Tokyo claimed one victim when Sean Casey developed a stiff neck that is expected to keep him out of the first two games of the season against the Oakland Athletics.

Also, I see that Lopez and da meat hook are available.

  2. Since, in Dusty's words, "Votto is usually a slow starter," what if the Reds send Joey Votto down to Louisville to start the season until his bat heats up?  Is that a good strategy?  What if Votto starts out hot in Louisville?  Would you be pissed?
It would be a bad strategy either way.

   3. What if Adam Dunn finally hits 50 home runs in 2008?  Would he suddenly be priced out of the Reds budget?
Unless he agrees to play first base, or play LF for 12 million a year, I don't think its smart to sign him either way. If he wants to play first base and not destroy our outfield, then sign me up for 4 years and 65-70 million. If he doesn't want to play first base.... best of luck to ya big guy.

   4. What if this season Edwin Encarnacion puts up virtually the same numbers he did last season, but doesn't have the month long slump like he did last year?  Is that an improvement?  Should he still be the thirdbaseman of the future for the Reds?
He would still be the third baseman of the future, and the present. It would be a little disappointing if he stagnated, but wouldn't be brutal as he was fine all in all last season

   5.  What if Corey Patterson bats .280/.330/.450?  Is he the CF in 2009?  If not, who is?
Absolutely he should be if he puts up that line.

   6.  What if it appears that the only thing that is keeping the Reds from first place in July is the catching position?  Would you trade Votto or Bailey for someone like Kenji Johjima or Bengie Molina?
No, I wouldn't. Not for a run this year, where I think its going to be almost impossible to win a WS

   7.  What if Todd Coffey is returning to 2006 form?  How many innings would it take you to believe that he should pitch in the 8th inning again?
40

  8.  What if the Reds are 3 games under .500, but only 5 games out of the playoffs on July 15th?  Should they be buyers or sellers (selling Dunn, Weathers, Hatteberg, Freel, Gonzalez, etc.)?
Probably stay stagnate. You can't sell because the fan base will revolt, but you can't buy because you know you aren't winning much even if somehow you do make the playoffs and you can't risk the future for something like that

  9.  What if the Reds finish in 3rd place at 81-81? Does Wayne Krivsky still have a job?
He should

  10.  What if this wasn't a hypothetical question?
then crap, I wasted time answering hypotheticals that actually weren't