Red Reposter - Raise a glass to a Red Hot 1990

• Maker's Mark Honors 1990 Reds Team 
  Maker's Mark is producing a limited batch honoring your favorite baseball team, the 1990 World Series champion Cincinnati Reds!  8,000 units will be made, retailing at about $24. Proceeds will benefit the Reds' Hall of Fame museum. 
• NYT Bats Blog - A Prediction That Lives in Infamy
  NYT writer Tyler Kepner describes how as a 15 year-old visiting his first ST in 1990 he spotted Paul O'Neill at a Denny's.  Kepner mustered up the courage to introduce himself and offer a copy of his homemade baseball magazine. Sine he predicted the Reds to finish 5th, he was hesitant about approaching O'Neill. But Paul was a gentleman and told the pup "we’re going to surprise you." (HT to Baseball Musings).
• Big League Stew - A look back at Red Hot
  We can't talk about the '90 team without mentioning the famous Red Hot video.  Thankfully, Big League Stew just linked this new jack swing classic.

In non-nostalgia news:

• ESPN - Former employee of Chapman's agents under investigation for embezzlement
  Rodney Fernandez, who was fired by the Hendrick Brothers days after the Chapman signing, is under investigation by Florida police for some $300,000 missing from the bank account of former Hendricks client and Angels' 1B Kendry Morales. Fernandez said he was told by members of the Hendricks agency to keep quiet about rumors of financial indiscretions in December and January so it would not adversely affect Chapman's free-agent contract negotiations with the Reds.  Better check your balance, Aroldis.

• CNATI - Dickerson wants a shot in CF
  I can understand where Chris Dickerson is coming from.  Never a ballyhooed prospect, he's performed at every level but his team has never committed to him.  Responding to C. Trent:  "I don't understand why [nobody is mentioning him as a contender for the starting CF job]. Why, maybe it's just because, I don't know. I have no clue," Dickerson said. "I can understand that I struggled some last year, but it's funny because people forget that before I got hurt I was hitting, I hitting close to .350 over the last month-and-a-half. My on-base percentage was close to .389."  
  
  I'm not sure I agree with the question's premise.  I would not be surprised at all if Dickerson gets the nod after a rough start by Drew Stubbs, whose ability to consistently get on base against major league pitching is not a given.  Of course, Drew Stubbs isn't ready to concede anything. 

• The Big Lead - Preposterous Notions: NL 2010? Take the Reds
  The latest article to tab the Reds as darkhorse contenders. But I'm linking this for the impressive youtube'ing, including an interview of Jay Bruce that I haven't seen.  Among other things, Bruce discusses a Hank Williams talking statute in his locker that Adam Dunn passed on to him.
• Sheldon - Miles happy to have fresh start
  Besides the injuries we've heard about, there could be another explanation for Aaron Miles' awful 2009:  "I had some personal problems, too, with my marriage," said Miles, who was going through a divorce that's still not finalized. "But for the most part, the injuries were hard to overcome early in the year. Once I started to get a little healthy, I didn't have that many at-bats under me. I didn't get a whole lot of playing time at the end of the year when I could have come on."

• Chris Burke suffers fractured finger
  Reds utility infielder Chris Burke suffered a fracture in his right ring finger on Thursday during a spring workout. The Reds were performing fly ball drills on a practice field when a ball tipped off Burke's finger and dislocated it. He was taken for X-rays, which revealed the fracture.  No word on how much time he'll miss.

• USATODAY.com - Homer Bailey glad spotlight is elsewhere
  Homer Bailey is not an afterthought this year in ST, but he's definitely no longer a focus thanks to the presence of Aroldis Chapman.  That's fine with him.  Homer talks about some of the pressure he faced when he first came up to the Reds in 2007:  On his drive from Louisville, Bailey got a shocking sign of what was to come. As he drove across a bridge into Ohio, he saw a billboard of himself holding a baseball with flames sizzling off it and a caption saying, "He has come."

  Right away, he felt the pressure.

• FanHouse - Dusty's Trail a Ticket to Operating Table?
  FanHouse takes a fair look at what is perhaps Dusty Baker's defining managerial characteristic - his treatment of young pitching. Personally, I don't think he's done a bad job at managing the staff since joining Cincinnati, with the exception of two Aaron Harang outings.  I'm also not sure how relevant the Pitcher Abuse Point comparisons are, simply because I haven't seen anything tying PAP to pitcher DL time.  As expected, Dusty's "victims," like Kerry Wood, don't throw their former manager under the bus.
• John Bale signs with the Japanese Reds 
  John Bale is sort of playing with the Reds this year, if you don't look too closely at his uniform. The Hiroshima Carp have signed the LHP and former Red to a one-year deal. Bale already spent three years with the club between 2004 and 2006. Bale pitched poorly in limited time with Kansas City last year.
• Houston Chronicle - 2010 season may dictate future for Astros' Berkman
  This could be Lance Berkman's last year as an Astro.  The team holds a 15M option for 2011 with a 2M buyout.  "It may come down to a situation where if things don't go well, they don't pick up my option, then I probably won't be back. "If they don't pick it up, I'll probably take my ball and go home." I can't really believe that he'd retire. A Rice man is not a quitter!  (HT to MLB TradeRumors).