"You look good. This is Mat, my new... friend."
Bronson Arroyo is the the fifth and final member of the likely rotation to make his spring debut. Even though last spring's mono-addled performance ended up being a bellwether for his regular season, it's usually hard to get a read on Arroyo in the spring. Not only does he like to make adjustments to his game, but the Arizona air isn't always kind to his Nasty Hook. Still, we have to look for some kind of improvement from him. Anything that indicates his recovery from last year's health problems is complete and his alarming '11 HR pace is out of his mind.
Latos strategically avoided his old team by pitching yesterday. I haven't seen the Padres lineup, but there's a 50/50 chance Yonder Alonso is in it. He's played all three Padres spring games so far, but they're splitting squads and taking on Texas at the same time - which, hey, maybe that's the solution to the MLB's scheduling woes when they even thetwo leagues at 15 teams each? I spent all of today mapping out how this would work on my wall with in permanent marker (fired again) so I didn't have time to process the significance of Alonso potentially facing his old team so soon. It's possible San Diego is pulling a "Friar Tuck" (I have no idea what this means) and sends him to face the Rangers, rather than ripping spacetime by being in the same stadium as Mat Latos.
In any case, at least one member of that trade will be probably be around. Along with Hermida and Owings, it's a treasure trove of recent Reds history. You start to get pangs of trade remorse when you think about the sheer numbers (4-for-1), given how players seem so full of potential and better and healthier than they actually are in the spring.
Bronson will be followed by: Jordan Smith, Jose Arredondo, Logan Ondrusek, Ron Mahay and Nick Masset
Luebke by: Casey Kelly (2 IP) and some other Padres, maybe even several former Reds.