Red Reposter - Less Than a Week Away

Shin-Soo Choo seems to be all the Reds expected...and then some. Mark Sheldon from Reds.com talks to several Reds, including Jay Bruce and Todd Frazier, to gauge exactly what having Choo at the top of the lineup means to them. The answer? Well, it pretty much confirms what we all knew the moment the trade was made: this is the Reds year to not just win 97 games, but to win the last game of the postseason. Despite Choo missing a week with back issues recently, the Reds still see a player who can be a major force in their lineup. Charlie Scrabbles does, too.

Homer is not a good name for a pitcher working on things in Spring Training. Yesterday was unofficially officially "Former Hot Prospects Get Right" day, as Justin Smoak and Jesus Montero helped the Mariners hang two touchdowns and a safety on the Reds while also holding them scoreless. David DeWitt managed only 3 1/3 IP, allowing 9 runs (8 earned) in the process while striking out 5, walking 2, and throwing 2 wild pitches. Not the best of lines for one's penultimate start of Spring Training, but Bailey said he felt OK. We'll see. With Arroyo and Latos literally banged up and the strong schedule the Reds face early in the season, Bailey needs to be sharp out of the gate...

...which leads to FanGraphs' great breakdown of how last Spring's Leaders and Laggards fared in the 2012 season.

It appears the Marlins have resorted to selling Opening Day tickets on Groupon. Jeff Loria, y'all. Jeffrey freakin' Loria. Man, I feel sorry for Giancarlo.

C. Trent's latest blog entry has some notes on Cool Papa Billy's recent performances in Minor League camp. A scenario that I completely think will happen later this season dawned on me yesterday. Xavier Paul will re-pumpkin, Billy will be called up to take his spot just before the September 1 cut-off to be playoff eligible, and he'll be the CF in the World Series (with Choo taking over in LF and Ludwick DHing). It's going to happen...it's going to happen.