Red Reposter - Comeback Trail Edition

If injuries are bad things, coming back from them is a good thing, right? Right. It appears Johnny Cueto threw 25 pitches in a bullpen session after some long toss yesterday, and so far, so good. If he's not too sore today, I would guess rehab starts will be right around the corner. If I was a betting man (I am), which I'm not (wanna bet?), I'd say he'll get one more extended bullpen session in a few days followed by 2 rehab starts in Louisville. He might even get the honor and privilege of pitching to Corky Miller while in Louisville, since that link also details that Ryan Hanigan is set to begin his rehab stint in Louisville today (Tuesday). Since his 15 days of DL time was over on Sunday, he'll be eligible to return to the big leagues as soon as he's ready. Since the catchers have posted a lovely .150/.268/.187 line this season, having a healthy Hanny back could do a ton o' good.

Also over at Reds.com is this piece by Bernie Pleskoff regarding Tony Cingrani. There's not a ton of groundbreaking information in there, but what the article details isn't the point; who is doing the detailing is what matters. Pleskoff is a former MLB scout for both the Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners, and it's nice to see his affirmation of many of the same traits that have had us fawning over Cingrani so far. Give Bernie a follow on Twitter (@BerniePleskoff) while you're at it. He's got lots of good stuff to say. Tell him Red Reporter sent ya. He'll have no idea what that means.

I can't believe we're linking to David Schoenfield again, but here goes. The resident ESPN Dustybasher lobs out a decent pile of historical stats to indicate that we're currently in "a golden age" for leadoff hitter success. It's funny how much he's willing to criticize Baker for hitting Zack Cozart 2nd in the lineup when there's not legitimate options on the roster to substitute with, but he'll not mention Baker by name at all when Choo is his leadoff hitter and having more offensive success at the plate than any of his peers in baseball today. Let's all remember one thing: it's not like Choo, 30, has been a leadoff hitter his whole career. In fact, prior to last season, he'd had a grand total of 8 (eight) (ocho) PAs as a leadoff hitter in his entire career. Dusty and Walt both deserve immense credit both for getting Choo on the Reds' roster and for creatively utilizing him to the team's benefit. Just don't expect to hear that from ESPN anytime soon.

Reds' right-handed hitters are currently hitting .189/.250/.303 against right-handed pitching. I'd supply each and every one of you with a barf bag, but I'm not a 1980's now-defunct airline. The Reds also currently sport a team OPS of .708, good for 8th in the NL and 18th overall, and they're a very un-Cincinnatilike 22nd in MLB in HRs. NEED MOAR BATS. Where have you gone, Jay Brucemaggio?

Matt Sullivan over at SB Nation's MLB Daily Dish broke down some of the (thusfar, at least) worst FA signings from last offseason. It's truly amazing how many different ways the Reds could've tried to address their OF situation and still failed. Josh Hamilton, B.J. Upton, and Melky Cabrera have all been bad to awful, Ryan Ludwick and Michael Bourn have hit the DL, Nick Swisher has spent almost the entire season as 1B/DH, and Shane Victorino is "slugging" .300. Though Luddy's hurt, at least the Reds aren't on the hook for $40-50 million for him. That smart dude in the comments section gives some similar insight.