THE REDS'
SCHEDULE SEEMS TO BE DECIDING WHO WILL BE THEIR FIFTH STARTER
3.26.10 BY: MEH LEAKE AND WOOD
FALLING INTO FIFTH SPOT
THE REDS' SCHEDULE SEEMS TO BE DECIDING
WHO WILL BE THEIR FIFTH STARTER
Although Mike Leake and Travis Wood have never pitched in the major leagues,
they are quickly becoming the favorites to win the fifth spot in the Reds'
rotation come Opening Day. Leake has never pitched for a professional
baseball team, ever. Prior to being selected by the Reds during the first
round (8th overall) in the 2009 MLB draft, Leake's only experience was at
Arizona State University. Travis Wood has pitched for Reds' affiliates since
2005 and was selected by the Reds during the second round of the MLB draft
the same year.
Due to a minor back injury to Aroldis Chapman, causing his name to be taken
out of consideration, the Reds' fifth spot has been narrowed down to four
pitchers (Leake, Wood, Matt Maloney, and Justin Lehr). During today's game
listening to 700wlw, Thom Brennaman said that he heard from C. Trent, that
Lehr said himself that he was out of the race. That leaves only three and
Matt Maloney, despite being a favorite in early spring, is falling behind
the two youngsters. Both Leake and Wood's spring starts line up to April 11
against the Cubs, the day that the Reds will need a pitcher to follow Homer
Bailey's start the previous day. Leake and Wood will both pitch today
against the Mariners and again on Wednesday (Leake against Oakland and Wood
against the Dodgers).
I can't remember the last time the Reds have had such an abundance of
starting pitching. Over the course of this season, we should expect to see
numerous starters filling in for the fifth spot in the rotation. It's going
to pleasant to watch all of these young pitchers start to propel their
careers this year. Maybe they can even get some post-season experience under
their belts.
On Wednesday the Reds beat the San Francisco Giants 10-3. Homer Bailey
pitched five quality innings allowing one run on three hits. Bailey said
this about his outing:
"I was just going out there and pounding the zone. Just here it is, hit
it."
On Thursday the Reds lost to the Colorado Rockies 10-6. Jonny Gomes hit his
fifth homerun of the spring attempting to close in on the Reds' left field
job. Laynce Nix also went deep. Opening Day starter Aaron Harang went 2.2
innings and looked good until he allowed seven runs on nine hits. The Reds
play the Mariners today at 4:05pm ET.
If you checked out our promo
for Whack Reds Radio, you already know what we have in the works. We're
not going to waste any time, so here is the first installment of Whack Reds
Radio. In this introductory episode we explore 14 questions. A homage to Mr.
Rose. The rules are simple; 14 questions. Eight questions must surround the
Cincinnati Reds, Three questions are non-baseball, one is directed toward
describing your "pitch", one must question describing "love and hate" of the
game of baseball, and the last question MUST involve Pete Rose. We think
this will be a good way to profile and pick the brain of our interviewees.
We expect to have plenty of specials guests to accommodate our 14 peculiar
questions and are currently planning to premiere new segments for Whack Reds
Radio, so stay tuned. To possibly be a part of Whack Reds Radio, please
contact us at WRR@whackreds.com for more information. Enjoy.
