Question: Has winning baseball returned to stay in Cincinnati, or will Dusty Baker revert to his old arm-shredding, OBP-ignorant self?
Strengths: They go seven deep in the rotation. Maybe the Reds trade from this happy (and affordable) excess to fill an organizational hole, like the one behind the plate.
Needs: One long-term contract for Joey Votto before the first-base market goes kablooey (see under: upcoming deals for Pujols, Gonzalez and Fielder); two reliable relievers (Brian Fuentes?); three everyday-player-type players, with "Help Wanted" signs currently posted at shortstop and in left field and an age- or injury-related vacancy looming at third base.
Odds of 2011 glory: Only two of the six NL Central teams currently exist in a state of something other than serene befuddlement, and the Reds are one of them. Gotta like those odds.
http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/story/1...until-february
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