Well opening day has come and gone in Cincinnati and opening night is now upon us for the beloved Redlegs. Lots happened in the first real game of the year against the Halos, and it left us with some unanswered questions moving forward. One game in and there is already lots to discuss in this edition of the Reds Reports.
As I said, opening day has come and gone and it ended with a loss. We did get a lot of free baseball on Monday afternoon as the game went into extras before the Angles' Chris Ianetta doubled in two runs in the thirteenth off of J.J. Hoover and that was enough to do the Reds in. The Reds struggled all day at the plate with the exception of Shin Soo Choo who was on base three times, and scored the Reds only run on a wild pitch in the 8th inning. Johnny Cueto looked to be the ace of this staff once again as he pitched an outstanding game, only throwing one bad pitch which Ianetta deposited into the left field seats. That was the only run given up by Cueto and he looked lights out the rest of his outing.
As the Reds scored their only run in the 8th, some very bad things happened on the same play. Ryan Ludwick jammed his shoulder sliding in to third and has now been placed on the 15-day DL with reports coming out that he could be out until the all-star break. Its an awful break for Ludwick and the Reds as they now have to make a roster move to replace Ludwick. Chris Heisey will likely get the bulk of playing time and is a solid replacement player. If I were Dusty I would use Heisey and his spectacular defense in center, and slide Shin Soo Choo over into left field where he is more comfortable. The Reds may call up Dennis Phipps or Derrick Robinson as they were the last to outfielders cut in spring camp, but we could also see Donald Lutz called up to be a fourth outfielder and add some power to the bench.
With Ludwick hurt, the question pops up again as to who will be the Reds left fielder moving forward. They have some decent outfielders in the minor leagues, but no one who is pushing to take over the left field spot any time soon. With Billy Hamilton likely taking over in center next year, the Reds should seriously consider re-signing Shin Soo Choo not as a center fielder, but as their left fielder. Choo is a much better fit in left, and would keep a guy on the team who gets on base like crazy and also has a good amount of power in the small confines of GABP. Sign Choo long term now and let Ludwick go at the end of the year if Billy Hamilton is as far along as he should be. Hamilton will be in center for the next ten years if he lives up to the hype, and Choo in left for the next four years would fill a hole that has been a question mark ever since Adam Dunn was traded in 2008.
The Reds will face the Angels once again tonight at Great American Ballpark for opening night. Mat Latos will look to wrap up the Reds first win of the year and get off to a good start to a season of high expectations for him. He will face C.J. Wilson in his first match up, first pitch is tonight at 7:10.
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