Seasons of Change

The title of this post applies to both sports and my current life situation. Kentucky did as everyone expected of them and proved that they were in fact worthy of that number 1 overall seed. Thus ends another season of Madness. And also, the Reds wrapped up their Spring Training schedule. Today will be the Reds vs. Futures Spring Showcase game at GABP.

And then a day off. Followed by possibly the biggest day in all of sport for the city of Cincinnati.

A foolish UK fan at work suggested to me that the ratings for the NCAA National Championship game would be higher than the ratings for Opening Day. He used to work at a station in Lexington. He doesn't quite understand.

The Reds just dropped some seeeerious coin on Joey Votto. He'll more than likely be in town as long as he wants to be. The Brass suggest there is still a chance that Phillips might get a deal too. I'm not so sure Brandon would be as optimistic. But hopefully money doesn't get in the way. For anybody. I honestly and truly think this could be the year.

It's a shame the Reds lost Ryan Madson for the year. But I think most of the pieces are in place. This is one of the first years I can remember in which there was controversy over who the 5th starter would be, instead of trying to figure out who to randomly stick in the spot. I think this has a great chance to be one of the best rotations in franchise history. Mat Latos was a huge addition, regardless of the guys we gave up for him. That doesn't matter to me. I'm not a fan of the fact that Chapman is not a starter, but they'll all contribute. I've always been a hige Bill Bray fan, and I think Sam LeCure will be as steady as possible. Marshall will be a decent substitute for Madson at the end of the game.

Joey, Brandon and Jay Bruce will produce as always. Hopefully old man Rolen stays healthy. Playing or not, he's a great leader. He'll be tough to replace in the intangibles department in the coming years. Mesoraco could have ROY-type season. That would be sweet. The two guys that will be the biggest keys to whether the Reds do well this season or not could be Drew Stubbs and Zack Cozart. We really don't know how well they'll perform, but if they do well, this whole line-up is dangerous.

There aren't many seasons I've gone in thinking, "there are not any glaring holes anywhere on this team". Sure they won't go 162-0. There will be slumps. But this team should be good. I'm gonna say they go 91-71 and win the division. That's my prediction. I'll check back on this at the end to see if I'm right. Like I said, I think they could win it all...or at least make it to the Series.

Apologies for the lack of posts lately. As I said, I've also been in flux. The fiance and I moved into our new home for the year. We decided on an apartment, because we just couldn't find "our" house. We're still moving in and setting things up. All while working on wedding plans. It's nearly here. Just 11 more days til the big day. This time two weeks from now, I'll be on a big boat in the Caribbean. So from now til I get back, there might not be that many posts. I'm sure you'll all survive. (Whoever you are that reads this).

Today's Twitter bio is: @DallasLatos

Dallas is the wife of one of the newest Reds, Mat Latos. She's got her own blog here. It gets way more views than mine. Probably because she's more interesting than me. Dallas and Mat are big animal people. Lots of reptiles and dogs. I hope they get involved with SPCA when they get to town. I'm sure they'd love it. Dallas has to fight off the dingbats out there that she's an idiot. She's super-duper not. Trust me. But those TV shows about chicks who aren't really wives of baseball players ruin people's perceptions.

She seems like a super nice lady, and hopefully some random day at the ballpark, I might get to meet her... And her husband too, I guess. But that's not as big of a deal. Dallas gave up her own career to be a career baseball wife. And if you don't think it's tough, ask her. She'll let you know. So if you want some insights on how daily life goes for a baseball player's wife, give her a follow. It's pretty intriguing. But don't ask her how Mat's feeling or any "insider dope" like that, she won't respond. And for heaven sakes, Mat's not getting on twitter. So don't bother asking that either. She'll take care of that for the both of them.