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The #1 starter for both the Cleveland Indians and the Cincinnati Reds have both been named to the Pro Baseball Fans’ top 10 active starting pitchers list. Sabathia, the 2007 AL Cy Young Award winner, went 19-7 in 2007 with a 3.21 ERA and 209 strikeouts. Meanwhile Harang, the Reds’ ace, won 16 games for the second straight season.

The Best Starting Pitchers list put an emphasis on the past three years of statistics while factoring in career success. Pro Baseball Fans lists their Top 10 active pitchers basing it on “win-loss record, strikeouts, quality starts, earned runs, and much much more.”

Where did Sabathia and Harang rank on the top starting pitchers in baseball list? Find out today over at Pro Baseball Fans.

Early in the 2008 season, there are two things that are very clear with the Cincinnati Reds. First, they need to figure out how to deal with having two left-handed 1st basemen and second, how to improve their roster against left-handed pitching. These two items seem to be a significant problem for Cincinnati, but also both could be “fixed” by one single roster move.

A manager can only do so much with what they are given, and Reds’ manager Dusty Baker has a bit of an issue on his hands. Young 1B prospect Joey Votto made the opening day roster for Cincinnati despite the fact that the Reds also have Scott Hatteberg under contract in 2008. Votto has started the season strong batting .320 with 2 HR and 5 RBI through 10 games while Hatteberg is hitting .190 with 0 HR and 2 RBI in 10 games while getting 4 ABs fewer than the younger Votto. So statistically, it’s clear in the early-going that Votto is the better choice. The Reds are reportedly shopping Hatteberg, and despite his solid clubhouse presence and veteran leadership skills, I think it’s time to hand the job to Votto.

As for the lack of hitting against left-handed batters, the Reds’ lack of offensive depth and right-handed hitters is clearly hurting this team. Edwin Encarnacion continues to struggle batting just .171 through 35 ABs which maks things worse, and the Reds have even gone as far as sitting both Hatteberg and Votto down as Jeff Keppinger got the start at 1B on Sunday @ Pittsburgh. But Cincinnati needs to make a move to get another right-handed bat on the 25-man roster, and AAA Louisville does not look to have the solution.

A review of the AAA team leads me to think that a deal is likely the Reds’ best option to get new blood into the franchise. Jolbert Cabrera and Jerry Harriston, Jr. both bat right handed and both are hitting over .400 at AAA, but both are primarily 2B and Brandon Phillips is not going anywhere for the Reds. With AAA not looking to be the best option, the best-case scenario is if the Reds could get a marginal prospect or relatively equally-skilled 1B who hits right-handed to replace Hatteberg. Either way, both of these issues need to be resolved if the Reds want to contend in 2008.

Two days ago, after the Reds had dropped 2 straight to draw even at 4-4, the worry was that Cincinnati was wasting good pitching thanks to a less-than-stellar offensive output. Two days later, the Reds are 6-4 after back-to-back wins @ Milwaukee as the Reds outscored the Brewers 16-5 in the two games. After a 12-4 win on Wednesday night, Aaron Harang pitched the Reds to victory allowing just 1 run in 8 innings to pick up his first win of the season.

With the win, the Reds now sit in a 3rd-place tie with the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central, just 1.5 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals. Cincinnati travels to Pittsburgh (3-5) to face the Pirates in a 3-game series beginning on Friday evening @ 7:05 pm ET as Edinson Volquez looks for his second win in a s many starts.

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Coming off Johnny Cueto’s dominant Major League debut, the Cincinnati Reds are 2-1 as they begin a 4-game series with Philadelphia beginning tonight. The Phillies dropped the first two games against Washington before topping the Nationals 8-7 yesterday to salvage a 1-2 start. Tonight’s starting match-up has former Colorado Rockies pitcher Josh Fogg starting for Cincinnati while Philadelphia counters with Kyle Hendrick @ 7:10 pm. Friday night’s game is the lone night game of the series with Saturday having a 1:10 first pitch, Sunday a 1:15 start and Monday’s get-away day start is at 12:35 pm.

2007 was not a good year for the Cincinnati Reds. A 72-90 record, their promising rookie starter gets rocked, their superstar OF gets hurt, again, and they fire their manager only to then replace the replacement at season’s end. Yes, it was indeed a rough year for the Reds in 2007. But the beauty of sports is that there is always next year, and next year is here for the Cincinnati Reds. In their 2008 Cincinnati Reds preview, Pro Baseball Fans likes the Reds’ added starting pitching depth, the bolstered bullpen thanks to the signing of Francisco Cordero and the young stars coming up through the Cincinnati system. Will the Reds win 90 games and take the NL Central? Or will Cincinnati once again be below .500 and disappoint the best fans in baseball? Find out for yourself in the Pro Baseball Fans 2008 MLB previews and in the meantime, find Cincinnati Reds hats & merchandise online through DFN Sports sites.

The Cincinnati Reds, one of Major League baseball’s most storied franchises, have fallen into tough times of late. After the emergence of a new ownership group in the past few years, it’s clear that bringing back the glory is the intention of the Cincinnati brass once again.

The Cincinnati Reds completed the 2007 season at just 72-90, and prior to the firing of manager Jerry Narron, actually had the worst record in baseball for a short time. Changes had to be made, and indeed they were. Despite decent success under Pete Mackanin, the Reds brought in Dusty Baker and his 14 years of managerial experience to guide their franchise. In his 14 years of exerience, Baker’s teams have gone 1,162-1040 in regular season games and 17-19 in the postseason.

Other offseason moves for the Reds were to pickup Adam Dunn’s $13 million option for 2008 and to shore up the bullpen which plagued Cincinnati in 2007. In November, the Reds agreed to a contract with Texas & Milwaukee closer Francisco Cordero. Cordero will get $46 million over 4 years and comes off a season with 44 saves and a 2.98 ERA. The most recent offseason move for Cincinnati was the trade of OF Josh Hamiltom to Texas for 24-year old starting pitcher Edinson Volquez. Volquez was named the Rangers’ top minor leaguer in 2007 and is expected to compete for a spot in the Reds’ starting rotation in 2008. Other, less notable moves for Cincinnati include allowing reliever Eddie Guardado go by not picking up his 2008 option. The Reds did choose to pick up the ‘08 options on Scott Hatteberg and Javier Valentin.

When taking a look at the offseason moves by Cincinnati, you have to feel good about the attempts to make the team better. Cincinnati has had a plethora of OF talent for years dating back to the late 1990’s. While OF names like Kearns, Pena, Guillen and now Hamilton are in the past, with Griffey and Dunn in the corners and Freel & Hopper in CF, the Reds have the OF covered. Add Jay Bruce to the mix and the Reds do not appear to have room for another experienced outfielder, so the Hamilton deal makes sense. The signing of Cordero is solid, but $46 million for 4 years is a lot for a closer, and the Reds will need help throughout the bullpen, not just in the closer’s role. As for bringing in Baker, he has the experience needed and is a proven winner. The NL Central is wide open, so why not Cincinnati in 2008?

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As we mentioned earlier today, Thursday, August 30th was a busy day for Ohio sports teams. UC, Kent State & Miami opened their 2007 seasons, the Reds and Indians both looked to stay hot and the Browns faced the Bears in preseason NFL action. Well I am pleased to report that Ohio teams won all 6 of those games today highlighted by what may be the biggest win in Kent State football history.

Many of college football’s experts have picked Kent State to win the MAC East this season, but for some it is hard to shake the memories of those terrible Kent State football teams of the past. Those teams of the past are gone folks. The Golden Flashes traveld to Ames, Iowa and defeated the Big XII’s Iowa State Cyclones tonight 23-14, making Nick @ VanDelay Sports look pretty damn good.

Meanwhile the Indians walked away from Seattle  with a 6-5 win in the bottom of the 9th inning and remain in 1st place by 4.5 games and the Cincinnati Reds won for the 8th time in 10 games.

In addition to Kent State, the UC Bearcats began their season with a 59-3 win over SE Missouri State and the Miami RedHawks defeated MAC rival Ball State 14-13.

After I finally took the time to match up all of the dates for sporting events I figured out that tonight is a great night for Ohio sports, but specifically for Ohio football. Not only is it the kickoff of the college football season, but the Cleveland Browns also have their final preseason game in Chicago. Meanwhile, Miami and Ball State will face off and Kent State is @ Iowa State in a game that VanDelay Sports has picked Kent to win. Big East member Cincinnati also kicks their season off tonight, and both the Reds and Indians are in action and playing well in the world of Major League Baseball.

Here’s a rundown of tonight’s Ohio sporting events:
- Cincinnati Bearcats vs. SE Missouri State - NCAA - 7 pm
- Miami @ Ball State - NCAA - 7 pm
- Cleveland Indians vs. Seattle Mariners - MLB - 7:05 pm
- Cincinnati Reds @ Pittsburgh Pirates - MLB - 7:05 pm
- Kent State @ Iowa State - NCAA - 8 pm
- Cleveland Browns @ Chicago Bears - NFL - 8 pm

Meanwhile, the Bengals play another preseason game on Friday night and on Saturday Ohio State, Akron, Toledo, Ohio and Bowling Green all kick off their 2007 seasons.

Earlier tonight I mentioned that the Reds’ season has been revitalized as Cincinnati has now won 6 straight to improve to 60-70 on the season. Well the NL Central teams seem to be doing what they can to give the Reds life as Cincinnati is now just 6.5 games out of 1st place thanks to losses by both the Cubs and Brewers. Here’s how the standings look at the end of the day Sunday:

Chicago: 66-63 -
Milwaukee: 65-65 -1.5
Saint Louis: 63-64 -2
Cincinnati: 60-70 -6.5

• Up next for the Reds is a Tuesday DH @ Pittsburgh as part of a 4-game series with the Pirates followed by 3 games @ St. Louis.
• The Cubs and Brewers face off for 3 games in Chicago starting Tuesday before Chicago welcomes Houston for 3 games.
• After the Brewers travel to Chicago they will host Pittsburgh for 3 games.
• And finally the Cardinals have 3 @ Houston before their 3 game series with Cincinnati.

Given the situation that the Reds are in, they will need to win most every series against divisional opponents to have any shot at making this more interesting. Therefore, if the Reds can take at least 3 of 4 from Pittsburgh and 2 of 3 from St. Louis then you will see one excited blogging Reds fan here at OST.

A few weeks ago I wrote that the Reds aren’t that bad. Today I am here to tell you that  right now the Reds are actually good. Yes, I realize that it’s tough to say a team that is 60-70 on the season is good, but the Cincinnati Reds are the hottest team in baseball with 6 straight victories. At that point the Reds were 47-64 and had won 2 straight, but with a 15-7 mark in August and a 13-5 record since I claimed that they “aren’t that bad,” the Cincinnati Reds have quietly become a minor factor in the mediocre NL Central. Pending the outcome of the Cubs & Brewers games today, the Reds could find themselves as little as 6.5 games out of first place (if the Cubs lose) and just 5 behind the Brewers. The Cardinals are the other team in the NL Central that the Reds would have to overcome, as the Cards currently lead the Reds by 4.5 games.

Now I am not saying the Reds are going to make the comeback of all comebacks and win the NL Central, but a mediocre team of 82-80 did win the NL Central and World Series in 2006. This is the beauty of the long baseball season, and the Reds are finally making it interesting.