This new and (supposedly) improved bunch of Reds looked out of sorts in the field, at the plate, and on the bases – just like their 2008 brethren.

Aaron Harang (0-1) labored through 114 pitches, lasting just five innings, in his fourth consecutive Opening Day start. The Mets stranded six runners through four innings before Daniel Murphy got the scoring underway in the top of the 5^th with his second career home run – a 400 foot blast over the right field wall. Murphy would add an RBI groundout to first the following inning. Those two runs were all the Mets would need.

Johan Santana (1-0) held the Reds in check through 5 2/3, giving up just three hits while striking out seven. Cincinnati mounted a minor threat off of Santana in the bottom of the 6^th when Darnell McDonald and Joey Votto led off the inning with back-to-back singles. A throwing error by Mets centerfielder Carlos Beltran put the pair in scoring position with no out, but the Reds were unable to deliver anything beyond a run-scoring Brandon Phillips sacrifice fly. Met relievers Sean Green, JJ Putz, and Francisco Rodriguez combined to pitch 3 1/3 innings of hitless baseball to close the door on the new-look Reds.

Defensively, the Reds’ outfield was as ugly as the rainy weather, which delayed the game’s start by 13 minutes. Darnell McDonald fumbled around centerfield and the corner outfielders, Jerry Hairston and Jay Bruce, conspired with infielders Brandon Phillips and Alex Gonzalez in the 6th to allow a pair of shallow bloopers to fall to the earth unobstructed.

The Reds are off Tuesday, which will hopefully provide time for the weather – and the Reds’ bats – to heat up.

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But, thanks to a youth movement led by sophomore sluggers Joey Votto and Jay Bruce, Reds fans are cautiously optimistic that 2009 will be the year the team parts ways with the Basement Bucos and moves up the NL Central ladder.

How many times will the victory fireworks be seen at GABP in 2009?

In case you slept through Spring Training, here’s what you need to know to get ready for the upcoming Reds season, in tiny bite-sized morsels.

Gone (But only forgotten if the Reds win at least 80 games)

Depending on who you ask in Cincinnati, in the first half of 2008, Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey, Jr. accounted for either 100% of the Reds offensive production or 100% of the Reds problems. Now that they have both been dispatched to separate coasts (Griffey to Seattle and Dunn to Washington), the Reds could be hard pressed to replace Dunn’s perennial 40+ HRs/100+ RBIs and Griffey’s offense, defense, clubhouse presence, scoreboard highlight montage.

Program…you won’t know the players without a program!

Willy Taveras migrates from Colorado to Cincinnati to play centerfield and bat leadoff for the Reds. Taveras has two calling cards: blazing speed and an embarrassing OBP (.296 in 2008). The Reds hope he can lose the latter and use the former en route to crossing the plate about 125 times this year.

Ramon Hernandez, acquired from the Orioles during the Winter Meetings, gives the Reds a reliable backstop who can handle the bat (.263 career average).

Veteran left-handed reliever Arthur Rhodes joins the bullpen to fill the void of “aging pitcher hated by all Reds fans” that was created when Mike Stanton was released.

The I-71 All-Stars

Homer Bailey will start the 2009 season in Louisville after losing the battle for the fifth spot in the rotation to Micah Owings. Bailey, reliever Bill Bray and utility man Adam Rosales, should each get a chance to return to Cincinnati at some point during the first half of the season.

Fresh from the farm

At some point Marty Brennaman will make the following call. “Ground ball to third base, Encarnacion is up with it…and he throws it over Yonder!” The Yonder in this case being first baseman Yonder Alonso, the Reds’ 2008 #1 draft pick out of the University of Miami. Just how quickly Yonder makes it to Great American depends on his bat. If the Reds find themselves mired in another hopeless losing season by August, and Alonso continues to rake, fans could be seeing the Reds’ top prospect sooner than later.

Other Reds who may make their Major League debut in 2009 include Carlos Fisher (RP) and former first-round pick Drew Stubbs (CF).

It could be a long season if…

You can take your pick from a number of reasons. If Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, or Johnny Cueto struggle through a sophomore slump. If Willy Taveras fails to get on base consistently. If the left-field platoon of Chris Dickerson and Jerry Hairston can’t produce runs. If Edinson Volquez is unable to replicate his 2008 performance. If Bronson Arroyo and Aaron Harang look more like 4th and 5th starters instead of top-of-the-rotation guys. If Micah Owings and Homer Bailey are unable to hold down the 5^th spot in the rotation. If Edwin Encarnacion has more errors than home runs. And, finally, if Alex Gonzalez no longer has the skills to play shortstop after missing nearly two years.

Even if the team stinks…

Fans will still have a few reasons to go to the ballpark. For starters, the scoreboard should look good. The Reds upgraded the scoreboard in left field with a high definition video board during the offseason. Hopefully Dusty Baker won’t be channeling legendary Bull Durham manager Bill Riggins by the third week of the season (“what do we need a scoreboard for, we haven’t scored any runs all season!”).

There’s also the ever-popular bobble heads. This year’s lineup includes Jay Bruce, Joey Votto, and Brandon Phillips – any of which should command at least a 20-spot on E-Bay.

Bottom Line

The odds of the Reds having another losing season in 2009 seem better than the odds of contending for a playoff spot. There are just too many uncertainties with the team at this time. While they may not be this year’s Tampa Bay Rays, I do not believe they will be this year’s Washington Nationals either.

A third place finish in the NL Central, and something along the lines of an 84-78 record could be all the Reds have to show for the 2009 season. 2010 on the other hand…

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