1) Pitchers and catchers report. No other sport has words like that, that signify the relative closeness of the beginning of the season. Football doesn't have "tackles and guards report," basketball doesn't have "point guards and backup centers report," and hockey usually has a lockout going on when camp is supposed to begin so it doesn't matter.
We've got baseball, at least in some form, even if it's 29 degrees here as I type this. It might be idle games of catch, monotonous bullpen sessions, and the usual "so-and-so is in the best shape of his career" stories that fill space in every Major League city as we check off the days between now and real baseball being played, but it's baseball. And any baseball > no baseball.
It'll also be a boring spring training, knock on wood. Barring injury (again, knock on wood), the pressing storylines this spring training are pretty limited. Shin Soo Choo's progress in center is worth monitoring, as is Aroldis Chapman's transition back to being a starter. Any remnants of the Votto and Cueto injuries will be worth talking about, at least early on. Billy Hamilton is always fun to monitor. And we might get a resolution on the Rolen situation today. But other than that....this team is set. Most of us could probably accurately predict what the Opening Day lineup is going to be and many of us, once Rolen's decision is known, could probably guess what the 25-man roster is going to look like. There aren't many open job, there isn't much competition, and we're not talking ourselves into the crappy fifth starter turning his career around and making the team like we have in years past.
This is going to be boring. And boring is good.
2) Concerns. Let's list them. What could go wrong this season that didn't last year? I start with Ludwick. If he duplicates his 2012, both he and the Reds will be fine. But what if, in a year where he turns 35, he reverts to his 2010 and 2011 form? He was very good in the playoffs (three homers), but from August 18th until the end of the regular season last year, he hit just one homer. He wasn't great in the first half, and he'll be asked to carry a bigger load this season. If he regresses, the Reds will have a major problem in the middle of the lineup, and that could disrupt the work they've done to fix the top of the lineup.
The starting pitching depth will be tested. I'll keep typing that, as I did last season, so it will continue to be wrong. Five pitchers won't make 161 starts again in 2013. What kind of shape is this team in when injuries become a factor? And who among the front four takes a step backward in 2013?
The bench. It will probably be better because it won't be populated by people named "Cairo" or "Valdez," and I'd like to think we've seen the last of the Willie Harrises. They get Xavier Paul for a whole season, Chris Heisey is a nice fourth or fifth outfielder, but their backup infielders don't elicit much excitement.
Todd Frazier. I know, sacrilege, especially since Todd Frazier is the only Reds player who gets his own @MoEgger1530 Tweets during the season. But is he equipped to play every single day? What do we make of how slow his bat looked in September? Has he already reached his ceiling? And will anybody try to die around him this season?
There are a few more....I'd like to see Johnny Cueto pitch in a game before I stop worrying about his oblique, and it'd be nice for their other catcher not named "Hanigan" to pull his weight, plus there's the added pressure of this season being judged by how they fare in October. But while concerns exist, it's as airtight a Reds team as I can remember, at least on day one of what will hopefully be a very uneventful spring.
3) Kentucky v. Florida. Second-best game of the night in college hoops. (As good as the games atop the Big Ten have been, Michigan/Michigan State has to be the headliner) It's a statement game for the Wildcats, who are back in the top 25 but still mostly lurking under the national radar. Kentucky is not playing great, but they're playing well enough. They'll have to be much better to win in Gainesville, and finally get a needed high-quality win.
4) Please Jesus, let the Bearcats win tonight. I can't take anymore "Fire Mick" Tweets. I can't waste any more energy talking about how lazy that argument is, and how the University of Cincinnati would be the nation's laughingstock if it removed the man who rebuilt the program and just signed a top-20 recruit. I also am running out of energy talking about how this school is in no financial position to pay a guy to not coach. Sweet Jesus, please let the Bearcats beat Villanova tonight so my timeline can be peaceful. I don't ask for much. Thank you.
I actually expect UC to play pretty well tonight. They usually rally when it seems like the walls are closing in, both indivudually and collectively. This feels a little like the end of the 2011 season, when it seemed like a collapse was imminent. I don't think we're to that point yet, but they've typically done a good job of winning games like this. I'm betting they play very well tonight.
5) Wrestling will no longer be an Olympic Sport. But trampolining will be? Got it.
