Not a lot of news this past week if you’re a Reds fan. Tony Womack appears to want the starting job at second base. I still don’t know why they don’t give Ryan Freel a chance there. I know he gives the club some flexibility by being able to play everywhere, but we’re also not giving him much of a chance. Imagine if he got to play one spot all year and in the process, he became a better player (at that spot) because of it. Looks like he’ll go another year without that chance.

We also lost out on Matt Morris as he shunned the Reds and went to play with Barry Bonds instead. Morris would have easily been our best pitcher, but he’s also been in decline the last few years. At one time he was a perrenial preseason Cy Young candidate, but that never quite happened. Then a bad shoulder later, and he’s looked pretty mortal. Nine million would have been a steep price, but it would have been nice to have a bona fide starter in the rotation.

It also looks like Ken Griffey, Jr. will play in the World Baseball Classic if he’s asked to play. Not sure if I like this idea. Griffey has yet to play a complete in Cincinnati since his first so piling real games on before the Reds season even starts isn’t great for the team. But with Griffey getting up there in years, this might be his only chance so I can’t blame him too much.

Reds William Bergolla and Ray Olmedo have been tearing it up down south in Winter Ball. Olmedo looked like he was going to surplant Barry Larkin at shortstop back in 2003 but he’s been limited recently because of an elbow problem. Unfortunately, EE (Edwin Encarnacion) has struggled in the Dominican League, but he’s only played in seven games. Not quite sure why he’s been limited.

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