[More Cowbell]

I'm going to second Fox and tell everyone to take your little personal thing to pm's, and leave this thread for discussing the actual topic, the Cincinnati Reds.

Back on topic, I'm going to disagree with the majority opinion on here. I think the key this year is not pitching, but hitting. Volquez was one of the best in the league last year, and Cueto should continue to get better as he matures. Harang should bounce back with a solid year, and Owings will be the best 5th starter they've had in a while. Arroyo is the only real concern I have, but then 4 out of 5 ain't bad! And Homer Bailey will be waiting in the wings should Arroyo falter.

The bullpen should be strong too, with Jared Burton, Arthur Rhodes, and David Weathers setting up for Francisco Cordero. Hopefully Cordero improves upon a subpar year last season.

The hitting is what worries me. Before spring training, the everyday lineup looked to be the team's weak link, and the spring games bore this out. The Reds really struggled to score in a lot of games, and I hope that doesn't carry over into the season. Best case scenario involves Tavares getting on base a lot and using his speed, Votto continuing to develop into an RBI machine, and Bruce bashing a ton of homers. Hopefully Phillips will remember that he's not a power hitter, and gets back to driving the ball to the opposite field and getting lots of doubles.

No matter what my worries, with April always comes perpetual optimism! Go Reds!!!!