Cincinnati Red Donald Lutz became the first German developed player to make it to the majors this week, though he is 0-for-5 so far. Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

When the Cincinnati Reds brought Donald Lutz up from the minors on Monday and employed him as a pinch-hitter that marked the first time a player from Germany had participated in a Major League game.

Lutz, 28, was actually born in Watertown, New York, which is upstate, slightly north of Syracuse, but he moved with his family to Friedberg, Germany as a 1-year-old. The 6-foot-3, 250-pound outfielder-first baseman made his debut against the St. Louis Cardinals Monday and through Thursday had appeared in two games. He was still looking for his first hit and was oh-for-five at the plate.

Lutz is just another example of how the world is shrinking in so many ways. Players in all sports can come from anywhere and somehow scouts in those sports find them if they have the talent. No one is suggesting Lutz is the next Dirk Nowitzki, but the fact that a German made it to the majors is less surprising in 2013 than it would have been even in 2005.

Yet for Lutz the odds were stacked about as high as the maximum number of chips at a $1,000 Las Vegas blackjack table. Lutz was lucky if he knew a strike from a ball before he was 14 when an older brother brought him to a Friedberg Braves practice. Who knew that there was a Friedberg Braves? Heck, how many people in the United States, who were raised with baseball the way Germans are raised with Volkswagens, knew that anybody in Germany not stationed on a U.S. military base played baseball?

At 15 Lutz showed some raw ability at a baseball training academy in Regensburg, Germany, an operation that Major League Baseball helps support.

We have seen a large influx of players to the National Hockey League and the NBA from European countries, but baseball lagged, particularly overseas. Lutz made his way to the Major League Baseball International European Academy in Tirrenia, Italy in 2006 and 2007 and that’s where the Reds saw him and signed him.

He’s paused at most of the team’s minor-league stops since then, including Billings, Daytona Beach, Bakersfield and Pensacola. Also, Lutz has been a member of the German National Team and played in that team’s games as it sought to qualify for the final rounds of the World Baseball Classic earlier this year.

Lutz was following his unlikely dream of reaching the majors and some other numbers illustrate just how unlikely that was. The Academy has showcased 57 players who have earned contracts with big-league organizations, but before Lutz only Alex Liddi of the Seattle Mariners had reached the majors.

There was a time when almost every single Major League player grew up in the United States. With a few rare exceptions of players such as Dolf Luque, the pitcher from Cuba who played from 1914 to 1935, and is in the Reds Hall of Fame, it wasn’t until the very late 1940s (into the first half of the 1950s) when Latin players began showing up in numbers and that inched Major League Baseball towards a more international flavor.

These days around 25 percent of big-league players are from Latin American places such as the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Curacao, Mexico, Nicaragua, Colombia, and Panama. There are also players from such countries as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Canada, Australia, Italy, Brazil, and the Netherlands. The game is more cosmopolitan than ever.

Donald Lutz doesn’t have superstar written all over him, and when certain injured Reds come off the disabled list, it’s likely he will be returned to the minors. But if Lutz never again inhales the air of a Major League clubhouse he can always say he made it to the top.

Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Johnny Cueto, sidelined by a minor muscle strain temporarily, has a variety of motions on the mound. Credit: Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports

When Johnny Cueto clutched his right, throwing arm on the mound, Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker wanted to look the other way and pretend that he didn’t see anything. That’s the kind of denial most big-league managers would love to indulge in when something goes haywire with one of their guys.

But there are more reality shows than fantasy shows on TV, so eventually Baker had to find out what was going on.

“I didn’t even want to go out there,” Baker said the other day when Cueto was placed on the 15-day disabled list.

Predicting the results of the baseball season is like long-term weather guessing. First come the forecasts and then the weather does whatever it wants anyway. The Reds are kind of in that situation at the moment. Just about everyone who ever watched nine innings predicted that Cincinnati would rule the National League Central Division this season.

But that was before left-fielder Ryan Ludwick dislocated his shoulder in the season’s first game. That was before set-up man Sean Marshall came up with a lame arm. And that was before Cueto felt his twinge. At the moment Baker was contemplating Cueto’s status in the universe the Reds were on a five-game losing streak and looking more fragile than formidable.

Going into a game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Baker was lamenting his bullpen situation–fearing a group of tired arms. He had already casually informed starter Bronson Arroyo that it would be really great if he pitched a complete game. Complete games from the starters was what Dr. Baker ordered to provide a break for the pen. In a perfect world he wouldn’t call to the pen for two or three days.

“Our bullpen is taxed,” Baker said. “Oh man, oh yeah, that would be wonderful, a complete game.  A couple of complete games would be even better.”

Baker must have been sending powerful messages because that night Arroyo went eight and the Reds won 4-2. The next night Homer Bailey went eight, shutting out the Phils on two hits over that span, although the game was suspended after nine at 0-0. When you get starting pitching like that the world looks like a better place.

But the Reds cannot afford to lose Cueto for any length of time. In 2012 he emerged as the staff ace and won 19 games. Cueto is 1-0 with a 2.60 earned run average and even in the game last weekend against the Pittsburgh Pirates when he got hurt he seemed to be cruising.

Cueto is from the Dominican Republic and his first language is Spanish. He spoke about his injury through an interpreter. He pointed to his right tricep to explain where the sudden pain hit him on the mound and then said the doctor’s diagnosis was that he has a minor back strain. Better the back than the arm probably.

Baker estimated that Cueto would miss perhaps four starts, an uncomfortable hit to the rotation. “We’re gonna miss him. We hate to lose Johnny period.” The Reds figure to bring up someone from AAA Louisville for one or more starts in Cueto’s place.

Cueto said the doctor told him he might only miss two starts, but he found that dispiriting enough. “This is unbelievable,” Cueto said. “I was feeling so good. Just one pitch I threw and that was it. God willing I will be better in five or six days.”

Cueto may be feeling better by the end of the week, but he will not immediately be tossed into a game without some time invested in regaining his rhythm. Still, missing Cueto for a week or two is a lot different than having him out for months. In weather predicting terms that’s like putting up with a light shower instead of a hurricane.

Arms raised, Cincinnati Reds Derrick Robinson signals to runner shortstop Zack Cozart after scoring the go-ahead run in a victory over Philadelphia on Jackie Robinson Day as all players wore No. 42. Credit: Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports

CINCINNATI–About three hours before the Cincinnati Reds-Philadelphia Phillies game at Great American Ball Park on Jackie Robinson Day throughout Major League Baseball, Reds rookie outfielder Derrick Robinson sat at his locker very pleased about the idea of wearing a jersey with No. 42 on it.

Monday, April 15, 2013, 66 years to the day after Jackie Robinson broke the Major League color barrier by suiting up for the Brooklyn Dodgers evgeryone playing wore 42. Much has changed in American society and the No. 42 is not only retired by the Dodgers, but by all teams. Except for one day a season. Derrick Robinson, who is African-American and normally wears 15, had not yet seen his home white Reds 42 jersey, but he was already talking about keeping it.

“It means a lot,” Derrick Robinson said of Jackie Robinson Day. “He did a lot for African-Americans. I’ve heard about the good things he did. It’s an honor to wear the jersey.”

Derrick Robinson grew up in Gainesville, Florida and he learned about Jackie Robinson at a young age, probably Little League age, from his dad.

“My father was a big in baseball and he let me know that African-Americans had opportunities because of this guy,” Derrick Robinson said. “I’ve been asked if I am related to Jackie Robinson. I take that as a compliment.”

Jackie Robinson, who was a Hall of Fame player once he got the chance to show the National League that he–and other black players–belonged, died in 1972. He has grown into an iconic figure of the game, both because of what he symbolized in terms of equal opportunity and because of the courage he demonstrated as a pioneer.

Reds manager Dusty Baker, one of a small number of African-American managers in the big leagues, has been around the majors since 1968, but never met Jackie Robinson. However, when he was with the Dodgers the team played an exhibition game against UCLA, Robinson’s alma mater, on the day the school dedicated its field to him. Baker met Rachel Robinson, Jackie’s widow, Sharon Robinson, his daughter, and Mack Robinson, Jackie’s famous track star brother.

“I’ve got a Jackie Robinson wall at my house,” Baker said. “My son (14-year-old Darren) wants to go to UCLA and play second base.”

Reds left-fielder Chris Heisey was almost enthusiastic about wearing the Robinson 42 as any of the African-American players. At 28, the Robinson 1947 era is ancient history to him. He grew up playing baseball with black kids and said everyone just played.

“It is hard for me to understand it,” Heisey said of a time period in America’s past where racial tensions were so intense that whites and blacks appearing on the same field created turmoil. “We would never have dreamed of treating anyone on the field any differently.

Several things were different on the field Monday. The number 42 was stencilled on the back of the mound in yellow. A trailer for the new movie “42″ about Jackie Robinson, was shown on the video board. On the roster and blank box score distributed in the press box every player’s number was 42.

The game was a pitcher’s duel between Cincinnati’s Bronson Arroyo and Philadelphia’s Cliff Lee. The score was 2-2 going into the bottom of the eighth inning. Baker pinch-hit Derrick Robinson for Arroyo and Robinson reached first on a 50-foot single off reliever Jeremy Horst.

“I went up to get on base,” Robinson said. “I was going to bunt on the first pitch, but it ended up being a little swinging bunt. It worked out perfectly.”

Robinson triggered a two-run inning that included a sacrifice by Shin-Soo-Choo, a double by Zack Cozart, an intentional walk to Joey Votto, and then a single by second baseman Brandon Phillips. Earlier in the game Phillips made a diving stop on Phillies veteran Jimmy Rollins–both are African-American–and Phillips said Rollins teased him. “How are you gonna rob me on Jackie Robinson day?” As if he would have let the ball go any other day, Phillipes joked.

When Robinson crossed the plate he represented the go-ahead run, which became the winning run, and with Cozart following the score became 4-2. Yes, 4-2 on 42 day.

“That’s kind of funny,” Phillips said of Robinson getting the winning run. “We were talking about it in the dugout. It’s a beautiful thing.”

If anyone thought Hollywood went too Hollywood on 42, let them try to digest this real-life development. An African-American baseball player named Robinson wearing 42 on his back scored the winning run for his team on Jackie Robinson Day and helped create a final score of 4-2.

There was one minor problem, however. The team collected all of the 42 jerseys, to be set aside for next year. Derrick Robinson quietly asked if he could keep his. A few minutes later a member of the clubhouse staff handed him the folded-over jersey at his locker.

“I’m going to mail this back home to my parents in Florida,” Robinson said. “I think I’m going to have it framed.”

The smiling Robinson was almost the only one left in the clubhouse. He fingered the jersey and stuffed it into a carry bag, then zipped it closed.

Cincinnati Reds power-hitting left fielder Ryan Ludwick didn’t make it out of the third inning on opening day before tearing cartilage in his right shoulder. Ludwick may miss three months. Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

CINCINNATI–A couple of hours before the Cincinnati Reds took the field at Great American Ball Park for their season opener against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim the other day, manager Dusty Baker was asked what he thought about all of the pre-season prognosicators picking his team to not only win the National League Central Division, but possibly become a World Series team in 2013.

The Reds won the division title and won 97 games last year. They came out of spring training looking every bit as tough and no one was questioning the raves about the Reds’ chances to do something special this year. Their roster was definitely built for it. Baker, who has also managed the San Francisco Giants and the Chicago Cubs, and began his Major League playing career as an outfielder for the Atlanta Braves in 1968, was not one of the people who was going to say things shaped up just ducky. He has been around for too long and too much reality has interfered with supposed dream seasons.

“It doesn’t matter,” Baker said of the feel-good prediction festival. “No. 1, I don’t read it. You’ve got to play on the field. You don’t play based on what the experts say. It’s a different year.”

The Reds had a great regular season in 2012, earned a bye past the wild-card threats, and then lost a playoff series in five games to the Series-winning Giants after leading two games to zero.

All-Star outfielder Jay Bruce said Monday that he has put the disappointment on the shelf and thinks the team has, too.

“We didn’t do what we had to do,” Bruce said. “We learned from it and put it  behind us. In baseball you have to have a short memory. Expectations can’t be any higher.”

Bruce’s teammate Brandon Phillips did not completely agree with his assessment. The second baseman said he has not put the playoff loss behind him at all. In fact, in the days leading up to the season opener Phillips was tweeting out to Reds fans almost in apologetic fashion for losing to the Giants last fall.

“I think we owe it to the city to bring a championship back to Cincinnati,” Phillips said. “We should have went further than we did (in the playoffs). It still hurts me.”

It probably still hurts Baker, as well. He has accomplished everything he wanted to do in the sport, including making an All-Star team and winning a championship as a player. He has reached the World Series as a manager, but not won it. He ended last season with some scary health problems and although he is svelter and well now he is also in his 60s and probably is not going to be managing a whole bunch more years.

When it comes to in-season talk Baker is the ultimate one-game-at-a-time guy. It’s boring, but he really works hard to prevent himself from thinking too far ahead. He understands that not only is it a long, 162-game season, but that things can change in an eyeblink. It only took until the third inning of the first game of the season for that adage to be proven true.

Left-fielder Ryan Ludwick, a very important bat in the order, was rounding second and heading into third and chose to slide head-first into the bag, arms out-stretched. Ludwick’s hand caught in the dirt and he tore cartilage in his right shoulder. After he was declared safe at third everyone in the park kind of wondered why he called time out and began wandering off the base. Nobody on the Reds bench had a clue anything was wrong until Ludwick signaled for assistance.

Baker took one look at Ludwick and he saw bad news heading his way.

“You hate to see a guy coming off the field holding his arm like that,” Baker said.

Rudwick tore cartilage and after consulting with doctors he is expected to be out for three months. This is a serious loss for the Reds. They were built just right to win, but they don’t have the depth to take care of this predicament very easily. Chris Heisey came into the game to replace Ludwick and he is the game-by-game solution for now, but he doesn’t have nearly as much power as Ludwick and on this team he was better suited to be the fourth outfielder and pinch-hit.

Cincinnati has one of the most electrifying players in their chain in young outfielder Billy Hamilton, who set a minor-league base-stealing record last year with 155. But the front office does not believe Hamilton is ready for Major League pitching. The recent history of teams gambling on prospects at a young age has been swell if you look at Mike Trout of the Angels and Bryce Harper of the Nationals last year. But rushing guys to the big leagues includes risk and often fails.

You can’t know until you try, though. Hamilton should play in Louisville for a month and see what he does in AAA. Then if he really is playing terrific ball, bring him up and take a shot.

Right now, though, it looks as if Baker was correct not to believe everything sports reporters write.

With news that Ryan Ludwick would need to undergo surgery, Xavier Paul (pictured) could potentially see more playing time in Cincinnati. (Image Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports)

News stemming from today’s MRI on left fielder Ryan Ludwick’s shoulder didn’t come back as positive as the Cincinnati Reds were hoping, as it appears that he tore cartilage when he dislocated the shoulder sliding into third base on Opening Day. Ludwick will undergo surgery tomorrow, according to NBC Sports’s Aaron Gleeman, and his return is uncertain. The team has placed him on the 15 Day DL, but have yet to make a corresponding roster move.

Chris Heisey came into yesterday’s game to replace Ludwick and figures to get the bulk of the now-available playing time, at least initially, but as I mentioned yesterday he isn’t necessarily an ideal candidate to play everyday. Billy Hamilton’s name has already been tossed out, as he could play center field allowing Shin-Soo Choo to slide over to left, but that move doesn’t appear likely anytime soon. The Reds seem to want Hamilton to get some additional experience in the minors before he steps into the lineup, as they should.

One other option that hasn’t been discussed much could be Xavier Paul. Paul joined the Reds early last July, having spent the first half of the 2012 season playing for Washington’s Triple-A affiliate. In 55 games over the remainder of the season he’d hit .314/.379/.465, coming mostly off the bench. The production was a vast improvement over his career mark – .246/.288/.341 heading into the 2012 season – but it was such a small sample, just 96 PA, that we can’t infer much from it. Paul has some speed and offers some defensive versatility, so he could see some additional playing time in the coming weeks.

Ludwick’s injury will certainly tap the Reds lineup of some power, but if the team can find an option capable of getting on base with regularity while playing good defense, they must be able to overcome his absence for awhile.

A general view of the field during Opening Day ceremonies between the Cincinnati Reds and the Los Angeles Angels at Great American Ball Park for Cincinnati’s 137th opening day. Credit: Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports

CINCINNATI–Opening day of the baseball season means more in Cincinnati than anywhere else. It is as close to being an official holiday as possible without being official. Banks are still open and mail is still delivered, but if you skip school or work for the Cincinnati Reds’ first game of the season people understand. After all, they throw a parade here to welcome the sport back after winter hiatus.

Monday, team great George Foster was the Grand Marshal of the 94th Findley Market Opening Day Parade. It was also the 137th opening day in team history, although the first interleague opening, versus the American League Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, in Major League history. The day was sunny, if not particularly warm, with the first-pitch, 4:11-p.m. temperature at 47 degrees. The attendance of 43,168 set a Great American Ball Park record for a regular-season game.

You can’t play for the Reds very long before the tradition seeps in.

“It’s a holiday here,” said Cincinnati right-fielder Jay Bruce. “It’s very special. Regardless of who you’re playing, it’s still opening day in Cincinnati.”

Cincinnati is considered the birthplace of professional baseball, with the Cincinnati Red Stockings dating to 1869, and that’s where some of the attachment comes from. Throughout the 20th century, especially the first half of it, opening day in all big-league towns carried notable cache. What Cincinnati does to celebrate opening day represents more a lack of change than it does introduction of the new. In other words, the other cities in the sport used to be more like Cincinnati in embracing opening day, but let their traditions fall by the wayside.

One indicator of how Cincinnati still cares was the plaque sitting on Angels manager Mike Scioscia’s desk in the visiting manager’s office. It was dated and presented in “special appreciation.” It was hard to tell just what for exactly–showing up? Thanking him for being part of Cincinnati’s opening day? After all the Reds did need an opponent. Scioscia gazed at the plaque and said, “That’s pretty cool.” It’s possible that plaque was just taking note of the “first,” the first National League-American cross-pollinated opener.

Once upon a time there was only one first pitch before a game. Nowadays there can be up to three, it seems. On this day, however, the Reds kept the cap on and the official ceremonial first pitch was tossed by Joe Torre. The one-time star player and prominent manager most recently completed duties handling the United States team in the World Baseball Classic. Torre wore his USA uniform and the designated catcher of his pitch was Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips, who played for that squad. Torre is 72 and never was a pitcher, so he moved in from the mound a bit to take his toss.

Along the first base side and the third base side the Great American Ball Park field featured markings reading “Opening Day” and red, white and blue bunting. Real red, white and blue bunting hung from the front of the balcony levels.

Last year Todd Frazier was a rookie trying to make the team. He began the season as a hot pinch-hitter and a back-up to Joey Votto at first base and Scott Rolen at third base. At different times both Votto and Rolen got hurt and Frazier was the key fill-in. This year he is the Reds’ starting third baseman, so he brought an excited, glad-to-be-part-of-it outlook to opening day.

“It’s special,” Frazier said. “It’s like a mecca. It’s just another thing off the bucket list.”

While so many parts of the day were scripted, the actual play was not. The best part of opening day is when the home team wins and that did not happen. Despite all of the Reds’ careful planning, they lost to the Angels, 3-1. It took 13 innings and 4 hours and 45 minutes to complete the loss, too. After a long day of parading and partying, Reds fans ran out of energy before the players, leaving the ballpark in droves as the game went on. From a record-setting crowd at the start, the team may have set a record at the end for fewest fans left at the final out.

The only thing opening day was missing in Cincinnati was a happy ending.

Ryan Ludwick was helped off the field this afternoon after separating his right shoulder sliding into third base. (Image Credit: Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports)

It’s tough to fault a guy for giving a full effort on Opening Day, even if he does separate his own shoulder in doing so. Take Cincinnati Reds left fielder Ryan Ludwick, for instance.

The 34 year old returned to Cincinnati on a two year deal this past December, brought back to help offer some protection in the middle the lineup behind Jay Bruce and Joey Votto. In 472 PA last season Ludwick hit .275/.346/.531, adding 26 HR and 80 RBI. The Reds had a deep lineup and Ludwick was a big part of it. There was hope he’d be able to fill a similar role this year.

Ludwick separated his right shoulder sliding into third base during this afternoon’s game against the Los Angeles Angels. MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon reports that he’ll undergo an MRI tomorrow to determine the extent of the injury.

Replacing Ludwick during the 3rd inning of today’s game was Chris Heisey, who likely stands to benefit most from the available playing time while Ludwick is out. Heisey is a career .265/.315/.401 hitter over parts of three seasons. Each of the past two he’s earned more than 300 plate appearances. He doesn’t walk much and has shown inconsistent power, so it’s unclear if the Reds are willing to give him the starting role outright if Ludwick is going to miss a significant amount of time. He’s likely better suited for more of a platoon role.

Cincinnati could take a look at what’s available – a player like Casper Wells could be available and a fit – or they could also give Todd Frazier some additional time in left (with Jack Hannahan playing more at third). Top prospect Billy Hamilton is being converted into an outfielder, but he doesn’t appear likely to join the Reds active roster anytime soon. He could certainly benefit from some time in the minors first.

There appears to be options for the Reds, depending on how long Ludwick will be out. It’s merely a question of what direction does the team decide they’d like to go.

After missing a chunk of time with a knee injury and limping (slightly) into the post-season in 2012, Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto should be back to his All-Star form this season. Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

As well as the Cincinnati Reds played last summer during the regular season, adapting and overcoming injuries, they couldn’t play better in 2013. But they can play longer and that’s the goal and likelihood. The Reds won 97 games and the National League Central Division title last year, but they got knocked out of the playoffs early by the eventual World Series champion San Francisco Giants after leading the series 2-0.

They accomplished what they did with star Joey Votto missing a chunk of the summer with injury and with starting third baseman Scott Rolen missing time with injury.

The two biggest things on the Reds’ minds in the off-season came to pass in a way. One was moving Drew Stubbs out of center field to the Cleveland Indians because he kept striking out too much and used up his chances. The other was not moving star closer Aroldis Chapman out of the bullpen and into the starting rotation. Well into spring training it seemed the Reds were committed making the Chapman move and then, out of nowhere, Chapman announced maybe should stay as the closer where he was an All-Star last year. That was probably the best plan for the team.

Shin-Soo Choo came over to the Reds from the Indians in the Stubbs deal, but no one seems to think that he can play center adeptly enough. So there may be some shuffling going on. Todd Frazier was a versatile rookie last year and he is starting at third. The rest of the starting lineup is in intact and the starting rotation, led by scheduled opening day hurler Johnny Cueto, looks tough.

St. Louis residents like to pride themselves on being just about the most enthusiastic and knowledgeable fans, and just about every year the Cardinals reward them with a contending team. Losing starter Chris Carpenter for the season and probably forever to injury, is not going to help the cause. The Cards are pretty solid all around, but some regulars like Carlos Beltran and Rafael Furcal (both going on 36) may be showing signs of age. Right now Furcal, David Freese and closer reliever Jason Motte are on the disabled list.

It doesn’t seem as if the Cardinals closed the gap on the Reds during the off-season, but they could eke into the playoffs and make some noise, which they did last year a year after winning the Series as a long-shot.

The Milwaukee Brewers suffered a talent drain after they won the division title two years ago and they are now seemingly a .500 team. Star Ryan Braun is the best player on the team, but now that his name has surfaced in the Biogenesis Clinic investigation you have to wonder if he will make it through the season unscathed and unbothered or Major League Baseball will end up suspending him for patronizing the wrong business at the wrong time. Losing Braun would pretty much doom the Brewers to a life as the second coming of the Houston Astros.

Meanwhile, if you ever had any fondness in your heart for the Pittsburgh Pirates, even if it was long ago when Roberto Clemente was playing, you should throw a little love Pittsburgh’s way in hopes that they can finally end their 20-year streak of sub-.500 finishes. They were close last year at 79-83 after a late-season collapse. But it’s got to happen soon or the Pirates will be dropped to AAA.

And then there are the Cubs. Last year Chicago finished 61-101. They were pretty horrible. Any Cubs fan that thought Theo Epstein was going to come over from the Red Sox, wave a magic wand, and everything would be all right, was a tad optimistic. It was obvious from the start that rebuilding was not going to be accomplished overnight. (Of course what is the definition of overnight in the context of going 105 years without a World Series title–five years?). Checking out the Cubs roster can be pretty demoralizing. They really don’t have more than two or three guys that seem likely to cause any excitement in the batting order.

It also seems that anyone in the pitching rotation positively seems capable of winning eight games. Many more from any individual except maybe a healthy Matt Garza would be a bonus.

Wrigley Field will be 100 years old in 2014 and no doubt the Cubs want to put together a smashing celebration. Just maybe they’ll be able to field a spicier lineup by then.

This is how the NL Central Division will look: 1) Cincinnati Reds; 2) St. Louis Cardinals; 3) Pittsburgh Pirates; 4) Milwaukee Brewers; 5) Chicago Cubs. 6) Houston Astros, in memoriam after being forcibly moved to the American League West Division where they can finish last instead.

Dusty Baker has taken a lot of flack of “ruining” Mark Prior’s career, but he’ll now have some say in Prior’s latest comeback attempt. (Image Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)

Mark Prior pitched an inning for the Cincinnati Reds in spring training Thursday. As far as I know he didn’t clutch his right arm, right shoulder, groin, knee, or any other part of his body in pain when the inning was over. It was a routine inning, no runs allowed, not hits permitted, but then no inning that Mark Prior pitches at this stage of his life, seven years after his last appearance for the Chicago Cubs, could be termed routine.

The one-time University of Southern California phenomenon, high pick in the draft, and All-Star in Chicago, has a list of injuries longer than his years of pitching, but one thing you’ve got to give him credit for is perseverance. He won’t give up. He won’t quit. He fights on.

I believe I wrote similar words a year ago, or at least of the same sentiment, when Prior signed a minor league contract with the Boston Red Sox. By August the Red Sox had cut him.

On March 1, 2013, Prior signed a minor league contract with the Reds. If nothing else, manager Dusty Baker, who was the Cubs manager when Prior played for them, must have spoken up for him and said something like “Give the kid a chance.” Only Prior is no longer a kid. He is in his early 30s.

Prior was drafted by the Cubs as a likely future ace. He played for the National League squad in the Windy City from 2002 to 2006. His lifetime Major League record is 42-29 and he has a 3.51 earned run average. Prior made millions of dollars and could have taken his depression to a mountain retreat or an ocean hideaway to veg out long ago if he wanted to–he could afford it. Instead, every time the calendar flips a page, there is Prior, trying to pitch for someone. If it’s not the San Diego Padres, it’s a team in the Frontier League affiliated with no big-league club.

Some will say Baker owes Prior. Baker has been blamed for overusing young pitchers, causing them injuries, but I never bought into that. Pitchers get hurt all of the time in all sorts of ways and unfortunately for Prior even after he seems cured he tears something else, rips something anew and goes back on the unable-to-perform list, gets released by his latest employer, rehabs, and works himself back into condition and gives it another go.

Will Prior be on the Reds’ final roster when the team’s opening day comes April 1? Wouldn’t bet on it. Will Prior still belong to the Reds and be shuffled to a minor-league outpost? That seems more likely. It’s hard not to root for Prior to make a comeback that ultimately finds him on a big-league club once again. It doesn’t sound as if he is going to surrender to his body’s aches before that happens. On the day that Prior walks onto the mound to throw an inning for the Reds, or any other Major League team, in a game that counts for real, it will be a prized moment for him. Let’s hope he doesn’t get too misty-eyed to throw the ball over the plate.

It will also be a special moment for baseball. Probably less than half of the fans in the ballpark will comprehend what Prior accomplished just by getting there. That will be Prior’s fantasy come to life. But Prior’s determined battle to over injury and buy himself another chance with sweat equity will be worthy of a standing ovation from all of us who at one time strived and fell short or strived and through our own will made it back to the top from the bottom.

Oct 6, 2012; San Francisco, CA, USA; Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman (54) pitches the ball against the San Francisco Giants during the ninth inning of game one of the 2012 NLDS at AT

Aroldis Chapman was interviewed by local media in Cincinnati yesterday and was asked about his preference as to whether he would like to start or continue as a closer. He answer was simple and to the point; he wants to be the closer. Chapman thrived in the role last year, going 5-5 with a 1.51 ERA, while striking out 122 and notching 38 saves for the NL Central Champion Reds.

Chapman has been pitching this spring as a starter. He pitched four innings yesterday and allowed only one run on two hits. He also walked three and struck out two. He was quoted after the game as saying:

“Truthfully, I would like to be a closer, but that’s not in my hands. In the beginning when I started closing, it was something I didn’t know about, but as I started throwing and getting into the late part of the game, when the game is more exciting, I kind of liked it. The adrenaline goes up. I would like to be in that situation. But that’s something I can’t control. I want to sit down and concentrate on whatever they (Reds) want me to do.”

Reds manager Dusty Baker would also like him to continue closing out games, but GM Walt Jocketty and others with the Reds would like to see what he can do in the rotation. The Reds signed the Cuban born southpaw to a 6 yr/$30.5 mil deal in January 2010 and likely want to see if they can turn that investment into a top of the rotation type of arm.

Chapman said that if he starts, he will use different pitches and a different approach:

“When you’re a starter, you start using your pitches in a different way. You try to save energy. When you save energy, you use speed as the game demands you. Later in the game, you throw harder. The game dictates how hard you throw.”

Chapman likely wants to get his mind, body and mechanics ready for whichever position Cincinnati chooses him to be in this year. Can’t blame the guy for that, but either way, he’ll be firing 100 mph fastball at some point this year.