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Reading too much into Cincinnati’s 10-4 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night could lead one to conclude GM Wayne Krivsky made huge mistakes in trading for Bill Bray, Rheal Cormier, Gary Majewski, and Kyle Loshe. After all, the bullpen torched a 4-4 game and turned it into a rout.

But that conclusion would be disingenuous. The Reds defense, at times questionable but capable of amazing plays, bumbled away the top of the seventh inning with two disasterous plays. After Ryan Freel dropped a fly ball in the right-field corner and newcomer Royce Clayton failed to finish off an inning-killing double play, two walks and a bases-clearing double did the Reds in.

Perhaps Krivsky overcompensated and gave up too much for a few late-inning arms. Perhaps the bullpen didn’t need this much attention and now the rest of the ballclub has paid a price. Perhaps the Reds, predicted to finsih last in a weak NL Central, have overplayed their hand.

Maybe the presence of Austin Kearns and Felipe Lopez in the field makes a difference and the Reds get out of the inning. But who is to say the previous bullpen doesnt find a way to give it up in the eighth or ninth? Krivsky knew he had a bullpen that couldn’t reach the postseason. So he did something about it.

Popularity: 17% [?]

Bronson Arroyo’s start with the Cincinnati Reds has been as fantastic a debut as any player has had with a new team in recent memory. Effective and efficient starting pitching coupled with a surprisingly hot bat has quickly lifted Arroyo to psuedo cult hero status among the Reds faithful.

But more significant than his individual performance has been the two Reds victories when Arroyo takes the ball. Saying nothing to diminish the early accomplishments of the Reds this season - certainly other guys such as Adam Dunn, Ken Griffey Jr., and Felipe Lopez have contributed to the wins. But the sense about this Reds season is that despite having to give up Wily Mo Pena, Cincinnati’s front office is capable of making good things happen on the field.

And that has changed because of Arroyo.

Popularity: 20% [?]

Firing manager Dave Miley and pitching coach Don Gullett may seem like the appropriate band-aid to stop the bleeding to Reds management, but typically, changes like these only bring about short-term improvements. Tuesday’s 11-4 win over St. Louis with Jerry Narron as interim manager showed moves such as these can work — but the tourniquet needed to rebuild the franchise back into one of MLB’s flagship organizations requires more than a quick fix in the coaching ranks. Two burning questions for Reds management to address over the rest of the season:

Who are the Cincinnati Reds of today?

The Reds field an interesting mix of young (Dunn, Lopez, Pena) and veteran (Griffey, Casey, Randa) players that keep the franchise in limbo. A struggling ballclub may look to rebuild for the future, but a weak minor league system doesn’t offer much hope for the future, so the veterans stay. Rebuilding also means conceeding the season and perhaps the next couple of seasons, and based on the Reds actions in the offseason, this decision didn’t appear on the horizon as guys like Milton were signed to mult-year deals. All indications show they’ll move slowly in this area — but, if the right prospects can be had, the Reds may need to unload some of the veterans.

What type of team will the Reds be in three years?

Perhaps the above problems result in the Reds inability to answer this question for themselves, but until Reds management sees itself as a premier franchise, they’ll continue to make small-town decisions regardless of budget constraints. But one thing remains clear, the Reds need to establish which players on the current roster should be on the roster in 2008. Sign them, find the coaches that complement their skills, and build around them. Everyone else becomes expendable. If those players aren’t on the roster — go out and find them.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Drawing an immediate connection between the release of Danny Graves and the Reds three-game sweep of the Washington Nationals would disrespect the effort by Cincinnati to turn around an awful season. It seemed everytime the Reds hit the hypothetical bottom, a new depth would be reached, whether it would manifest itself as a critical baserunning blunder or another blown lead. On Sunday, Danny Graves brought the team to its knees. In the past three days, his former teammates have begun digging themselves out of the hole.

The sweep couldn’t have come at a better time. Perhaps conversations about the Reds will move back to the on-the-field action.

Popularity: 8% [?]

The torrent of boos that rained down upon Danny Graves on Sunday afternoon during the ninth inning of the Reds 9-2 loss against Cleveland represented every bit the level of frustration fans have been feeling about the team so far in 2005. Graves surrendered five runs on four hits while retiring only one hitter as Cleveland’s bats woke up to put the game out of reach in the final frame. By the time it ended, the crowd emptied to the point where those remaining had to be either Indians fans or simply awestruck by the latest meltdown by the Reds pitching staff.

But despite the exodus in the ninth-inning, one thing is clear: Reds fans are angry! And Danny Graves is the punching bag. Surely Eric Milton and Paul Wilson aren’t accountable for the awful starting pitching. Surely the Reds lineup, on pace to set a Major League record for strikeouts in a season, has nothing to do with the Reds’ losing ways or inability to score runs. It must all be the fault of Danny Graves.

Danny Graves never was, and never will be, a “mow-em” down closer like Mariano Rivera or Eric Gagne. This is Cincinnati, and Cincinnati gets the Danny Graves of the closer world. The Yankees get the Mariano Rivera, the Dodgers get Eric Gagne. Deal with it Reds fans. If you hate Danny Graves, Dave Miley, and the rest of the team so much, stay home. Didn’t we just go through this with Ken Griffey, Jr?

Graves relies on guile, grit, and nasty sinker to close out opponents. But Graves’ velocity is down — and his sinker up — and he’s getting ripped. But the Reds, without the depth of most major league franchises, simply can’t shut him down and find out what’s going on.

Editor’s Note: The Reds cut Graves on Monday, marking the end of the pitcher’s eight-year tenure with the team. Who gets the blame next?

Popularity: 9% [?]

Only the complete ineptitude of the Indians offense prevented the Cincinnati Reds bullpen from handing Cleveland the win in the first game of the Battle of Ohio. In the critical eighth inning, Ryan Wagner walked two consecutive batters, and before the 25-thousand plus at Great American Ball Park knew what was happening, Reds manager Dave Miley was calling for the struggling Danny Graves to put an end to the mess. But slugger Travis Hafner stuck out with the bases loaded and two out, thus preserving the Reds 2-1 victory in the series opener.

Aaron Harang - quietly establishing himself as the go-to guy in the Reds rotation - outdueled the Indians’ Kevin Millwood to earn the win. Millwood dropped to 1-4 despite a 3.31 ERA. Harang upped his record to 3-2 with a 3.32 ERA.

Saturday night’s matchup pits the Indians quixotic ace C.C. Sabathia against the Reds’ Elizardo Ramirez. Ramirez earned this start against the Indians by pitching an outstanding game against Philadelphia last Sunday. Normally you’d go with the established big leaguer against a young guy making his second career start — but the less-hitting Indians don’t leave a great taste in your mouth.

See you at the ballpark tonight.

Popularity: 9% [?]

No sooner than I turn the ballgame on the 700 WLW, Adam Dunn finds the moon deck to give the Reds a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the sixth. Might just be enough for Harang, but perhaps Cleveland is just laying back waiting on the Reds bullpen?

Note: Why the ballgame is not televised on FSN Ohio in Cincinnati remains beyond logic. FSN Ohio has a Cleveland “market” and a Cincinnati “market” in which sometimes they share programming and on other occassions show regional programming. Why FSN Ohio can’t show the Cleveland “market” game must be one of those things that only makes sense in a corporate boardroom — things like New Coke or the most recent installment of the Bachelor.

Popularity: 19% [?]

Both the Indians and the Reds, in less than 40 games, have managed to play themselves into a distance out of first place so remote, they might as well be playing on the island in Lost. A season filled with promise has sunk faster than a busted barge on the Ohio River. And the luster of what could have been a battle of two upstart ballclubs has been dimmed to matchup of helpless pitching and inept offense.

After opening the season with a sweep of the New York Mets, the Cincinnati Reds have won only 11 of 37 games since the opening series. Pitching can mostly be to blame. The Reds staff sits 13th in the NL in ERA (second-worst in Major League Baseball), one-hundredth of a point ahead of the thin-aired crew from Coors Field. While that figure is likely to improve against the light-hitting Indians, the Reds remain nearly a full run behind Philadelphia. It seems that the Reds staff either blows the lead late, or doesn’t even the offense a chance to stay in the game.

The Erie Warriors from up north have fared no better this season, stumbling out of the gate with an offense so weak it makes Seth from the O.C look tough. Weak enough to be worse than notorious lightweights Pittsburgh and Kansas City, the Indians own a MLB-worst .238 batting average. Only the Pirates have scored fewer runs.

So with the three-game series beginning Friday night at Great American Ballpark, here is a look at three story lines to follow (if you manage to tune in the games):

Good pitching almost always defeats good hitting. The old baseball adage will be put to the test this weekend – the Reds have some pop and the Indians pitching staff has shown signs of being one of the better in baseball. The Indians own the AL’s best bullpen ERA and the Reds lineup has struck out more than any other in baseball.

Aaron Boone’s homecoming. Perhaps a homecoming will get Boone back on track. Boone’s return in Cleveland has been nothing short of a disaster – as Boone’s .163 average would indicate. Boone had some good years in Cincinnati and was always a fan favorite. Escaping the boos might do him some good and get him to stop pressing.

Baseball – Ohio style. Historically, the Reds have been one of the baseball’s flagship franchises. The fans deserve better than what they’ve received the past 10-plus years. Maybe the informal nature of interleague play can get them on a roll. The Indians became a modern phenomenon in 1994 when they became one of the first teams to parlay a new ballpark into a winning franchise – a failed scenario in Cincinnati. The Indians hope to contend this season, and games like these can make a difference in the standings.

The Indians and Reds should provide for some entertaining baseball this weekend, whether it be the Indians finding a few pitchers they can hit or the Reds finding some guys they can get out. But in the stands, don’t be surprised to hear a few conversations about Kellen Winslow’s knee, the Bengals draft; or maybe some Dawgs barking and a few “Who Dey’s”. It is after all, already May.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Some way, some how, the Reds need to find a way to win games against the Central Division’s better teams. As a result of last night’s 5-1 loss in St. Louis, the Reds have slipped to 0-4 against the Cardinals and Astros this sesaon. With a total of 32 games to play against Houston and St. Louis, the winless streak will disappear, but hopes of contention depend on beating higher caliber teams with some frequency.

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As the season’s first week comes to a close, the pressing questions regarding the Reds and Indians remain unanswered. It’s not as if one week is enough time to consider the evidence, but signals remain mixed. The replay — inconclusive.

When the season opened, one had to wonder about the Reds: 1) Do they have enough pitching to contend? 2) Will they stay healthy?

In response to the first question, the answer, in short-from, is yes. Though Eric Milton struggled in a 5-2 loss to Houston on Sunday afternoon, Milton’s earlier strong outing, mixed with Ramon Ortiz and Aaron Harang’s solid first starts, leaves enough hope in the arms to think the Reds will be fine in this area throughout the season. In getting swept by Houston, the Reds only surrendered three, four, and five runs. The pitching performed as well as one could hope. The Reds needed to find a way to score more runs.

The verdict remains in question about the Reds health…but as long as Griffey’s hamstring stays together, it should be a good year for the Reds in the training room.

Up in Cleveland, the concerns remain similar: 1) Will the bullpen avoid a meltdown? 2) Can two key acquisitions, Juan Gonzalez and Kevin Millwood, stay healthy?

Despite Wednesday’s collapse, Bob Wickman secured two subsequent saves; however, neither were of the nail-em-down variety. Middle relief seemed fine — but haven’t been pressed into tough assignments. It’ll be hard to do worse than last season, so feel free to consider the demons of Jose Jiminez and Scott Stweart exorcised.

Juan Gonzalez started the season on the DL…expect him to never see the field if his hamstring doesn’t start feeling better. Eric Wedge expects him to play rightfield everyday. Kevin Millwood looks to have another outstanding outing at the Indians’ home opener.

Popularity: 21% [?]