1) Mike Lincoln as a starter? I don’t get it. I missed the explanation about why the Reds feel they need to add Lincoln to the mix of contenders for the No. 5 spot. I’ve got nothing against him – had him sign a card at RedsFest and thought he was a very nice guy – but what is it about the back of his card that suggests he should go back to being a starter?

(Easy for me to say, I realize, after he went 1 1/3 and gave up four runs on seven hits.)

2) Dusty’s quote:

“I think there was some nerves and jitters with this new ballpark,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said.

Jitters? For Spring Training? In front of 4,631 fans? REALLY?

3) Kind of a rough day for our man Sam LeCure, unfortunately. He gave up a three-run bomb to Tribe prospect Nick Weglarz, a Canadian who probably wants to kick my ace for my tongue-in-cheek Votto post from the other day. Unearned runs, though … Sam should’ve been out of the inning. And we’ve still got Sam making the roster out of Spring Training AND being named Fans Choice Bobblehead for the July 31 game against Atlanta. Go Sam!

4) Even worse day, you could argue, for Yonder Alonso. 0-for-2 with 2 Ks … and 2 errors. Ouch.

5) I know I already mentioned it in No. 2, but is anyone else surprised that the Reds’ first Spring Training game ever at Goodyear Stadium only drew 4,631. It holds 10,300.

Also, Will Leitch’s Reds preview on Deadspin.com is entertaining and worth a read. He’s a huge Cardinals fan who acknowledges that “no team in the division scares me as much as the Reds do.” Interesting.

By that I mean he’s No. 14. As in the 14th best general manager in baseball, according to SI.com’s Tim Marchman. Though I’m not exactly sure why. I enjoyed reading the GM rankings piece but took issue with Marchman’s one-paragraph (which he provided with each GM ranking) explanation about Jocketty. Here’s how it read:

You could certainly make an argument that Jocketty should rate higher given his great success with the St. Louis Cardinals, the best team in the National League last decade. Given how much of that success came down to Albert Pujols’ reign of terror, the presence of all-time great manager Tony La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan’s ability to nurse terrific performances out of incredibly sketchy pitching talent, though, there’s only so much credit to go around.

I may have glossed over it, but I don’t see any mention of “Cincinnati” or “Reds” in that explanation. Nor any player on the Reds or deal he’s made. Do you? Did I miss it? He HAS already made some moves as a general manager here, hasn’t he?

First saw this on John Fay’s Reds blog … Bronson Arroyo and former Angel/Red/Cardinal/Devil Ray/Indian/Mariner Eduardo Perez – the son of Doggie – will have cameos in an independent film called “Goat” (currently being shot with a release date set for later this year). They’re apparently shooting the scene this weekend.

We’ve learned that Arroyo’s former teammate with the Red Sox, Sycamore High School and University of Cincinnati alum Kevin Youkilis, is also set to appear (in the same scene, we assume). OMGReds has love for Youk, and we try not to make a big deal out of the fact that one of us grew up in the same neighborhood with him

The IMDB page for ‘Goat’ lists Arroyo as an executive producer and “Edguardo Perez” as an associate producer. Hmmm … not sure they’re actually producing it but …

So you know Arroyo is coming off a FILTHY second half of the 2009 season. But what’s Eduardo up to, you ask? Wikipedia says he’s managing the Leones de Ponce in Puerto Rico, and was named 2008 Manager of the Year in the Puerto Rico Baseball League.

So you’re waiting to find out whether Barry gets in on the first ballot and the suspense is killing you, right? Take a few minutes to read Joe Posnanski’s post about the best players in baseball at any given time. Strong work. (If you’re not familiar or you’re trying to figure out how you know that name, he’s the guy who wrote “The Machine: The Story of the 1975 Cincinnati Reds.”)

BTW (spoiler alert in case you read the post … Larkin doesn’t appear on any of the 5-year span lists, but Posnanski has written before about how he feels strongly that Barry is a Hall of Famer and insisted he would vote for him.

The Reds are talking to Craig Counsell’s agent, to which I respond …

Craig Counsell? Really? He might be the nicest guy in the world and friends with Thom but c’mon. Jerry Jr. isn’t exactly an All-Star but he is much better (and six years younger) than Counsell. Even if he’s just a utility guy, that seems like a significant downgrade.

If you need a warm body who can play shortstop, there’s got to be someone else. Counsell had a career year with 26 stolen bases and 34 doubles … in 2005.

It would be nice to get a guy like Maicer Izturis. I know, dream on.

This was a pretty outstanding afternoon. If you missed it, just hope they do it again next year or whenever and set aside $40 if you’re a Reds Hall member ($50 if you’re not) and do it. Rick Walls and everyone involved (from Kerry Rowland, who explained a lot of things we’d always wondered about … to Seg Dennison talking about the radio broadcast … to John Erardi discussing how the media covers the game) really did a great job with this; I was very impressed with how accomodating everyone was and how hard everyone worked to give people their money’s worth and answer every question (even some bad ones). And if the price kept you away, take my word for it that it’s worth $40 just to have George Foster give you batting tips and make fun of you (in a good-natured way) at the same time. Everything else was gravy.

Click here to check out our pics.

So the Reds have now won 5 in a row on the road (6 in a row overall) and their last 9 games against the Astros (they’re 12-3 against Houston this year). And if tonight’s score sounded familiar, it’s because it’s the third time this week that the Reds have won 10-4.

And Joey Votto continues to rake. During the 6-game winning streak, Votto is 14-for-26 (.538) with 10 doubles and 12 runs scored. 10 doubles! I tried to figure out his slugging percentage over the past week and it almost made my head explode. Dare we call his recent assault of pitchers Billy Hatcher-esque (Hatcher was 14-for-27 during the 1990 postseason) even though it’s not the postseason or anything?

Since Sept. 10, Votto is 28-for-60 (.467). Pretty gross. And he’s raised his average for the season to .319, which would put him about 10th best in the majors and fourth best in the National League (depending on how other guys did tonight).

He’s also reached base safely in every game in September – and he hasn’t had any days off this month.

BTW, did you know Votto would be the first Reds batter to hit .300 since Sean Casey (.312) and Junior (.301) did in 2005?

Just updating a recent post in which we acknowledged that Bronson Arroyo has been DEALING as of late …

Monday night: 7 innings, 6 hits and 1 run with no walks and 6 strikeouts. And a win!!!!

That’s his 10th consecutive quality start. Go all the way back to July 22 for an Arroyo start in which he allowed more than 3 runs. (But he’s only gotten three wins during that stretch.)

In his six starts in August, he posted a 1.99 ERA (fifth best in the majors for the month). So far in September he’s pitched 21 innings and allowed 4 runs (1.71 ERA).

His 2.33 ERA since the All-Star Break is fourth best in the majors. If he keeps it up for another start or two AND if it was the first half of the season instead of the second half, he’d be an All-Star.

Really not a whole lot to be excited about right now, but I have to admit it actually cheered me up when I read … “3B Juan Francisco recalled from AAA Louisville.”