Cincinnati Reds

The Cincinnati Reds have some holes to fill this off-season. Pitching coach Dick Pole will not return in 2010. There are question marks in the outfield and shortstop. There is also a question mark in the broadcast booth.

George Grande, television voice of the Reds for the last 17 years, announced that he is stepping away from the microphone to spend more time with his family.

So after scouring Cot's Baseball Contracts, we have come up with a number of hypothetical trades for the Cubs and Zambrano this offseason that might, or might not, make sense.

Cubs acquire: Francisco Cordero

Reds acquire: Carlos Zambrano

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Why this makes sense for the Cubs

-Cordero is one of the elite closers in baseball coming off a fantastic 2009 season

It is clear the National League is behind the American League when it comes to overall power and hitting numbers, but they equal the playing field because they have better pitching and defense, both of which are major concerns for Cincinnati.

The Reds have proven at times this year that your pitching does not have to be spectacular to win games (although it helps), but you can't win games when you give opposing teams additional opportunities.

When I woke up this morning and saw that the Cincinnati Reds' had recalled Adam Rosales to fill the vacant roster spot, courtesy of Jay Bruce's broken wrist, the second word I thought was "trade".  The first word is not printable.

This Thursday, my "Spidey Sense" tells me that we will have traded Edwin Encarnacion and possibly a highly touted outfielder (either Drew Stubbs or Chris Heisey) to the Blue Jays for Scott Rolen.

There is no such thing as a "do or die" series or game until a team's magic number is terminated. 

And literally speaking, there is really no such thing as a "do or die" sporting event—with the possible exception of Colombian soccer.

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Since it seems like Reds all-time player lists are all the rage these days, I thought it be best to hop the band-waggon before it fills.

Forget those other guys. They aren't even Reds' fans. My list is the one, the only, and the best.

For starters my catcher...wait, how do I make this list stuff? 

Since I don't know how to create a slide show I'll just list them by name and reason. 

Catcher:  Bo Diaz

Why? 

The dude died for his family. 

Here is a glance at the Cincinnati Reds all-time greatest team lineup:

Team Name: Cincinnati Reds

Year Established: 1882

City: Cincinnati

Ballpark: Great American Ballpark

 Previous Nicknames: Red Stockings (1882-1889), Redlings (1954-1959)

League: National League

Division: NL Central

# of Playoff Appearances: 12

# of Pennants: 10

World Series Titles: 1919, 1940, 1975, 1976, 1990

All-Time Team

Catcher: Johnny Bench

First Base: Tony Perez

Homer Bailey did not deserve what he was served by Dave Weathers last night.

Bailey was pitching one of the best games you could imagine.  Through seven innings, he had limited the St. Louis Cardinals to just two hits and was ahead 3-0.

Bailey entered the eighth inning with the dreaded 100-pitch count just in sight.  After giving up a pinch-hit single to Cody Rasmus, he coaxed Brenden Ryan to fly out.  With a man on and one out, Bailey walked Skip Schumaker, giving Dusty Baker something to do besides chew on a toothpick.