Cincinnati Reds

Reds ace Aaron Harang pitched the best Reds fans have seen him in quite a few starts as he looked dominate.

Harang (1-1) pitched a great day going the distance throwing a complete game shutout.

Aaron Harang gave up a mere three hits while striking out nine and walking none.

Cincinnati Reds general manager Walt Jocketty felt good about his team's season-opening roster. 

The Reds were going into the season with a pretty solid pitching staff and a faster and younger team. It was expected that they shouldn't have problems manufacturing runs. You had to trust his opinion since he had a successful track record with St. Louis.

Well, the Reds are only five games into the season, but the performance of Mike Lincoln has to be concerning thus far.

Lincoln had a very good first half last season (3.89 ERA), and very poor second half last season (5.47 ERA), but the Reds decided to give Lincoln a two-year, $4 million contract, hoping that Lincoln would revert to his first-half form. However, the signs don't look too good so far.

The Cincinnatti Reds' bats were quiet today at Great American Ballpark, and the Pirates' pitcher Paul Maholm had an easy day at the office.

The Reds, as a unit, only mustered six hits with the only extra base hit being a double by pinch hitter Micah Owings.

Shortstop Brandon Phillips went 2-3 with a pair a singles.

Pittsburgh Pirates (2-2) vs. Cincinnati Reds (1-2)

Great American Ballpark

Attendance: 22,276 

The rain from last night certainly didn't slow down the Pirates today.

Paul Maholm was machine-like, retiring the first 11 Reds he faced before finishing with seven innings pitched and just one earned run allowed.

I have seen players come and go.  I’ve watched them during their first game and was still alive when they retired.

Some players are fortunate in that they receive accolades for what they do.

Others are not quite as lucky, laboring in the vineyard year after year, without much appreciation or love.

Vada Pinson was such a man.

I am not a romanticist, so I don’t want to make Pinson out to be bigger in death than he was in life.

This article is the sixth in the series of "25 Ways to Know if You're a ____ Fan". People have enjoyed reading about their favorite teams and how to know that they belong to that fan base. The next team in the series is the Cincinnati Reds.

So, Cincinnati, here is your list!

Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto pitched well in the final warm up before the regular season begins. Cueto looked dominant as he pitched four innings giving up only one run and four hits while he walked one and struck out one.

Daniel Ray Hererra added yet another scoreless inning to end a very pleasant spring and surprising many.

Reds pitcher Pedro Viola gave the Futures team some hope as he gave up five runs on six hits including two dingers in the 8th.

As the Reds said goodbye to Ed Smith Stadium Pittsburgh sent the away with another loss to end their spring in Sarasota Florida.

All-Star pitcher Edinson Volquez struggled as he gave up three runs (two earned runs) and walked three and gave up five hits in 3.2 innings pitched. Volquez had four K's.

With Opening Day of the 2009 baseball season just around the corner, it is time for the obligatory comments about how the start of the season is so great, because every team starts at the same place, with a renewed sense of optimism and hope.