Cincinnati

I have never been a fan of platooning players in baseball. I always liked having a set lineup while giving the starter an occasional day of rest. Dusty Baker has a different idea when it comes to the Reds catching situation, and it has worked like a charm.

Apparently, Jim Edmonds didn't exactly have the time if his life after joining the Reds last season.

According to MLB.com's Mark Sheldon, in an interview with a St. Louis radio station, he opened up a bit about what he thought of the Reds organization and how he regrets coming to Cincinnati. He also throws a verbal jab at Brandon Phillips.

Few experiences can top Opening Day in Cincinnati, Ohio. The parade, sold-out stadium and increased number of media members are just a few things that cause the first baseball game of the year to sometimes take a backseat to the pageantry that surrounds it.

Not this time.

Nicknames and baseball go together like peanut butter and jelly. 

There are literally thousands of different nicknames that baseball players have acquired though their careers, and we all have our favorites. 

Making a list of the top 50 nicknames is difficult, because there are some great players and nicknames that have to be left off the list.  So I guess I'm apologizing in advance if I left your favorite off the list.

Here are the top 50 nicknames in MLB history:

At first glance the N.L. Central would seem to be a two-team race between the Cincinnati Reds and the Milwaukee Brewers. Some people add the St. Louis Cardinals to the mix because, well, they're the St. Louis Cardinals. But most analysts seem to agree that it's between the Reds with their combination of speed, power and pitching, and the Brewers, who have one of the top offenses in baseball.

But hold on!

In 2010, the Cincinnati Reds ended a 14-year playoff drought by winning the NL Central Division with an overall record of 91-71.

The Reds' regular-season success didn’t carry over to the postseason, as they were swept by the Philadelphia Phillies in the first round.

With the news on Friday that graceful center fielder Jim Edmonds is retiring from the game of baseball after a stellar 17-year career, the talk of whether or not Edmonds is worthy of induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame can begin.

While Edmonds was absolutely a human highlight reel during the height of his playing days, injuries severely curtailed his career in the latter years. He ended up  sitting out the 2009 season altogether due to nagging leg injuries.

By Mike Harris, Senior Writer for 4thandHome.com

Our first entry in this series looked at the September Star phenomenon and how an astute eye could have forecasted a Jose Bautista 2010 breakout. This week, we take a look at our first nominee, Drew Stubbs, to determine if he's destined for 2011 stardom.

In articles such as this, many websites give readers a list of the best overall prospects at a given position, but the intention here is to focus on those prospects who are most likely to provide a significant fantasy impact during the 2011 season; thus, a guy like Red Sox SS prospect Jose Iglesias—who is blocked at the big league level by Marco Scutaro and Jed Lowrie—is not on my list.

Did the Reds do enough during the offseason to make one think they have the personnel to win the division for the second straight season?

I think so. They were fairly solid with what they had after the season was over. They led the league in BA, HR, RBI, H, SLG, OPS and OPS+.

They led the league defensively in FLD PCT and fewest errors and were really deficient in a couple positions.