You can say what you want about the 2009 Reds. Underachievers, bad breaks, fragile, etc. One thing you can’t say is the team quit on the season. Finishing with one of the three best records the final two months of ‘09, the Reds will try to carry the momentum into the 2010 season. However, an uninspiring Cactus league record (11-15) has people semi worried.

Manager Dusty Baker is entering his third and possibly final season as Reds manager. Baker has yet to guide the Reds to a winning season. Baker’s last winning season as a manager was 2004 with the Chicago Cubs. Since then his ’05 and ’06 season with the Cubs along with his’ 08 and’09 season with the Reds have concluded in below .500 records. If Baker is going to go down, he may be best served going down fighting with his best armor.

It would be easy to question if Aaron Harang is at his best. Harang, for whatever reason, seems to be considered a god among Reds management. Harang is considered the ‘ace’ of the pitching staff. The declining Harang has been among the League leaders in losses the past two seasons of ’08 and ’09 with 31. His last winning season was ’07 when he finish with a 16-6 record with a 3.73 ERA. He has had a rough time in spring training thus far with a record of 1-2 with an ERA of 11. On top of the uninspiring numbers, Harang is the Reds' highest paid player at $14 million dollars per season.

Harang was chosen by manager Dusty Baker as the Opening Day starter for the 2010 season, his fifth Opening Day Start, which resulted in an 11-6 loss to St. Louis.

There have been a few changes to the lineup that ended the season in 2009. The lineup will look as follows: Ramon Hernandez (catching), Joey Votto (first base), Brandon Phillips (second base), Orlando Cabrera (shortstop), Scott Rolen (third base), Wladimir Balentien (left field), Drew Stubbs (center field), and Jay Bruce (right field).

Stubbs, Balentien and Cabrera will be new kids on the block. Cabrera will be counted on heavily as the new shortstop. The veteran spent time with the Oakland A’s and Minnesota Twins in 2009. It will be Phillips, Votto, Bruce, and Rolen who will be heavily counted on to produce runs. Votto led the team in home runs last year with 25. Bruce and Phillips were right behind him with 22 and 20 respectively. Phillips has yet to get into season form as he has hit only .211 in the Cactus League this spring.

Going into last season, Brandon Phillips was heavily counted on to be the big run producer for the Reds. He was awarded the cleanup hitting spot by Baker. Phillips held his own by falling just shy of 100 RBI’s with 98. He finished second on the team in batting average hitting .276.

If there is one area the Reds may have strengthened this off season, it’s in depth. Several players have shown in the past they can take over the starting position for long periods of time. Chris Dickerson, who was a starter much of the season last year in center field, will be backing up Drew Stubbs. Paul Janish showed his versatility holding his own at second base and shortstop. The 27-year-old Janish finished with 21 doubles in 90 games last season.

The Reds face a tough test right out of the gate as they face the 2009 National League Central first place St. Louis Cardinals for three opening games followed by the NLC second place Chicago Cubs.