BASEBALL IS BACK! REDS OPEN SPRING PLAY TODAY
Johnson gushes about the arms in camp as Reds open spring play.
Spring training is a time of optimism for the Cincinnati Reds every year.
Joey Votto has already talked this month about being desperate to win a championship. Eugenio Suarez said he wants to hit 50 home runs. Reds legend Barry Larkin said the Reds “absolutely” can contend in 2021.
On Friday, pitching coach Derek Johnson did his part to raise the hopes of Reds fans by talking about the general quality of the pitching talent on the roster.
“I think there’s some really interesting guys in this camp,” Johnson said. “One of the things that we’ve talked about internally a whole lot in the last few days is just probably the arm talent in this camp compared to other years. Since I’ve been here at least, I haven’t seen that. Now that’s not to say that every single one of them are going to be big leaguers or even successful for that matter, but what I do know is that looking at the athlete, looking at the arm talent, what the possibilities are, it’s really, really exciting this year, maybe more than any other year.
“You’re looking at that guy going, ‘That’s a pretty cool toy. Now maybe we can make this thing work and maybe it’s gonna happen.’ Again, I don’t know. But that’s 100% the way that we’re
thinking at this point.”
Johnson will start to find out more about his pitching staff when the Reds open Cactus League play at 3:05 p.m. today against the Cleveland Indians in Goodyear, Arizona. It will be the first of 28 games in spring training before Opening Day on April 1 against the St. Louis Cardinals at Great American Ball Park.
Here are four other things to know about the Reds in the Cactus League:
Rule changes: Spring training games through March 13 will last seven innings but may be shortened to five if both managers agree. Games after March 13 will last nine innings but can be shortened to seven. Teams must agree to the changes by 5 p.m. on the day before the games.
Fundraisers: Proceeds from the opener for the Reds and Indians today will benefit the H.O.P.E. Team. The non-profit organization supports patients and families at Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Goodyear, and the New Life Center.
Attendance restriction: While Goodyear Ball Park can seat as many as 10,311 fans, the local health department will limit capacity to 21% or about 2,165.
History lesson: The Reds moved from the Grapefruit League in Florida to the Cactus League in 2010. This will be their 12th season in the Cactus League.
The Reds finished with a winning record twice in the first 11 years (17-14-1 in 2011 and 15-14-3 in 2015). The Reds didn’t finish above .500 in the regular season in either of those years.
Overall, the Reds are 143179-23 in the Cactus League. They were 7-8-4 last season when spring training was shut down March 12 because of the pandemic.
The Miamisburg High School boys basketball team finally got over the district semifinal hump.
The Vikings beat Springfield 83-49 on Friday night at Centerville High School to advance to a Division I district final for the first time.
“We’ve been knocking on the door in the past,” said Vikings coach Tim Fries. “I’ve been here 14 years and we’ve knocked on the door a few times, but we’ve never been able to get over the hump. This was the team that was destined to do it. I’m just so proud of them because of all the things that are going on, not knowing if you’re going to be practicing tomorrow or is this guy going to be gone. They’ve just stayed the course and played unselfish basketball.”
Senior Evan Logan scored a career-high 31 points, sophomore Jackson McGohan had 14 and junior Anthony Coppock added 12 as the Vikings improved to 17-7.
Junior Eddie Muhammad scored 12 points, while senior Vincent Fisher added 11 for Springfield, which finished 10-11.
The Vikings led 21-12 after the first quarter. Then Logan hit five 3-pointers in the second quarter to give the Vikings a 47-22 lead at the half.
“It was crazy,” Logan said. “I’ve never felt like that before, but it was great to hit some shots. It was a great team win. We did everything we needed to do, took care of the ball. It was a great win.”
Logan is a gym rat who is constantly working on his shooting, Fries said.
“He dedicated himself a couple years ago and he’s just improved,” Fries said. “He just wears the net out shooting the basketball and he was bound to have a game like this. It’s nice it happened at this time of the year. His teammates knew it and kept finding him. It was a lot of fun.”
The key to the victory was handling Springfield’s pressure, Fries said. The Wildcats beat Miamisburg in their first meeting Jan. 5.
Miamisburg advanced to face the winner of Saturday night’s game between Moeller and Middletown on March 6, time and place to be determined.