Aaron Harang

With the Reds in first place of the NL Central near the end of May, hope is back in Cincy. The only problem is that the Reds may be playing the best baseball they've played in years, but they are not the most complete team in the division. These 5 roster moves, in my opinion, are needed to make the Redlegs a better team. By trading away, trading for, or moving certain players into different spots, it would make the team better defensively, offensively, and chemistry wise. Otherwise known as....a complete team.

Entering the 2010 baseball season, the Cincinnati Reds and their fans had lofty expectation for the starting staff. Bronson Arroyo, Homer Bailey, Johnny Cueto, Aaron Harang, and Mike Leake have gone way above and beyond those expectations since, on April 24, manager Dusty Baker went "Bull Durham" on the entire team.

WhatIfSports.com utilizes its award-winning baseball simulation engine to present the most comprehensive and unbiased ranking possible of all 30 teams in baseball each Monday during the regular season.

I'll take this as a tongue-in-cheek joke, because it is funny, but I really hope Aaron Harang doesn't really believe this:

“We're close enough to Kentucky. I should be able to find a horseshoe,” Harang said, insisting that bad luck has as much to do with his record as anything else.

This was after Harang tossed the Reds' first quality start in nine games and became just the second starter to pick up a victory this season, which is only a measly 20 games mind you.

Of those three gentlemen, one needs to make his way to the Queen City, and two need to hit the road. 

Since one is down on the farm and two are already with the big club, it's a question most third grade Reds' fans can answer correctly.

For the Cincinnati Reds to compete this season Aroldis Chapman must be brought up before his next scheduled start in Louisville. 

Aaron Harang either needs to come down with sudden a sudden arm ailment that lands him on the disabled list, be flat out released, or sent to the pen for mop-up duty...serious mop-up duty. 

On Monday I had the opportunity to attend Cincinnati Reds Opening Day. For anybody who has lived in Cincinnati, it is widely known that Opening Day is a Cincinnati holiday. It is also a day nobody does quite like Cincinnati. 

Cincinnati is home to the first professional baseball team some 150 years ago and in the Queen City, baseball has and always will be king. 

Every Opening Day in Cincinnati over the last 91 years has began with the Findlay Market Parade. The parade marches through the streets of downtown and is the highlight of the big day.

Don’t let Michael Jordan beat you.  

Double-team him.  Triple-team him.  

Make sure his tail hits the paint every time he drives to the basket.  Do everything you can to take him out of the game and if Scottie Pippen nails a jumper to put you away, so be it.

No matter what sport you are playing, you should always do your best to take the opposition’s best player out of the game.  In baseball, that means keeping the ball away from the hitting zone and not allowing the batter to get the fat part of the bat on the ball.

When is a 9.88 a good thing?

When you're taking a test out of 10 points. When you're an Olympic ice skater. When it's your 100-meter dash time.

When is it a bad thing?

It's certainly a bad thing if we are talking about ERA.

The 9.88 ERA belongs to Cincinnati Reds "ace" Aaron Harang—the same guy who will be tying an all-time Reds record for Opening Day starts on Monday with five.

The season hasn't even started, and I'm already hitting the panic button on Harang. 

With Opening Day only six days away, I thought it would be appropriate to see what the record books have to say about the Cincinnati Reds on the first game of the year. At the present time, adequate records only take us back to 1952.

This game will be against the St. Louis Cardinals against whom the Reds are 8-7.

Since 1952 the Reds are 30-27-1 in their opening game. The lone tie was a 3-3 game against the Milwaukee Brewers in 2000.

Listed below, are the points and counterpoints that Aaron Harang supporters and critics can have regarding his prospects for the upcoming season:

Point: Yes, something is wrong.

Counterpoint: No, Aaron Harang will be back to his former self in 2010.

P: Something is wrong with his mechanics.

CP: What is this based on?

P: Harang has been tinkering with his mechanics over the past few years. He needs to get back to what was working.