Cincinnati

When the Reds reached the postseason in 2010, it was as if a 15-year siege had come to an end in Cincinnati. At long last, an organization stuck in the trenches of the National League had crossed over the breach.   

 Joey Votto’s 2010 season will resonate in Reds lore as the end of an era of losing in Cincinnati, and potentially a signal of things to come for a young and talented core.

 However, it also begs the question: in a Cincinnati Reds organization with such a storied history, where does Votto’s impressive third season rank?

Our 2011 fantasy baseball projections will be released one by one until the top 100 players have been revealed. These rankings consider past achievements, current performance and expected future results based on standard 5×5 H2H settings.

Joey Votto did work on NL pitching in 2010, setting career highs across the board with 106 runs, 37 HRs, 113 RBI, 16 steals and a whopping .324 batting average.

Who was last season's surprise team? Some may say the Giants for winning the World Series, and some may say the Rangers for making it to the World Series.

But in my opinion, without question...the Cincinnati Reds were THE biggest surprise in baseball last season.

I have semi-randomly chosen to start with the Reds, and will write a piece about each of the thirty teams, talking about what they’ve done in the offseason up to this point and how that projects for the upcoming season. I know there are moves yet to be made, but with most of the impact moves in the books, I think enough has happened to be able to gauge expectations for the upcoming season. If they make any major moves in the coming days, I'll amend this article.

Earlier this week, the Cincinnati Reds signed veteran shortstop Edgar Renteria to a one-year, $2.1 million contract.

Renteria was signed to fill the hole left by Orlando Cabrera after the Reds announced that they would not re-sign him.

However, Renteria will not be the everyday shortstop. He will back up Paul Janish, who in his rookie season last year batted .260 with five home runs.

Move over Cliff Lee, because this move will make more of an impact than Lee going back to Philadelphia. Zack Greinke was dealt to the Milwaukee Brewers Sunday morning and this shifts the entire outlook of the National League.

The Brewers finished third in the National League Central last year, 14 games back of the Cincinnati Reds. Milwaukee was not light in hitting, but struggled mightily on the mound. They finished 12th in runs scored, but were 26th in ERA.

On a few different fronts, it's as easy as "1-2-3" for the Philadelphia Phillies this postseason. 

Hey everyone, baseball fanatic Evan Adrian here, live blogging game 3 of the NLDS between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Cincinnati Reds. Cole Hamels will attempt to close out a sweep of the Reds. Cincinnati turns to Johnny Cueto, hoping the right-handed fireballer can keep this series alive.

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Yesterday afternoon, as Roy Halladay was preparing for yesterday's NLDS opener, Cliff Lee was putting the finishing touches on another brilliant postseason pitching performance. 

Lee dominated the AL's most potent offense, striking out 10 Tampa Bay Rays batters while holding them to one run to give the Texas Rangers their first playoff win in 14 years. 

Speed kills.

Ask the Yankees circa 2004 when a stolen base by Dave Roberts in the bottom of the ninth kept the Red Sox—down 3-0 in the American League Championship Series and 4-3 in Game 4—alive and propelled them forward to the greatest comeback in baseball history.

Or maybe you could just look at the 1982 World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers.