All Things Bubba

Sarasota at night

Of course, I haven't actually seen much of Sarasota, because it was almost 10pm when I got here. It took a lot longer than Mapquest predicted. There was a lot of construction and some really bad traffic. I forgot that construction would be going on down south. In the northeast, they shut down the asphalt plants over the winter. (Asphalt and concrete don't set right if it's too cold.) The plants don't re-open until April, so there's very little construction going on now up there.

At least the weather was nicer today. Very warm and sunny.

Needless to say, I didn't make it to the Reds-Twins game tonight. Apparently, I didn't miss much. The Twins blanked the Reds 4-0. Andy was subbed into left field, and was 0 for 1 at the plate.

More interesting is the roster moves the Reds made today. Jay Bruce was reassigned to minor league camp. Many fans are upset, but this was pretty much expected. He may be called up as soon as June. Drew Anderson was optioned to Louisville.

Nothing really shocking so far. The Reds have cut young players they still have control of, and who weren't really expected to make the team to begin with. Basically, they haven't lost anyone, they just stashed them in the minors for awhile longer.

Last year, Bubba was not cut until the last week, and it was probably that soon only because he asked to be cut as early as possible if he was going to be cut. He was hoping to sign with another team if the Reds didn't keep him on the roster.

This doesn't enter into it with Andy, since he has a minor league contract, not a major league deal like Bubba had. As I understand it, this means Andy plays for the Bats if he doesn't make the big league team - no need to pass through waivers, and no refusing the assignment to the minors. (Unless Andy has a clause in his contract that allows him to opt out if he's not called up in a certain amount of time. Carlos Pena had one, which is how he was able to leave the Yankees for the Sox. Ron Villone had one last year, and Nick Green has one this year.) So we might not know Andy's fate until the deadline. Last year, the Reds didn't announce the 25th roster spot until the very last minute.