Pete Rose is always ready to give a great quote.  John Erardi talked about the Big Red Machine now going from "team of ages to team of aged".

Pete Rose, 67; Tony Perez, 66; Joe Morgan, 65; Bench, 60 (will be 61 in three weeks); Cesar Geronimo, 60 (will be 61 in March); Concepcion, 60; George Foster, 59 (will be 60 in two weeks); and Ken Griffey Sr., 58.

"I hope we don't go (out) in order," says Rose, laughing. "I liked hitting leadoff, but not in that category."

Classic...

Yes, the product on the field in 2008 was less than satisfactory.  But in all other aspects of being a professional, first-class organization, the Reds continue to excel.  The latest edition of the Redlegs News just showed up in my email inbox.  It's not much, but just nice that they took the time to say thank you.  I really believe that the Reds are trying.  In some cases, it is the thought that counts.  

And the members of Lot D rejoiced...

Talk about addition by subtraction.  Read and smile for yourself

Joey Votto wins the NL Rookie of the Month award for September.  He hit .309 with 9 homers and 20 RBI during the month.  Votto finished the year hitting .297 with 24 homers and 84 RBI.  It will be interesting to see if enough people were paying attention to him so that he could beat out Geovany Soto for Rookie of the Year.

A couple of weeks ago, I compared some potential right-handed bats to insert into the Reds lineup.  Matt Holliday topped my list.  He can hit for average and power, can steal bases and is solid defensively.  I would still love to see him in a Reds uniform.  However, Mark Sheldon pointed out the fact that Holliday can be a free agent after 2009, so he could be a one-year player if the Rockies decide to trade him.  I certainly wouldn't want to give up someone like Johnny Cueto to get Holliday for one year, then be left with nothing.  The Reds will be much improved next year, and have a chance to contend, but are not at the level where they can afford to put all of their cards on the table just for 2009.

Joe Nuxhall is among 10 finalists for the 2009 Ford C. Frick award.  The fans have done their part.  Now let's see if the 15 living Frick award winners and 5 columnists can do theirs.  I know one who will for sure.

According to mlbtraderumours.com, Walt Jocketty wants a right-handed slugger.  They list several possibilities to consider.  Adrian Beltre, Matt Holliday and Magglio Ordonez were listed as potential trade targets.  Manny Ramirez and Pat Burrell are right-handed left fielders on the free agent market.  I have even seen the name Mark Teixeira kicked around.  Here is a comparison of the 2008 stats:

Personally, I would love to see Matt Holliday in a Reds uniform.  He stole 28 bases this year.  He finished the year with a .988 fielding percentage, only making three errors.  Ironically, those are the same defensive numbers as the ever-popular defensive wizard, Corey Patterson.