The Big Red Machine of the 1970’s was one of the best teams I have ever seen and catcher Johnny Bench was a big part of it. He was a great power hitter and he had a howitzer attached to his right shoulder as he stopped opposing running games at will. Bench burst onto the scene in 1968 with the Reds when he won the Rookie of the Year Award, while also making the All-Star team and winning a Gold Glove. Bench played in 154 games in 1968 with the Reds and he was 155 of 564 (.275 avg, .743 OPS) with 67 runs scored, 15 homers, 82 RBIs and 1 stolen base. It didn’t take long for Bench to step up his play to the next level as he was the N.L. MVP in both 1970 and 1972. In 1970, Bench played in 158 games in which he was 177 of 605 (.293 avg, .932 OPS) with 97 runs scored, 45 homers, 148 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. He was almost as good in 1972 when he played in 147 games for the Reds in which he was 145 of 538 (.270 avg, .920 OPS) with 87 runs scored, 40 homers, 125 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Bench wound up playing 17 seasons for the Reds in which he made it to the All-Star team 14 times and he also won 10 Gold Gloves behind the plate. Bench played in 2,158 games in his career and he was 2,048 for 7,658 (.267 avg, .817 OPS) with 1,091 runs scored, 389 homers, 1,376 RBIs and 68 stolen bases. Bench is #4 in Reds’ history in games played with 2,158. He is also #5 in hits (2,058), #4 in runs scored (1,091), #4 in doubles (381), #1 in homers (389), #1 in RBIs (1,376) and he’s #4 in walks (891) in Reds’ history. Johnny Bench played his whole career as a Cincinnati Red and that’s how he went into Baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1989.

The Reds are very happy with righty reliever Logan Ondrusek and lefty reliever Bill Bray. Ondrusek has pitched in 12 games (0 starts) for the Reds so far this year and he is 2-1 with a 0.68 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. He has only given up 8 hits in his first 13 1/3 innings while whiffing 13 batters, which shows just how good he has been. But, Ondrusek has also walked 7 batters, so he needs to tighten up his control a bit going forward. Bill Bray has pitched in 11 games (0 starts) for the Reds so far this year and he is 0-0 with a 1.04 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. He has only given up 5 hits while whiffing 8 batters in his first 8 2/3 innings of the year. Bray has walked 4 batters so far this year, so he also needs to tighten up his control a little bit. The Reds hope that Ondrusek and Bray can keep up the good work.

Starting 2B Brandon Phillips is on fire for the Reds so far in 2011. He has played in 19 games for the Reds so far this year and he is 28 of 77 (.364 avg, .931 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 2 homers, 10 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. The Reds are glad to see Phillips swinging the bat like he can as he seemed a little off last year with the bat. With Scott Rolen on the D.L., the Reds need Phillips to keep up the good work to help compensate for his loss in the batting order.

The Reds have placed starting 3B Scott Rolen on the 15-day disabled list due to a strained left shoulder. Rolen has played in 17 games for the Reds so far this year and he is 13 for 60 (.217 avg, .663 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 2 homers and 12 RBIs. Veteran infielder Miguel Cairo will replace Rolen in the starting lineup at least until Juan Francisco can return from the D.L. Cairo has played in 16 games for the Reds so far this year and he is 10 for 35 (.286 avg, .705 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer and 7 RBIs. The Reds have called up 25-year old righty swinging infielder Chris Valaika to replace Rolen on the active roster. He came into this season as the Reds’ #14 ranked prospect according to Baseball America. Valaika has played in 14 games in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 15 for 49 (.306 avg, .740 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer and 6 RBIs. He got his first taste of the majors in 2010 with the Reds. Valaika played in 19 games for the Reds last year and he was 10 for 38 (.263 avg, .650 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 1 homer and 2 RBIs. The Reds hope that Rolen heals up soon because they will miss his power and mitt.

Righty starting pitcher Edison Volquez is off to a very tough start for the Reds. He has started 4 games for the Reds so far this year and he is 2-0 with a 6.75 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP. He has given up 20 hits (6 homers) in only 22 2/3 innings so far this year and he has walked 16 batters which is pretty awful. He does have 24 strikeouts this season, so it’s not all bad. If Volquez just can tighten up his control a bit, he will get back on the right track as he is a much better pitcher than he has shown so far this year.