DaytonDailyNews.com

CLEARWATER, Fla. — It wasn't exactly American Idol, but it was sort of like audition night for some Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday, March 12, against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Manager Dusty Baker was keeping his eye on a few specific players — pitcher Johnny Cueto, pitcher Bill Bray, outfielder Corey Patterson and infielder Jerry Hairston Jr.

Cueto, the dazzling rookie, risked rattling the baseball gods by getting a haircut, to which Baker said, "He ain't Samson."

No, he isn't. But right now he is the closest thing, and everybody is paying attention.

Said a major-league scout who was an excellent major-league pitcher and has seen every Cueto appearance this spring, "Cueto is the ace of that staff. Right now."

Cueto was shaky at first, hitting a batter and giving up a bloop single in his first inning, but he wriggled out of it with a double play and a pop-up. Then he went 1-2-3 with two strikeouts in his next inning as the Reds beat the Phillies, 5-1.

"Spring ain't over yet," said Baker. "I told Cueto to just go pitch, son. That's all. There's no pressure, no expectations. I have expectations, but I won't tell him yet. I'll tell him later — in the next two or three years.

Bray made his first spring appearance after paying more attention to his sore shoulder every day than his breakfast. He was efficient — one inning, one single, 13 pitches, 10 strikes.

"I wanted to accomplish two things — no pain and throw strikes — and I did both," said Bray, who has thrown simulated games to his teammates. "The difference is night and day. You don't get the adrenaline flow pitching to a teammate like Patterson as you do facing Ryan Howard."

"Bray is in a pretty good situation, if he can stay on the field," said Baker. "I hadn't seen him throw, not even on the side. I didn't have anything to compare him with from his past. I was waiting to see the full Bray — and I probably won't see the true Bray, for a while anyway."

Patterson and Hairston, former Baker players with the Chicago Cubs and signed as free agents 10 days ago, played their second games Wednesday — Patterson in center field and Hairston at second base.

Patterson beat out infield hits his first two times up, and Hairston drilled a home run in his first at-bat. And after Patterson's second hit, he scored on Scott Hatteberg's home run.

"It was good to get out there and get the legs loose," said Patterson. "Those infield hits got them loose. Counting simulated games and two of these games — three, four, five more games and I'll be settled in."

Said Baker of Patterson and Hairston, "They aren't ready, but we've done all we could to get them ready in a short period of time. They are where everybody else was two weeks ago. And the pitchers are two weeks ahead of them."

They are behind, but Baker is trying to condense their makeup time by having them appear mornings in minor-league games, getting several at-bats, before playing in the major-league game.

"It's not the same, but it's better than nothing," said Baker.