Sports Today: The Reds will win a game this season (probably)

Credit: Jamie Sabau

Credit: Jamie Sabau

There was a lot of exciting basketball over the weekend, but I guess we should start with the Reds. 

I guess Cincinnati’s opening series with the Washington Nationals could have gone a lot better.

(Since, you know, the Reds lost all three.)

Three games does not a season make, but we know for sure the Reds are not as good as one of the best teams in the league.

Not that this should be a surprise.

What else have we learned? 

Adam Eaton is really good.

So is Bryce Harper. And Max Sherzer. And Gio Gonzalez.

Perhaps Scooter Gennett is, too.

Billy Hamilton might not be the full-time major league player.

I guess we’ll start with the last one.

Hamilton had an RBI double, but he also struck out to end the game.

He is hitting .111 so far.

The speedy centerfielder said the right things on Opening Day when he was put in the ninth spot in the order, and there is plenty of justification for that move.

It also feels like this is another message for Hamilton from Reds management, doesn’t it?

First Bryan Price announced he was going to play four outfielders regularly. That was not all about Hamilton, but it has ended up having a greater effect on him than the other two regulars from last year (Adam Duvall and Scott Schebler).

Hamilton lost his spot in the batting order, and it is apparently going to cost him starts even though none of the other three are true centerfielders.

RELATED: Suarez comfortable in No. 2 spot in order

PHOTOS: Springfield native Eaton off to strong start vs. Reds

If the Reds wanted to, they could have gotten Jesse Winker regular at-bats with a three-man rotation in the corner spots but chose to include Hamilton anyway, which has to say something about his standing in the organization.

Then the Reds brought in an older version of Hamilton to push him in spring training. That didn’t exactly work out as Ben Revere didn’t make the team, but it didn’t happen for not reason.

Finally, the Reds ended up keeping Phil Ervin in the majors. That’s interesting because he is another athletic outfielder who may or may not be able to hit major-league pitching but is younger and cheaper than Hamilton.

Meanwhile, Schebler is off to a nice start and Duvall already has four RBIs despite not starting one of the games.

This is all moot if Hamilton gets 10 hits this week, but it’s worth pointing out the things that have led to this point since they started before Opening Day.

I am right there with the people who didn’t want to see him traded in the offseason for fear of seeing him blossom elsewhere, but at the same time his chances aren’t going to be unlimited.

As for Gennett, he spoke for a while after the Opening Day loss about what a good place he is in mentally.

Gennett said playing in Cincinnati is still like a dream come true, and now he feels like his past success will help him if he gets into a slump.

After a breakout season, the Lebanon Launcher looks like he’s still going to have to play well to keep that starting spot at second base since top prospect Nick Senzel is playing there in Triple-A.

So far, so good: Gennett hit .538 in the first series of the season.

More good news: That starting pitching is something to build on. 

Homer Bailey didn’t want to accept a “good loss,” but he and Sal Romano logged solid first starts.

Luis Castillo had the worst line (six runs in five innings) of the three Reds starters, but Price was happy with his approach.

"He was competing in the strike zone. We'll work with a guy who competes in the strike zone."

Even more than arm troubles, walks have bedeviled the Reds for too long.

Finding five guys who will battle hitters is the most important task for this season…

Oh yeah, what about Eaton? 

Well, it's a shame it had to happen against the Reds, but of course it's great the Kenton Ridge graduate has put a nasty knee injury behind him

Congratulations are in order for Kathryn Westbeld and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

The former Fairmont star is a national champion after ND knocked off fellow No. 1 seeds Mississippi State and Connecticut in the Final Four in Columbus.

The word “unforgettable” gets thrown around a lot, but this really was a weekend fans of basketball are going to have a hard time not remembering.

Even as UConn was laying waste to the rest of the country for four straight seasons, the wealth was spreading in a sport that has always been top heavy.

Notre Dame is not new money, but many of the rest of the best teams in the country this season are more recent invitees to the party. That includes the team the Bulldogs, Louisville (the other Final Four team along with UConn) and last year’s national champion, South Carolina.

Where does that leave Ohio State?

That’s a good question this offseason…

Another area alum has a chance to win it all tonight as Michigan takes on Villanova.

Jaaron Simmons hasn't had a huge impact for the Wolverines after transferring from Ohio, but the Alter graduate had some key minutes Saturday night in a win over Loyola-Chicago.

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