Homer Bailey Likely to Win Rotation Spot

Upcoming fireballer Homer Bailey -- despite heavy competition for limited spots on a deep Reds staff -- likely will make the starting order out of spring training.

It's not so much that Bailey seems to be catching on after three years of difficulty -- note his 31 strikeouts and 3.72 ERA in his last 29 innings of work last year -- but that he is out of options, and cannot be sent back to Louisville without exposing him to other teams.

Hello Homer Bailey. Good bye Mike Leake.

Barring a complete catastrophe in the Cactus League, Bailey will open the season as the No. 4 or No. 5 starter, and needs to make the most of his opportunity given that the team has so many other options, especially with the return of Edinson Volquez from the disabled list.

Observers have never questioned Bailey's potential, given his high '90s fastball and other pitches, but fault him for his obstinance in taking direction. It might be a bit harsh to call him uncoachable so early in his career, but it would seem to be high time that he matured if he wants to stick around.

Reds SP Homer Bailey 'Dizziness' Likely Passes

Hopefully for Reds starting pitcher Homer Bailey, his recent bout with "dizziness" has passed, and can be dismissed as nothing more serious than common vertigo.

Barring a return of the condition, Bailey will make his next start when the team arrives in Milwaukee, according to the team. Details, however, have been few, in which case one is lead to believe that no news is good news.

Common vertigo-- in which an individual experiences a passing or momentary sensation of spinning -- can be brought on by something as simple as poor hydration or minor inner ear inflammation. This can be dismissed as being little more than episodic and rare, if not virtually unique. It is treatable with common medications.

Pilots at nearby Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton are automatically grounded in such situations, with physicians wary of a risk of an aircrash. In Bailey's case, however, the exposure to injury seems limited to nothing worse than falling off a mound, so there should be little hesitation about running him out there again.

Entirely different consequences can be anticipated if the cause is attributed something more serious, such as a tumor, but given the details in this instance it appears that is all but out of the question.

Reds' Rotation Taking Shape

Look for youngsters Johnny Cueto and Edinson Volquez to both open the season in the Cincinnati Reds' rotation, behind stalwarts Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo. Cueto and Volquez are near-locks - as Manager Dusty Baker has acknowledged - based on very strong Spring performances.

That leaves one spot open in the rotation, and the competition is coming down to Josh Fogg and Matt Belisle. Since Belisle still has minor-league options available, and also rates as a better bullpen hurler than Fogg, Fogg appears the strong favorite to nail down the final spot. Many observers believe Belisle would have a better future as a reliever than a starter anyway, since his fastball doesn't have enough movement to keep getting by batters the second or third time around the order.

You may have noticed that super-prospect Homer Bailey is not part of this discussion. That's because Bailey is no longer part of the Reds' discussion for the season-opening rotation. Bailey is guaranteed to open the season in Triple A after a Homer pile of problems coalesced in Spring Training, resulting in poor numbers:

• Mechanical problems with his plant foot
  
• Attitude problems (resistance to coaching)
  
• The possibility that he is tipping pitches
  

Bailey is only 21 and has a world of talent. If he works on his issues at Triple A, he will still be a very good pitcher for the Reds (or someone), and likely in 2008. But for now, he's fallen behind Cueto and Volquez in the Reds' pecking (and pitching) order.