Reds fifth starter

JD has a good post today:

Matt Belisle wants to start and I think that's an excellent idea. Saarloos would be a nice guy to have coming out of the pen, and Belisle has the stuff to start. He's also still only 26 years old, meaning his best years should still be ahead of him. Belisle's health has been an issue, but he pitched all winter and apparently his back has held up fine.

He's the best option right now, from what I can see. It wouldn't surprise me at all to see Belisle develop into a number three or four type guy in the next couple of years.

And it's kind of a shame that the Reds think Eric Milton has to start. Harang/Arroyo/Lohse/Belisle/Saarloos (with Bailey waiting in the wings) would be an interesting rotation.

This is a point I've been wanting to make, but he beat me to it. The idea that Milton is just handed a starter's job without earning it is rather annoying. Instead of having everyone battle for a fifth spot, they should be battling for the fourth and fifth spots and Milton and his huge salary would be traded for some cheap talent. There are more deserving candidates, but I also believe Belisle could eventually be a #3 starter. I mean, Milton is #3 so that could mean anything, but Belisle could be legitimate.

Reds cut 2

Brad Salmon & Brian Shackelford are out. It's Brian, right? I think so, anyway. Nobody is using first names. I don't know much about Shack, he seemed alright and we saw him a fair amount last year, so we'll see him again.

I kinda liked Salmon. And not just to eat, either. He seemed to be a pretty decent pitcher, young guy with some good moves. I would like to see him this year and I think that I just might.

Mavericks 92, Pistons 88

Nice to see the Mavs pull off a grinder like yesterday's affair. Granted, the Pistons were playing without Chauncey Billups which definitely could have affected the game, but it was still very good for the Mavs to win. Which they did.

Jason Terry for me was the player of the game, although his stats were very unspectacular. He got 12 points on 5/11 shooting, but almost all of his points came late, and he really distanced the Mavs from the Pistons late in the game, allowing Dallas to pull off the win. He hit two critical jumpers late as well as made two free throws. So his performance was huge in the fourth quarter, and he also contributed a sweet pass to Stackhouse where Stack got fouled and made both of his free throws. Nowitzki led the Mavs with 28 points, many of those coming later in the game. He started very cold again as he has done recently, but really picked it up late. He made a couple incredible shots and kept the Mavs in it late. He also played some pretty good defense, which was nice to see. Josh Howard, while pulling down 9 rebounds, had a pretty bad game. He had 12 points, most of those near the beginning of the game. His defense was solid, but not as good as it usually is, and he just missed a lot of shots, including an airball 3-pointer which would have iced the game. Dampier was a joke on the offensive side of things, but his defense was pretty dang decent in this game. He got called for a flagrant foul that wasn't flagrant whatsoever. He hit the guy's arm and Hamilton just fell down hard and put on a little acting show. It was pretty lame, and at a crucial time in the game. Speaking of Stackhouse, he had 12 points. Devin Harris had a very nice night, scoring 22 points, including 9/10 at the free throw line, meaning he went hard at the basket all game long. His performance was very decent, though his jump shots still need a LOT of work.

For the Pistons, it was pretty even scoring across the board, with Ronald Murray being the leader at 18 points. You could tell they missed Billups. I would like to think the Mavericks would beat the Pistons even with him in the lineup, but they haven't proven that this year. Still a good win though, as things could have gotten bad late but Nowitzki & Terry picked it up to preserve the victory.