By C. Trent Rosecrans
TheLotD.com

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Jay Bruce is anxious to get to the big leagues, but that's nothing new.

"I get anxious about everything. I have to step back and realize it’s really early," Bruce said before Monday's doubleheader in Louisville. "When the time comes, it'll come soon enough. I don't need to get in a hurry. My time will come."

That, everyone is sure will be soon.

"When he's ready to go up, he'll be ready to go up," Bats manager Rick Sweet said Monday.

After Monday's games, Bruce was hitting .298 with two home runs and seven RBIs. But he's also struck out 12 times in 47 at-bats. He was 1-for-6 in Monday's doubleheader with an RBI.

"I'm getting locked in, I'm still missing some pitches I should hit, but it's still early," Bruce said.

Named the top prospect in baseball after last season, expectations are high for Bruce. He was invited to big league camp and used it to learn. Bruce got off to a hot start early in spring, but struggled after a strained quad in the second week of exhibition games. He finished the spring hitting .262 with 11 strikeouts and only one extra base hit in 42 at-bats.

Bruce, and many vocal Reds fans, was hoping he'd be on the Opening Day roster, but instead he started at Class AAA Louisville.

"There was definitely disappointment, but it's something I had to take in stride and understand they're going in a different direction at the time," Bruce said. "I'm just going to come out here and play hard and push the envelope as much as I can and be ready when the time comes."

Being ready is more than swinging the bat well, it's also finding a place to play. When Bruce is brought up to the Reds, it'll be to play, not just to fill out a uniform. That's why he's been getting seasoning at different positions. Although he is projected by most to be a right fielder, he's played quite a bit of center and even a smattering of games in left. He started the second game of Monday's doubleheader in left.

"It's funny, (last week) we were stretching and I always figure I'm playing center or right and one of the guys said I was playing left. I didn't believe them," Bruce said. "I asked Sweetie and he said I was. You've got to be ready for anything. I think everyone knows who is in right field, who is in left field and who is in center field (in Cincinnati). Those guys aren't moving. When the time comes for me to be there, I want to be ready to play anywhere. I want to be as comfortable as I can be at any position."

To that end, Bruce has been keeping a close eye on the veterans at Louisville, like Jerry Hairston Jr., Jolbert Cabrera, Andy Phillips and Andy Green.

"It's amazing what they know, just from being around the game," Bruce said. "Just being around, it's amazing what I don't know. You think you know a lot, I still have a lot to learn from the mental part, learning from Sweet and (hitting coach) Smokey (Garrett) and all the veteran guys. It's just tendencies and situational stuff and where to throw the ball then. It's second-nature to them and it's not quite second-nature to me but it should be."

What's impressed some of those older guys is just how much is second-nature for Bruce, who celebrated his 21st birthday last week and is the youngest player on the Bats, nearly a full year younger than Homer Bailey and three years younger than the next-youngest Bat.

"One think I'm impressed with, his abilities are up there, but for such a young age, he's got a high baseball IQ, but he also knows he has a lot to learn. He's getting a chance to play every day and develop. He's going to be a special player for a lot of years," said Hairston, who came up with the Orioles and said he learned at the feet of Cal Ripken Jr. and Brady Anderson. "(Bruce) reminds me of Larry Walker. I got a chance to play against him and he reminds me of (Walker). He's a Larry Walker-type player. Those are pretty big shoes to fill. He's really young, and he has that buggy whip like Larry with the bat, he has a great arm and knows how to run the bases well, too. Larry Walker was always concerned with scoring runs, not so much average or stealing bases, it's about how many runs you score. That's big and that's what made Larry a great player, he scored a lot of runs."

Whenever he does make his debut in the big leagues, Sweet doesn't expect him to be back in Louisville.

"He's still 21, he's still young. But he can flat-out play this game," Sweet said. "And he loves to play this game. He's going to be fine."

Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo and his teammates didn't know about the latest tribute to late Reds legend Joe Nuxhall until just before everyone else saw the team come out of the clubhouse all wearing Nuxhall's name and No. 41 on the back of their jerseys.

"They dropped us on it last minute too. They wanted to make sure the cat didn't get out of the bag," Arroyo said. "It was before the game, they said we're going to do a little something. We got clearance for everyone and for Aaron (Harang) to wear it on the mound."

While the rest of the team had clearance to wear the No. 41 jerseys for pregame introductions, Harang got permission to wear Nuxhall’s name and number for the entire game.

"They came to me and asked if I wanted to wear it. I didn't think twice," Harang said. "I'd gotten to know Nuxy since I got here in '03. That’s one of the better guys you'll ever know. ...  It's definitely been a change, going to Reds Fest, spring and now here, you can definitely tell a difference."

It was the first Opening Day since 1962 when he was a member of the Los Angeles Angels Nuxhall wasn't at Opening Day in Cincinnati. Even though Nuxhall, who passed away on Nov. 15 at the age of 79, wasn’t there in body, he was certainly at the game in spirit.

Not only did the team come out dressed in Nuxhall jerseys, the team also put his No. 41 jersey in the bullpen in centerfield and announced the portion of Main Street in front of Great American Ball Park would be renamed Joe Nuxhall Way.

But the most striking tribute will be the memory of the entire Reds team lined up on the first base line each with Nuxhall's name and number on the back.

"It was cool for us, I hope everyone else thought it was cool," first baseman Scott Hatteberg said following Monday’s 4-2 loss to the Diamondbacks.

The idea, several said, came from Reds right fielder Ken Griffey, Jr., who had left the clubhouse by the time manager Dusty Baker and Harang had finished their press conference.

"I think Junior's the one that had everything to do with that," left fielder Adam Dunn said.

Griffey was especially close to Nuxhall, having grown up in Cincinnati and got to know Nuxhall when his father playing for the Reds in the 70s.

"You won't hear his voice anymore, but you still hear it every day when you can hear him saying things to you," Griffey said before the game.

Nuxhall was a constant in the Cincinnati clubhouse, and he was always welcome by the players.

"It's special, I think it showed how much he meant to us and our organization. It shows he had a lot to do with our organization," Dunn said. "The thing about him, he was the easiest person to talk to. He was always the same, whether you’re good or stinkin'. He always made sure he came up and tell you a story, pat you on the back and tell you a story. If he tells you something, it's probably on past experience. It’s easier coming from them, who have actually done it."

Said catcher Javier Valentin: "It was awesome. We wanted to remember Joe Nuxhall. Every day you’d come in here and he’d be with us."

Nuxhall battled cancer for several years before succumbing to the disease after last season. His death was felt throughout the Cincinnati area, the baseball community and in the Reds clubhouse.

"He was more than just some guy or some player for the Reds. He was in the clubhouse all the time, he was one of those guys you respect and admire," Hatteberg said. "The things he went through and how he was still able to come in and be the same guy even though he was going through all that -- there's a strength there that I envy and don't think a lot of people posses. He's a special guy and he deserved a special day."

Here's your lineups

Reds:

Patterson, CF

Keppinger, SS

Griffey, RF

Phillips, 2B

Dunn, LF

Encarnacion, 3B

Hatteberg, 1B

Valentin, C

Harang, RHP

Diamondbacks

Young, CF

Hudson, 2B

Byrnes, LF

Jackson, 1B

Snyder, C

Reynolds, 3B

Drew, SS

Upton, RF

Webb, RHP

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Although David Ross will start the season on the disabled list and Johnny Cueto and Mike Lincoln are making the team, the moves that will clear up the roster space on the 40-man roster and for the final 25-man roster won't be official until Monday.

Part of these changes are logistics, but another part is the Reds front office is still trying to work a trade, sources said.

As the Reds worked out at Great American Ball Park on Sunday, Ryan Freel was still in Sarasota along with Norris Hopper to get in a few more swings after Freel had been slowed by the flu and Hopper had missed several days with a family situation.

Also in back in Sarasota were pitchers Josh Fogg and Edinson Volquez, who will fill out the starting rotation following Johnny Cueto, who will start Thursday's game.

Fogg threw a complete game in a minor league start on Sunday, allowing six hits with a walk and three strikeouts on 93 pitches for Billings against Sarasota. Volquez was also scheduled to throw in Sarasota.

As for now, the Reds still have Thursday's starter listed as "TBA", but that's only because Major League rules don't allow teams to list players not on the 40-man roster as starters. That will be changed tomorrow when all the moves are made to get the team to 25 and 40 and Johnny Cueto is added to both rosters.

"You know who's going to pitch," Baker said when asked about Thursday's start. "That might as well be TBAC (To Be Announced Cueto)."

Aaron Harang will start his third Opening Day at Great American Ball Park on Monday, making him the first Reds to start three consecutive Opening Days since Jose Rijo started four in a row from 1992-95. The only other Reds pitchers to make at least three consecutive Opening Day starts are Pete Donohue (1923-27), Si Johnson (1932-34) and Mario Soto (1982-86).

"It's going to be a good game, you have a tough Harang and a tough Brandon Webb from the area," Baker said, referring to Arizona's starter, Webb, a native of Ashland, Ky., and a former UK star. "We went on the caravan this winter and stopped in his hometown and all we heard about was Brandon Webb."

Webb will face a veteran Reds lineup, with no rookies in the Opening Day lineup. Scott Hatteberg will play first instead of rookie Joey Votto.

"The regular first baseman is going to be the one playing that day. Joey has great upside potential, but Hatteberg had a great spring. A lot of is going to depend on matchups," Baker said when asked about his regular first baseman going into the season. "Joey came up a little strong at the end, you wish he would have done better. He's here now because of what he did last year. Dunn has had a fair spring, Edwin (Encarnacion's) stuggled all spring in the sixth spot and you don't want that many guys in a row who are not on the top of their game. We want someone who is swinging the bat pretty good, at least initially. Everyone had a few at-bats to show if they're right now. You have to go with right now and hopefully the other guys get their acts together."


Votto hit .206 in the spring with 63 at-bats, the third-most of any player this spring. Hatteberg hit .386 in 57 at-bats. Third baseman Edwin Encarnacion struggled, hitting .152 in 66 at-bats.

Encarnacion will still start, batting in his customary sixth spot behind Adam Dunn. Hatteberg will bat behind Encarnacion.

Catcher David Ross is expected to go on the disabled list today after playing four games during the spring. Ross had struggled with back problems all spring, only to play the last four games. Javier Valentin will start in his spot.

Baker told Ross of the team's decision on Saturday before the team left Sarasota for Cincinnati.

"Spring training's not six weeks long for nothing. I tried to justify it, but I just couldn't do it. I look on that board and he missed four weeks," Baker said. "We have a a board with how many at-bats a guy's gotten and how many innings he played, if he didn't play, he got an X. Ross had a lot of Xs.

"You want to give him the best shot of not having a repeat of last year, these things creep into your mind and creep into the mind of fans. He didn't like it, but I didn't expect him to like it. But I was doing what was best for us."

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Also of note, Dusty was asked about starting center fielder Corey Patterson at length, but the most interesting statement was his comparison of Patterson -- the one-time hot shot Cubs prospect -- and Jay Bruce, the Reds' minor league star.

"(Patterson is) one of those guys that you use as an example of the hype early, much like Jay Bruce," Baker said. "Everyone wants to push him there, you'd rather have them overready than underready so they can be on top of their game big time."

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Stuff, I guess, only I care about, but uniform numbers. Johnny Cueto wore 77 in the spring, he's wearing 47 now. Mike Lincoln is 57 and Edinson Volquez is 36.

Mario Soto has come north with the team and was with Johnny Cueto during much of the workout.

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Another thing, there's a white sheet over the spot in center where the team put the Vern Ruhle memorial last year. I expect a change to that, with something for Joe -- I'm guessing. We'll see.