Johnny Franchise

Not to be too giddy over one start, but never in my life has a Reds pitcher had so electric a debut as rookie Johnny Cueto had today. Peppering the zone with 96 mph heaters, he held the Diamondbacks to 1 hit (a home run), no walks and 10 Ks in 7 innings. No Reds pitcher has struck out 10 in his debut since 1900. The Reds haven’t really developed a homegrown starter since Tom freaking Browning. This team may have serious problems, but maybe, just maybe starting pitching won’t be one of them for too much longer. I was laughing out loud with glee for most of the game. The really amazing part? Dusty pulled him before he hit the 100 pitch mark.

Wonders may never cease.

Demond Sanders: Amazing performance. Dusty compared it to the way Fernando Valenzuela broke onto the scene to dominate out of nowhere. It was good enough to warrant a little hyperbole. I’m proud of Dusty for pulling him, but you know deep down he wanted to see if the kid could go the distance.

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