"I was in bed the other night thinking about our exhibition schedule," said Baker. "We play some kickbutt teams this spring. With a young team like ours, wins might not be a measuring stick.

"We'll see how we stack up, see how we play against the big boys, see if we're intimidated or not."

The Reds play 34 games in Florida - five against the Tampa Bay Rays, four against the Red Sox, four against the Yankees, three against the Phillies, four against the Twins and five against the Blue Jays.

That's 25 of the 34 games against challenging teams.

"That's good for us," said Baker. "A good challenge. Our hitters will face good pitchers, and our pitching will face good hitters. Toronto has some of the best pitching in the world, I'm telling you.

"If this schedule doesn't help you get ready, then you can't get ready."

WBC for Votto

Joey Votto is on Canada's 40-man provisional roster for the World Baseball Classic, and it is certain he'll be part of the 27-man final roster.

And he plans to play for his native country.

"Yeah, I'm going," he said. "I'm looking forward to playing for Canada."

He was asked to play for Canada in 2006, the first WBC, "but I was just coming out of 'A' ball and didn't want to leave camp."

Votto leaves March 2 and won't be back until Canada is eliminated or after it plays in the final game March 23.

Encarnacion signs

Just hours away from his arbitration hearing, Edwin Encarnacion agreed to a two-year contract believed to be worth $5 million.

He was asking for a oneyear $3.5 million deal, and the team was offering $2.2 million.

Even had he lost in arbitration, Encarnacion's salary would have gone from $450,000 to $2.2 million, but now he'll make even more.

Encarnacion was not in camp Tuesday, Feb. 17, because he was in Phoenix for the possible arbitration hearing.

"Good for Edwin, good for the team," said Baker. "Those hearings are never nice, and the aftermath is not nice."

Quote of the day

"He hit 20 home runs in winter ball, which is unheard of, and I'm told last year here in Sarasota he kept hitting balls off the clubhouse (about 100 feet beyond the right-field wall. But I see his arm and might put him on the mound." - Pitching coach Dick Pole, talking about 21-year-old infielder Juan Francisco, who hit 25 home runs for the 2007 Dayton Dragons (Class A) and 23 for the 2008 Sarasota Reds (high Class A).