And manager Dusty Baker said when he left PNC Park on Saturday night, May 2, his Sunday lineup had Rosales batting second. When Baker got to the ballpark, he changed his mind and dropped him back to seventh.

"Let's not put undue pressure on the young man so fast," Baker said. "There are a lot of things to do at No. 2. Rosales is not a taker yet, and we need that with Willy Taveras batting ahead of him. And I like speed up top - Taveras and either Chris Dickerson or Jerry Hairston Jr. second.

"Let's let him chill and marinate down there in the order right now," Baker added. "He is just learning the pitchers, and No. 7 is important. He can turn over the order, get us back to the top. And there are a lot of two-out ribbies available down there."

'Nick' of time

Nick Masset wanted the No. 5 spot in the starting rotation so bad he tasted pie and ice cream every time he pitched during spring training.

He didn't win it - lost it to Micah Owings - but it didn't leave a bitter taste where the ice cream was. Masset has grasped the difficult middle and long relief role, a position where the writers don't talk to you until you mess up.

"I'm in one of those positions that is very finicky," he said. "You never know when or where or how you'll pitch or the situation you'll be thrown into. I feel good the way Dusty has used me.

"I just need to throw to stay sharp and focus every day on a game plan that I might be in there. I go one day, one pitch at a time and try to let my pitches work for me."

Masset has made six appearances, four of them scoreless, and given up just one run in each of the other appearances.

Dusty's namesakes

Dan Hoard, radio voice of the Pawtucket Red Sox in the International League, told Baker that Dusty Brown, a player for the PawSox is named after him.

Said Baker, "That's humbling. I've heard of a few people named after me, but mostly it's dogs and cats. People write me letters saying they named their cat after me. Mostly it's animals named after me."

Daniel, not Danny

Speaking of names, when he was called up from Class AAA Louisville last year, his name was Danny Herrera. Now it is Daniel Ray Herrera. Why?

"I've always gone by Daniel Ray," said the lefthander relief pitcher. "But people call me Danny. The media relations people ask me what I prefer to be called, and then they put in Danny anyway and call me what they want to call me."

Not this year. The 2009 Reds media guide calls him Daniel Ray.

Quote of the day

Trainer Mark Mann watched Fox TV broadcaster Jim Day walk into the clubhouse Sunday morning and said, "There he is, the face of the Reds ," to which Day replied, "If I'm the face of the Reds , I'm about two bolts shy of Frankenstein."