--RHP Homer Bailey, a candidate for the No. 5 starting spot, was told he might do better by adding a few pounds, but he showed up in camp about 10 pounds lighter. "I feel better than I ever have in my life," he said.
--OF Jonny Gomes, a possible left field starter, isn't afraid of adversity. He suffered a heart attack when he was 23, and he survived a car crash that killed his best friend, Adam Westcott, for whom he wears 'AW' tattooed on his right biceps. --OF Jay Bruce is enjoying relative anonymity this spring after he was a media target all last spring as the team's top prospect. He didn't make the big-league team out of camp in 2008, but he became a regular upon his arrival in the majors in late May.
--C Ramon Hernandez, acquired from the Orioles in the offseason, is taking a crash course in learning and catching all of the Reds' pitchers before he departs March 3 to play for Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic.
--CF Willy Taveras plans to concentrate on lifting his on-base average to closer to .350 and acquiring more walks so he can come close to stealing 100 bases. Taveras had a .308 OBP last year, when he stole a National League-leading 68 bases.
BY THE NUMBERS: 4 -- Candidates the team is checking out to be the starting left fielder (Chris Dickerson, Jonny Gomes, Jacque Jones, Jerry Hairston Jr.).
QUOTE TO NOTE: "We have some speed in the outfield, no matter who we put out there, and this year there won't be balls falling in the gap or in front because these guys can really go get them." -- Manager Dusty Baker.
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