Josh Hamilton, Ken Griffey Jr., and the Reds' Outfield

For a couple years, the Reds seemed to open up every season with too many outfielders. They finally thought they had things cleared up, then they went and traded for Josh Hamilton after the Rule 5 draft and have themselves the same problem all over again.

Hamilton has gone from a long shot to having an excellent chance of making the 25-man roster. Hamilton, the Rule 5 player who was 1-for-3 Wednesday against the Devil Rays, is batting a team-leading .548 in 11 games this spring.

The Reds have very little choice but to keep Hamilton on the roster and see how he performs against big league pitching in the early part of the season. That would appear to pose a minor problem since Ken Griffey Jr., Adam Dunn, and Bubba Crosby are already left-handed hitting outfielders likely to end up on the big league roster. Of course, it may not be that much of a problem because Griffey still hasn't played this spring.

For the first time this spring, Narron appeared concerned about Griffey's readiness to open the regular season with the club. The 37-year-old Griffey has been rehabilitating from a broken left hand he suffered in December and has not played in any exhibition games.

"If it's March 14 and a guy hasn't been able to play yet," Narron said, "at some point, you've got to have some Spring Training. Hopefully, he'll be well enough to play here in a couple of days."

Of course, if Griffey can play on Opening Day that might... wait. Bubba Crosby sucks. Why is anyone worrying about this?