Hamilton in

Josh Hamilton gets his first start. He's in center and batting leadoff.

I'm here at Chase Field watching Ken Griffey Jr., Chad Moeller and David Ross take early batting practice. Looks to my untrained eye like Griffey is getting close to his old self. He's driving the ball to left-center. In a couple of days, those balls off the wall are going to go out is my guess.

A blast from the past in the Minor League Report: Richie Gardner. He went five innings and allowed two runs on six hits in Sarasota's 4-3 win over Fort Myers. Gardner was the minor league player of the year in 2004 before having the dreaded shoulder surgery. He was limited to nine games last year. Getting him back full-go would be a huge boost to the Reds' minor-league pitching depth.