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No. 18 Cincinnati Reds
2000 Record: 85-77 (2nd in NL Central) The Cincinnati Reds entered the 2000 season full of excitement and expectations. Ken Griffey Jr. was supposed to lead the team to a title. Just one problem -- pitching. And in that respect things could even be worse! Pete Harnisch is the only proven starter because Ron Villone and Steve Parris were traded in the offseason. Rob Bell, 24, should continue to improve, but the make or break pitcher may be Scott Williamson. Williamson will have to transition from setup man to starter, and putting him In Focus shows he may be up the task. Williamson was just 5-8 last season, but that was mostly out of the bullpen. In his 10 starts, the 25-year-old had a 2.93 ERA. Ken Griffey will probably make people forget about his National League debut season when he hit just .271. The rest of the lineup is above average too with emerging players like Sean Casey, Pokey Reese and Aaron Boone and veteran shortstop Barry Larkin. The Reds finished fifth in runs scored in the NL last season, and they'll have to do even better to stay above .500 this year because of the pitching. I rank the Reds as the 18th best team in baseball.
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