Bad news all around

Hate to end the day on a downer, but ...

-Reds pitching coach Vern Ruhle has been diagnosed with cancer. Although he would not reveal the form of cancer, Ruhle indicated that it had been detected early and was optimistic about his recovery. As it stands now, Ruhle will undergo treatment near his home in Sarasota and will continue his duties with the club. We all wish him the best.

-One of the most respected members of the local media is moving on. Fox-19's Dan Hoard has accepted the job as play-by-play man for the Red Sox Triple-A affiliate in Pawtucket putting him one step closer to his ultimate goal of broadcasting baseball full-time. The move will also allow him to "reunite" with his wife Peg who lives in Boston and is expecting the couple's first child. The bad news in this deal is two-fold - we've lost a colleague for whom we share a great deal of respect and Delta Airlines' profits just took another significant hit.

-Finally, the Reds played their first spring training game today and the results appeared all too familiar. Ben Kozlowski, who was starting in place of Eric Milton who's nursing a strained right calf muscle, gave up a towering home run to Tigers' catcher Pudge Rodriguez on the second pitch of the game. Later, former Red Reggie Taylor sent a Ryan Wagner pitch sailing up against the scoreboard to provide the winning margin for Detroit. Our favorite "Moneyball" star, Scott Hatteberg, homered for the Reds.

Don't worry, the sun will come up tomorrow.