Speaking as a person of the Midwestern persuasion, I’m super-psyched to see that more of the spring training games in the far away land of Arizona will be available to me thanks to the magic of satellites and the MLB network. I’ll leave it up to you to decide whether that’s black magic or not.

According to MLB:

With players reporting to the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues this week, MLB Network is announcing its plans to air 83 games as part of its 2011 Spring Training coverage. The game schedule begins on Saturday, February 26, with the Phillies visiting the Yankees live from George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla., at 1 p.m. ET.

That’s the first paragraph of the story, and it actually went on for a couple more sentences after that. Does no one know how to write a proper lead?

Anyway…

You can see the full schedule of games to be televised on MLBNetwork.com. Some I found interesting include:

• Tues., Mar. 1 3:00 p.m. Cincinnati Reds (ss)** L.A. Angels of Anaheim
• Mon., Mar. 7 9:30 p.m. (s) Milwaukee Brewers Cincinnati Reds
• Sat., Mar. 26 11:00 p.m. (s) Cincinnati Reds San Francisco Giants (ss)
• Mon., Mar. 28 4:00 p.m. Cincinnati Reds Chicago White Sox

Today at the Cincinnati Reds spring training facility in Goodyear, Arizona, it was all about Aroldis Chapman.

First, John Fay interviewed pitching coach Bryan Price about things Chapman needs to work on and his future role.

“First and foremost, especially with young guys, it’s going to be about command and commanding the count. Where he would be vulnerable is if he sets a precedent of being behind in the count and guys are comfortable enough to lay off some pitches. You don’t want to get to two strikes with this guys, he has a lot of ways to put you away.”

“He has to continue to work on the slider and make it a higher-percentage strike pitch as well as finish pitch.”

Price again reiterated the Reds position that Chapman’s eventual roster spot will be as a starter, but that it’s best to introduce him to the majors via lower pressure relief situations. I like how the Reds have been handling Chapman. Letting someone break into the big leagues in a relief role allows the club to better control the pressure and the number of innings, not to mention it allows the pitcher to focus on perfecting a couple pitches instead of the arsenal a starter needs. I do look forward to seeing what Chapman can do as a starter in another year or two, though.

Dusty Baker also spoke about Chapman and his role with the Reds this year.

“One thing I want squash right now is closer-situation controversy. I know everyone want’s to be in a hurry to rush him in there. But we’ve got to get him acclimated to what he’s doing first. (Francisco) Cordero, even though it’s been exciting at times, he’s still second at least our leagues in saves the last two years. That’s something that most people overlook.”

Are there lots of people clamoring for that? I know Cordero was frustrating as hell last year, and it was nice to have Chapman available to bail him out on occasion, but I don’t think it would be wise to throw Chapman into the pressure-cooker of the 9th inning.

Lastly, John Fay interviewed Chapman via interpreter. He’s happy in his relief role and has a lot of desire to improve. Given his flashes of success last year, I’d like to see him improve, too.

Chapman also talked about the intense expectations that he feels from the crowd whenever he takes the mound.

“I really feel good when I see those things the fans want me to do,” he said. “But, really, the truth is that particular moment I don’t think about those things. I just do what I have to do. I think about my job. . . At that moment, I just want to pitch.”

That’s probably wise. Otherwise, those 105 mile-per-hour fastballs might be flying over the fences, or leaving mighty painful bruises.

Today was the first workout for all of the Cincinnati Reds pitchers and catchers. And as evidence, John Fay has a picture of them stretching.

Fay also had the chance to talk to Reds manager Dusty Baker about the starting rotation. Unlike in years past, there won’t be a huge audition for roles.

Dusty Baker said the Reds will only get “seven or eight” pitchers ready as starters.

“That’s early,” Baker said. “Then you start cutting back once you decide. Health is a big issue here. You hope it doesn’t come into play, but it usually does. The better shape they’re in less chance for injury.”

It sure is nice to have the days of the open casting call for the pitching staff be over. Those seven or eight pitchers Baker mentioned have to be Bronson Arroyo, Edinson Volquez, Johnny Cueto, Homer Bailey, Travis Wood, Mike Leake, Sam LeCure, and Matt Maloney. Any combination of those five is better than what the Reds have sent out for so long. It’s so nice to have the opposite problem for a change.

In addition, Baker also mentioned Dontrelle Willis, who has looked good in early workouts so far. I’m not sure where the Dontrelle Train will lead, but if he could find an unopened bottle or two of that awesome-sauce he had earlier in his career, the Reds pitching glut problem would continue to be a happy problem.

At long last, the day has arrived: the Reds’ pitchers and catchers have arrived at the spring training facility in Goodyear, Arizona. Baseball is upon us!

Like you, I wish I were taking my own photos of a view of the pitchers and catchers dancing slightly obscured by Dusty Baker’s backside, but for now we’ll have to be appreciative of the second-hand accounts offered by the Internets. Like this tidbit from John Fay:

Good morning from Goodyear, where it’s a bone-chilling 51 degrees. Sorry, had to do it.

John, it was 57 today in Indianapolis. I drove home from work today with my coat discarded and forgotten in the other seat and the sunroof open. Apologize for a job that has you running around spring training camps instead of stressing out about software releases if you like–I know I certainly resent it–but the groundhog was right and there’s no need to apologize for your 51.

Now let’s get on with some baseball.

It sounds like the unthinkable is actually going to happen. Albert Pujols and the St. Louis Cardinals are breaking up. Prince Albert has reportedly turned down the Cardinals’ contract extension offer.

Wow.

I always thought the two would work things out and make sure that Pujols would be a life-long Cardinal. It’s not looking so likely now.

[Pujols] will announce Tuesday he’s ceasing contract talks for the duration of the season, a person close to Pujols told USA Today.

Pujols has also indicated he will not discuss the contract status when he reports to Spring Training on Wednesday to avoid distractions from baseball. Clearly, Albert understands exactly how the media works.

Manager Tony LaRussa is not so naive to think it won’t be an issue, though.

Manager Tony La Russa told reporters Sunday he will also encourage his players to avoid the issue.

“This is a spectacular distraction potentially,” La Russa said. “We won’t allow it to be.”

Yeah, good luck with that. The Cardinals underperformed last season without the Albert Pujols Distraction. 2011 isn’t starting off particularly well for them.

I guess does this mean that the “best fans in baseball” aren’t good enough to keep the “greatest baseball player” around.