THE BROO VIEW with Ken Broo

Good Monday Morning!

Xavier a #4 seed? Good, better than I thought. Figured on a #5. Getting shipped out to Boise? Bad. Only a smattering of Xavier fans will make that trip. And if they're going to, they better start leaving today.

Portland State isn't great, but good enough to give Xavier some problems. The second round match up could be intriguing, particulary if Florida State prevails over Wisconsin. Sean Miller should watch the FSU-North Carolina game from the ACC Tournament. He'll get an eyeful.

No NIT for UC? Surprised a bit. I figured UC would get in, given its total body of work. But I guess that committee took a long hard look at UC over the last seven games this season. Which wasn't very good

I think the flame under Mick Cronin just got even hotter. He has to make the NCAA Tournament next season. If you're on the job 4 seasons and can't get in, there's something wrong. The first season he was at UC can be written off to the horrid way his AD and school President handled the Huggins-Kennedy affair. But after that, he's on his own.

Stay with me on this one. This has nothing to do with the way Bronson Arroyo pitched Saturday. Four innings, four hits, three earned runs and a home run allowed. Late spring start, maybe a little dead arm, it happens. Arroyo will be fine. But, with what team this season?

If you’re Walt Jocketty and you’ve seen Homer Bailey and Micah Owings throw this spring, aren’t you thinking about a way to get each of them in the starting rotation? Do you really want to banish one of them to Triple-A, or the bullpen? If I’m Jocketty, neither of those are good options for Bailey or Owings.

And if you’re Bob Castellini, any you’ve seen your personal wealth take a dive like a buzzard pouncing on road kill, and you know your revenue stream for your team will be another victim of the economy, aren’t you looking for ways to cut over head?

To me, Bronson Arroyo would be a prime candidate for a late spring training trade. Why not? It’s happened to him before. How do you think he got here?

Arroyo is due to make $20.5 million over the next two seasons. If the Reds don’t pick up his $11 million dollar option in 2011, they have to pay him $2 million to leave. That’s at least $23.5 million they owe Arroyo before his current contract is up. I don’t know where you come from. But where I’m from, $23.5 million is a lot of money.

So who could could Bronson Arroyo? It would have to be a contending team in a large market, right? The Yankees? They’ve always got dough. They’ve got CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett. Arroyo isn’t as good as those two, but better than the third and fourth starters the Yankees have, Phil Hughes and Chien Ming Wang. How ‘bout Arroyo to the Yankees for Xavier Nady? 300 hitter, good power, can play left field?

You know who needs pitching? The Dodgers. Their everyday 8 is pretty good: Manny, Russell Martin, the catcher, Casey Blake at third. You might have a tough time getting outfielder Matt Kemp for Arroyo. But what about Adam Ethier, a big left handed bat? Don’t think the Dodgers would like

Arroyo in their rotation? Chad Billingsley is their ace. But after him? It’s a shaky group.

Look, I like Arroyo. I’d like him even more if he’d throw some wins early in the season this year. That didn’t happen in ’08. I’d like him even more if he’d cut down on the number of pitches it takes to get out of innings. I like him as a guy. Great interview.

But if the goal is to get young and the young arms are ready to go, why not see what you can get for him? Harang, Volquoz, Cueto, Owings & Bailey. With Ethier or Nady in left field and the rest of the “Everyday 8” the Reds have? That’d slap old “Pot Roast” to attention up in Chicago, wouldn’t it?