Hey, it's Thursday already!

What Bronson Arroyo has done with the Cincinnati Reds this season is nothing short of amazing. Think about this, the Reds will probably win 80-games this season, at most. Arroyo won his 15th game of the season Wednesday night. And his earned run average dropped to a sparkling 3.84. Remember, this is on a ballclub that has been out of a pennant race since June 1st. Now, you can argue that Arroyo pitched without the pressure of a pennant race (and you'd be right). But the other side of that discussion has to be this: he won a lot of these games with AAAA talent behind him.

I firmly believe that, to have any kind of a competitive chance next season, the Reds will have to trade either Arroyo, Aaron Harang or Francisco Cordero. They consume far too much salary (approximately $37 million of a projected payroll of less than $70 million) and the Reds need to shed some of that to make budget and to hopefully attract better talent at short stop and in the outfield. But Arroyo should be the last option when trade time comes.

Harang is damaged goods. There is a strong line of thinking he hasn't been the same since Dusty Baker foolishly used him in relief, during a marathon game in San Diego last season. This was just a few days after a start and Harang make his next scheduled start three days after his relief appearance. Add to that another sub par year in 2009 and an appendectomy that KO'd him from pitching past late August and you can see why, at $12.5 million for 2010, Harang would be tough to deal.

Cordero will be the odd man out. But his $14 million price tag for 2010 will greatly limit his list of potential suitors. Best guess here, is that the Yankees (with an aging Mariano Rivera) and the Phillies (with Brad Lidge masquerading as Eric Milton) may be the most likely destinations for Cordero.

Arroyo? After the kind of season he had this year, how could you think of him as anything but the "ace" of the pitching staff? Volquez gone until late 2010, Cueto struggling to pitch deep into ballgames, Harang's appendectomy, Bailey's inconsistency, meet the new 'ace.

I'll be hosting Sunday Morning Sportstalk on 700 WLW this Sunday, starting at 9 AM EDT. If you live outside the greater Cincinnati area, you can catch me on XM 173. One of the topics I'll be dealing with is the realistic chance the Reds can better themselves in 2008.

The only realistic way they get better, is to find better pitching. And the list of potential targets is slim.

Listen to the top names: Paul Byrd, Matt Clement, Bartolo Colon, Josh Fogg and Carlos Silva. Impressive, right?

Byrd is 36 and though he went 15-8 with Cleveland this year, he cost $7 million. Fogg won ten in the rarified air of Denver and made 27 starts. His ERA is under five. He made $3.7 million. Silva made 33 start, won 13 of 27 decisions and put $4.35 in his pocket. Clement didn't pitch this year, recovering from shouldar surgery and Colon was told to get elbow surgery last fall, didn't, rehabbed his arm and managed a 6-8 record and 100 innings for the Angels. All he cost that team was $14 million.

You think it's any better in the bullpen? The top three candidates are Todd Jones, Francisco Cordero and Scott Linebrink. Jones saved 38 for the Tigers, exactly one less than every year of his life. Jones will turn 40 in April. Linebrink is a set up guy. Cordero 'closed' for the Brewers, saving 44 and pulling down $5 million. He could double that salary now on the open market.

Check out my web site: www.kenbroo.com. The latest "Bengals Report Podcast" is posted on the front page. Marc Hardin and I recap that awful Monday Night loss by the Bengals. But hey, we make it interesting!