X-Factor: Paul Janish

Paul Janish (The Enquirer/Joseph Fuqua II)Orlando Cabrera (2010) Alex Gonzalez (2009, 2007) Jeff Keppinger (2008) Felipe Lopez (2006) Rich Aurilia (2005) Between 1974 and 2004, the Cincinnati Reds were fortunate to be able to pencil in the names of Dave Concepcion or Barry Larkin at the shortstop position nearly every Opening Day. Now take a look at the group of names above. You may have surmised that those are the shortstops who have started for the Reds on Opening Day since Larkin’s retirement. Yes, the stench is nearly overwhelming. This year, Paul Janish is expected to take his turn at the most important defensive position on the diamond for Cincinnati, and his performance is one of the keys to the Reds’ chances to repeat as NL Central champs. In one important way, Janish presents an immediate upgrade to the list of has-beens at the top of this post. Every single one of the shortstops above were poor defensively with very little range (although a couple had been good...