Rosales Digs In

I loved watching Adam Rosales play in his first major league start last night. The guy is a gamer: socks high, full of energy and passion for the game. He digs into the batter's box like he's trying to tap an oil well or digging for nightcrawlers. I saw him do the same thing last Thursday. Rosales was playing for Louisville against my hometown Toledo Mud Hens. I sat about 4 rows behind and to the left of home plate. I noticed Rosales digging into the batter's box to the point where you couldn't even see his toes. Hopefully he is entrenching himself into a long-term position with the Reds. The way he's playing, he certainly deserves to be in a major league uniform right now.

Here is what Redleg Nation has to say about him:

Adam Rosales is very close to becoming a legend in Cincinnati. In his first start of the 2009 campaign, Rosales drove in two of the three Cincinnati runs, hit the ball hard a couple of times, drew a walk, had a ton of fun, and just ran around the field like he was running through hell in a gasoline suit. Then, of course, he made a fine play to end the game. He’s cut out of the Chris Sabo/Ryan Freel mode, and you know how Cincinnati fans love guys like that. (Plus, he looks like Cris Collinsworth.)

Here is Hal McCoy's take on Rosales:

Then there was Rosales, the guy called up from Louisville yesterday, where he was hitting .431, and installed at third base. This guy runs hard on every play, runs hard to first on a walk, runs hard to his position and probably runs to the bathroom even if it isn’t an emergency

How bad did he want to play this game? Early in the afternoon a downpour flooded Great American Ball Park because the grounds crew had difficulty tugging the tarp onto the field. Shortstop and third base could have hosted the Olympics swimming and diving events.

What did Rosales do? He was out there helping the grounds crew get the field ready. If the flight crew doesn’t show tomorrow for the trip to Pittsburgh expect Rosales to slide into the cockpit and transport his teammates.

The fans love him. He swung at the first pitch he saw and drilled it deep to center. Almost a home run. Not quite;. And he sprinted to the dugout as the fans gave him a standing ovation. He said that gave him chills.

Then he broke a 0-0 tie with a single up the middle in the fifth, walked in the sixth and drove in the third run with a sacrifice fly in the eighth.

After the game his face was a perma-smile and he constantly giggled like a teenager. How can you not pull for a guy like this?