The offseason lull may have made its way to us Reds fans a few weeks ago (actually, a few months ago), but for most Reds minor leaguers, there's not much of an offseason.  Reds farmhands will be playing in 5 different leagues, the most prestigious one of which starts today.  Here's what you need to know about the Arizona Fall League.

Q: What the hell is it?

A: The AFL is a place where many organizations send their top prospects from the US, from the AA and AAA levels (although one "class-A" player is allowed and one international player is allowed from each team).  Among the big names competing this year, the Marlins' Mike Stanton, the Braves' Jason Heyward, the Mariners' Dustin Ackley, the Nationals' Stephen Strasburg, the Giants' Buster Posey, the Rangers' Tanner Scheppers, as well as our own Yonder Alonso. 

Q: How many players are sent from each team?

A: Each roster is filled by 5 teams who send 7 players each, giving the league 6 teams of 35 players.

Q: Who's participating from the Reds?

A: The Reds sent 4 pitchers to Arizona, a class headed by 2009 first round pick RHP Mike Leake.  Joining him will be supplemental pick RHP Brad Boxberger, AA reliever RHP Sean Watson, and AAA closer RHP Logan Ondrusek.  Rounding out the players sent are 1B Yonder Alonso, AA SS Zachary Cozart, and AAA outfielder Chris Heisey.

Q: Are they all on the same team?

A: Yep!  The Reds prospects will be playing on the Peoria Saguaros this year, along with prospects from the Indians, Astros, Padres, and Braves organizations.

They kick off their year tonight at 8:35 ET against the Scottsdale Scorpions, with former Vanderbilt standout Mike Minor on the hill.  We'll have occasional updates all season long of this league, plus the Mexican and Venezuelan leagues (which have already kicked off) and the Dominican and Puerto Rican leagues (which are set to start soon).

More photos » by Denis Poroy - AP

Inland Empire 66ers outfielder Manuel Ramirez is getting a lot of attention for some reason. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

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Two truths and a lie:

1. At least half of the Dodgers starting lineup came up through their minor league system.
   
2. The Dodgers swooped in and stole the Reds AA affiliate at the end of last season, and despite their reputation of a solid minor league system, finished with a worse record than when the Reds were with the team.
3. Despite having the best record in the NL, they actually underperformed according to their Pythagorean W-L record.

Despite being without their big money slugger for 50 games, the Los Angeles Dodgers of Los Angeles was the best team in the NL.  18 of their pitchers had an ERA+ over 100, including an obscene 639 ERA+ by reliever George Sherrill, who was acquired from Baltimore in July.  Even more amazingly, they've accomplished all of this while giving significant playing time to two of the most maligned former Reds from the mid-aughts, TSF Juan Castro and the top-notch Eric Milton.

Discuss all things Dodgers here.  They begin their series tonight at home against the Cardinals at 9:37 ET.

More photos » by Pat Sullivan - AP

You want a shot at the rotation next year? You're going through this man. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)

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Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Matt Maloney, of course.  Matty went 7 strong innings, giving up only 2 runs on 6 hits, and walked nobody.  He struck out 4, and probably could have gone another inning, since he was only at 93 pitches and had an 8-run lead, but Dusty yanked him in favor of unproven bullpenners.

Key Plays

• Joey Votto struck early for the good guys, hitting his 23rd home run of the season to give the Reds a 1-0 lead. 
  
• The Reds broke out in the 2nd for 5 runs in the 2nd, and ended up chasing former Red Brian Moehler (remember that?) out of the game in the 3rd, giving the Reds a 7-1 lead.
• Jay Bruce's solo shot in the 5th and Wladimir Balentien's 2-run single in the 6th gave the Reds 10 runs, and free wings for Astros fans.
• After Maloney left after the 7th, Pedro Viola gave up 2 runs in the 8th.  That was pretty much the game.

via www.fangraphs.com

Other Notes

• Matt Maloney put together another great start, and is now firmly in the conversation for the 5th starter spot next year.  If he keeps pitching like he did today, he's got my vote.  His ERA is 2.65 over his last 3 starts, and he put together his longest outing of the year this evening.  Also, he's only walked 1 batter in those 3 starts. 
  
• The Reds 17 hits was the second highest total of the season, one less than the 18 they had in Arizona and it ties the 17 they had in Milwaukee.
• 6 Reds players had multiple hits, including a 3-for-5 night from Juan Francisco, who filled in for Scott Rolen, who was a late scratch.  The other 5 were all names we should all start getting used to, in Drew Stubbs, Paul Janish, Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, and My Wladdy Balentien.  Speaking for myself, it feels pretty good to see all those guys performing well on the same night.
• Jo-eh drove in 4 of the Reds 10 runs. 
  
• All 9 of the Reds starters had at least one hit.
• Jared Burton pitched a perfect 9th.  This is a good sign, I think.
• Reds win their 5th game in a row, and 9 of the last 11.  Too bad the season doesn't start in September.
• Rick Sweet was in uniform in the dugout as well.  You may remember him as the manager who took Louisville to the playoffs this year.

So last Friday night, Slyde, jsl413 and I ventured down to Louisville to watch the Reds AAA affiliate take on Durham in Game 3 of the first round of the IL playoffs.  We had a pretty good time.  Slyde got some pretty sweet tickets for $12.50 each.  We ended up about halfway up the box seats, one section to the left of home plate.  Here's a view from our seats:

That, my friends, is prime real estate.  More about the game (and more pics) after the jump.

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Labor Day means that most of the minor league teams are done for the year, with one still going on and one team in the playoffs.  Let's go over some highlights of the long weekend, and see what's ahead.

• Louisville closed out their season by winning 3 of thelr last 4.  Highlights included a combined 7-hit game from Todd Frazier and Juan Francisco, a 5-inning shutout relief outing by Lee Tabor, a 9 strikeout start by Ben Jukich, 3-hit games by Jay Bruce and Ryan Hanigan, 7 shutout innings by Sam Lecure, and another 2-hit game by Jay Bruce.  Bruce was 5-for-18 and Hanigan was 7-for-18 on their rehab stints.  Up next: Obviously the big news is that the Bats are the sole team in the Reds organization to make their playoffs this year.  They'll take on the Durham Bulls (TB) in a 5-game series, starting Wednesday in Durham.  They'll play at least one game in Louisville on Friday night, so if you're so inclined, come on down and see a playoff game.  Slyde and I will be there, so come say hello.
  
• Carolina also won 3 of their final 4, but finished 11 games back in their division at 28-42 in the second half.  Some highlights of their weekend: 2 hits and a homer by Yonder Alonso, a 3-for-3 game from Alonso, and 7 shutout innings by Jerry Gil (!).  Yonder has been hitting .412 over his last 10 games, and is rumored to be joining Louisville for their playoff run.
• Sarasota finished dead last in their division at 26-43 in the second half, but won 2 of their final 3 games.  Lance Janke had a 1-run, 7 inning outing, Carlos Fisher had a perfect inning of work, Neftali Soto had a 2-hit game, Denis Phipps had a 3-hit game with a HR, Curtis Partch pitched 7 shutout innings, Jordan Wideman had a 3-hit game, and Matt Fairel finished his season with 8 shutout innings.
• Dayton lost 3 of their last 4 to finish out their year.  Highlights include another good start by Chase Ware, a homer by Josh Fellhauer, and a 3-hit night by Carlos Mendez.  The Dragons finish out the second half at 31-38, 17.5 games out of first.
  
• Billings will continue their season until the end of this week. 
  

As this is the last Farmers Only column of the season, I'd like to thank all you people for putting up with me and reading.  nycredsfan and I have a lot planned for the offseason, and we'll still continue to cover Louisville's playoff run (including live updates from Friday night's game) and finish up the Billings season.  The minor league season really doesn't end.  Next comes the Arizona Fall League!

First things first.  Jay Bruce and Ryan Hanigan have both reported to Louisville on rehab.  Also, most of the Carolina pitching staff from a few months ago are now with the AAA team.  A couple of recent callups are starters Tom Cochran and Camilo Vazquez, and stud reliever Joseph "The Cycle" Krebs.

• Louisville beat Indy 4-2 behind another good start by Travis Wood.  Woody gave up 1 run in 5 innings of work, and struck out 6 Indians.  Logan Ondrusek earned his 11th save for the Bats with a perfect 9th, dropping his ERA to 1.93 in AAA.  Juan Francisco had two hits for the offense, and Daniel Dorn drove in 2 runs with a pinch-hit double.  Up next: Ben Jukich takes on Indy at 7:15.
• Carolina went back and forth in their game against Mississippi before they won 6-5.  Matt Maloney had a great start, pitching 7 innings and giving up 1 run on a solo HR, and left with a 3-1 lead.  After Zach Ward predictably blew it, the Mudcats battled back with 2 in the 8th only to give up 2 in the top of the 9th.  Jose Castro broke the tie again in the 9th with a game winning single.  Jason Bour and Sean Henry each had 3 hits for the Mudcats, and for some reason shortstop Kris Negron started the game in CF.  Not sure where that came from, but we'll see if it becomes a trend.  Up next: Luis Montano takes on Mississippi at 7:15.
• Sarasota lost to Palm Beach 3-2, as the normally automatic Mace Thurman gave up the winning run.  Dave Sappelt was 3-for-4, and Alex Buchholz had a multi-hit game too.  Travis Webb started, and gave up 4 runs (1 earned) in 5 innings.  Up next: Lance Janke takes the hill against Palm Beach at 7:05.
• Dayton beat South Bend 5-3 behind a solid start by J.C. Sulbaran.  Sulbaran gave up 3 runs in 6 innings of work for his 5th win of the year.  Carlos Mendez drove in 3 runs with his 3 hits, and Kevin Coddington added a solo shot.  Up next: Chase Ware takes on South Bend at 7.
• Billings lost to Great Falls 4-3 in 10.  Efrain Contreras and Thomas Nurre both homered.  Leonardo Astorga gave up 1 run in 5 innings.  Frank Pfister was 3-for-5.  Up next: Billings takes on Helena at 9:05.