Sean Casey likes Reds' chances this year

Sean Casey, former Red, current MLB Network analyst and raconteur, thinks the Reds are underrated. More on that later. I'm adding raconteur to Casey's title because I heard him speak at the Elder Stag last night.

He killed it. Absolutely killed it. Chris Rock would not have gotten more laughs. Casey was touching when talking about his rise from a kid who got eight at-bats as a high school freshman to NCAA batting champ. The stuff about his relationship with his dad was particularly heartfelt.

But he had the sold-out crowd of 900 rolling when telling his baseball stories. Here's a quick and clean one: After he got traded to the Detroit Tigers, Casey had a meeting with coaches and manager Jim Leyland. They went over all the signs. Then Leyland spoke up. He told Casey if he got on first base to look into the dugout. "Look right at me. Lock in. If I jump up and don't come down, steal second."

Casey had a lot more. If you get a chance to hear the guy speak, take it. Veteran Elder Stag goers said he was the best they've had.

Anyway, back to what he thinks about the Reds.

"I think they're better than what people think," Casey said. "Anytime you've got Johnny Cueto as your No. 1, you've got to feel good about that. You've got Mike Leake. You've got Homer Bailey. That's a pretty formidable three. You're going to get guys back. (Joey) Votto is going to be back. Jay Bruce is going to be back from that knee. I don't think he was totally healthy last year. Brandon Phillips was hurt.

"It was a MASH until last year. You have (Aroldis) Chapman in the 'pen. It's going to be a good team. If they stay healthy, it's going to be a good product."

Casey is not scheduled to do any Reds games on TV this year for Fox Sports Ohio.