www.pjstar.com March 5, 2003 By OMAR SOFRADZIJA of the Journal Star

PEORIA - Skyrocketing gasoline and natural gas prices have U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood calling for a federal investigation to ensure the hikes are being driven by something other than the type of "profiteering on public fears" that was seen here on Sept. 11, 2001.

In a letter dated Tuesday to Federal Trade Commission Chairman Tim Muris, LaHood, a Peoria Republican, urged the FTC to "proactively address this matter," saying he was "particularly concerned about public perception" about the reason for sharp price spikes.

"I'm really distressed about the high price of gasoline," LaHood said in a phone interview. "I want to make sure that if gas prices are going up, it's because of things we have no control over, not that some of these gas companies are out to take advantage of a situation."

LaHood did not say price-gouging was afoot; rather, he wanted scrutiny to guarantee that it isn't and won't be. "I want the public to know somebody is riding herd on this situation."

In calling for an inquiry, LaHood joins a growing list of federal legislators and state attorneys general who in recent weeks have asked for FTC action. And he echoes an earlier call by the AAA-Chicago Motor Club for service stations statewide to show restraint and avoid "panic pricing."

On Tuesday, the average cost of regular-grade gasoline in the Peoria area was $1.73 per gallon, a record high for this time of year that is up 16 cents from one month ago and 48 cents from one year earlier, according to AAA.

That mirrored major per-gallon price increases in Illinois ($1.72, up 53 cents from one year earlier) and nationwide ($1.68, up 54 cents), according to AAA.

Low crude oil reserves, speculation of a possible war with Iraq and political instability in Venezuela - a major producer of U.S.-bound crude - have been blamed for much of the cost increases in both gasoline and natural gas.

"Natural gas is the primary source of energy for residential heating in Illinois, and I am concerned that manipulation of prices could severely impact my constituents, especially the elderly, many of whom live on fixed incomes and cannot afford to pay artificially high heating costs," LaHood's letter said.

The FTC did not immediately return a call seeking comment on LaHood's request.

LaHood's letter cites Sept. 11, 2001, as a worst-case scenario for local gas pricing, when "a few bad apples profiteering on public fears" raised their prices more than twofold.

On that day, several Casey's stations in west-central Illinois which started the day in the $1.70 range sold gas at $4 or more per gallon in what the stations later admitted were unjustified and panic-induced hikes.

That admission came as part of a settlement with then-Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan, who sued the stations for price-gouging.

The office of current Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan - who was elected to office last fall - is keeping an eye on Illinois pump prices, but believes the current market situation would be best reviewed by the FTC.

"We would encourage the FTC to look into this," said Madigan's press secretary, Melissa Merz.

"We are monitoring prices statewide and keeping track of it," she said. "We see it's a very volatile market right now. Price volatility does not necessarily mean unlawful conduct."

"However, we understand why people are concerned, and should the attorney general determine gas prices are violating consumer fraud laws, she will act appropriately," Merz said.

LaHood said people in his district who believe they're seeing price-gouging or price-fixing can call his office to complain.

"If the public believes there is some kind of activity where gasoline station owners or oil companies are trying to really increase prices to take advantage of the situation, they ought to report it to my office," he said. "People have been calling" to complain already.

www.norwichbulletin.com Wednesday, March 5, 2003 By BRIAN LYMAN Norwich Bulletin

NORWICH -- Ken Messier used to quote oil prices to customers several days before delivery. But with temperatures so low this winter and oil prices rising so quickly, he now waits until the night before delivery.

"The worst is: The elderly are getting slammed," said Messier, co-owner of Family Discount Oil in Taftville which services 5,000 customers in eastern Connecticut. "They can't afford this."

The price of home heating oil has jumped 10-11 cents per gallon since last Friday.

At Family Discount, it's gone from $1.649 per gallon to $1.759; at Viking Fuel in Oakdale, from $1.649 to $1.749; at Brodeur's Oil Service in Norwich, from $1.799 to $1.849.

Most blame continuing jitters about war in Iraq and a general strike in Venezuela aimed at ousting President Hugo Chavez. A month ago, the Norwich Bulletin reported on a spike caused when the U.S. government bought up all jet-fuel surpluses.

"We would say Venezuela is more important than Iraq at this moment," Steven Guveyan, executive director of the Connecticut Petroleum Council said. "It provides roughly 13 percent of U.S. imports, and the Northeast is hit particularly hard; more than that percentage is true in the Northeast. A lot of that is home heating oil."

The colder-than-usual weather this winter has led some people in the state to exhaust oil bought at fixed prices last year.

"Everyone understands this has been a really cold winter," John Mengacci, undersecretary for strategic management in the state Office of Policy and Management said. "Most of the folks who had locked in volumes against contract have to buy in a spot market, which is why you see the prices moving."

Gasoline prices in the state also have gone up, though not as dramatically as heating oil; the average price of gasoline in Connecticut Tuesday was $1.75 a gallon, up 15 cents from last month. Gasoline cost $1.20 per gallon this time last year.

Venezuela is beginning to produce some oil again, meaning war clouds are playing a larger role in determining prices.

"Usually, when military action starts is when the price takes off like a rocket," Guveyan said. "If it's short, and goes according to plan, the prices will go down quickly. Whether that happens or not, I don't know."

The course of war also makes it difficult to forecast summer prices, including whether gasoline prices shoot above $2 this summer. For now, Family Discount is trying to keep up with the demand.

"We've been at capacity every day," Messier said. "Every single day. The oil prices are sky high, but you still have to heat the house."

bmlyman@norwich.gannett.com

sg.biz.yahoo.com Wednesday March 5, 8:00 PM (This item was originally published Tuesday)

LONDON (Dow Jones)--Crude oil output by Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries rose by 1.430 million barrels-a-day in February from January to 27.091 million b/d, with the bulk of the increase coming from the group's largest producer Saudi Arabia, and also from Venezuela, a survey by Dow Jones Newswires found Tuesday.

The survey showed that crude oil production by the OPEC-10, excluding Iraq, rose by 1.533 million b/d in February versus January to 24.701 million b/d. Iraq, whose exports are controlled by the U.N., isn't part of any OPEC output agreement.

The latest OPEC estimates by Dow Jones also show that the OPEC-10 were 201,000 b/d over their current OPEC output target of 24.500 million b/d.

The survey found that Saudi Arabia pumped some 8.733 million b/d of crude oil in February compared to 8.367 million b/d in January. The latest figures also show that OPEC's defacto leader was heavily over its current OPEC output allowance of 7.963 million b/d in February.

Oil analysts expressed no surprise at the extra Saudi barrels. Saudi Arabia, they say, is making good on its pledge to guarantee the security of oil supplies.

"Saudi Arabia is pumping enough to supply their customers, " Leo Drollas, senior economist at the London-based Centre for Global Energy Studies, said.

In recent months Saudi Arabia has made up the bulk of a shortfall in Venezuelan crude after a nationwide strike crippled the South American producer's oil production.

Concerns that Iraqi crude supplies could be disrupted by a possible U.S.-led attack will now put further pressure on Saudi Arabia to produce more oil, analysts say. But they question how much more oil the kingdom can realistically put into the market over the short-term.

"It looks as if the Saudis are getting close to their near-term production threshold, " one analyst said. He said that Saudi Arabia can produce up to 10.5 million b/d but this could take several months to achieve.

A survey by the Middle East Economic Survey Monday meanwhile, put Saudi Arabia's crude production at 9.2 million b/d in February.

Venezuela's crude production also rose sharply in February compared to January, as it showed signs of recovering from recent strike action. The latest estimates show that Venezuela pumped 1.650 million b/d in February, up from 0.660 million b/d estimated for January.

But, the latest figures still show that Venezuela was a long way off meeting its current OPEC target of 2.820 million b/d. Analysts say because of damage caused to Venezuelan oil fields during the recent strike it could take several months before it can reach its full OPEC production allowance.

Oil analysts also said that as Venezuelan production is was way below its OPEC allowance in February, this meant that the group's overall compliance to its current OPEC ceiling wasn't too poor even though most members are now producing above targets.

Most other OPEC members continue to pump way above their OPEC output targets. Analysts say this is a result of high oil prices. "They are making hay at these prices," one analyst said.

Concerns about a U.S.-led military attack on Iraq and how that would impact on oil supplies from Iraq and other producers in the region pushed crude oil prices to 12-year highs last week. In the U.S., oil futures rose to almost $40.00 a barrel; while, in the U.K., crude futures were at one stage just off $34.00/bbl.

But, analysts expressed concern as to how much more oil, OPEC can realistically produce, as most members are currently producing at full capacity.

The UAE, possibly the only other OPEC member with some spare capacity produced 2.150 million b/d of crude oil in February, according to Dow Jones estimates. It has an official OPEC target of 2.138 million b/d.

Meanwhile, Iraq's production fell by some 100,000 b/d in February from January to 2.390 million b/d, those analysts polled by Dow Jones estimated.

As U.S. and allied troops continue to gather in the Persian Gulf, analysts say February may have been the last month in which Iraq's crude supplies were at fairly stable levels.

OPEC ministers meanwhile, are preparing to gather in Vienna March 11, during which they are scheduled to discuss their oil policy amid uncertainties over future Iraqi production and concerns over the traditional second-quarter slump in crude demand.

Table of OPEC members' crude oil output by country: Feb Jan Target Current Target from Jan 1 from Feb 1 S Arabia 8.733 8.367 7.476 7.963 Iran 3.660 3.603 3.377 3.597 Venezuela 1.650 0.660 2.647 2.820 UAE 2.150 2.130 2.007 2.138 Nigeria 2.173 2.167 1.894 2.017 Kuwait 2.050 2.027 1.845 1.965 Libya 1.396 1.377 1.232 1.312 Indonesia 1.083 1.100 1.192 1.270 Algeria 1.050 1.010 0.735 0.783 Qatar 0.756 0.727 0.596 0.635 TOTAL(10) 24.701 23.168 23.001 24.500 Iraq 2.390 2.493 TOTAL (11)27.091 25.661

-By Sally Jones, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9347; sally.Jones@dowjones.com

www.vheadline.com 7:45:24 PM (Caracas time) Posted: Wednesday, March 05, 2003 By: John Kaminski

How stupid are we to believe all of it?  Or any of it?

Date: Wed, 05 Mar 2003 19:57:56 +1100 From: John Kaminski skylax@comcast.net To: Editor@VHeadline.com Subject: Have You  Noticed?

Dear Editor: Have you noticed?  America is on the wrong side of every conflict in the world.  America encourages slavery and economic exploitation, and opposes individual rights and people's self determination --  everywhere in the world. And now, with its new hardcore police-state laws, even in America itself.

No more the land of the free and home of the brave. That's long gone. Now it's the land of the financially pulverized and the home of grotesquely overpaid executroids who will say anything for the right price. Lie to anyone, friend or foe. Betray anyone for those thirty pieces of silver. Bribe other countries in order to get them to do things that everybody realizes are wrong. Poison its own soldiers because somebody makes billions getting rid of nuclear waste. Even kill a lot of its own citizens with medicines that are never tested, and protect the vicious felons who distribute these poisons from shattered parents mourning their dead children. Judasland, that's the America we have now.

Americans don't tell the truth to anyone, least of all themselves. And I direct this at not just the government, but also at the American people.

Y'know, it's easy to say we've been victimized by bad schools and coma-inducing TV, disgustingly manipulative movies, and a climate of elitist intolerance reflected in one-sided media versions of history. It's one thing to be deceived, but it's quite another not to have seen all these crimes that have happened right in front our eyes since the Kennedy assassination. I mean: How stupid are we?

How stupid are we to believe that on one day in 2001, we had no air defenses for the entire Northeast region of the country? And that just happened to be the day when "terrorists" decided to fly four big jetliners into national landmarks. As Gerard Holmgren so eloquently said recently, how stupid are we to believe a conspiracy theory as far-fetched as that, one that was engineered by disaffected Arabs in a cave?

So, yes, we can keep blaming our bad luck and lack of attention to political reality, but let's not forget to blame ourselves in all this. And blame ourselves right now for not already having stopped an entire Congress intent on covering up the most important event of our lives, and then timidly approving the wars of our new dictator who seeks to keep the population deceived with one murderous escapade after another.

How stupid are we to believe all of it?  Or any of it?

How stupid are we not to know that nothing the Bush administration says remotely resembles an honest assessment of conditions in the world. All those satanic shills say is designed to ease their task of stealing money from people everywhere.

Recently many high profile Americans have been caught in embarrassing lies. Although the media tries to cover them as best they can, more and more people are noticing that everything the Bush administration says is a spin, and none of it is an honest recounting of actual events.

If Powell and Bush are telling lies now about reasons to invade Iraq -- and getting caught at those lies regularly -- how are we to know that they weren't telling lies about the demolition of the World Trade Center, when it was considered unpatriotic to question the official version of events?

If they're lying now, what kind of stupid do you have to be to believe they were telling the truth then? Pretty stupid, is what I'd say.

I bet it's just hysterical when Poppy Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld get together and laugh about how efficiently they've ripped off the American people. Cheney can brag that Halliburton, through its Brown & Root subsidiary, had made trillions off all these frequent U.S. military deployments in which his company provides the crappy chow and the tossed-up buildings. With plenty more of those lucrative military support contracts to follow in quick succession. North Korea. Philippines. Colombia. You pick the target.

For at least a century, the whole world has emulated America, presidents instead of dictators, legislatures instead of secret police. Now America has reverted to the secret police method. Woe to everyone if the world continues to follow America's lead. With its cooked-book capitalism, where nothing is the truth and all but richest suffer, America is leading the world over a cliff, and pushing the world toward that precipice too with weapons that couldn't be surpassed by the devil himself in their high-tech evil.

America stands for total corporate control with no discussion and no dissension, and against meaningful self-expression and common sense ways to ease the burdens of the less fortunate. Virtually no members of Congress oppose open U.S. aggression in dozens of foreign countries. And neither, for that matter, do many foreign leaders, our erstwhile allies, most of whom are on the U.S. bribery payroll.

Most of the rest of the world is beginning to realize that America is against what is morally right and sociologically sound, and in favor of what benefits the its rich controllers at the expense of the poor, no matter how many people these policies kill. In fact, since it happens in so many countries, America seems to prefer policies that kill a lot of people.

Roll that over in your mind. America prefers killing large numbers of people, the more different ways the better.

Afghanistan: 10,000 dead and more dying every day from incredibly high levels of radioactivity that almost certainly came from the U.S. use of nuclear weapons, which of course nobody will admit using. All of those people were, of course, innocent of anything except trying to eke out a hardscrabble living in a spot where a bunkerbuster bomb happened to be dropped.

Iraq: 1.5 million dead in 10 years from illegal bombing by the U.S. and Britain, but the truly heartrending part is all the children that have needlessly died because sadistic sanctions kept basic medicines from doctors treating kids with very ordinary illnesses. It is for this most Americans deserve to go straight to hell.

Colombia: Now they drop the poison rain to get the peasants to move off land that American corporations want to develop, a fine climax to 30 years of war America has waged through its proxy goons while nobody in the U.S. noticed.

Remember: America has armed troops in 40 different countries, and all this horrific stuff is going on there, too. How many Guatemalan peasants are buried in the mud of unmarked graves because American corporations wanted to prevent a "Communist" threat?

America insists upon one set of permissive rules for itself, and another set of restrictive rules for everybody else, which is why it refuses to allow itself to be ruled by the auspices of any world court. This is clearly a racist elitism, a plantation mentality, a never-ending extension of the continuing colonialist rape of the world.

America looks down its nose at the rest of the world. Any legitimately unbiased world court would find America guilty of innumerable counts of tyranny in a heartbeat. In fact, the list of indictable offenses, acts of aggression, extortion, espionage, violations of the Geneva Accords and crimes against humanity would probably occupy such a world court indefinitely into the foreseeable future.

That day will come. When the playing field of the world gets leveled, as it inevitably will, America faces and endless succession of war crimes charges in just about every country on earth, from rapes in Okinawa to mass murder by smallpox injection in the Congo.

Which is just what Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad was saying the other day at the summit of Non-Aligned Nations in Kuala Lumpur. The "uncertainties of today's world are due not to 'a clash of civilizations' between the West and Islam, but to a revival of the old European trait of wanting to dominate the world. The expression of this trait invariably involves injustices and oppression of people of other ethnic origins and colors. It is no longer just a war against terrorism. It is, in fact, a war to dominate the world."

How many Americans have asked: What right does America have to say other countries may not have weapons to defend themselves equal to what America has? Did some God appoint America to rule the world? Are we to believe the black quisling Condoleezza Rice when she says America has the best interests of the world at heart?

How could it be that a country that made its reputation on democracy and individual liberties is now an inflexible totalitarian system bent on bringing every person on earth under its oppressive fist, either through irresistible bribes to corrupt leaders, outright invasions, or the imposition of devastating financial shackles through that economic shell game known as the International Monetary Fund?

It's a simple answer, really.

America has never been a legitimate democracy and is not one now. From many of the founding fathers who argued against unbridled democracy during a time where less than a quarter of its citizens were authorized to cast a vote, through two centuries of continuing consolidation of power by corporate interests, the legends that anyone can rise to be president or the U.S. is a real system of one person/one vote have been exposed as populist myths, imbedded in an entire curriculum of myths that have led the populace to believe that America is an honest and just nation.

For many years, to those in other countries under the yoke of barbaric dictators, the U.S. seemed ... from far away ... to LOOK like a democratic system, with all its ceremonial rituals of supposedly representative government, with its Constitution and Bill of Rights. But a closer look ? for most, limited to the writings of many poorly publicized and little known social critics ? has always revealed a superficial democratic sideshow masking the same inhumane system of bribery and extortion that rules all nations.

Now, once again, the world is being shown the real deal.

Once known as the world's greatest democracy, America still pretends to preach a gospel of freedom, but look at its allies: blatant tyrannies which survive on American payoffs and rob and kill their own people. These police state allies are always headed by puppet dictators who are approved and appointed by American business interests. Just look at proposed U.S. plans for a future Iraqi "democracy," to be temporarily headed by a former American general. Most Americans can't even recall the number of times the U.S. has tinkered with Iraqi "democracy" in the past.

It's easy to see all this if you just look, but the vast majority of Americans choose not to.

You simply have to observe how America must bribe its so-called allies to get them to go along with repressive policies. America thinks it can buy its friends. What a horrible price we shall all pay for this in the future. Imagine the resentment building in every corner of the globe as people realize they are not allowed to think for themselves in order to continue receiving pathetic pittances of America's trickle down largesse. Ask the once-middle-class families now living in the streets of Argentina about this.

America attempted to solve the crisis in the Middle East by giving billions of dollars to Egypt in exchange for a promise not to invade Israel. The majority of Egyptians disagree with this policy, but Egypt's leaders have instituted a police state that prevents people from expressing their own beliefs. America funnels trillions to Saudi Arabia while a majority of that country's citizens chafe under an inflexible, capricious dictatorship that spends a lot of money in Monte Carlo.

This is the kind of "democracy" the U.S. now wishes to inflict on Iraq. America wants to create another flunky regime to do its bidding, another fake democracy to advance the anti-democratic cause of American banks and oil companies. Just like the fake democracy in America.

America has bombed Iraq for 13 years and claimed it is not at war. Now it prepares to obliterate the entire population of that country simply to steal oil fields and provide a better supply of water for Israel. And to gain a staging area for invasions of other countries.

America enthusiastically endorses the genocide of the Palestinian people knowing full well Israel is an illegal entity forced on the indigenous inhabitants against their will, just like many other Mideast nation-states.

America is now ready to invade Colombia after supporting the destruction of the people for three decades so it can better control the importation of oil and cocaine. This aggression will likely explode over the borders into neighboring countries.

America uses business executives to bribe the people of Venezuela to overthrow their own democratically elected government, and claims it is advocating democracy.

America continues to support corporate-connected dictators is most Central American countries, and resorts to mass murder when popular movements agitate for justice for poor people.

America is sending troops to the Philippines to suppress a popular uprising that seeks democratic control over a corrupt government that is totally subservient to U.S. business interests. No wonder Muslim idealists want to get rid of it.

America even manages to make the Taliban look good. The fundamentalist Muslim fanatics had all but wiped out poppy production, but now, thanks to the new American-backed government, under the tutelage of new Republican DEA chief Asa Hutchinson, it's thriving and Afghanistan now the world's No. 1 producer of heroin that finds its way to the streets of Europe.

You can't argue that these international intrigues are necessary for America's economic survival when $4.5 trillion has gone missing from the federal coffers in Washington in just the last two years with no explanation. The basic situation in Washington is that a cabal of petronazis has managed to change all the laws in order to facilitate the greatest robbery in human history, which is now underway.

As it stands now, America has no respect for anybody or anything, human or holy. America doesn't even respect itself, because it's too busy screwing people to steal their money and their resources.

The sad fact is ... one which we will learn to our peril if not ultimate destruction ... is that you can't respect yourself if you don't respect everybody else. So it's obvious America doesn't even respect itself anymore, because it sure doesn't respect anybody else in the world.

America is at war with the entire world. And most Americans choose not to believe it, even though it's happening right in front of their eyes. And as we speak, Americans are becoming the real victims of a tyranny they have permitted to grow to truly ominous proportions.

It's time to do something about it. Although massive logistical problems and ad hoc legal procedures need to be developed, this would work, I think. And Thomas Jefferson would like it a lot.

John Kaminski skylax@comcast.net

John Kaminski is a writer who lives on the coast of Florida and believes in an America that guarantees liberty and justice for all, not just for those with the right fascist political connections and enough money to buy their way out of trouble and still get good government jobs.

www.cincypost.com By Tony Jackson Post staff reporter

Shortstop Rainer Olmedo has the goods on defense, but it's at the plate where the 22-year-old needs to improve.

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. -- The uniform number, 71, seems to cover every inch of Rainer Olmedo's tiny back, and it's definitely too big for a player the Reds once held in such high regard.

A couple of springs ago, before he was 20 years old, the 5-foot-11, 155-pound infielder wore No. 2, the kind of number you don't get as a non-roster invitee to spring training unless someone in a position of power thinks your future is promising. At the time, Olmedo was considered a middle infield star of the future, an electrifying fielder who eventually would supplant either Pokey Reese at second base or Barry Larkin at shortstop.

Today, through no fault of his own, it's no longer clear where Olmedo fits in. Reds general manager Jim Bowden beamed as he announced at the winter meetings last December he had acquired Felipe Lopez, the latest in a long line of guys tabbed to eventually replace Larkin. And Aaron Boone, the manager's son and a potential All-Star, is moving to second base, where he is expected to be an everyday presence for years to come.

"I'm not really worried about it," said Olmedo, who won't turn 22 until May 31. "I know they have got a lot of experienced guys, but the big leagues are still a couple of years away for me anyway. I work very hard. I'll just keep doing that and see what happens."

 Olmedo was added to the 40-man roster in November to protect him from the Rule 5 draft, but he still has all of his minor-league options, so the Reds can afford to let him develop at his own pace.

In the four minor-league seasons since Reds scout Johnny Alamaraz signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Venezuela, Olmedo has a .247 average. He has little power, having hit just eight home runs, and he has never driven in more than 41 runs in a single season. But he does have considerable speed, he is a switch hitter, and he is a good bunter. Those three factors combined could add untold points to his average if he ever perfects the art of bunting his way to first base.

There are aspects of his game, however, that already have been perfected.

"I think he's a major-league defensive player already," Cleveland Indians shortstop Omar Vizquel said. "But obviously, the hardest part of what we do is the hitting. If he wants to get to the big leagues and be an impact player, that's the part of the game that he has to work on. I don't think he will ever have any problems with the fielding part."

Vizquel, the veteran and three-time All-Star, is a fellow Venezuelan and a mentor of sorts to Olmedo, and the two speak frequently during the offseason. Just before a spring-training game between their clubs Tuesday -- the Reds beat the Indians, 4-2, before 3,595 at Chain of Lakes Park -- Vizquel said what impresses him most about Olmedo is the questions he asks, which demonstrate a willingness to seek advice and to learn.

Phillip Wellman, Olmedo's manager at Class AA Chattanooga last year, said it wasn't until early in the season that Olmedo learned to be so receptive to others' advice.

"As much as he developed as a player, I think being 20 years old, he also grew up last year," Wellman said. "I'm talking on and off the field. It was good that we had some older veterans playing around him, and that helped him grow up a little bit. I don't think he was really accustomed to having somebody get on him or offer constructive criticism. He took it really hard, and it seemed to hurt his feelings.

"But as time went on, he became more open to it. I think he realized that I was wearing the same uniform he was and that all I was trying to do was help him."

Olmedo probably will begin this season back at Chattanooga, partly because he still is at that stage developmentally and partly because the Reds will stock the roster at Class AAA Louisville with older players such as Gookie Dawkins and non-roster invitees Felipe Crespo, Kelly Dransfeldt and Wilton Guerrero.

But just because Olmedo is wearing a high number in spring training doesn't mean his stock has fallen, or that Bowden and manager Bob Boone have soured on him. If they had, he wouldn't have been added to the 40-man roster.

All that has changed for Olmedo is that with the addition of Lopez and the decision to move Aaron Boone to second, there are now more players standing in his way. But he arguably is one of the most dazzling defensive players in the organization.

"When we had him and Dawkins up the middle last year, they did some things I had never seen before," Wellman said. "Stuff that just made you say, 'Wow.' "