There are only so many hours of doomscrolling social media or watching Lawrence O’Donnell find new ways to call Trump “stupid” in a given week I can handle. When reality’s too much like a “name that form of government” reality show, people find ways to get away: yoga class, hiking, Googling Irish citizenship grandchild requirements.

I love a good streaming-series binge: the only thing that annoys me is trying to remember which channel the show’s on. I have a Fire TV expressly because Alexa runs my life (I can boycott many things, but having Alexa turn lights on and off clapper-style will never be one of them). I’m too old to type into a TV remote search to look things up and Alexa just figures out what channel shows are on, just like the Jetsons intended.

I’m currently enraptured by three shows that all begin with the letter S: Silo, Severance and Shrinking.

Silo’s a dystopian post-apocalyptic drama where residents live in a concrete silo structure and have never been outside unless they express a desire to go outside, where they immediately die after cleaning the window through which everyone inside watches their peril. Main character Juliette, once a mechanic who fixed the furnace that powers the dim lighting (and now the sheriff), is trying to get to the bottom of what happened to the world that necessitates the silo. Tim Robbins is excellent as the Hunger Games-esque knowing governmental leader. The show could be accused of dragging out the finding out of “what’s going on,” but, similar to Severance, gives viewers plenty of episodes to piece together many interesting mysteries and figure out the ultimate puzzle of the silo.

Severance has similarities to Silo in that both have you wondering what’s going on with these people in the freaky futuristic world of Lumon Industries. Severance, which revolves around a procedure that creates separate “innie” and “outie” versions of people for shady workplace purposes, has caught the world more on fire: pop culture references fill my screen every time I open my phone, the Severance Reddit page is lit up with Easter eggs and conspiracy theories, and there’s a real LinkedIn page for Lumon.

Shrinking is unlike the previous two in that it’s neither dystopian nor a psychological thriller, but it’s a great rest from those two. Starring Harrison Ford and an incredible cast, it’s a comedy-drama about a psychotherapy practice. Ford’s fantastic as the lead therapist. You’ll fall in love with his fellow therapists and their families and the relationships they share as they navigate the ups and down of life. It’s not the kind of show I normally like, but I was hooked right off the bat because of the excellent writing and acting, and spoiler alert: if you binge both seasons, you’ll cry in the last episode of season two.

I also binged White Lotus and it changed my view of Jennifer Coolidge—I used to think she was annoying and one-dimensional and now think she has chops. I’m in the middle of season one of Yellowjackets, and don’t spoiler-alert me. It’s really good and exactly the roller-coaster ride I love in a series.

—Follow Mary McCarthy on Bluesky and Instagram.

Which twenty-six Reds will we see?

A good bit has changed about the nature of the Cincinnati Reds roster mix since last we gave our best guess at who might be included on it come Opening Day.

Spencer Steer’s shoulder maintained its issues, and he received a cortisone shot back on March 1st. Andrew Abbott, though, has seen his shoulder progress well enough that he threw a pair of IP in a AAA game just yesterday. Rhett Lowder is still behind schedule, unfortunately, but at least it looks like he’s moving forward and not backwards. Speaking of ‘back,’ Tyler Stephenson headed for an MRI after lingering back pain.

Rule 5 draftee Cooper Bowman was sent back to the Oaksacvegas Athletics, while former top prospect Noelvi Marte was officially sent down to AAA.

That’s a lot to process, as are the risks of losing players in camp as non-roster invitees if they aren’t selected to start the season. Same goes for players with no options remaining, as they very well could be scooped up on waivers if not placed on the roster from day one.

With Opening Day now less that two weeks away (!!), here’s our latest, greatest estimate of which Reds will make up the Opening Day roster.

Catcher

I’ve got Tyler Stephenson (1) still on here alongside Jose Trevino (2), as all initial reports on Ty Steve’s back are that his issue is minor. It may mean we see more of Jose in the lineup early on, so far there’s nothing to suggest these aren’t the two backstops they’ll carry from day one.

Infielders (5)

Elly De La Cruz (3) and Matt McLain (4) are the cornerstones of this team, and they’ll form the middle infield. Christian Encarnacion-Strand (5) and Jeimer Candelario (6) seem to be locks in the corner rotation, while Santiago Espinal (7) has solidified his spot as the do-it-all infielder in reserve.

Gavin Lux

Gavin Lux (8)! He’ll see time at 3B, 2B, LF, and even at DH when the time is right. Since I’ve got Spencer Steer beginning the year on the IL, Lux’s versatility will help offset that usually created by having Steer on the roster for the time being.

Outfielders (5)

TJ Friedl (9) is back and healthy and poised to be the everyday CF and leadoff man all 4-WAR style once again. He’ll be flanked by Jake Fraley (10) and Austin Hays (11) most days, with Stuart Fairchild (12) a RHH option on days when Terry Francona wants to stack those up against southpaws. That brings us to Blake Dunn (13), whose RHH ability wins out in this mix over Will Benson since Lux, a LHH, is filling the ‘move anywhere when it’s time to switch’ role previously occupied by Steer, a RHH. In other words, I think Francona will choose to have one more righty bat around than another lefty.

Starting Rotation

Hunter Greene (14) will start on Opening Day, as well he should. He’ll be flanked in some order by each of Nick Martinez (15), Brady Singer (16), and Nick Lodolo (17) for sure at this point. Since the season is long as all heck, I just don’t think the Reds will rush back Andrew Abbott at anything less than ‘full stretched out,’ so I expect him to begin on the IL and miss a turn or two through the rotation - if anything, that may make him even more valuable down the stretch in August/September. I think the Reds carry Carson Spiers (18) as something of ‘starter on an expected bullpen day’ for the time being.

Bullpen

I don’t believe Graham Ashcraft (19) starts the year in the minors - rather, I think he’s carried as the piggyback guy for Spiers’ turn through the rotation with the expecation that he can fill-in for multiple IP when needed in a role akin to how Martinez began last year. Brent Suter (20), Sam Moll (21), and Taylor Rogers (22) form the LHP corps in the ‘pen, while Alexis Díaz (23) will resume his role as the closer. RHP options Emilio Pagán (24) and Scott Barlow (25) have guaranteed money on their deals, so they’ll be down there until they prove ten times they shouldn’t be, leaving one final spot that I’m expected to be filled by Tony Santillan (26) - he pitched well enough last year to deserve it and he’s out of options, so that’s a no-brainer.

Notes

Steer and Abbott are the two notable omissions here. Despite how dismal the Reds have begun seasons in recent memory (and how much that has folded any and all optimism entering those years immediately), I just think they’ll play it safe with them (and Lowder). Abbott getting ~27-28 starts is still very much viable, as is Steer surpassing 550 PA.

Ian Gibaut being back in camp is cool, and he’s fanned 8 against a lone walk in 7.0 IP so far this spring. He’s not on the roster, however, as a NRI on a minor league deal, so I don’t expect him to beat out the rest of the options above. That said, I do think he’s showing enough right now to firmly be in the mix as the first bullpen arm promoted when the inevitable dings happen to the rostered names ahead of him.

Chase Petty has looked really, really solid so far in camp, and at this rate he’ll make his debut (and more) as a Red at some point this year...just not on Opening Day or in the first few turns of the rotation, assuming all goes well elsewhere.