5 Ways to Fix the Reds

Excerpt from C Trent Rosencrans' blog...

Oh lordy, where to start... ESPN analyst Steve Phillips, the same guy who holds mock press conferences, shows exactly why he is a former general manager and not a current general manager. Phillips has been with the worldwide misleader since being canned as the Mets GM for overspending for washed-up veterans. Phillips sounds like a drunk fantasy team owner sending off e-mails and forgetting the cardinal rule of trade suggestions -- look at it from both sides.

Here's Phillips' 5-point plan to fix the Reds.

1. Trade Junior.

No problem here. If you can get the right deal, that's fine. Philips' suggestion -- trade him to the White Sox. He notes that it's been tried before. He even mentions Griffey's ability to veto a deal. How he couldn't put two and two togehter and remember that Junior vetoed a deal to the White Sox before and there's no reason to think he'd accept it again. But, in fantasy baseball, there are no 5-and-10 rights. Phillips is also under the impression that Griffey is still the team's center fielder. He's right about calling up Bruce when you deal Junior, but he's wrong about the position. Bruce is a right fielder that can play center.

2. Dunn deal.

Again, I have no problem with trading Dunn, but Phillips says do it for pitching. Who will replace Dunn's procution? And if you're San Frnacisco, do you really give Matt Cain for Dunn? If you're Toronto do you really give up Adam Lind and Dustin McGowan? Does he really think Cleveland would give up Cliff Lee and another player? Phillips says the Reds need to get rid of Dunn because he'll cost too much. Won't he cost the same to San Francisco, Toronto or Cleveland? Toronto's been burning by overpaying recently and San Francisco is building around Cain and Lincecum. Maybe you could have gotten that deal for Dunn to Cleveland before the season, but not now.

3. Bye-Bye Bronson

Trade Bronson? Sure. For anything? Sure. But who is going to take on his contract? It looked like an OK deal when done, but is still iffy. Perhaps going to the American League could help, but that's not exactly the same as going the other way, and let's not forget, Arroyo's already been there. They figured him out too.

4. Call Hank

Phillips wants Bob Castellini to call Hank Steinbrenner and work out a trade of Jared Burton and Jeremy Affeldt for Phil Hughes. You know why Phillips suggested Castellini skip the GMs? Because no GM is stupid enough to take that deal. Affeldt is signed to a one-year deal. Hughes is expected to be a fixture of the Yankees' rotation for the next decade. There's no way the Yankees trade Hughes for Burton and one year of Affeldt. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

5. Short cut

Wow, I've got to say, Phillips is close to a point here. Keppinger is a serviceable defensive shortstop, but his bat makes up for his lack of range. Gonzalez, when he gets healthy, could be a valuable defensive backup. He'd still be overpaid for that role, but you can't do anything about that now. You try to win. Keppinger is a winner. He suggests Ryan Freel for Scott Proctor. If I'm the Dodgers, I don't do that. The Dodgers need a utility guy, but they need one that has played shortstop. Freel has played the Super Sub role, but he hasn't played short in a game.

Mr. Redlegs Loses His Head

In case you haven't seen it yet...

Reds Fan Speaks Out

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN

By Greg Eades
London, OH

There is a vocal crowd of people calling for Griffey to leave. Are they the majority, or just a LOUD minority?

There are not many times that an icon of the sport (Griffey at the time) choose to return to their roots and take less money to do it. Griffey did!

The problem has not been, and is not the money. While most of us have trouble comprehending the amount of dollars being paid to Griffey (and Dunn for that matter). The biggest problem is that Cincinnati Reds fans expected this one man to carry this team to the World Series, year in and year out. It hasn't happened in the last 9 years and probably won't happen this year. That has not lowered the expectations of the vocal Reds fans.

So lets look at the other side of the coin. Ken Griffey Jr was a 10 time All Star in Seattle. He welcomed the chance to come back to his home town, and probably could have refused the trade since he was a 10 \ 5 man. He expected the Reds fan base to welcome him with open arms. He took less than market value, and then deferred roughly half of the money so the Reds could afford more and better players. By all accounts and all speculation he has remained steroid free and is a natural player. He is in the last year of his contract and has not implied that he is trying to force a trade.

It has not been Griffey's fault that he was injured. It happens all of the time to good players and poor players. It is also not Griffey's fault that management has not went out and surrounded him with the quality of player that he expected to take the field with.

As a 10 / 5 man, or 10 years in the majors, the last 5 with the same team, he will probably have the right to refuse a trade. If he does, the vocal Reds fans will call him selfish. If he doesn't refuse a trade the vocal Reds fans will feel vindicated that he "wanted out".

I say lets remember the recent past. Lets give him his due for wanting to come back home. For rarely complaining about the fans, management, or being on a losing team. Lets rejoice the fact that the hometown boy with be a first ballot Hall of Famer. And lets, after 9 years of the same pathetic song, let him play baseball and quit blaming this ONE player for all of the faults of the Cincinnati Reds.

To have your opinion posted, send it to LetsTalkReds@gmail.com

Gone, Gone, Gone!

Three home run day for Joey Votto!

Rosenthal Says Reds Have Options

"The Reds have 13 potential free agents, the most of any club. While Griffey and left fielder Adam Dunn are the biggest names, catcher Paul Bako, first baseman Scott Hatteberg, right-handed reliever David Weathers and left-handed relievers Jeremy Affeldt and Kent Mercker are among the others who could have trade value."

Read the full article here.

C Trent Responds to USA Today Article

Read it here.

Also, he talked to Jocketty today. Here is what Walt said:

We had an opportunity, quickly, to speak to Walt Jocketty. Here's what he had to say:

On Ken Griffey Jr. trade talks:

"I think it’s a little bit premature. We haven’t (had any talks). I have had no trade discussions with him and I’m not saying it couldn’t happen, but it hasn’t at this point."


Other trade talks?
"Just basically, just kind of introductory type discussions. It’s basically calling clubs about what they have available and what we’re trying to do."

On the Dever Post report that the Rockies are interested in Josh Fogg...
"Ummm. I'm not sure how to answer that. I think everyone’s looking for pitching, let’s put it that way."

On the season so far...
"I still think the season is salvageable. I think we got off to a pretty good start on the raod trip and then for some reason the last few days we went into a funk and we didn’t pitch well in a couple of games, we didn’t score runs. I think a lot of it, I still think guys are pressing. We’ve got guys who are trying to pick up the slack all by themselves. The key to this is rolling out a few wins and getting rid of the pressure. We’ve got a really tough opponent we’re facing right now and another one this weekend. We’ve had a tough schedule."

My Take on The Griffey Trade Talk

Ken Griffey Jr. should be traded. Ken Griffey Jr. should be traded ASAP. Now you know how I feel, let me tell you why.

The 2008 Cincinnati Reds lack much hope to contend this season. Even with only 33 games under their belts it is easy to see that this season is not going to end favorably. Let the "Chase for 600" talk begin. That's pretty much all the Reds have to hang their hats on this season. They are hoping that is enough to get the butts in the seats to watch a team that is already 7 games under .500. And it probably will... once he gets to 599. But the Reds are sitting on a golden opportunity here. Let me explain.

In a recent USA Today article, the President of the Seattle Mariners said that he wanted to see Ken Griffey Jr. retire as a Mariner. I am starting to think most Reds fans feel the same way. But the fact is, the Reds can't expect to get much in return for their aging outfielder. The guy is only a few birthdays away from the big 4-0. Getting his salary off the books would be big in itself. But using the "Chase for 600" as incentive, the Reds may be able to pull a prospect out of this.

Pretend your the Mariner's front office for a second. If the Reds were to offer you Griffey now, think about the exposure for the club and the city as he goes for the milestone. Think about how many more fans would be put into the seats. Giving up a prospect to the Reds for those benefits might be worthwhile. In my opinion, I would expect Griffey to put more butts in the seats in Seattle this season then he would in Cincinnati.

If the Reds can use that to their advantage, they may be able to get a blue chip prospect out of this.

Agree? Disagree?

(By the way, Peter Gammons saying Griffey to the Chicago Cubs is absurd. Never would they make that trade within the division)

Griffey in USA Today

Back to Seattle? Read it here.

Fogg to Rockies?

Rumors have been surfacing that the Rockies are interested in getting back Josh Fogg who pitched for them last season. This comes from the Denver Post. More info as it surfaces.

Teams Scouting Griffey, Dunn

If the Reds slip out of contention in May, Walt Jocketty might begin to field offers for corner outfielders Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn. Both are paid well and have at least some control over trade destinations. According to MLB.com's Jim Molony, "a few teams are having their scouts keep an eye" on the pair in case they become available.

The standard speculation for Griffey is that he could be traded back to Seattle after he gets his 600th home run with the Reds. Junior might be a nice boost in right field for the Ms if Wladimir Balentien needs time to adjust. I doubt the Mariners would give up Jeff Clement for Griffey though. There's been some Chicago speculation, never mind that both the Cubs and Sox are set at the corner outfield positions.

Dunn would help the Padres, who are last in baseball in both OBP and SLG. The Jays, Mets, or Indians could also make sense.

Source: mlbtraderumors.com

Sorry for the hiatus

I will be back blogging and updating the blog daily starting tomorrow

A Little on Jocketty

WALT JOCKETTY
By Brian Gunn

New Reds GM Walt Jocketty was a big-game hunter with the Cardinals. He generally looked elsewhere for talent, and he landed some of the biggest names around. Here’s a brief look at his legacy.

JOCKETTY’S STRENGTHS

Jocketty built arguably the premier National League franchise of this decade. Since 2000, the Cardinals own more regular-seasons wins than any other NL team, won more playoff games, won more league titles, and, of course, won it all in 2006.

How did Jocketty do it? First of all, he was fearless. A master wheeler-dealer, nobody did a better job turning lemons into lemonade, often flipping questionable talent for marquee players.

Consider:

Jocketty landed, via trade, Mark McGwire, Jim Edmonds, Edgar Renteria, Darryl Kile, Scott Rolen, Dennis Eckersley, Todd Stottlemyre, Fernando Vina, Larry Walker, Will Clark, Adam Wainwright, and Woody Williams.

Here are the most notable players he gave up to get them: Eric Ludwick, T.J. Mathews, Kent Bottenfield, Adam Kennedy, Braden Looper, Pablo Ozuna, Manny Aybar, Jose Jimenez, Placido Polanco, Bud Smith, Steve Montgomery, Jay Witasick, Juan Acevedo, Chris Narveson, Jose Leon, one year of J.D. Drew, and the waning days of Ray Lankford’s career.

It’s an astonishing haul. Generally Jocketty would use the same formula: go after some established but underappreciated star, give up a few middling prospects for him, let him soak in the cozy St. Louis fan experience, win ballgames, re-sign the guy to an extension (often with a hometown discount), win more ballgames, then repeat the whole process as one big feedback loop. Jocketty was a master at that (and he was probably the best trading-deadline dealer there ever was – that’s how he got McGwire, Clark, Williams, Rolen, Walker, Chuck Finley, and Fernando Tatis).

Jocketty’s other big strength? Cobbling together a pitching staff on the cheap. It took him a while to get the hang of it – Cards’ hurlers in the ‘90s were usually awful. But Jocketty, along with rehab specialists Tony La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan, were able to buy low for arms like Chris Carpenter, Jeff Suppan, and Darryl Kile, and let them succeed in front of those reliable St. Louis infielders. At its best it worked beautifully. For example, in 2005 the Cards led the majors in ERA with a starting rotation that cost, altogether, $17 million – or less than what Roger Clemens alone made that year.

JOCKETTY’S WEAKNESSES

He was never that great at developing talent from within. Oh sure, he had his moments – he drafted and signed both Rick Ankiel and J.D. Drew when other teams wouldn’t touch ‘em for fear of being out-negotiated by Scott Boras. And of course, Jocketty was responsible for Albert Pujols, merely the best player in the league, if not all of baseball. But by and large the Cards’ cupboard ran rather bare during the Jocketty years. Baseball America has recently ranked them near the bottom of all major-league farm systems, and the Cards have been especially weak locating talent overseas. Perhaps that’s the flipside of Jocketty’s wheeling-and-dealing prowess – it gave him a sense that the team didn’t need to develop from within in order to succeed.

Jocketty’s other big weakness was that he tended to construct rather shallow rosters. Often the ballclub would be led by big shots like Pujols, Edmonds, and Rolen, while the margins were raggedy at best. Cards fans no doubt remember some of the team’s biggest playoff games left in the hands of shlubs like Craig Paquette, Garrett Stephenson, or Jason Marquis. To be fair, however, Jocketty improved in this area over the last couple years. The Cards’ bench and bullpen were among the best in the league this past year, and role players were crucial to winning the World Series in 2006.

JOCKETTY’S BEST MOVE

Landing McGwire was a masterstroke that rejuvenated the franchise, but I’d still go with the trade of Bottenfield and Kennedy to the Angels for Jim Edmonds. In 1999 Bottenfield was an 18-game winner while Edmonds was an underperformer clouded by “character issues.” But Jocketty noticed that Bottenfield’s peripherals were weak, Edmonds were strong, and he moved on a deal. Kennedy ended up a dependable starter in Anaheim, but Edmonds ended up the best centerfielder in baseball for a number of years.

JOCKETTY’S WORST MOVE

I can still remember December 18, 2004, when the Cards traded starter Danny Haren, reliever Kiko Calero, and hitting prodigy Daric Barton for Mark Mulder. As others have pointed out (I can’t remember where), Calero for Mulder straight-up would’ve been a poor deal for the Cards, to say nothing of losing Haren and Barton. When I first heard the news I became literally sick to my stomach, and the feeling hasn’t quite gone away.