Old Leather Pants... What did he do?

Ever been curious about what Jim Bowden did as Reds GM? Thanks to MLBTradeRumors.com, you can find out here.

CAMP OPENS TODAY!

What are you most looking for in camp this year? Where is your interest at?

Phillips Signed for 4 Years

The Reds have agreed to a four-year deal with second baseman Brandon Phillips, the club announced on Friday.

Financial details of the contract were not disclosed, but the deal is reportedly worth $27 million, according to a published report by The Associated Press.

Reds general manager Wayne Krivsky was not immediately available for comment Friday morning. Attempts to reach Phillips were unsuccessful. The deal settles the Reds' final arbitration case.

The new contract includes a club option for a fifth season. If Phillips is traded, it becomes a mutual option that would bring the total value of the contract to $43.25 million.

Source: Cincinnati Reds.com

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Long-term deal for Phillips

(Thanks to Deaner for the heads-up)

By Hal McCoy | Thursday, February 14, 2008, 09:08 PM

Brandon Phillips and the Cincinnati Reds have agreed in principle to a long-term deal, a source close to the negotiations told The Dayton Daily News Thursday night.

Terms and length of the deal were not available, but the long-term deal is done and an arbitration hearing between the Reds and Phillips has been canceled.

Phillips was asking for a one-year contract worth $4.5 million and the Reds were offering a one-year $2.7 million deal, but the long-term deal wipes that all out.

Phillips, 26, had a break-out season in 2007, blossoming as a star both offensively and defensively.

The Stone Mountain, Ga., resident, acquired from the Cleveland Indians during the spring of 2006 for righthanded pitchber Jeff Stevens, hit .288 and was a 30/30 players - 30 home runs and 32 stolen bases (in 40 attempts). He also drove in 94 runs and scored 107. He was the team’s clean-up hitter most of the second half.

On defense, he was spectaculr and probably should have won the Gold Glove. He led the National League in fielding percentage for a second baseman (.990) and made only eight errors.

McCoy is Blogging

Hal McCoy has started a blog. The RSS Feeds are now linked on the right hand side.

Jay Bruce Posting

February 14, 2008

What's up everyone? Sorry I haven't been writing too often lately but I've been busy with traveling and getting down to Florida. Today, being that spring training is about to start I'm going to write a little about the importance of my agent, Matt Sosnick. Having a reliable agent means everything when it comes to taking the pressure off of yourself and just making life much easier for you during both the season and the offseason. I can call Matt about anything imaginable and he will help me out with it. A few months before the draft back in 2005, I was with the Boras agency. All that I had heard about them was great things, and seeing some of the players they had was an attraction from the start. After a while things weren't working out too well between us, for no other reason than the difference in opinions we had about certain things. The Boras corporation is great for certain people, just not for me. When I switched over to Sosnick Cobbe, I saw the immediate differences I was looking for in an agent. They treat everyone in the company like family, and they are there for anything I need. I feel very strongly about this agency and its presence in the baseball world for many years to come. You guys should check out the website and learn a little more about the agency and the players that are represented.

Posted by Jay Bruce @ YardBarker.com

LET'S TALK ABOUT IT

Being Wayne Krivsky
Posted by Nick Kendall at Bugs & Cranks

February 14th, 2008

Could you pull the trigger? Could you make the deal to bring Joe Blanton to Cincinnati? I don’t think I could. It would be great, a third solid starter. A young guy, with a controllable salary for the next 3-4 years. He eats up innings, he throws ground balls, he strikes people out but doesn’t walk them. He’s a Kentucky boy for Pete’s sake! He’s perfect.
With Harang at 6'7'', 275 and Blanton at 6'3'', 250 the Reds would have the scariest rotation in the central.

With Harang at 6'7'', 275 and Blanton at 6'3'', 250 the Reds would have the scariest rotation in the central.

Unfortunately, the deal it would take to get it done is not perfect. Billy Beane usually gets what he wants. With Blanton being the “top pitcher available” on the trade front, Beane is holding the cards. He doesn’t have to trade Blanton, but he’s let everyone know that he is available. Oh, and Bedard and Santana are not available. He’s salivating at the mouth as we speak.

It would take a package of youthful prospects to attract Beane’s attention. For Cincinnati, that means including a Bruce (never gonna happen), a Votto, a Bailey, or a Cueto along with say a Maloney or a Volquez and throwing in a Stubbs for good measure. Would you have the guts to ship that kind of deal out.

I like Blanton. I really like Blanton. He’s the A’s number one starter at this point. He would fit in Cincinnati like a glove. I just don’t think I could deal a young stud. However, If it happened I would live with it and move on. I just couldn’t do it myself.

Who would you deal? Could you ship out a possible commodity for a proven arm? If forced I would probably try a Cueto and 2-3 minor league prospects deal. If that were passed on, I’d let it go. Bruce is untouchable, Votto is a nice fit, Bailey has too much local build up to not give a proper chance. Cueto seems to be the guy to fit the bill, although he could be the best of the Reds young bunch. What do you do?

On another note, the Reds are showing a lot of interest in Kenny Lofton, but are holding to see who is traded in an attempt to get a starting pitcher. Which outfielder could be in the mix in trade talks? Is Dunn, Griffey or Freel packing their bags? We never know with Krivsky’s sealed lips doing the dealing. One thing’s for sure, it’s always an adventure with Krivsky. If Bowden took him to the cleaners in a deal, I worry about what Billy Beane could get away with.

New manager Baker, closer Cordero give Reds hope

Read the Sporting News here

Baseball Prospectus on the Reds

Cincinnati Reds

Where: Sarasota, Florida, (Grapefruit League)

2007 record: 72-90 (5th, NL Central)

New guys: Jeremy Affeldt, Francisco Cordero, Ramon Ramirez, Edinson Volquez

Gone guys: Josh Hamilton, Eric Milton, Kirk Saarloos

Wow, he’s still here? Mike Stanton hadn’t begun and ended a season with the same team since 2004, nor opened the season with the same team in consecutive years since then. He’s achieved both with the Reds.

Winter grade: C+. The big move was the challenge trade of Josh Hamilton for Edinson Volquez, which smacks of one team having more information than the other. It could also just be a case of selling high, and from depth, to shore up a weakness. The presence of the game’s top prospect, Jay Bruce, made Hamilton expendable. In general, it was a very quiet winter for a 72-90 team. Adding Dusty Baker made headlines, but it’s an open question as to what he brings to a team that will be relying heavily on young talent over the next few years.

NRI to watch: Bruce is in camp, and Ryan Freel is the listed starter in center field. You do the math.

Job battle to track: As much as the Reds love Scott Hatteberg’s glove, Joey Votto seems ready for a major-league job. There’s no platoon to be had here—Votto swings from the left side, too—so Dusty Baker has to choose one. Given Baker’s history of preferring veterans, Hatteberg certainly has an inside track. This looks like Karros vs. Choi all over again.

One move to make: Few teams in baseball have as steep a drop in reliability from their top two starters to the rest of the rotation. Asking Homer Bailey, Matt Belisle or even Johnny Cueto to be a reliable #3 is a stretch. If the Reds could find that guy on the trade market or in free agency—getting lucky with Bartolo Colon, or enticing Kyle Lohse to return on the cheap—they’d solidify the team’s biggest weak spot.

The Reds have been an ill-defined team for a while, never quite rebuilding, never quite being awful, never quite being a contender. That continues this year, for even as the products of the farm system make their way forward in Bruce, Bailey, Votto and Cueto, they’ve hired a manager, in Dusty Baker, whose signature trait is his preference for veterans. Despite Baker’s reputation as a leader of men and a good manager, it still seems like his success was more about timing—showing up in San Francisco when Barry Bonds did—than anything he brought to the table. This job may settle the debate over him, once and for all.

Sarasota Says Ooops, COME BACK

Well it looks like Sarasota has come to their senses and has decided they want the team back. Now the question is... is it too late? Have the Reds decided already on Goodyear?

Read all about it in the Sarasota Herald Tribune.

Blast From the Past: Johnny and Pete

LET'S TALK ABOUT IT

Fan Submission: Jeff @ RedlegsRant.com

Word on the street is that the Reds are in the market for Kenny Lofton's services.

This news has been met with the usual caterwauling by the usual suspects around the Reds blogosphere, but a question: Why not do this? Lofton almost certainly would come cheap and the Reds have a giant hole staring at them in the leadoff spot of the everyday lineup. At 41, Lofton's not going to play 162 games. What would be so wrong with signing him to a one-year deal and having him in the clubhouse as an outfield insurance policy in case Jay Bruce isn't quite ready for prime time? Maybe a little spot leadoff duty (.367 OBP last year) too? Another patient lefty bat on the bench? Some pinch running (23 bags in 30 attempts last year, 32 in 37 the year before), a little veteran influence and leadership for the young guys, solid defensive option for Dunn in late innings of tight games...did you know Lofton's made postseason starts in 11 of 13 Octobers since his first with Cleveland in '95? There are a lot of reasons this makes sense if you're not racing to demonstrate how much smarter you are than the folks in the Reds' front office.

Ask yourself this: If Lofton's such a waste, why did 96-win Cleveland acquire him at the trade deadline last year to chase the AL pennant and start in the playoffs? Funny how Wayne Krivsky and Walt Jocketty, both millionaires who got to where they are in life on the basis of their ability to make good baseball decisions, seem to be (if reports are accurate) the only fools left who can't see that a Gold Glove-caliber veteran outfielder who was an integral part of a team that came within one win of going to last year's World Series is washed up...

Is Anyone Else Tired of This?

Tonight on ESPN's Sportscenter, they raised the question of which is the greatest baseball highlight, Hank Aaron's record home run (715) or Carlton Fisk's game-winning home run in game 6 of the 1975 world series.

Carlton can wave that ball all he wants but what everyone forgets is that the very next game he waved goodbye to the World Series trophy. Is anyone else bothered that this clip gets so much airtime and yet the true champion is neglected? The way this highlight is constantly played, you would think Carlton won Boston the World Series with that swing. I mean as great of a play as it was, in the end, it means nothing because Boston didn't win the series.

Hatteberg Showcased?

According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, Scott Hatteberg is one of the guys he believes is being showcased for a possible trade this spring training.

Read it here.

Dusty's camp is set

New man in charge; many questions the same
BY JOHN FAY | JFAY@ENQUIRER.COM

The Reds are six days from that date all baseball fans look so forward to. Pitchers and catchers report to Sarasota Saturday.

The club goes into the spring with the usual list of questions:

Who's going to play center field?

Will new closer Francisco Cordero turn around the bullpen?

Who will be the fourth and fifth starters?

Who's going to hit leadoff?

Is Jay Bruce ready?

Is Joey Votto about to start a long run at first base?

But those questions are second to what fans really want to know: Can new manager Dusty Baker and the Reds snap that streak of losing seasons at seven?

Can they? Absolutely.

Will they? Hard to say.

If they had pulled off that trade for Erik Bedard, I'd be willing to predict an end to the streak in big, bold letters.

But they decided not to give up the future in prospects to get Bedard.

You can argue both sides of that reasoning all day. People on my blog did, in fact.

But Bedard is a Seattle Mariner now. The Reds have turned their attention to Oakland's Joe Blanton.

If they pull off the Blanton deal, I'll predict an end to the losing streak - just not in big, bold letters.

That is not to say I'm advocating a Blanton trade at any cost. If the Reds can get it done without giving up Jay Bruce, Johnny Cueto or Homer Bailey, I'd do it.

If the A's demand one of those three, I'd go to camp and see how things shake out. You can always make a trade later in spring training.

And, if the Reds break camp March 30 with essentially the same club they've got now, can they win?

Sure, but a lot of things have to fall into place.

The Reds were obviously a flawed team last year. They finished 72-90. Most of their problems involved pitching. They ranked 15th of 16 National League clubs with a 4.94 ERA. You can point to flaws in the offense, but the Reds were seventh in the NL in runs. Five of the six teams that scored more than they did finished above .500; three made the playoffs.

Signing Cordero, who had 44 saves for Milwaukee, to a four-year, $46 million contract addressed the bullpen problem. The theory is with Cordero pitching the ninth inning, David Weathers can return to a setup role and thus strengthen that corps.

"Any time you add a guy like (Cordero) - this is nothing against David Weathers because he did a good job last year - but we struggled getting the ball to the ninth with some leads," Krivsky said. "I think it's an area we were concerned with going into the offseason. Signing Cordero was huge. But it takes more than one guy. I think we've got a lot of depth."

The Reds are counting on young pitchers like Jared Burton and Bill Bray to be part of the setup solution. They also have a lot of other young arms in the mix.

But relief pitching was only part of the problem. The Reds' starters were 49-59 with a 4.86 ERA overall.

The Reds have mulled trying to fix the starting pitching with a big trade all offseason. They haven't done that.

Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo will be the top two starters. Matt Belisle (8-9, 5.32 ERA last year) is the No. 3 starter right now.

What the Reds have done is add a couple more young arms with potential. They traded outfielder Josh Hamilton to Texas for right-hander Edinson Volquez. Volquez was formerly Texas' No. 1 prospect. He rates with Bailey and Cueto. But, like Bailey and Cueto, Volquez is unproven.

The Reds also signed left-hander Jeremy Affeldt. Affeldt is coming off a very good season as a reliever (4-3, 3.51 ERA in 75 games with Colorado). The Reds plan to give him a look as a starter.

Bailey, Cueto and left-hander Matt Maloney will compete with Volquez and Affeldt for the final two spots.

"We feel like we have some depth," Krivsky said. "We've got four guys 21 to 24 (years old) with high ceilings."

If some of those young guys start to move toward those ceilings this year, the streak of losing seasons could end at seven.

If not?

I'll be writing the same spring preview column a year from now.

Lofton could reunite with Baker in Cincy

By Ken Rosenthal

Kenny Lofton played for Dusty Baker with the Giants in 2002 and the Cubs in '03, both times joining Baker's teams in July and then helping them advance deep into the postseason.

Another reunion could be in the works.

The Reds are considering Lofton, sources say, but the extent of their interest might hinge on which players — if any — they trade for a starting pitcher.

The team remains the most fervent suitor for A's right-hander Joe Blanton, and apparently is exploring other pitching options as well.

"Cincy is really trying to land a veteran starter," one rival general manager says.

Lofton, a free agent who bats left-handed, could fit in a platoon role with the Reds. The team's returning center fielders, Ryan Freel and Norris Hopper, are both right-handed hitters.

Top prospect Jay Bruce, a left-handed hitter, has only 187 at-bats at Class AAA. The signing of Lofton would give Bruce more time to develop.

Lofton, who turns 41 on May 31, has played for 11 teams in his 17-year career, including three in the NL Central — the Astros, Pirates and Cubs. A fourth, the Brewers, considered him this off-season before signing free-agent center fielder Mike Cameron.

Lofton spent last season with the Rangers and Indians, batting a combined .296 with a .367 on-base percentage and 23 stolen bases in 30 attempts.

He also was one of the Indians' leading hitters in their AL Divisional Series victory over the Yankees, batting .375 with a double and four RBIs in 16 at-bats.

Opening Day Ticket Lottery Starts Today

REGISTRATION PERIOD BEGINS: Monday, February 11, 2008 @ 9:00 a.m.
REGISTRATION PERIOD ENDS: Tuesday, February 12, 2008 @ 5:00 p.m
OPENING DAY RANDOM DRAWING: On or about Wednesday, February 13, 2008
WINNERS NOTIFIED VIA E-MAIL: On or about Wednesday, February 13, 2008
OPENING DAY SALE FOR WINNERS: Thursday, February 14, 2008 @ 9:00 a.m.

Still Talking Spring

Here are two articles by Hal McCoy

Reds Fans Torn on Possible Spring Move to Desert

Sarasota's Closer, Goodyear Might Be Better For Team