Weathers Update

David Weathers had an MRI today on his "hurt arm". Nothing came up on it. He is day-to-day.

I'm surprised it wasn't his neck that was hurting from having to turn and watch all of those hits fly by him.

Just Because

Belisle to start Monday's game

A roster move will need to be made by then. Josh Fogg who was scheduled to start will be moved to the bullpen. Therefore, the roster move will probably involve a bullpen guy.

Reds minor leauge hitting leaders

From Jamie Ramsey of the Reds

Jerry Hairston................LOU................. .429
Kel Jones.......................DAY................. .412
B.J. Szymanski...............CHA................. .386
Justin Turner.................SAR................. .375
Brandon Waring.............DAY................. .373
Jolbert Cabrera..............LOU................. .359
Chris Valaika..................SAR................. .345
Juan Francisco...............SAR................. .339
Jay Bruce......................LOU................. .333
Todd Frazier...................DAY................. .333

Source: Lance McCalister

C Trent Weighs In

I’m not a panic guy, but this early, there are still some things you can do, if not to help the club win as much to make things cosmetically better.

* It’s only three starts, but it’s two terrible starts and one OK one. Josh Fogg, thanks, but you’re back to the bullpen. What I do differently than maybe some others, although Matt Belisle has thrown well in the minors, I do activate him, but he is a long reliever, paired with Jeremy Affeldt until Affeldt is ready to go 6 innings. We’ve seen Belisle and I think he has talent, but I’d rather have the lefty Affeldt in there.

* Todd Coffey, you know the way to Louisville. Work on things. It’s not your arm, it’s your head. While you’ve got the door open, take Jared Burton with you. Both of you have the stuff, but get the other things ready to be big league late-inning pitchers. Burton skipped some minor league lessons as a Rule V pick last season, he could use them.

* To fill the spot of Affeldt in the bullpen, bring up Bill Bray. Bray’s got nothing left to prove in the minors. He’s one of the best pitchers in the organization and is ready to help the big club.

* Stick with Edwin Encarnacion. It’s tough, but you need the patience for him to come around.

* David Ross is back, there’s got to be a taker for Scott Hatteberg. This platoon isn’t working. Hatteberg’s a great clubhouse guy, a great influence on the young players, but the two left-handed hitting first baseman platoon isn’t working. Javier Valentin can play some first, as can Jeff Keppinger. Keep Paul Bako, who the pitchers like, and he and Ross split time behind the plate. Valentin can work behind the plate in a pinch.

* Corey Patterson is not a lead off guy. Shake up the lineup. Why can’t Brandon Phillips hit lead off? He’s a lot like Jimmy Rollins, and it works for the Phillies. An odd thought, but how about this lineup, just for a day to see how it works — Phillips, Dunn, Keppinger, Griffey, Encarnacion, Votto, Patterson, Ross/Bako. There are lefties back-to-back lower in the order, but still not too bad. I’m not huge on lineup tinkering, but I like Phillips at the top spot and going from there.

* A right-handed bat from the minors, perhaps Jolbert Cabrera (who can play third and first) and send Norris Hopper down. It’s not that Hopper isn’t doing well, it’s just that he’s a redundant piece. If not Cabrera, then Jerry Hairston Jr., who is playing well and can play outfield and some infield.

* Soon enough, you’ll see Jay Bruce and Homer Bailey, but it’s not that time now.

John Fay Weighs In

Here's some things I think you'll see:

--Josh Fogg will be out of the rotation. I don't know if he'll be off the team, but who starts is Baker's call. He's not big on Fogg. I'm told, in fact, that he didn't know the Reds were signing Foog until after the fact.

--Jerry Hairston Jr. or Jolbert Cabrera will be up here shortly. It's believed Hairston has an out in his contract after a month. He's hittting .429 with two home runs and 10 RBI with a .467 on-base and .785 slugging.

The Reds made no move Thursday.

Bring up somebody…anybody

By Hal McCoy | Wednesday, April 16, 2008, 09:02 PM

General Manager Wayne Krivsky doesn’t have to scan his Louisville roster sheet, doesn’t have to make a call on his cellphone to Louisville Bats manager Rick Sweet to ask any questions, doesn’t have to see anything in person.

Matt Belise or Homer Bailey? Homer Bailey or Matt Belisle. Or maybe even Justin Lehr. Or how about Daryl Thompson?

Anybody but Josh Fogg. Puh-leeze?

What the Cincinnati Reds didn’t need Wednesday night was Fogg trying to stop a four-game losing streak. Anybody but Fogg.

And it was awful. In just three innings, the Reds looked as if they had been run over by the Chicago Transit Authority Blue Line, down 10-1 and definitely out. Fogg was a mere whisp of a glimpse to the Wrigley Field fans, only two-plus innings. But the Cubs saw him as clearly as crystal chandeliers.

Ahem, clear your breath, and inhale this - two-plus innings, nine runs, seven hits, two walks, a hit batsman, a home run, four doubles and several maids a-milkin.’

They can’t possible think about sending Fogg to the fore again, can they? Stick him in the bullpen and send Todd Coffey to Louiville for some polish and varnish.

And bring somebody up.

Bailey is 2-1 in three Louisville starts with a 1.42 ERA, losing a 1-0 game on a hme run that bounced on top of the fence and over.

Belisle, pitching on rehab in three games at Class A Sarasota, Class AA Chattanooga and Class AAA Louisville is 3-0 with a 1.09 ERA. On Tuesday he pitched Louisville to a 4-1 win over Pawtucket, giving up one run and eight hits over seven innings with one walk and six strikeouts.

Heck, even Lehr. What’dya mean, EVEN Lehr? He was 2-0 last week at Louisville with a 0.60 ERA and was International League Pitcher of the Week.

Thomspon? Yeah, he’s only at Chattanooga, but he is burning down the bridges - 2-0 with a 0.51 ERA and Southern League Pitcher of the Week award in his portfolio.

And if that doesn’t happen, bring back Tom Browning.

EXCITING RUMOR!

Well, one of the fans on the blog called for it a month ago, and now it is a possibility! Read this....

Piazza Coming To The Bronx?

Written by Mark Healey
Tuesday, 15 April 2008
Up until the last few days, Yankees' GM Brian Cashman has often resisted the temptation of putting Mike Piazza in pinstripes. But with his current catching situation (and don't forget prospect Francisco Cervelli is still out with a broken wrist) and the very aggressive Reds trying to sign Piazza to a contract, Cashman and his advisors -- we're told by a team insider -- are meeting to discuss whether a Piazza move is the right way "to address the current situation."

Dusty Baker is telling friends that he's "confident" that Piazza will sign with the Reds because "Tommy (Lasorda) will want him to play for me". Though most of the people that are monitoring the Cincy backstop search say the Reds want a "throw and catch" guy, Baker is saying that he thinks "Piazza could hit 25 homers in the GAB.".

One NL scout we spoke to said that "Piazza's defense isn't what either team needs right now, but (he) does know how to call a game and both teams seem to feel that he would be a good influence on their young pitchers."

An AL scout, who followed Piazza closely last season for his club said that "any team that adds Piazza will be getting a player who is obsessed with winning a World Series."

So, if there is all this interest, how come Piazza couldn't find a job this pat spring? We asked one NL executive why.

"Because there's a perception out there that (Piazza) is against playing first base," The exec said. " It's (bleep), but given what his agent was asking (2 years,$10-15 million) at the time, teams weren't bothering to find out the truth."

His shoulder injury has kept teams away as well, but when you look at his 2007 stats with Oakland (83 games, 8 HRs, 44 RBIs, .275 average), there's little doubt that he could fit into either team's plans for 2008..

Reds Broadcasters: Telling it like it is

From the Columbus Dispatch. Here.

Baker Memo Explains Bad Weekend

Posted by Nick Kendall in Cincinnati Reds on Bugsandcranks.com
April 14th, 2008

The weekend sweep by the Pirates was all part of a master plan.

The weekend sweep by the Pirates was all part of a master plan.
A team memo dated April 11, 2008 has been recovered from the visiting locker room at PNC park in Pittsburgh. Our Bug & Cranks investigative team has passed the memo on to me, determining that a conspiracy of Black Sox proportions was in the works this weekend. They have also informed me that allegations of windows in the men’s restrooms allowing fans to watch the game as they urinate, thus, Pee-N-See Park, are in fact, false. What a shame.

On the top of the memo was “From the Desk of Dusty Baker.” There was a Reds logo watermark and it was signed Dusty “Too Fresh” Baker. There were also some doodles of Mr. Redleg beating some sausage guys, so we assume it is legitimate. It somewhat helps to explain what occurred when the Reds were so pitifully pounded in Pittsburgh (I apologize for the alliteration) . Here are some excerpts:

"I was just chillin’ in my office, listening to Tupac, when I realized we are off to a good start. Taking series from Milwaukee and Philadelphia, not to mention, splitting a series with Arizona is impressive. We have had great pitching performances and fans are rallying with anticipation of a great season. This is not a good thing.

Cincinnati fans, as has been told to me, don’t like high expectations. They want to think of their sports teams as mediocre and stuck in endless underachieving. This way, if we do well late in the season, it’s an extra boost to local morale. Plus, I don’t do well under the pressure of having a dominating team all year long. I just want to hang around until we can make a move. Also, I have a three year deal. I don’t want to set the bar too high right out of the gate. Therefore, I have a plan for this weekend to put us back in our place, and give some false hope to the folks in Pittsburgh. It’s a win-win situation. Actually , a lose-lose-lose situation, but I’ll explain that in a minute. There will be incentives for those who follow these rules.

* First, swing at the first pitch as often as possible. Especially with runners in scoring position or during important innings when we need a rally.
* Second, Leave as many runners on base as possible. This way, it looks like we are actually trying, but we won’t score.
* Third, make throwing errors. Throwing errors are your best bet to stay in the line-up.
* Fourth, do not get 3 hits in a game. You will be benched.
* Lastly, if all else fails, Do not score runs. Get thrown out, don’t take the extra bag, whatever it takes.

I will do my part by making bad managerial calls and putting together weird line-ups but no one will notice, I do that kind of thing all the time anyway. With some determination, we can achieve mediocrity. I know we can do it."

Reviewing the evidence, this letter can not be a hoax.

* Edwin Encarnacion left 13 on base and committed 2 throwing errors in one game, yet played all 3 days.
* Jr. Griffey, left 12 on base and played all 3 games even against left handed pitching. He even had a shot at a guy at the plate, but pretended to not have a grip on the ball so he didn’t have to throw him out.
* Joey Votto had 4 hits in 2 games, including 3 hits on Saturday. Keeping to his promise, Dusty benched him on Sunday. Instead he opted to add the offensive prowess of Juan Castro and move Kepp over to first.

All in all, the weekend was a success, by Dusty’s standards. They left 32 on base, swung at countless first pitches (especially with runners on base) and Dusty ran out a number of odd line-ups and eerie substitutions at inopportune times. The Reds offensive juggernaut managed 4 runs against a team that allowed 23 in their last three games.

Way to go Dusty.

Votto learning to pinch hit

Good article by J Fay about Votto learning a new role. Here.

When is enough enough?

Earlier this week, I was sent an email asking when I thought it was time to pull the plug on Encarnacion. My response, two weeks. After I sat back and thought about it a little later in the day, I felt that my response was too quick. Two weeks was not enough time. Give the guy a break I thought. Let him work through it.

After watching the games yesterday and today, let me reaffirm my original position. Two weeks is enough. Encarnacion's play this weekend cost us big. Four times he left the bases loaded. Not to mention making a few errors in the field. Anyone who has read my blog in the past knows that I am a bit biased when it comes to EE. I have never understood why he has been labeled "the future" when it comes to third base. The guy doesn't even start to hit until the end of the May. Coincidentally, the Reds are usually out of it by then. Take a look at the Louisville stats. Jolbert Cabrera (who should have made the team out of camp) is hitting the cover off the ball! It's time to make the change. Send Edwin down until May. Let him by Rick Sweet's problem until then. Bring up Jolbert. By the way, at the same time, send Castro packing. I know its another chunk of cash we would have to eat, but anyone who saw that game today saw a guy that just flat out can't hit major league pitching.

Tell me I'm out of line. Tell me I'm jumping the gun. But after watching us get swept by a Pirates team that most experts called AAA quality in the spring, I think I am right to get upset.

Gospel according to Dusty

Good article by John Fay on Baker. Check it out.

Reds minor leaguer shinning

One of the Louisville Bats has an ERA of 0.6 so far this season. I bet you don't know who it is. Read it here.