Reds Tidbits (2007 Season)

[coastalbuck]

My bet right now is he's in the outfield somewhere on Opening Day, so far, he's earned it and then some.

 

[Sky]

Especially when you have Griffey still recovering from an injury. When it comes to Freel, I love his hustle and I think he brings a lot to the table but can you really keep a guy like Hamilton off the field.

Undoubtedly his numbers will drop once we get into the season but he also seems like a diamond in the rough.

 

[Jaxbuck]

I just can't begin to give an adequate list of people who had huge spring traing numbers and spit the mother lovin bit once they went north. I mean its just such a common occurence.

I want Josh Hamilton to succeed, I really do and I hope he is just such a nutral talent he can pull this off. That said I put next to no stock in 20-30 spring training AB's as an indicator of how a guy will do for the year. Why isn't everyone doing it? I don't know. How do some punch and judy hitters look like Babe Ruth for a week or two while Arod can't hit his weight? Streaks happen. Be wary of drawing conclusions from small sample sizes.

I think Hamilton is enough of an intriguing project that he'll obviously make the 25 man roster and at the very least be our 4th OF for defense if nothing else. The jury is stil waaayyyy out on him being able to hit consistently once they are playing for real. Now, beyond '07 if he can keep his act together, my hopes for him get much higher, I just think he's got a lot of catching up to do and '07 is just asking too much too soon.

As far as optimisim for this year I think our D has been improved but thats out the window if JR is the CFer.

I think our overall depth is better. Our fringe guys are legit MLB players now. The past few years have seen many guys on the 25 man roster who were not MLB caliber. My worry here is Narron not knowing how to use what he's got.

The pen seems better but not drastically.

The top 2 starters are solid but '06 was a career year for Arroyo. I'm not banking on a repeat. All optimisim dies a horrible death when I look at our 3-5.

Some thoughts for concern:
-Arroyo, Phillips, Ross and Hatteberg all had career years last year. Anyone else remember all those career years at the same time in '99 and how it carried over to '00? I wish I could forget.

-Jerry Narron is good for at least half a dozen losses in a season from poor lineups, poor use of his bench, poor use of his pen and not being able to see a tired pitcher if he was wearing a big neon t-shirt that said "I can't feel my arm Jerry get me out of here." The NL Central will be a tight race because the teams are all so mediocre, we can't afford a 5-6 game handicap at the manager position.

-The freaking Brewers just have to put it all together one of these years don't they?

Bottom line is I honestly feel like this is a legit MLB tem for the first time in a long time and that .500 is finally a realistic expectation, not a fluke if it happens. Good news is that .500 might just get it done in our division but if not the future is actually halfway bright.

 

[Sky]

I think Hamilton is enough of an intriguing project that he'll obviously make the 25 man roster and at the very least be our 4th OF for defense if nothing else.

Whether its a good thing or not, Hamilton has to stay on our 25-man roster due to the rules surrounding the Rule 5 draft selections. If not, we have to sell him back to the Cubs:

If chosen in the Rule 5 draft, a player must be kept on the selecting team's 25 man major league roster for the entire season after the draft--he may not be optioned or designated to the minors. The selecting team may, at any time, waive the Rule 5 draftee, such as when it no longer wishes to keep him on the major league roster. If a Rule 5 draftee clears waivers, he must be offered back to the original team, effectively canceling the Rule 5 draft choice. Once a Rule 5 draftee spends an entire season on his new team's 25 man roster, his status reverts to normal and he may be optioned or designated for assignment. To prevent the abuse of the Rule 5 draft, the rule also states that the draftee must be active for at least 90 days. This keeps teams from drafting players, then "hiding" them on the disabled list for the majority of the season. For example, if a Rule 5 draftee was only active for 67 days in his first season with his new club, he must be active for an additional 23 games in his second season to satisfy the Rule 5 requirements.

So for the Reds sake, lets hope the numbers he puts up in the regular season are half of what he's putting up right now. On the other hand, I think the reds are due for a "lucky" find. We can only wallow in mediocrity for so long.

 

[Jaxbuck]

Whether its a good thing or not, Hamilton has to stay on our 25-man roster due to the rules surrounding the Rule 5 draft selections. If not, we have to sell him back to the Cubs:

Actually its the D-rays but yes, I'm well aware of this part.

So for the Reds sake, lets hope the numbers he puts up in the regular season are half of what he's putting up right now. On the other hand, I think the reds are due for a "lucky" find. We can only wallow in mediocrity for so long.

If he puts up half of his current numbers I'm doing a backflip. We may have used up our lucky find quota with Ross, Arroyo and Phillips last year. I don't think its luck if Hamilton is eventually a very good player for us. I think its luck if he is one right out of the gate in 2007.

 

[bearonu]

Whether its a good thing or not, Hamilton has to stay on our 25-man roster due to the rules surrounding the Rule 5 draft selections. If not, we have to sell him back to the Cubs.

Actually, I believe he would be sold back to the D-Rays. The Cubs drafted his rights in the Rule 5 draft and then traded those rights to the Reds for basically nothing (cash considerations I think), but Hamilton was still an original Rule 5 pick from Tampa Bay.

EDIT: A step behind Jax on that one.

 

[Sky]

Still Jax, you make some good points. Expecting him to pan out as well as our other players performing anywhere near where they did last year would be a blessing. I'm usually not too excited about the start of baseball season but I can't wait this year.

 

[Sky]

Ahh yes, the D-Rays. Thanks for that. So we picked him up off the waiver line from the Cubs? Wouldn't it be great though if he did work out and he whupped the Cubs all season long.

 

[Okinawa's#1Buck]

So Okinawa, seems like you changed your tune since you took a swipe at my reputation with this comment:

No, I haven't "changed my tune". I won't waste anyone's time discussing Hamilton's "fantasy value" on this thread. There is a proper thread for fantasy chat. This is not it. Look in the gaming thread.

Yes, you are still an idiot!

I am excited about Hamilton's chances of helping this team - as a 4th OF. I agree 100% with Jax. His value now is as a 4th OF and the future CF or RF for the Reds. We can't expect much more out of him this season.

And I don't buy into spring training stats one bit. He will make this club for the future value he offers and for his D no matter what he hits. If he should prove he deserves to be a starting OF based on his bat, that is great. But it is beyond what we can expect from him right now.

As for Freel's value, we need him to hit leadoff for us. So, yes, we really could keep Hamilton off the field for him. Phillips hits better in the bottom of the order and we don't have another lead off guy. We don't have another leadoff hitter in the lineup.

 

[Okinawa's#1Buck]

If he puts up half of his current numbers I'm doing a backflip.

We want video clips!

 

[Sky]

No, I haven't "changed my tune". I won't waste anyone's time discussing Hamilton's "fantasy value" on this thread. There is a proper thread for fantasy chat. This is not it. Look in the gaming thread.

Yes, you are still an idiot!

Yeah yeah, I know. Rather than helping a newbie out and pointing out that a comment might be better suited for a different thread you blow up.

Maybe you should talk to A-Rod about his therapist.

 

[Jaxbuck]

As for Freel's value, we need him to hit leadoff for us. So, yes, we really could keep Hamilton off the field for him. Phillips hits better in the bottom of the order and we don't have another lead off guy. We don't have another leadoff hitter in the lineup.

Another reason for the love for Deno at RZ. He is the only other one we have. I really wish he could make the 25 and they use Freel as the super sub again. That way your carrying 4 1/2 OFers not 5 (at least untill JR goes on the DL).



My personal lineup/depth chart would be:

CF Deno
1B Hatte
LF Dunn
3B EE
RF JR
2b Phillips
C Ross
SS Gonzales

Bench
Castro
Freel
Valentine
Conine
Hamilton
???

11 pitchers

 

[Sky]

Another reason for the love for Deno at RZ. He is the only other one we have. I really wish he could make the 25 and they use Freel as the super sub again. That way your carrying 4 1/2 OFers not 5 (at least untill JR goes on the DL).



My personal lineup/depth chart would be:

CF Deno
1B Hatte
LF Dunn
3B EE
RF JR
2b Phillips
C Ross
SS Gonzales

Bench
Castro
Freel
Valentine
Conine
Hamilton
???

11 pitchers

Do you think Jr. will play RF? He hasn't even played a spring training game yet, has he? Anyway, WLW was commenting that they think he might be pretty opposed to giving up CF--do you guys see this as a problem?

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

Do you think Jr. will play RF? He hasn't even played a spring training game yet, has he? Anyway, WLW was commenting that they think he might be pretty opposed to giving up CF--do you guys see this as a problem?

Yes. He needs to swallow his pride and realize he just can't cover enough ground at this point.

 

[Jaxbuck]

Do you think Jr. will play RF? He hasn't even played a spring training game yet, has he? Anyway, WLW was commenting that they think he might be pretty opposed to giving up CF--do you guys see this as a problem?

If JR is the opening day CFer I'm officially calling bullshit on everything WK and Narron have been saying about improving the team defense and wanting to win. JR has needed to come out of CF for defensive reason the past 2 years. He flat out can't cover the ground anymore. Freel, Deno and Hamilton are all a serious upgrade defensively in CF. Take your pick but make it happen Jerry.

If Narron lacks the leadership skills and JR lacks the ego control to make this happen then there is no going back for me, I will loathe both for whatever remains of their careers. Of course it would be hard to dislike Narron anymore than I already do so take that fwiw.

That said there have been numerous reports of JR being open to it and taking quite a bit of flyballs in RF this spring. I think it will happen.