Reds Tidbits (2007 Season)

[Jaxbuck]

In all honesty, I would have been/would be totally shocked if they just dumped Milton. I realize he has been beat around pretty bad this spring, but it is spring training and I don't expect everyone to be in mid-season form. Obviously, there is concern in the organization and as Marty said yesterday, you can bet there are serious discussions going on at all levels about who is going to make the opening day roster. I think Milton sticks for several reasons. The main one being that Livingston and Belisle have yet to prove that they can pitch successfully in the big leagues on a consistent basis. Yes, they have both been outstanding in spring training, but they are only pitching 3-5 innings at a time. When they start stretching it past 5, things can change. Neither of these guys is the next Nolan Ryan. Both have options. Milton doesn't. (I know, he's no Nolan Ryan either). Over the course of any big league season, guys are going to get hurt. I like having a Belisle or Livingston ready to go to replace an injured guy. If Milton gets bombed throughout April, then he needs to be sent packing. Just not yet. In other words, I don't think it's all about the money.

IIRC they had him pitch a minor league game the other day. That allows them to DL Milton at the start of the year and keep him down here to pitch what is essentially extended spring training.

First off, whatever keeps him off the mound for the big league team I'm all for. That said, its just delaying a decision that needs to have been made already. Milton is done, period, end -o-story. His physical problem is degenerative knees and now a bad wing. Those dont get better by throwing more innings.

The younger guys who would fill the spot aren't anything to write home about but at least they have some upside, some reasonable chance that they could improve. Even if they don't they aren't any worse than Milton as they stand right now.

So what Narron* really has is a choice between equal performance from a veteran with no upside or a younger guy who could possibly get better. It appears he is trying to find a way to go the "scrappy vet who knows how to play the game" route again.


*I'll believe WK at his word that all personnel decisions as to the 25 man roster, who starts, etc are made by Narron.

 

[CookyPuss]

Actually, the more I think about it, the more I'm glad they kept Milton. What better way to get Narron run out of here than Uncle Milty getting his brains beat in every fifth day. If the Reds break .500 this year, we may be stuck with this knucklehead for years. I say lose big early in the year so that clown gets bounced on his clown ass. Too bad great local guys like Leland and Jim Tracy have been snagged. Maybe Trader Jack would like another go around. Too bad they pissed Oester off by firing The Big Dog, he would have made a fine manager. I heard him on the radio and he is willing to get back into the organization if they would offer. I'm not sure who is out there that I'd want, but Gapper could do as well as Nar-oon and Bob Bafoon.

On other notes, losing Deno sucks but the silver lining for him is that it happened while he was on the major league roster. Despite not playing this year, he will get a year of service toward his pension per Chris Welsh. Chris also had a good point about Belisle. He said he pitched winter ball and that tends to give you an edge in the spring, but does not always translate to success in the regular season (wearing down earlier). Something to keep an eye on. With Deno out, I think Moeller will get the last spot. 3 catchers, dumb but sounds like something Narron would do. Hopper would seem like a no-brainer with our injury prone outfield, but I never expect the obvious from Jerry. Burton is pretty much a lock with Livingston and Majewski getting optioned. I'm guessing Santos takes the final spot for now as he is more likely to be dependable for throwing strikes than Countlangus (that name sounds so dirty).

Edit: My bad, with Bray on the DL, I thought 2 of these guys would make the team, but that would mean Saarloos or Belisle going down. Doesn't look like that will happen. I'm still betting on Burton as he has a ton of upside and I think they can bury him in the pen for a year if need be. They HAVE to trade Cormier.

Reds Decide on Roster
also talks about Deno injury

 

[crazybuckfan40]

One thing I have noticed is Hamilton has been throwing guys out from the outfielder with regularity...Teams will get wind of him and stop running on him, much like they did when we had Guillen here. The shot he threw from the fence to second base no hop that got the guy trying for the double the other day was awesome...

Him and Freel in the outfield cover the whole right side of the outfield and you have a huge arm in right and Dunn can throw runners down as well. With our double play combo up the middle and a good catcher, we have one of the best middle defenses in the league. If we can get consistent play from EE we should really cut down on the errors this season.

Which should help out the pitching.

Overall I like where we are at with the pitching staff...We now have 2 guys in Livingston and Majewski that can be called up if someone goes down...We also have Bray and Everday Eddie that are on the comeback...

Lots of options, which is good b/c when guys like Cormier and Milton fall flat on their face hopefully we are smart enough to realize we have better options...We will probably also send Countalangus down and is Shack still with us?

Lots of arms is a good thing, and hopefully halfway thru this season we can drop the old guys like Weathers, Milton, Cormier and go with the young arms...

A rotation of Harang, Arroyo, Bailey, Belisle, Livingston or throw in Lohse in there doesnt sound half bad...

 

[Jaxbuck]

MY .02:

-The trade now stands at AK and FeLo for a guy on the DL and a guy in AAA. All I can say is if your going to fuck one up, don't mess around fuck it up all the way. Kudos Wayne.

-Moeller will make the team, Narron has to have 3 catchers. They'll use (tastes puke as he types this) Conine as the 5th OF and call up Hopper when Freel or Griffey go down.

-Deno's injury just opened the door completely for Hamilton. He is right now as we speak the best defensive OF in the entire organization. His AB's will have to be taken with a grain of salt this year no matter the outcome. If your going to punt offense in the name of defense at SS you might as well do it in CF and run him out there from day 1. If he can hit when the games count, then more the better.

-Been saying it a while now but it should be crystal clear to everyone that offense, not pitching, will be the big problem area this year. IF EE and Dunn have anything less than AS caliber, long healthy seasons we are truely fucked. Someone else is going to have to step up as well.


-My nightmare scenario is the pitching falling flat on their face, the pen getting overworked and EE and or Dunn getting hurt. We could very well lose 100 if it goes down that way.

-My best case is EE, Dunn and Hamilton play like All Stars. Phillips and Ross hit like they did last year and the back end of the rotation gives us some quality starts. If all that goes down we could be a legit .500+ team.

We will soon find out.

 

[Tipdogusaf]

Good call guys... this is from john fay today.

This just in . . . Hopper likely to the DL

Outfielder Norris Hopper will not be coming north with the Reds.

"He might be DLed," Jerry Narron said.

Does that mean Chad Moeller gets the last spot for a position player?

"He's got a good chance,"Narron said.

Dewayne Wise will also make the trip to Dayton, so there a chance he could make if the Reds decide they need an outfielder. Remember, Ryan Freel hasn't played since he hit the wall in Clearwater. He is in the lineup today.

The call on who is fifth starter -- Matt Belisle or Kirk Saarloos -- will probably be announced Sunday. Both are pitching today.

I have a feeling it is going to be a long season. I just hope that if it is going to be bad it is bad enough to get Narron fired.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

I think that with our team we will be able to manufacture runs moreso than we have done the past couple years...

If pitching keeps us in the game like I think they will we might be in teh position to where we only need 3-4 runs to win a lot of games instead of 5-7 like we have needed the past couple years...

Phillips is having a hot spring, but I don't take a whole lot from that and would be happy with a solid season from him...Hatte and Ross will hit for contact and maybe a little pop, and hopefully Gonzalez can do a little something and find ways to get on base and then make things happen with his legs...

 

[CookyPuss]

Brantley just hit the nail on the head during today's broadcast IMO. He said you send down both Belisle and Livingston and let them get their starts at AAA. You let Saarloos take the available 5th starts/bullpen work to let him work his way in with the new team. As he pointed out, with the offdays there won't be many starts anyways. This allows them to keep Santos or as Jeff put it, "all your arms." I'm enjoying Jeff quite a bit in the both.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

Brantley just hit the nail on the head during today's broadcast IMO. He said you send down both Belisle and Livingston and let them get their starts at AAA. You let Saarloos take the available 5th starts/bullpen work to let him work his way in with the new team. As he pointed out, with the offdays there won't be many starts anyways. This allows them to keep Santos or as Jeff put it, "all your arms." I'm enjoying Jeff quite a bit in the both.

I like that thinking as well...

Either way we have a lot of options and it will be interesting to see which way we go...

 

[Jaxbuck]

I think that with our team we will be able to manufacture runs moreso than we have done the past couple years...

Problems with that theory as I see it:

- When Freel goes down you have no true leadoff hitter.
- Look at Hette's career numbers, its a perfect pattern of bad year after good year. 2006 was a good one.
- Ross and Phillips could just as easily be 1 year wonders as they could be studs.
- You have an absolute out machine at SS(and I'm not talking about his D).
- Even if Phillips, Hatte and Ross have decent OBP's its going to take EE and Dunn to drive them in on a consistent basis.
- Narron is going to do his usual and limit Dunn's RBI chances by batting him 2nd or 6th all fucking year.
- Narrons lineups period.

The big wildcard is Hamilton. I'm still dubious that he can do it beyond ST but if he has an average offensive year or above it will help tremendously(of course jerry will fuck the lineups so bad it won't matter but its fun to think about regardless.)

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Cincy

Reds roster getting clearer
To AAA: Majewski, Livingston; Bray, Denorfia on DL
BY JOHN FAY | [email protected]


SARASOTA, Fla. - As the Reds narrowed their roster, it was always Chris Denorfia or Norris Hopper.
Both are right-handed-hitting outfielders with similar skills. They also happen to be good friends and were roommates when they played at Louisville last year.
So there was no joy for Hopper when Denorfia was eliminated from consideration by the fact that he needs Tommy John surgery on his right elbow.

Continued.....

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Cincy

All is quiet on the Griffey front
For the first time in his Reds tenure, Jr. not talked about as key to team's season
BY JOHN FAY | [email protected]

SARASOTA, Fla. - One caveat has been attached to every Reds forecast since Ken Griffey Jr. had his first big injury with the Reds in 2001:
"The Reds will be OK if Griffey can stay healthy."
While Griffey is still very important to the Reds' fortunes, you don't hear the "if Griffey" talk nearly as much anymore.

Continued.......

 

[crazybuckfan40]

Problems with that theory as I see it:

- When Freel goes down you have no true leadoff hitter.

This is a problem, I am sure that he will move Phillips here when Freel is not in the lineup...

- Look at Hette's career numbers, its a perfect pattern of bad year after good year. 2006 was a good one.

Yeah, but I think a combo of him and Conine and hopefully Votto later in the year will give us some good Ab's from the first base position. Maybe Valentine here as well on some days...

- Ross and Phillips could just as easily be 1 year wonders as they could be studs.

Phillips has too much natural talent to be a 1 year guy IMO. Hopefully Ross can bring a little power and some RBI's for the end of the lineup...These two guys will make or break the lineup, but they are way better than the combo of Larue, Jiminez and that junk we used to put at the end of the lineup...

- You have an absolute out machine at SS(and I'm not talking about his D).

Yeah I can agree, but if he can find ways to get on base he can use his speed and hopefully manufacture some runs...He has a career OBP of around 300 which isnt great in anyway, but trade that for his defense and put him in the 8 hole and with his small power, he could possibly get into the double digits Homeruns hitting in GABP...

- Even if Phillips, Hatte and Ross have decent OBP's its going to take EE and Dunn to drive them in on a consistent basis.

I agree with this...Hopefully either Griff or Hamilton as you say can drive some in to help as well...It is going to take a team effort for us to put runs on the board...But we also have a very good pinch Hitter in Valentine to use in the later innings...

- Narron is going to do his usual and limit Dunn's RBI chances by batting him 2nd or 6th all fucking year.
- Narrons lineups period.

I can agree with this...

The big wildcard is Hamilton. I'm still dubious that he can do it beyond ST but if he has an average offensive year or above it will help tremendously(of course jerry will fuck the lineups so bad it won't matter but its fun to think about regardless.)

Yeah it would be great if Hamilton has a great season, but if for some reason Griffey has a great season and stays healthy and Freel is steady it could be hard to take either out of the game, Due to the need for Freel as the leadoff and Griff for the bat...If Hatte were to struggle and those guys are staying healthy and playing well and Hamilton has shown that he needs to be in the lineup I would be all for playing Dunn at first and putting Freel, Hamilton, and Griff in the outfield...

I know this is very optimistic look at things, but hey that is the best thing about the beginning of the season.

Hell last year I couldnt of been more pessimisstic about the season telling anyone that would listen we would end up in last place and we were in it all the way till the last week of the season...This year I think we have a much better pitching staff and a lot better Defense, but the Offense isnt as strong...

 

[Jaxbuck]

This is a problem, I am sure that he will move Phillips here when Freel is not in the lineup...

I can see everything else you said, its all on the high end of the optimisim scale but reasonable. This one isn't. Just because Phillips is a fast middle infielder doesn't mean he can hit leadoff any more than Gonzalez can.

Low OBP heavily driven by contact(i.e. won't take a walk) is the last guy on the team you want hitting leadoff for any length of time. There is no good answer for leadoff other than Freel now that deno is hurt.

This year I think we have a much better pitching staff and a lot better Defense, but the Offense isnt as strong...

With Hamilton or Freel in CF I agree on the defense. Ross is not a defensive upgrade at catcher but its not that big a drop imo. EE, Gonzo, and Phillips give us some serious range and athletic ability on the infield. RF should always be some combo of Hamilton and JR so thats at least MLB average to way above. Dunn is Dunn, I love him but he suffers from the Michael Jackson syndrom in the field...he wears a glove on one hand but no one can figure out why.

Pitching wise we have more depth and some unproven younger guys for once but I don't know if I'd say its "much" better. Arroyo could still remember who he is, Lohse has never done anything(good that is) and Milton is still on the team.

The pen isn't complete shit but again, if that rotation isn't eating innings look for the pen to get dead arm about the usual June swoon. Hermanson is still a big question mark to me, I'd be shocked if he can give us a complete and productive year.

All in all if everything goes right, we should be a legit .500 team. We also have the ability to lose 100 games if a couple of things go wrong early and it starts to snowball. My main interest this year is watching some of the youngsters and looking foreward to '08-'09.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

I can see everything else you said, its all on the high end of the optimisim scale but reasonable. This one isn't. Just because Phillips is a fast middle infielder doesn't mean he can hit leadoff any more than Gonzalez can.

Low OBP heavily driven by contact(i.e. won't take a walk) is the last guy on the team you want hitting leadoff for any length of time. There is no good answer for leadoff other than Freel now that deno is hurt.

Yeah I know, but the problem is you have no one else to enter in that spot with Deno down...

With Hamilton or Freel in CF I agree on the defense. Ross is not a defensive upgrade at catcher but its not that big a drop imo. EE, Gonzo, and Phillips give us some serious range and athletic ability on the infield. RF should always be some combo of Hamilton and JR so thats at least MLB average to way above. Dunn is Dunn, I love him but he suffers from the Michael Jackson syndrom in the field...he wears a glove on one hand but no one can figure out why.

Pitching wise we have more depth and some unproven younger guys for once but I don't know if I'd say its "much" better. Arroyo could still remember who he is, Lohse has never done anything(good that is) and Milton is still on the team.

The pen isn't complete shit but again, if that rotation isn't eating innings look for the pen to get dead arm about the usual June swoon. Hermanson is still a big question mark to me, I'd be shocked if he can give us a complete and productive year.

All in all if everything goes right, we should be a legit .500 team. We also have the ability to lose 100 games if a couple of things go wrong early and it starts to snowball. My main interest this year is watching some of the youngsters and looking foreward to '08-'09.

Yep I can agree with all this as well...I just think that we have depth in the organization to be able to cut a guy like Cormier, Weather, Milton if they fall on their face like guys have in the past but we had to deal with it...

For some reason I have confidence in Lohse for whatever reason, and hopefully for Belisle...

 

[CookyPuss]

Yep I can agree with all this as well...I just think that we have depth in the organization to be able to cut a guy like Cormier, Weather, Milton if they fall on their face like guys have in the past but we had to deal with it...

That's why I liked what Brantley said yesterday on the game about sending down both Belisle and Livingston for now. You don't really need a 5th guy to start the year, so why not let them get in a regular rotation and log some confident innings. That way they are sharp when Milton gets his brains beat in an you release him or somebody gets hurt. Also, allows you to keep Santos around who will probably refuse an outright option.