Erik Bedard Rumors

I want to believe that MacPhail is reluctant to deal Bedard and/or Roberts becuase he is waiting for the "right" package. But seeing how this organization runs, I'm almost positive that Angelos has his filthy hands in all of this.

Blanton, good pitcher...not worth the farm.

Ok so Beane can convince Krivsky that Blanton is better than Bedard and Santana. I would love to see that conversation.

That's why it feels like the A's could sneak in there.
They could ask for "only" Joey Votto and Johnny Cueto plus some "meaningless" A+ baller and boom! Blanton is a Red.
Not wanting Jay Bruce could be used as negotiating leverage.

I'm kind of surprised Seattle isn't looking at both Bedard and Roberts. Lopez doesn't do much and a Ichiro/Roberts 1-2 would be tough on any staff since together they could easily steal 100

Roberts makes a lot of sense for the Cubs, both because he is a major upgrade offensively at the position and because they get him at a decent rate. Those factors, particularly the latter, should help in the sale of the Cubs.
On a separate note, I don't give the ZiPS system much credit after looking at the projections for the Dodgers alone.

Sorry XD23, but that isn't enough for Bedard AND Roberts

bweav44,

As far as Pitching is concerned, I don't trust Krivsky as far as I could throw him.

The majority of GOOD players Krivsky has picked up are OFFENSIVE players. Look at where the Reds play and you can see WHY these guys have been good pick-ups.

Now, look at the crap that Krivsky has picked up as far as Pitching goes. Even in Pitchers parks, these guys are bad. A lot of people say Krivsky was a genius for picking up Bronson Arroyo for Wily Mo Pena. I don't think so. I say he got lucky.

Pitching has ALWAYS been a wanted commodity and if Arroyo was so hot, then why didn't OTHER teams inquire on him? If they thought he was going to be any good, then they would have SURELY offered the Red Sox MORE than just a WIly Mo Pena-type of player. Conversely, if the Red Sox thought Arroyo was going to be any good, they would have KEPT him and gotten rid of somebody else OR they would have ASKED for more than Wily Mo Pena.

Then there was the case of trading the BEST Defensive Outfielder the Reds had (Hamilton) for Volquez of the Rangers. When the Reds have two of the WORST Defensive Outfielders in the NL (Dunn and KGJ) it would seem the SMART thing to do would be to KEEP somebody who can actually cover a lot of ground and who has a strong arm. Not Krivsky. He kept the ONE TOOL player (Dunn) and the guy who ALWAYS has a season ending injury which causes him to miss September, (KGJ) you know, the time of year when teams NEED their players in the line-up on an every day basis because they are trying to get into the Play-Offs.

Also, Krivsky gave a 4 year, $46 million dollar contract to a 32 year-old Closer (Cordero) who did NOT Pitch well his last year with Texas and who did NOT Pitch well outside of Miller park when he was with the Brewers.

People expect Cordero to be a SAVIOUR but I expect him to be a bust because of playing in GASP, because of the POOR Outfield Defense and because of the Offense being BAD against Left Handed Pitching and continuing on the Home Run first approach, instead of the good contact, "small ball" and moving guys over approach which allowed the Reds to have a BETTER record during the second half of 2007.

I don't want Krivsky to trade for ANY Pitcher. I also don't really want him as the Reds GM, especially if he keeps Dunn and KGJ on the team past 2008.

ctown,
Couldn't disagree more.

I believe Krivsky was with the Twins when they selected Santana in the rule 5. I think he was there too when the traded for Liriano, Nathan and Bonser. They've developed some pretty good players.

Willie Mo for Arroyo was a great move. And for the record there was plenty of interest in Arroyo at the deadline last year, and the Reds wisely passed.

Jared Burton is a stud setup/future closer. Majewski may never pan out, but I like Bray and am glad to be rid of Lopez and Kearns.

Hamilton was phenomenal last year when he played, and that's the key phrase. With Freel, Hopper, Bruce, Keppinger, and Votto all capable of playing in the outfield, Hamilton was expendable. Would you be griping so much if he'd landed Willis? I'd rather have Blanton personally. So IMO Volquez was gotten for not much if you consider the Reds investment and take emotion out of it.

By the way, Griffey can still play the field. I'm all for unloading Dunn, hopefully for pitching at the break.

Affeldt was a nice deal. Maloney for Lohse, who Krivsky plucked out of the trash bin? C'mon, you're being way too harsh.

Marcus Macbeth, and Livingston showed a little too. Hopefully Livingston can come back.

I like the Andy Phillips signing. Hopefully Ross hits a little more like 06, but he was picked up for peanuts. I really don't understand where all the criticism is coming from from so many Red's fans.

The Cordero deal, whether he gets 45 saves or 35, still filled the biggest need the Reds had. So they overpaid...their bullpen was the arguably the worst in baseball last year. Not having Bray for the first half, and Burton taking awhile to settle into the 8th took some time. Know what, they showed promise...a lot of it. Put Stormy back into a middle reliever spot and you have at least an average bullpen, which probably gets Harang 20 wins.

If Harang had back to back 20 win seasons, like he should've, think anyone would be debating his status as an ace? Remember who locked him up long term at a below market rate? WK.

I like where this team is headed and I give a lot of credit to Castellini and Krivsky.

bweav44,

When Krivsky was with the Twins he was NOT the GM. So, whatever he did, did not do would be credited to the GM at the time. Also, as far as Pitching goes, Krivsky passed on Lincecum and drafted Stubbs, just what the Reds DIDN'T need, another Strike Out prone Outfielder. He did this even though they each signed for a $2 million dollar bonus.

Arroyo - I NEVEFR said anything about trading him away, I was talking about when he was traded from the Red Sox. At that time, if ANY team thought he was going to be a big deal, they would have offered the Sox MORE than what the Reds did and that if the Red Sox thought he was going to be any good they would have kept him or traded him for more than what they received.

Now, as far as trading Arroyo last year, if he would have brought ANYTHING close to what teams are asking for Pitchers this year, I would have said go for it.

The Outfield - Bruce hasn't played ANY time in the Majors yet. Freel is old and fragile. His next concussion could and probably will end his career. Keppinger SHOULD be playing Short Stop instead of the streaky, Strike Out prone, Home Run wanna be hitting A Gon. Votto, if he is playing Left then WHO is the First Baseman?? I like Hatteberg but only as a platoon player.

The Reds have SUCKED against Left Handed Pitching the last few years and have the losses to show for it. Dunn, Hamilton, Hatteberg and A Gon were ALL awful against Left Handed Pitching last year. At least with Hamilton, if he wasn't hitting, he could STILL play GOOD Defense. That can NOT be said about Dunn.

If Bruce starts in CF (another Left Handed batter) and A Gon at SS (with Hopper and Keppinger on the bench) I expect the Reds to be HORRIBLE against Left Handed Pitching again.

KGJ has hardly any range in RF and when you combine that with Dunn's limited range, it is no wonder that Reds' Center Fielders have gotten injured sooo frequently the last few years.

The Reds Offense NEEDS a lead-off hitter like Hopper however, if he has to run around and cover ground for BOTH Dunn and KGJ, his legs will be tired by the All-Star break and his Batting Average will drop.

If the Reds would have kept Hamilton, they could have platooned him and Hopper in CF and kept them BOTH fresh. Then, when Dunn was traded, Hopper could have shifted to Left with Hamilton staying in CF. Also, when KGJ suffers his yearly season ending injury, Bruce could ahve ben brought up to take his place.

As far as Catching goes, I think the Reds should trade A Gon and Javy Valentin to the Giants for Bengie Molina. The Giants NEED a SS (they can NOT depend on 42 year-old Omar Vizquel too much longer). Molina gives the Reds a Gold Glove caliber Defensive player PLUS he KILLS Left Handed Pitching.

Cordero. Last year, the Reds lost a lot of Games because of their POOR Run production in the late Innings and because the Bull Pen often lost the game in the Eighth Inning. That is why Weathers often came in for Two Inning Saves. However, the good thing was, they still had some At Bats to try and gt teh lead back. Now, with Cordero, if he loses the lead, the Offense has one Inning, at best, to try and score to tie or win the game. WIth his BAD stats away from Miller Park, it would have been better for the REds to sign a couple of REALLY good Relievers to come into the sixth and seventh Innings (for Belisle, Bailey and whoever the fifth Starter is going to be) or the seventh and eighth Innings for Harang and Arroyo. That would have been less expensive.

I say this because what happens if (more like when) Cordero fails?? Do the Reds keep running him out there or do they try and trade him away?? IF they keep running him out there and he keeps failing, his trade value drops. If they sit him on the bench, he gets rusty and other teams might think he is injured. These are all why I think Cordero was a bad move.

As far as Ca$htellini goes, I think he is behind the signing of Baker (another mistake) because it is good PR for the Reds to have a Black Manager. They could have waited for Joe Torre, Tony LaRussa or Joe ??? (I can't remember his name right now) who signed with the Yankees. But NOOO, they had to go out and get Baker as fast as they could. A guy who wasn't on ANYBODIES HOT or MUST HAVE list.

Before signing Baker, the LEAST the Reds could have done was interview some OTHER people. But they didn't. They struck fast, just like they did when they extended Narron's contract after the Reds had a good April in 2006. We ALL saw how BAD a move THAT was.

I also think Ca$htellini was behind the Reds picking up of Dunn's option.

Ca$htellini looks out at the 22,000 or so fans that show up most every night (unless there are fire works, bobblehead give-aways, dollar Hot Dog nights or the Cubs are in town - notice when an above average crowd shows up it has NOTHING to do with Reds baseball) and sees a bunch of YOUNG fans wearing Dunn and KGJ jersys. He thinks that is GOOD. What he FAILS to understand is that OLDER Reds fans (like me) who remember the Big Red Machine days KNOW what good baseball is and WHO good baseball players are.

We have the money to BUY season tickets (unlike the younger fans who only have money to show up to a few Games a year) but we DON'T because we don't want to waste our money on BAD baseball and BAD ball players.

Pete Rose was right when he said (numerous times) give the fans something to cheer for and they will show up. By keeping Dunn and KGJ and HOPING the Home Run first approach to the Offense works (even though it hasn't the last seven years) Ca$htellini is neglecting the fans who want to come out and who can afford to do so on a regular basis. He is putting the Dunn and KGJ fans ahead of the REDS fans, of which there are MANY more.

Ctown,
We're just going to have to agree to disagree.

I initially didn't like the Baker signing, but have come around.

I don't agree with you on any of the personnel points.

I want to see Keppinger at First or Third, not short. AGon will be more focused this year, and hopefully his son is doing better.

Cordero will be fine. So will the 6,7 and 8th inning guys.

I just don't agree with you about the front office either.

It's good though to have different perspectives, and judging by what I hear on talk radio around here I think there are more fans with your point of view than mine.

I'll chose to stay optimistic.

You said yourself how important defense is. I don't think you can roll all season long with Keppinger at short.

Trading Gonzalez would be like admitting the signing was a bad one. Not to mention benching Ross and his couple million salary. He needs to play better this year, last year was garbage offensively.

Then you're trading one of your best pinch hitters and bringing in another righty.

I understand this team can't hit lefties, and I think that's probably going to continue this year. Platoon in center, probably at first and maybe start Keppinger at short against lefties.

Ultimately, even if they trade for another starter, I don't think this team has the juice to get by the Brewers and Cubs this year. I think this team's going to look a lot different after the trade deadline.

And I look for '09 to be the first of several years of serious contending.

I want to see a more well rounded baseball team, period.