Odds and Ends: Thames, Sosa, Inge, Crisp

Hey Tim, I know that on occassion you will have a Q & A with GM's. What are the chances that you can get Neil Huntingdon to talk about the direction of the Pirates?

All of a sudden Bailey is available??

Bedard was out there for Bailey and lesser prospects but instead the Reds decided to trade Hamilton for Volquez, sign Fogg and Affeldt because they wanted to keep Bailey and Cueto.

Coulda/woulda/shoulda traded Bailey for Bedard...

Harang
Bedard
Arroyo
Belisle
Fogg/Affeldt

with Cueto waiting for a shot...instead they have signed Patterson to go with Freel & Hopper in CF with Jay Bruce going to AAA.

I am not opposed to sending him down if needed, but to trade Hamilton away for a 4th/5th/bullpen arm was ridiculous. An outfield of Dunn/Hamilton/Griffey/Freel/Hopper would've been fine until Bruce was ready...then you trade from your strength...all the while you still have a top 3 of Harang/Bedard/Arroyo.

WTF?!

as far as the comment goes about the volquez for hamilton deal, i thought it was strange they made that trade but still volquez is the real deal. anyone who could have success in texas is for real, eventhough hes going to another bandbox. hamiltons numbers were also inflated but they will be in texas as well so whats the difference. i thought that was a very even trade.

i would definately get something done for coco crisp if i were oakland and then carlos gonzalez can play right but who would they trade to boston for crisp?

What about Blevins? A young, power lefty in the pen with great strike-out #'s. Unless the sox think Hagadone is going to end up in the pen, the Sox do not have anyone like him in their system.

A's would have to take on crisp 2yr/11mill...i dont see this happening unless red sox pickup a chunk of that contract or include a prospect too. blanton, street, etc is much more worth than crisp. maybe A's trade an excess reliever like Casilla, Embree, etc.for sure A's would have interest in jed lowrie SS. maybe A's trade a catching prospect like landon powell

“Olney also notes that "talent evaluators say the Reds have demonstrated a clear willingness to deal Homer Bailey."

I want to know who the Reds could be talking about right now where Bailey would even need to be included. Who is possibly avail for a rather extreme cost that would fit the Reds needs? Shoot, could the Indians and Reds be talking Sabathia? I seriously doubt it, but who else would Bailey be included for? Or is that the level of Rip-Off that the A’s are asking for Blanton?

"John Smoltz has advice for Cole Hamels."

...I think it should have included "Shut the F*** up you little prissy whinny brat who thinks you are somehow above almost every other player in the history of the game" ~ or something like that :) But, I guess his was a much more eloquent way of going about it with the "It happens to everybody. Just pitch.” thing…

i think at this point it's obvious the reds aren't very high on bailey after seeing him last season. anybody remember what hype they were putting out about his dude last year? then he came out, threw a pretty average ball, and now we're talking they're willing to trade him? something's wrong.

better yet, crisp and chris carter for blanton or harden. you guys REALLY need a center, and if you dont get a real DH, your going to get stuck with Cust or Bonds Or Sosa, Carter could be a really good DH since he can hit a ton, just dont put him on the field

better yet, crisp and chris carter for blanton or harden. you guys REALLY need a center, and if you dont get a real DH, your going to get stuck with Cust or Bonds Or Sosa, Carter could be a really good DH since he can hit a ton, just dont put him on the field

i apologize for the double post, stupid typekey!

Heckjeck, It would've taken at least two of the reds top prospects ( say bailey and votto) plus some lesser prospects to get bedard. Bailey and some lesser prospects wouldn't have gotten the deal done for bedard. Plus, it seems most teams were asking for cueto before bailey anyway. We would've traded away most of our future for a few trips to the playoffs where we probably wouldn't have even made it to the Series with Bedard...Let the hamilton trade play itself out before evaluating... Believe me I know it has been TOUGH being a reds fan over the last 10-15 years. Hell I was born in '86, so I don't even remember the '90 series. All I have is the '95 playoffs and '99 of good reds teams to remember. The reds front office is really not as dumb as some people think they are. I personally like krivsky, jocketty, and castinelli a lot. Were SERIOUSLY going in the right direction this time with this management. They're spending more money and improving scouting domestically and internationally http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/international-affairs/2008/265719.html

because there is a good chance that harden doesnt recover, or throw the famed 100mph fastball anymore, so the most beane could get for him is now most likely, he has to come all the way back from a serious injury at a young age, not easy to do. Blanton had a career year, the time to trade him is right now, if you dont do it now its a gamble really

If the A's can get Crisp + good a prospect for Harden then they should do it. I think there is a stud pitcher in there somewhere. But who knows when/if he ever gains his form back.

Let him be a risk on another team that can afford to deal with his injury problems.

Crisp sucks. He is a hole in a line up. He is worth an RP at best.

I never understood the lack of respect Blanton gets: Ive watched many of his starts and he is absolutely going to be a solid inning-eating #3 on a good team who should peak as an ace in his mid 30s ala David Wells. Pancakes is young and a total horse of a pitcher. 08 is the year he might lay all these haters out.

That being said, Blanton for Bailey and Keppinger is a deal Id pull the trigger on in a nanosecond.

If the RS want him, they're going to have to give up Masterson and Lowrie, maybe with Crisp and any A's C in their system not named Suzuki included in the deal. Beane is no fool and would rather keep him than not make highway robbery with a trading partner.

“i think at this point it's obvious the reds aren't very high on bailey after seeing him last season.”

…I don’t know, I mean I understand that aspect of it but it seems a strange thing to randomly come up. It seems more likely that it was brought up for a reason, and that reason could be possible talks about a move being talked about. Maybe not, just seems a good possibility in my mind.

“Yes. Beane is looking for another Mulder (Although Blanton isn't as good as he was) for Haren type of deal here.”

…Yeah, I know. Was trying to imply that its possible the A’s and Reds are talking about Blanton right now.

All the BoSox fans saying Crisp+Pros for Blanton or Harden ~ Beane is the one guy you can count on to completely rip you off in a deal. If a deal for Harden or Blanton took place between the A’s and Sox, I imagine it would be Crisp + 3-4 low minors guys. Guys you never heard of who were about to break out. Look at the Haren deal, Beane holds Blanton just as high as him and is smart enough not to take a lowball offer for Harden just because his stock is low.

Can we please quit comparing Joe Blanton to Carlos Silva?? The only similarites they have are that they are both control pitchers. Blanton is ahead in basically every major pitching category career wise, and he just has better stuff then Silva does. I hear this comparison all then time, and its really not even close. Blanton has a career ERA of 4.10, Silva 4.31. Blanton has a better career WHIP, a better career OPS+, and even though he is not a strikeout pitcher, he still K's far more batters then Silva. He blows Silva away in the innings pitched category. He gives up far less hits per IP. I could go on all day. Blanton is a strong #3 who will give you 210+ IP year in and year out, never missing a start. Silva simply is not. He's a strong back of the rotation pitcher who is unable to handle the same work load as Joe Blanton. He just happened to get paid this offseason like a #2-3 pitcher because of a horrible FA pitching market. Plain and simple.

Blanton's quality numbers are almost completely a fabrication of pitching in Oakland. He managed to post numbers that resemble a good #3 starter, but really thats because he was pitching in a pitchers park. Outside of Oakland he's a much worse pitcher (3.48 home ERA, 4.70 road ERA) and I think some teams have come to that conclusion. Obviously Beane is going to continue to push Blanton as a #2 starter.

I think that the Reds and A's end up meeting in the middle, so definately no monster Bailey-Cueto-Votto package that was initially proposed. I would probably say that the Reds will end up getting Blanton from Oakland in exchange for Homer Bailey, Matt Maloney and Todd Frazier. Thats one elite pitching prospect, a good pitching prospect, and a good shortstop prospect. Seems like a pretty good deal for both sides.

And there is almost no way that Beane deals Harden this spring. Harden's value is extremely low because of his health. But when he's healthy, he is a legitimate ace, and is probably one of the better pitchers in baseball. Considering that, I seriously doubt that Beane would sell low on him. Unless Beane gets blown away by an offer (he won't), then Harden will be with the team at least through June. IF Harden can manage to prove he is healthy and perform, then suddenly the A's potentially have another Erik Bedard on their hands. A youngish starter (age 27-28) on a cheap contract with the ability to dominate games, but also with lingering health and durability issues. We saw what Orioles managed to get for Bedard, so just think what Beane could do.

If the Reds are going to trade Bailey, then put a package together and trade for an Outfielder like Carl Crawford or Alex Rios. Somebody who can hit AND play Defense.

If the Reds are going to pay $15+ million a year to an Outfielder, it is better to pay a guy who can do more than one thing well, unlike Dunn (hitting Home Runs) or who can't stay healthy (KGJ).

A better balanced Offense and Defense is a lot easier to get and less costly than trying to get Starting Pitchers.

Get better Defensive Outfielders and guys who can hit on the Road and drive guys in without having to hit Home Runs and the Reds wont have to worry so much about trading four or more prospects for a number two or number three starter.

"Moises Alou down 4-6 weeks. Mets need for a RH outfield bat becomes even more of an issue."

More importantly, my fantasy team's need for a 5th outfielder just became an issue.

Responding to oxfrat1665's suggestion of a 3-way trade sending Crisp to the A's: Crisp's sagging OBP (.310 average the last 2 yrs) and his groin problems don't jive well with the A's loathing of low OBP combined with their recent experience w/ M.Bradley and his gimpy lower body. Denorfia looks like a go this year at CF with above average fielding and OBPs of .391 & .409 his last 2 years in the minors. The A's outfield suffers from lack of dazzle right now, but they're not that bad (Buck's glove/bat and Cust's bat), plus the A's are rebuilding and won't want to pick up Crisp's $15.75 mill.+2010 option at this time. It might have made sense a few years back.