Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports had his doubts about rookie managers Robin Ventura and Mike Matheny heading into the season, but both appear to be doing well so far. Here are more of Rosenthal’s notes from around the league…
- An unnamed rival executive says former White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was an “inefficiency” who prevented his team from reaching its full potential in Chicago.
- White Sox GM Kenny Williams likes that his team has pitched well and played solid fundamental baseball, Rosenthal reports. Williams prefers not to comment on Guillen, who managed the White Sox from 2004-11.
- GM Sandy Alderson suggests the Mets’ 6-3 start is an indication that the Mets’ cautious optimism was warranted earlier this spring. “We’re hoping with what happened over the first 10 days or so, people will begin to see the potential of this team differently,” Alderson said.
- Rival executives aren’t sure how the Reds will manage their payroll now that Brandon Phillips and Joey Votto have lucrative long-term extensions.
Oh boy an unnamed rival executive. How we do know that wasn’t just the Royals Clubhouse attendant or one of the Cubs janitors. How about some bottom of the barrel scout? If you’re not willing to put your name out there, your opinion doesn’t matter
And also on the subject, he won a world series, something no other team in that division had done in 20 years and hasn’t done since, so I think it’s these “rivals” that haven’t reached their full potential.
Probably Bobby Valentine. He’s always got something to say…
Ozzie Guillen is the most overrated manager in the history of sports.
Mets have always been a first half team. I was impressed with the way Niese pitched against us on Saturday… kind of reminds me of Cliff Lee without the pinpoint control.
Mets have always been a first half team.
A-men! The Mets’ hot start is a great feel-good for brass and fans alike, but it’s just the first ten games. Besides that, it seems like every year some team charges out of the gate tearing it up and even leading the League for a month or two…only to fall to the wayside for good after that.
There’s a veeeery long way to go yet and a lot can happen in 152 games. So let’s see where the team is come August. If they’re still really rolling then I’d say they’ve really got something. For now I think it’s best to just enjoy it and take it all in stride.
Rival executives aren’t sure how the Reds will manage their payroll now that Brandon Phillips and Joey Votto have lucrative long-term extensions.
I think I know how they will do it. The Owners of the Reds will declare bankruptcy and hope someone comes along and pays them “One Billion” Dollars over book and bail them out. Otherwise, I have no idea how they are going to make all those payments without going into “Hock”, especially with paying Ryan Madson all that money and getting zero production from it.
The Reds are going to pay for the Votto and Phillips extensions the next few years from Revenue Sharing Money that they DID NOT SPEND the past number of years and from the RSM they are going to receive the next few years. Then they are HOPING the new TV contract in 2017 covers everything.
This means the Reds COULD have spent money to improve the team in ways OTHER than signing scrubs and injury prone, past their prime players these last 10 years but DIDN’T and are now going to use RSM to pay for Votto and Phillips instead of, again, using that money to improve the team with better talent.
So, for the next few years, look for MORE guys like Corey Patterson, Wily Tavares, Darnel McDonald, Daren Lewis and Willy Harris to be signed.
Hate to say it bro … but you need to find a new team to root for
Hate to say it bro… but I STOPPED being a Reds fan in early 2009 and it was EXACTLY because of what I wrote about.
When Ca$htellini took over the team, he said in his first speech that he was going to “bring Championship baseball back to Cincinnati”. In the proceeding six years, the Reds have had five losing seasons and one winning season (which they were lucky to have).
Meanwhile, the BIG excuse for all the losing was that, yes, the Reds had glaring holes that needed to be filled but they didn’t want to trade away inexpensive youth for veterans and they couldn’t afford high priced Free Agents because they were a “small market” team.
However, if you read the Forbes articles which detailed how much revenue and operating income each team received and had and then compared that to Cots baseball contracts, you could SEE that the Reds COULD afford to fill the glaring holes but decided NOT to. Instead, they decided just to squirrel the Revenue Sharing money away in an account and then overpay for scrap heap projects
By doing this, they had a built in excuse for WHY the team kept losing – “we are a small market team. We can’t compete against large market teams when it comes to signing GOOD Free Agents so we have to be careful and sign guys we can afford”.
So, NOW they decide they can afford both Votto and Phillips IN THE FUTURE by using up that cash they had stashed away. Notice, unlike Illitch in Detroit, Ca$htellini has NOT dipped into his own pocket to sign these guys. he has used money thye already ahd but never spent.
Again, this means he scrimped in the past and KEPT the Reds from having more talent and has scrimped NOW to keep the Reds from having more talent (Wilie Harris, Wilson Valdez) and thus the team has NOT improved.
So, the HYPE around Votto and Phillips signing for the FUTURE does NOT translate to success NOW. Also, those two big contracts TOTALLY blows the “small market” excuse for not spending money the past six years out of the water.
If sports reporters who cover the Reds were doing their job, they would find these things out, report them and then the fans would know WHY they have been stuck with a losing team and be like me and STOP being a fan.
Don’t waste your time writing 10 page essays … just your negativity makes anything past the first line not worth reading. But I am happy to read in the first sentence that you are no longer a Red fan … we can do without you just fine.
haters!!! why nobody talk when these big market clubs buy all star teams now we finally have an owner that wants to win in cincinnati and people everywhere hating, bet other small market fans wish castellini bought their team, and castellini and jocketty were both in st louis when they turned that organization around, same with jocketty in oakland so i think they know what they are doing….
Please remind everyone what the Reds Won – Loss record has been since Ca$htellini took over as majority owner of the Reds in 2005. Please do the same since Jocketty took over as GM in 2008. Please do the same since the Votto and Phillips extensions.
As I have said before, Ca$htellini was a MINORITY owner with the Cardinals and thus had little, if any, say in how the organization was run. As far as Jocketty goes, he was LUCKY in that he drafted Albert Pujols in the 13th round of the draft.
He was also lucky in that he had Tony LaRussa as Manager and Dave Duncan as Pitching Coach. TLR KNOWS talent and how to evaluate a team and he would tell Jocketty what the team needed and who to go after. Jocketty would then get approval from Ownership to be able to take on big dollar contracts other teams wanted to unload. As far as Duncan goes, he was GREAT at taking reclamation projects and turning them into something useful.
With the Reds, Jocketty is saddled with Toothpick Baker, a guy who can NOT judge talent and who is stuck in his ways. he has Price as Pitching Coach, who doesn’t seem to be that great (but a definite improvement over Baker yes man, Richard Pole) and Ca$htellini, an owner who saves his Revenue Sharing money for Votto adn Phillips instead of spending it each year to improve the team.
Ozzie an inefficiency? Ozzie’s an industiral-size anvil tied around a team’s middle. Ozzie’s a pair of giant concrete overshoes. Ozzie’s MLB’s Titanic of managers–with a capital “T.”
Whatever the metaphor, he drags his team down toward the bottom rather than elevate their play and results.