Reds Dugout

2009-04-11T07:07:00.003-05:00

The Reds wound up winning one out of the three against the Mets, taking the Thursday game, which is pretty much what I expected to happen. Joey Votto has been carrying the load so far, as the others are still trying to get on track. The bullpen has been a nice surprise so far, and I think once everyone else gets rolling, the team will be OK.

The "much improved defense and base running" that Dusty had been talking about all during Spring Training has been anything but so far. A crucial error by Alex Gonzalez at short cost them the game on Wednesday night, and blunders on the basepaths almost led to their downfall on Thursday. In their defense though (I guess), the regular starting eight still hasn't been on the field together yet, so we'll see what happens this weekend.

They were rained out last night in the series opener against the Pirates; hopefully, they will be able to get that one started today. A makeup date was not announced for Friday’s rainout. Here are the matchups for the shortened series, as Micah Owings will be skipped; his first start will be pushed back until Wednesday of next week.:

Saturday:
Johnny Cueto vs Paul Maholm

Sunday:
Aaron Harang vs Ian Snell

Game 1 Recap

2009-04-07T07:55:00.004-05:00

The Reds lost their season opener yesterday to the Mets 2-1. The Reds had a lot of problems trying to generate any offense at all against Johan Sanatana and the new-look Mets bullpen. They did have their opportunities though in the 6th and then again in the 8th to actually break the game open, but couldn’t convert when needed to. Not being able to put any runs on the board was sort of concerning, but given who they were up against, it wasn’t really surprising. What was disheartening though were the defensive lapses and base running errors that gave the Mets opportunities, and killed Reds rallies. I have no idea why Darnell McDonald was starting in center field, but I hope to never see him there again. Even with Willy Taveras out with the flu, there are other options…like Chris Dickerson. I still don’t understand how in the world McDonald even made the 25-man roster in place of Jonny Gomes.

The Reds pitching staff gave up nine hits and seven walks, but the Mets could only muster two runs. Both were driven in by Daniel Murphy, one on a solo homer and one on a groundout. Aaron Harang looked fairly solid…bend, but don’t break comes to mind, but 114 pitches over 5-innings is not a good sign. In brutal weather, he gave up seven hits, three walks, and one run. He was able to pitch his way out of trouble on several occasions, and did get some help from Jay Bruce in the outfield., who made an amazing throw to get David Wright at the plate, leaving two Mets on base.

Reliever Danny Herrera gave up the other run by giving up a double, two walks, and a groundout while getting two outs. Mike Lincoln came in to get the last out of the 6th. Arthur Rhodes, David Weathers, and Francisco Cordero each followed with a shutout inning of relief.

The Reds managed just three hits on the day, but they did draw five walks. Jay Bruce had a double, Darnell McDonald and Joey Votto a single each. Brandon Phillips drove in McDonald for the only run with a sacrifice fly.

Today is an off day, and then the teams return for a night game on Wednesday. Edinson Volquez will take the hill in that one, going up against Mike Pelfrey.

After much speculation, Bronson Arroyo will make his scheduled start on Thursday. Arroyo, who had a flare-up of carpal tunnel syndrome during spring training, threw before the game and felt good. After the session, it was decided to let him make his scheduled start on Thursday instead of resting for the week.

Season Record: 0-1

And away we go...

2009-04-06T06:33:00.002-05:00

My favorite day of the year is finally here!

The Reds will open up a three game set with the New York Mets today at Great American. They have lost three out of their last five openers.

Taking the hill for the Reds will be Aaron Harang, who's looking to rebound from his worst season ever in the major leagues. He'll face perennial Cy Young favorite Johan Santana.

The rest of the series matchups will be:

Wednesday: Edinson Volquez vs. Mike Pelfrey
Thursday: Micah Owings vs. Oliver Perez

Opening Day Roster

2009-04-05T15:18:00.002-05:00

The 25-man roster is set and the Reds are ready to roll into opening day. There were a couple of surprises, the biggest being that Jonny Gomes didn't make the team. He got off to a great spring, but cooled off considerably during the last couple of weeks which sealed his fate I guess. Everyone had assumed he would be platooning with Chris Dickerson in left, but I guess Dusty has other plans. In his place the team kept Darnell McDonald...a 31 year old, career minor leaguer who has only 21 major league games under his belt...yeah, Dusty knows best. Also among the cuts were Adam Rosales and Homer Bailey. Bailey will probably be called up quickly though to replace Bronson Arroyo in the rotation. Arroyo is battling carpal tunnel syndrome and the Reds have moved him back from his scheduled Thursday start to Sunday. Rosales was another player who was thought to be a sure thing to make the club, but they decided to go with Paul Janish instead, who is a very good defensive SS. Maybe AGon isn't 100% after all.

Here is the entire 25-man roster...

Pitchers
SP Aaron Harang
SP Edinson Volquez
SP Micah Owings
SP Johnny Cueto
SP Bronson Arroyo
RP Francisco Cordero
RP David Weathers
RP Jared Burton
RP Daniel Ray Herrera
RP Mike Lincoln
RP Arthur Rhodes
RP Josh Roenicke

Catchers
Ramon Hernandez
Ryan Hanigan

Infielders
1B Joey Votto
2B Brandon Phillips
SS Alex Gonzalez
SS Paul Janish
3B Edwin Encarnacion

Outfielders
RF Jay Bruce
CF Willy Taveras
LF Chris Dickerson
OF Darnell McDonald

Infielders/Outfielders
Jerry Hairston Jr.
Laynce Nix

Spring Training news

2009-03-11T17:42:00.003-06:00

It's been a while sice I've updated (been busy getting ready for my fantasy drafts), but there has been some minor news that has come across the wire...

2008 First round pick Yonder Alonso was one of seven cut from the big-league camp Tuesday. Joining him were outfielder Drew Stubbs, catcher Devon Mesoraco, catcher Humberto Cota, catcher Chris Denove, infielder Todd Frazier and infielder Chris Valaika. No surprises, as none of these guys were really expected to make the team.

Joey Votto returned to camp a little earlier than he had hoped as Team Canada had an early exit from the WBC, failing to make it out of the first round, even though they had "home field advantage".

After missing two games with a sore hand, Edwin Encarnacion was back in Tuesday's lineup.

That's about it for now. I'll update more later this week.

Nine Reds to play in Classic

2009-02-25T16:44:00.004-06:00

A total of nine players from the organization were chosen to represent their countries in the World Baseball Classic next month. Players include:

Joey Votto - Canada
Edinson Volquez, Johnny Cueto, Francisco Cordero, Willy Taveras - Dominican Republic
Jerry Hairston Jr. - Mexico...Mexico? Really Jerry? I thought you were from Illinois
Alexander Smit, Juan Carlos Sulbaran - Netherlands
Yen-Wen Kuo - Chinese Taipei

Participating players will leave camp to join their squads on March 1. The 16-team World Baseball Classic tournament will run from March 5-23.

The MLB Network will show 16 games of the tournament, along with a nightly studio show. 23 Games will be on the ESPN family of networks, including ESPN, ESPN2, its Spanish-language network, ESPN Deportes.

My least favorite time of the year

2009-02-23T18:47:00.002-06:00

There I sat on another boring Sunday, trying to choose between over-hyped NBA, boring college basketball, under appreciated NHL, cars running around in circles, and another golf tournament without Tiger. While it was all mildly entertaining to some extent, it just isn't baseball. In fact, as far as sports go, there really isn’t anything quite like baseball in my opinion, and this is the worst time of the year for me as a sports fan. Winter sort of dulls the pain a bit because of football, but there is still no comparison between football and baseball for me.

I’m really looking forward to the season this year. There is a lot of negativity surrounding the team this year if you listen to some of the fans, but the optimist in me is trying to stay positive. I like the youth movement that has taken place and am looking forward to seeing some of these guys get at it this year. Last year saw a lot of playing time for the youngsters and I think it will really pay off going into this season.

The pitching is going to be a strong suit with a solid foursome in Harang, Arroyo, Volquez, and Cueto, and there’s a great battle brewing for the 5th spot in the rotation. The bullpen with Cordero, Rhodes, Weathers, Lincoln, Bray, and Burton is going to be the best the team has had in a very long time.

The everyday lineup is going to very, very different than the team we have seen for the last few year. Gone are Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn, and in their place we have guys like Jay Bruce and Chris Dickerson, who a lot is going to be expected out of in their first full year at the major league level. Some say this team is going to struggle to score runs this year, but I really don’t expect that to be a huge issue…I just think they will be scored in a different manner. There is no definitive power hitter on this team, so the runs will have to be more of the manufactured variety. The days of station-to-station baseball, and waiting for the "long ball" are over at GABP and in their place will be a more exciting brand in my opinion. I’m one of the few it seems that really like the Willy Tavaras signing and think he can do some really good things at the top of the order. I’m just hoping that we will see the Willie T 2006 version and not the 2008 one. From what I’ve read, he has been working hard so far this spring at keeping the ball on the ground and we’ll hopefully it will pay off for him. The biggest knock on him is his low OBP, but once he does get on base, he can fly around the paths. Even with an OBP of .308, he still sole 68 bases last year. Obviously, it was in jest, but a reporter asked him earlier this spring how many bases he could steal this year, and his answer was 100. No one really believes that will happen, but if he could get at least 650 at bats this year, he may come a lot closer than anyone actually believes...including himself.

Phillips to hit cleanup

2009-02-20T12:26:00.003-06:00

Per Dusty yesterday, Brandon Phillips will hit fourth, at least to start the season. I figured this was coming, but was holding out hope he wouldn't be. In a perfect situation, he should be hitting 5th or maybe even 6th, but after not getting a big bat through free agency, I figured he would be the guy to hit 4th.

Hopefully, Encarnacion will be taking on the clean up role shortly after the season starts. Maybe Dusty doesnt want to put to much pressure on him, or doesn't want him to start swinging for the fences again. EE also needs to prove that he can be more consistant at the plate. When he was on last year, it was a thing of beauty, but when he struggled it was just as ugly.

The way it looks, the opening day order will probably be:

Taveras CF
Hairston/Dickerson LF
Votto 1B
Phillips 2B
Bruce RF
Encarnacion 3B
Hernandez C
Gonzalez SS
Harang P

Encarnacion signs a two-year deal

2009-02-17T15:38:00.003-06:00

Third baseman Edwin Encarnacion and the Reds have agreed to a two-year contract, and will avoid arbitration. Reports are the two-year deal is valued at $7.6 million.

EE had asked for $3.7 million in arbitration while the Reds countered at $2.55 million. A two-year contract leaves him with one season of arbitration eligibility remaining before he can become an unrestricted free agent in 2012.

I think this is a good deal for both sides and was glad to see it get done before going to a hearing.

Pitchers and catchers report

2009-02-15T06:57:00.003-06:00

It's finally time to get down to business as pitchers and catchers reported to Sarasota for the Reds last Spring Training there before moving to Arizona next year. 29 Pitchers and seven catchers made up the contingent that took the field for the first time on Saturday afternoon. From what I've read, most of it was just doing routine drills and seeing where everyone was at on their first day of week after the long off season. The rest of the team doesn't have to report until Tuesday, but numerous guys are already in camp...Jay Bruce and Chris Dickerson were the first to arrive late last week. It's nice to see the young guys there early and ready to go.

As I've talked about before, there are two starting positions up for grabs this year...left field and a 5th starter. Another area that needs to be talked about is that with the amount of youngsters expected to make the 25-man roster this year, someone needs to step up to be a leader in the clubhouse. Prior to the trades of Dunn and Griffey last year, Brandon Phillips made some comments about how he was ready to step up and be the man, and how this was going to be "his team" soon. Well, quite frankly, that didn't happen. After the trades, he seemed to go into a shell with the media and his on field production suffered as well prior to his season ending injury. Maybe things will change as we head into the new season with him being one of the established vets on the team, but we'll have to see if he truly is up to the challenge. If not him, then who? The logical choices would be David Weathers or Aaron Harang, but an everyday player needs to step up as opposed to a pitcher. If this truly is "your team" BP, now's the time to step up and take the reigns.

Dunn signs with the Nats

2009-02-12T15:57:00.003-06:00

Not surprised at all to see this as Washington has been his rumored destination for a while. What was surprising though, was the deal he signed...2-years, for $20 million. I honestly expected him to only get a 1-year deal in the $8 million range, so good for him.

I guess I was one of the few who was actually holding out hope the Reds would bring him back this year...I've always liked him and thought he got a raw deal in Cincy from a lot of people, especially the media. I'm glad to see him out of the division though...there's no way in the world I wanted to see him go to the Cubs or Astros. I could see him becoming a "Reds killer" in either one of those two parks, especially Wrigley.

In other news, it looks like the Mariners are ramping up their efforts to bring Junior back to Seattle to finish out his career. Great news if it's true...would love to see Griffey go back to where it all started, he will always be one of my favorites, no matter where he plays.

Nothing but good wishes for both of these guys.

Still waiting for news on EE

2009-02-08T06:38:00.003-06:00

Walt Jocketty said on Thursday that an agreement would probably be reached this weekend with Edwin Encarnacion...well, it's Sunday and still no news.

His arbitration hearing is set for February 17th; EE is asking for $3.7 million, and the Reds offered $2.55 million. Hopefully the two sides can come to terms for around $3 million and get this thing settled before the hearing.

Reds sign two vets

2009-02-06T08:08:00.002-06:00

The Reds added some possible veteran depth Thursday when they signed Jacque Jones and Daryle Ward to minor-league contracts.

Jones, a left-handed hitting outfielder, will turn 34 next month but could see playing time in left field if he does well during spring training, which opens Feb. 14 when pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report.

Jones would get a one-year contract worth $600,000 in the majors and $75,000 in the minors and could make $100,000 more in performance bonuses, the Associated Press reported.

After hitting more than 20 home runs for three consecutive seasons from 2004-2006, Jones batted .285 in 2007 with only five homers and 66 RBI in 453 at-bats. A bigger dropoff came last season, when he hit .147 with one homer and seven RBI in 116 at-bats with Detroit and Florida.

Jones has career averages of .277 overall and .290 against right-handers, with 165 homers and 630 RBI.

Ward, 33, could add bench depth for the Reds. He hasn't had more than 130 at-bats in any of the past three seasons and has been used almost exclusively as a pinch hitter.

But the left-handed hitting outfielder/first baseman still has some pop in his bat, with a total of 14 homers, 30 doubles and 62 RBI in 342 at-bats over the past three seasons. Ward has 11 career pinch-hit homers, tied for fourth-most among active big-league players.

Ward hit .308 in 2006 and .327 in 2007 - but dropped to .216 last season, including a .145 average as a pinch-hitter. He is a career .263 hitter.

LINK

I have no real issues with either one of these signings, and really like Ward. The guy has been coming off the bench in a pinch hitting role for basically his entire career so he knows how to make the mental adjustment of coming in off the bench, and will be able to provide some pop with his bat.

As far as Jones goes, I was a fan of his early in his career when he played for the Twins, but has been battling injuries for the last two seasons. He did play a little winter ball this year and put up some decent numbers, so he may have a little left. The downside to all of this is he is one of "Dusty's boys" (played for him with the Cubs), so I'm sure he will be given every chance in the world...I just hope this doesn't turn into another Corey Patterson situation where he takes AB's away from someone who deserves them more.

2009 Rotation

2009-02-04T10:59:00.004-06:00

Time to start thinking about things to look forward to in Spring Training, and one of them is how the starting rotation will shape up. Four of the five spots are already determined with Aaron Harang, Edinson Volquez, Bronson Arroyo and Johnny Cueto cemented in, so the question is...who will be the 5th?

The battle for the 5th spot in the rotation will more than likely come down to Micah Owings, Homer Bailey, Daryl Thompson, and Ramon Ramirez. Going in, I think Owings is the front runner, if he's healthy. Owings was the centerpiece in the Adam Dunn trade, and I think he will be given every opportunity to take the job. He was 4-0 last April with an ERA under 4.00 with the D-Backs before his shoulder flared up and bothered him for the rest of the season, so the guy does have the stuff to be a starter in the major leagues. I was very impressed with Thompson and Ramon Ramirez when they are called up at the end of last year, especially Thompson, but think both could use a little more seasoning. I honestly don't think Homer Bailey should even be in the equation until he gets his head right, but believe he will be in the mix as well. I'm not ready to give up on the guy yeat, because he is only 22, but he has shown me absolutely nothing at the major league level. I would love to see him spend the entire season at AAA, just working on his mechanics and getting the mental aspect of the game down.

After it's all said and done, this what I see as the starting rotation on opening day and the pitching order:

Aaron Harang
Edinson Volquez
Bronson Arroyo
Johnny Cueto
Micha Owings

Only nine more days until pitchers and catchers report...

Reds get catching insurance

2009-02-03T07:55:00.005-06:00

The Reds added catching depth on Monday when Humberto Cota was signed to a Minor League contract and invited to big league camp.
Reds.com

So this is what Walt Jocketty meant by "fringe" players...career minor leaguers who are nothing more than camp fodder, and destined to spend the entire season at Louisville.

On a side note, Cota was suspended 50 games last year for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug. Obviously whatever he was taking didn't work.

Still shopping?

2009-01-29T22:14:00.003-06:00

After Walt Jocketty came out and said last week that the Reds had reached their payroll limit and didn't foresee any more moves being made, it now appears as though they are still looking to add a bat off the bench.

The official site today mentions that the team has been in discussions with Luis Gonzalez and his agent. The article also mentions that the closer we get to Spring Training, and still over 100 free agent looking for homes, there may be some great bargains to be had. We'll see what happens...

Weathers agrees to terms

2009-01-28T20:20:00.005-06:00

RP David Weathers and the team avoided arbitration, as they agreed on a one-year deal worth $3.5 million; he can earn up to $700,000 more in incentives. The deal includes a club option for 2010 with a $400,000 buyout.

This is not a bad deal for the team, as I thought if it went to arbitration, Weathers had a very good chance to win the case. He made almost $3 million (with incentives) last year, and the Reds were only offering $3 million this year, while he was asking for $4.6 million. He is getting up there in age (39), but he's still a very reliable arm out of the bullpen. He'll also bring a great veteran presence to a clubhouse full of young players and that's an added bonus.

Edwin Encarnacion should be next on the list, as he is the only other arbitration eligible player left...hopefully a deal can be reached with him pretty quickly as well. EE is looking for $3.7 million while the Reds offered $2.55 million in his first arbitration eligible year. Stay tuned...

No Limit Sportsline

2009-01-28T08:06:00.005-06:00

I just wanted to take a few minutes and give a "shoutout" to my favorite site on the internet.

NoLimitSportsline is a fast growing community designed to meet all of your fantasy sports needs, and much, much more. From late breaking news to fun conversation, it has something for everyone; throw in the best fantasy advise you can find anywhere on the net, and it’s the best site going. If you are looking for a fantasy league to join for any sport, swing by and they’ll have something that interests you…both pay and free leagues; dynasty and redraft; IDP and regular. The vast majority of the leagues I play in are sponsored or hosted by the site, and no one does it better with knowledgeable, competitive players and the most balanced scoring systems I have ever come across. They are currently looking to fill a brand new dynasty football league (NLS Dynasty III-New Breed), so if you’ve ever considered getting in on the “ground floor” of a Dynasty IDP league, this is one that would be tailor made for you.

If you are not into fantasy, there will still be something there for you. They offer late-breaking news for all sports, lively conversation in the “Bar and Grill”, a great Arcade loaded with games, and much more. The people are really what makes it work though, and this site is loaded with great members; Mike, Fletch, Hobbs, and the rest of the staff do a great job of running the site, and ensuring everything runs smoothly. Swing by and give them a look, you won’t be disappointed.

Sean Casey retires

2009-01-27T18:19:00.002-06:00

Sean Casey retired from baseball today after 12 Major League seasons.

Retiring at the age of 34, Casey leaves with a career average of .302, 130 career home runs, 735 RBI’s, and a career OPS of .814…hardly Baseball Hall of Fame worthy numbers, but if there was a Humanity Hall of Fame, Casey would be a no doubt, first ballot entry. He was just one of those special players who displayed his love of the game on his sleeve, and was never seen without a smile on his face.

Casey’s retirement was due in large part, no doubt, to the economic crisis that the entire country is facing right now, and proof that it’s affecting all walks of life. There is room for the highly paid superstars, and for the low-priced youngsters, but for a middle of the road vet, who comes to work every day and does his job, but commands a relatively high salary, there is little room. There were a couple of teams that did show interest in him, but in a role he could not see himself filling…a role player coming off the bench. Casey still saw himself as someone who could continue to contribute on a daily basis, but the market thought 0therwise.

Casey spent eight of his 12 years with the Reds and has said many times that he considered Cincy his “baseball home”. He was always a fan favorite, and that was readily apparent last season when he made his return “home” as a member of the Boston Red Sox. He received one 0f the longest standing ovations I have ever seen any player receive, and it was clearly evident that the feeling was mutual. He later said that he was finally able to give the Cincinnati fans the “tip of the cap” that he wanted to and that they so rightly deserved. It would have been a fitting end to his career if the Reds would have been able to bring him back for a one year deal so he could finish up his career in Cincinnati, but the economics just wouldn’t fit.

Upon his retirement, Casey will move on to become an analyst on the MLB Network, something he should be a natural at…talking about the game he loves.

Good luck Sean, the game will be less fun to watch without you.

Gonzalez healthy for Spring Training

2009-01-26T08:44:00.005-06:00

According to the official site, SS Alex Gonzalez is expected to be ready to go for the start of Spring Training. I'm happy for Gonzalez in the fact that he is finally healthy enough to return, and also for the that with him back at short, the only real question about the lineup going into Spring Training will be Left Field.

Concerning Left Field, it appears as though we will be looking at a three-headed monster of Jonny Gomes, Jerry Hairston Jr., and Chris Dickerson, plus Norris Hopper thrown in for good measure. I would imagine there will be some sort of platoon in left with Dickerson getting the starts against righties, and Hairston also getting some AB's at shortstop as well. Gomes will be a real wild card in all of this, and hopefully we will see the 2007 version of him as opposed to what we saw last year...a .182 average, eight homers and 21 RBIs in 77 games just isn't going to cut it. It was so bad for him that the Rays left him off of their post season roster last year. There are some questions about Dickerson as well...I was impressed with what I saw out of him prior to the stress fracture that sidelined him last year, but for someone to make their major league debut at 27 is normally not a good thing. He does also have a history of injuries through his minor league career. All indications are that the Reds will give Dickerson every chance in the world during Spring Training to prove he can handle the majority of the playing time in left, but we all know Dusty and his penchant for going with the veterans as opposed to younger players, and with the likes of Votto, Bruce, and EE already cemented, I wouldn't be surprised to see Hairston get more playing time than he actually should.

Welcome to the Dugout

2009-01-26T07:21:00.004-06:00

Welcome to the Reds Dugout and thanks for stopping by. This is my first entry, so I guess I should start out by telling you a little about myself and what you can expect to find here.
I'm a life-long Reds fan, born in Dayton, Ohio, but have been displaced in Texas for the last 15 years. I always make the trip over to Houston whenever the Reds are in town, but I've never seen a game at GABP...maybe this year, who knows. I'm an avid sports fan and would be lost without DirecTV...MLB Extra Innings and the NFL Sunday Ticket are two of the greatest inventions known to man.
I also love fantasy sports and am currently playing in three baseball and five football "Dynasty" leagues. You probably think that's quite a lot, and I did too until I heard a few of my league mates say they played in 15-20 different leagues . So, I guess I haven't reach full fantasy “geekdom” yet.
I tend to take more of an optimistic outlook on life, and that normally carries over to my feelings about my favorite teams. I'm not always happy with the moves the Reds make, and boy have they pulled off some “doozies” this off season, but I'm trying to look at the glass as half full as opposed to half empty, and that's what you'll find here. Yes, I can be critical of the team at times, but I just try to not dwell on the negatives. I mean, who knows? The Rockies came out of no where to make it to the World Series in 2007 and the Rays did the same last year. So, why not the Reds in '09? I'm sure the bleakness abounded for most of their fans going into those season as well.
Any Reds news of interest that I find while searching "the interwebs" I'll be posting here and maybe providing a little commentary as well; once the season starts, I'll be adding series previews, and game reviews.Thanks again for stopping by the Dugout, and I'll be doing everything I can to make this your one stop shop for Reds news, information, and commentary.