Reds 2010 Preview

Here we go again. Its early March and Reds fans have hope. Now I will admit the last 10 years maybe that was false hope. For some reason, mainly good young talent, this year seems different. If the Reds were a stock trading on Wall Street they would have an arrow pointing up. As with almost any team in MLB other than the evil empire Yankees the Reds have questions and need a few career years from players you might not expect it from. If the talented young core performs this team could compete for a playoff spot. There is a lot to be excited about if you’re a fan of baseballs oldest franchise. First the Reds did what most thought would be impossible and that was to lure Aroldis Chapman from the likes of the Dodgers, Redsox and again the evil empire Yankees. The rotation seems to be in good shape with Aaron Harrang, Bronson Arroyo and really talented youngsters Johnny Cuetto, Edison Volquez and Homer Baily. This team looks to have strong talent on the hill for the first time in a while. Everyone from a good bullpen last year returns, so look forward to another good not spectacular season from the relieving core. As far as the hitting goes, seemingly the Reds front office has done a nice job of fixing their farm system after former owner Marge Schott left it a complete and utter mess…. First base Joey Votto is a rising superstar. At 2nd base Brandon Phillips provides the club with speed and plenty of pop in his bat. The ss position has been up graded from light hitting Paul Janish to professional hitter and winner Orlando Cabrera. Trusty Scott Rolen mans 3rd base. Ryan Hannigan and Ramon Hernandez will split time at the backstop position. Both provide some pop and pretty good professional at bats. Rf Jay Bruce will be called upon to be a leader statistically, a good year is must from Jay for the Reds to even think about competing. CF will be played by Drew Stubbs a 5 tool player with a world of promise. Last but not least Lf is up in the air, but the front runner is Chris Dickerson at the beginning of spring, but he will have to compete against Johnny Gomes and Lance Nix. The bench is average at best. Johnny Gomes and Lance Nix give you a little pop of the bench, but other than that no one scares the opposing team coming off the bench. Defensively, this team is very good up the middle. Bruce has a cannon in right and Dickerson has decent range in left. The left side of the infield is aging, but if they get to it they will catch it. In closing, If the young talent develops and a few breaks go the Reds way we are in for an exciting year of Reds baseball. If 2010 is not the year of the Red 2011 will be. I will leave you with my opening day lineup. cf Stubbs ss Cabrera 1b Votto 2b Phillips rf Bruce 3b Rolen lf Dickerson c Hernandez p Harrang

A Closer Look at the Reds in 2010

With less than a month until pitchers and catchers report (on February 17th) to Spring Training and just over a month until position players report (on February 22nd), the Reds haven’t made that much of a splash this off season. That is, until Owner Bob Castellini, General Manager Walt Jocketty and the Cincinnati Reds organization announced a week ago that they signed one of the most sought after free agents this year in Cuban pitcher Aroldis Chapman. Chapman, a soon-to-be 22 year old left-handed pitcher stands 6’4” and weighs about 180 lbs. His fastball has been clocked at 100 mph with a plus slider and has earned comparisons to a young Randy Johnson.

The Reds made the signing after standing firm all off season long with the motto of going with what they have, as opposed to spending money that the organization really didn’t have. This has included re-signing catcher Ramon Hernandez to a lesser amount and also reworking third baseman Scott Rolen’s contract to try to give the club more flexibility. The Reds have been unable to re-sign free agent outfielder Jonny Gomes so far as the two parties have been unable to reach an agreement. But maybe there’s more to this signing than what is out there. Maybe the Reds knew they had some wiggle room to sign the young, highly demanded Chapman and at the same time, knew that they could win out over the likes of the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.

The signing doesn’t hamper the Reds too much though, as Chapman’s six-year, $30 million contract will be paid to him over the next ten years, with the young lefty making $1 million in 2010 with a chance of pitching for the big club. Most likely, he will start out in the minors and work his way up, as his control and need to develop a third pitch (probably a changeup) are the only things keeping him from starting the season on the opening day, 25 man roster. The signing shows that the Reds are still working toward the future, as if Chapman proves to be worth the $30 million, current Reds’ mainstays Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo could be on another team, in another city.

The Reds look to have a strong, young rotation by 2011 or 2012, as Homer Bailey, Edinson Volquez, Johnny Cueto, Mike Leake and Aroldis Chapman could lead this team to the playoff land.

Moving past the Chapman signing, the Reds agreed on a two-year contract with pitcher Nick Masset. Masset, a current reliever, showed signs last year of becoming the future Reds’ closer after going 5-1 with a 2.37 ERA in 74 relief appearances. Reliever Jared Burton is the lone Red who has yet to sign after filing for arbitration. Burton, who went 1-0 with a 4.40 ERA in 53 appearances, was a bit shaky in 2009 after his breakout performances in 2007 and 2008.

The one signing the Reds have been unable to complete, which has upset Reds fans throughout the Greater Cincinnati Area, is Jonny Gomes. After being completely loaded with left-handed power bats the last few years, the Reds were finally able to find their right-handed power in outfielder Jonny Gomes, who ended 2009 with 20 home runs in only 98 games.
 
The inability to sign Gomes begins to show that the make-up in the outfield for 2010 could consist of Juan Francisco in left, Drew Stubbs in center and Jay Bruce in right. With Scott Rolen signed through 2012 after his contract extension in December, the chances of Francisco coming to the Big Leagues to play third base on an everyday basis seems slim to none. But with Francisco having some experience in the outfield, it looks as if Manager Dusty Baker would like the power left-hander to try playing left field in the big leagues after going 9-21 (a .429 batting average) with one home run and seven RBIs in 14 games with the Reds last September. The necessity of a shortstop that has some pop in their bat will continue to rise once the season begins if current shortstop Paul Janish is unable to hit at least .250. At the end of the year last year, Baker made it public that as long as Janish could hit .250 in the majors, the starting shortstop job is his. Janish will need to perform better than that though, as prospects Chris Valaika, Todd Frazier and Zack Cozart could compete for the job within the next few years.
 
Currently, the Reds are talent-rich in most positions, which can only help the ball club return to the greatness this city hasn’t seen since the 1990 team and even before that in the 1970s during the Big Red Machine era.

Smart move?

I have returned from my honeymoon in Cancun, and the first thing that pops up on my screen is the the Reds have signed Cuban ace Aroldis Chapman. Is this the Smart thing to do? Wasn't there anyone else we could of spent the money on? Will he be big league ready this season? There are so many questions about this deal, and none will be answered until at least march.

Walt signed Chapman to a six-year 30 million dollar deal. Is it worth it, all the money we saved from restructuring Scott Rolens' contract was spent on an unproven kid, younger than myself, instead of someone proven and able to step right in and play immediately. I think we should of used the saving a bit more wisely. I am not knocking the kid, but the front office has too much funds tied up in bad contracts. For instance 12 million a year for Harang, he has only 12 wins in two seasons. The overspending on Taveras and I believe four Mil on Mike Lincoln, who isn't even assured of playing again. Now to go out and spend this kind of cash on a kid who could be the next Randy Johnson or the next Hideki Irabu, time will tell.

I can't help thinking who is still available we could of found for even half the cost. Jarrod Washburn comes to mind, remember how well he did to begin the year last season, Joel Pineiro, who had the best season of his career, or even a solidified bat for the infield, as in Orlando Cabrera. These guys could of been purchased at the right price and still we may of had enough room for Jonny Gomes, who would depress me if he signed somewhere else.

Well my thoughts are brought to you by the humble folks at Taco Bell, without the tasty crunchwrap supreme you would not have my rants and raves about the Reds. Please join me every week for more opinions from a lifelong fan who is tired of being tortured by empty promises.

Larkin: The Legend

From 1986 to 2004, Barry Larkin Solidified the shortstop Position in this town, A Moeller grad and hometown hero he was. This year Barry is on The Hall of fame ballot for the first time, and honestly we hope and pray he will not be on there next year. The question beckons, Is Barry Larkin a Hall of Famer. The answer is yes, But is Barry a first-ballot Hall of Famer. My answer once again is yes. Outside of Ozzie Smith, Cal Ripken, and possibly Derek Jeter, there has not been a better player at the position. Ozzie and Cal were both First Balloters and Jeter is a shoe in for the same title. So why Not Mr. Larkin, Barry Played his entire career in one place. He led the reds to a world series in 1990. Was the MVP in 1995, and he was a mild power threat, a Speedster on the bags, and A solid gold glove candidate every season. There is not much fault with this guy, except maybe for being injury prone, but he was still the clubhouse leader year in and year out. So my vote this year goes for Barry Larkin as a HoF'er. Now lets see how Dave Parker does and hopefully he will not be left out much longer either.