More photos » by Al Behrman - AP

Will Daynce Mix Vol. 2 hit the local club scene next summer?

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The Reds haven't made much noise so far, as expected.  Dusty Baker said yesterday that he thinks the team as it stands is the team that will go to Spring Training.  They are reportedly talking to the Mets about Jose Reyes, they are looking for a utility player who can play SS, and they are still talking to Laynce Nix.  Use this thread to talk about any and all goings on with the Reds.

More photos » by Paul Beaty - AP

Joey Votto outperformed Brandon Phillips by over a full win according to WAR, but he suffered from the unfriendly Canadian exchange rate and Phillips took home the MVP.

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• The Cincinnati chapter of the BBWAA handed out their Reds awards on Friday
  Brandon Phillips was named team MVP with Bronson Arroyo being named Most Outstanding Pitcher. Chris Heisey won the Minor League Player of the Year with Juan Francisco and Travis Wood winning awards for best hitter and pitcher, respectively. Now unlike Slyde, I love Brandon Phillips. Few players in baseball have the kind of talent he does, with a unique blend of power, speed, and defensive ability.  So what if he can't get on base?  He does everything else so well!  All that said, Joey Votto got jobbed. Hard. The Fay has some 'splainin to do.

• At Redsfest, Jocketty was asked to explain his rationale for the Scott Rolen trade
  ""Why did you trade two young pitchers for Scott Rolen?" (a) young fan asked Jocketty. "Well, did you see what Scott Rolen did for us last season?" Jocketty responded, knowing the Reds went 27-13 when Rolen was in the lineup after the July 31 trade with the Blue Jays. "I know he got hurt," the child replied. Tough crowd. Keep in mind that Rolen was beaned in the head, suffered a concussion and had to spend time on the disabled list. "Scott Rolen will play a big part defensively, [as will] his leadership on the field and in the clubhouse," Jocketty said. "I've traded a lot of promising pitchers that didn't turn out to promising pitchers when they got to the big leagues. We don't know, but we felt it was more important to have leadership. When you have a young team like we have, you need veteran leaders. It's all part of the big picture."
  
  Leadership. The Reds are certainly going to be needing that Leadership when they are drowning at the bottom of the division next July.

• Sheldon says the Reds are looking at free agent Jamey Carroll
  "We haven't discussed him at length," Jocketty said of Carroll. "He's gutty and a tough player, a gamer-type of guy that's hard-nosed."
  
  He's also a soon-to-be-36-year-old utility infielder who OPS'd under .700 last season and does absolutely nothing that Adam Rosales and Drew Sutton cannot do. The Reds have not signed him yet, and Jocketty says they haven't even "discussed him at length", but the fact that his name is even being brought up has me furious. Seriously, FTH?!? He said he thinks Carroll could play shortstop, a position he has not played at all in the past two seasons. Can someone explain to me how this guy is anything Sutton or Rosales isn't? The good news is they are looking at Noah Lowry. So there's that.

• The Reds have asked the Rangers about OF Nelson Cruz
  This seems odd, as Cruz doesn't seem all that different than Jonny Gomes.  And if we're looking for an extra OF, Jeff Fiorentino could be had for nothing.  I'm sure we'll hear plenty of head-scratchers like this this week at the Winter Meetings, which commence today in Indianapolis.  Though the Reds do not look to make much noise, you can be sure that we here at Red Reporter will hear every peep.  News breaks pretty fast around the internets, so if you see that the Reds have finally sealed that deal for Hanley Ramirez and we haven't heard it yet, go ahead and put it in a FanShot.  We'll make sure it finds it's way to the front page.

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More photos » by Mark Duncan - AP

Brandon Phillips knows the Reds' D is better than grandma's pecan pie.

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• Lisa Winston at MLB.com wrote a nice overview of the Reds' farm system
  The AAA team looks stacked next year, as the Reds have a ton of good prospects at the higher levels. The most interesting nugget in the article is that it looks like the Reds have already decided that Todd Frazier will play LF next season, with Chris Valaika at 2B and Zack Cozart at SS. Frazier is pretty clearly the best prospect among these guys, and we know he's played pretty much everywhere in previous seasons. There has been some discussion on the site recently about where Frazier should play.  Did the Reds give up on him at SS too soon?  Should he get more of a look at 2B?  Is he a better option at 3B than Juan Francisco?  Do you think LF is the right place for him?

• Erik Manning at FanGraphs really likes the Reds defense
  He says he doesn't really like anything else about them, but he did promise he'd call.

• Cliff Eastham at the Bleacher Report is passing out his report cards for the Reds
  and he gives Willy Taveras a "D".  Grade inflation anyone?

• FanGraphs is putting together Fan Projections
  We did something like this here last season, but here is your chance to project the Reds' performance on a site that serious people actually read.

• UmpBump is putting together a series on team needs
  and they say the Reds #1 priority this offseason should be getting a time machine. It's the only way to get the team out from under the Francisco Cordero contract, which they say is the biggest hurdle in putting together a competitive team.

• Another Fay Q & A
  "Q, from Andrew: What is the status of Bill Bray? Is he expected to be ready by the beginning of the season? Would the Reds break camp with three lefty relievers (Arthur Rhodes, Daniel Ray Herrera and Bray)?
  
  A: His Tommy John" surgery was May 19. That puts him on track to return by early May of this coming season. I would expect the Reds to be cautious with him, given his injury history."

• The Hardball Times looks at the top baserunners of 2009
  Brandon Phillips comes in at number 6, and this is even without taking stolen bases into account.  He also provides a link to the entire list for the league.

• Red Reposter NEWS FROM HELL
  OMGReds passes along this luxurious piece of cheesecake. Remember the bimbo Pete Rose brought to the game late in the season? Turns out she's not a call girl (I know, surprised me too). She and Petey are going steady. And she is auditioning for Playboy.

More photos » by Ross D. Franklin - AP

Bronson's favorite Thanksgiving side dish? Coconut rum.

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• Sheldon spoke to Chris Dickerson about this and that
  where he fits in the outfield and how he played this season and such. Here's an excerpt:
  
  "I was really disappointed that my power didn't show up this year," Dickerson said. "I was talking to Drew Stubbs about it and he couldn't find it this year as well [in the Minors]. It's just one of those things that kind of shows up. It showed up for Drew. I just never got there. When I tried to hit home runs, I struggled. I went back to what I knew, which was to hit the ball up the middle and the other way and get on base. I made the adjustment and did what was necessary at the time to play my role to the best of my ability."

• You cant keep Bronson down. That guy is incorrigible!
  "In my mind, there was no reason to get [Scott] Rolen [in a July 31 trade] if we're turning around and moving guys without waiting to see what happens [during the season]," Arroyo said. "I think they'll give us four months to see if we can compete in the division. If we're not, we'll have a big scale back. For now, they seem committed to win."

• Aaron Gleeman agrees with Bronson Arroyo
  He's confused about the whole payroll thing:
  
  "It's not often that a starting pitcher who "hasn't paid any attention to it" while vacationing "on his boat sailing off of the Florida coast" and some doofus blogger can both immediately agree that the front office is doing some strange things, but the Reds' lack of foresight is apparently obvious to everyone but them." Yipes.

• Slyde answered some off-season questions about the Reds for Simon On Sports

• Jack Moore at FanGraphs writes about Jay Bruce
  It's nothing we havent really heard before, but he basically says Bruce's BABIP (a paltry .222 this year) is the reason for his struggles so far. Now whether that is his particular skill level or not is the real question. Time will tell. 

• Book excerpt: Evaluating Baseball’s Managers: Pat Moran
  In another sneak preview from his new book, Chris examines the greatest manager you never heard of: Pat Moran.

• Doug Glanville talks about Free Agency from a player's perspective
• Paul Janish went got himself hitched
  Dont worry ladies, there are plenty of handsome, strong-armed, Rice-graduate shortstop fish in the sea.

• Doug scoured the list of eligible Rule 5 draftees and came up with a few names that could interest the Reds
  in the case they drop someone to make room. Ol' Roger Rocket's kid, Koby Clemens, makes the list as a catcher who raked in High A. If the Reds were compelled once again to carry 3 catchers it might make a bit of sense to try to stash a guy like Clemens. Of course, I'm not sure any of the guys listed are worth dropping Mike Lincoln or Willy Taveras. And yes, you heard that right.

More photos » by David J. Phillip - AP

Ramon Hernandez will be back next year, but could that affect the contract status of guys like Jonny Gomes and Jared Burton?

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• Hall o' Famer Hal weighs in with his opinion on the Hernandez signing
  and he does little to convince me. "Hernandez hit only .258 last year with five homers and 37 RBIs, but...(he) is the kind of guy I want around when I want to have fun and a guy I want to have around when I need somebody to watch my back." Sorry Hal, but this team needs a catcher, not Danny Glover. Hal also tries his hand at a bit o' statistical analysis. He discusses Jay Bruce's LD% and Aaron Harang's DER. It's actually pretty impressive for an old-timer.

• Mark Sheldon wonders if the re-signing of Ramon Hernandez will prohibit the team from signing a LF
  He says Jonny Gomes is the better choice over Laynce Nix (duh), but "you have to wonder if catcher Ramon Hernandez's re-signing on Monday for one year at $3 million takes away some of the dollars for left field." He says there are other in-house options, but gives the impression that Gomes would be the superior choice.

• Matthew Pouliot likes the Hernandez signing as well
  "He's 33 now and clearly on the decline, but if the Reds give him a fair amount of rest, he should be good for a dozen homers and his typical .330-.340 OBP."

• The Fay has the Boss Man's word on the signing:
  "It was an offseason priority. When you look at the alternatives, they’re not great. I think he and (Ryan) Hanigan are a good combination. Corky (Miller) is going to go to Triple-A that that gives us some depth."

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Thank a few veterans today.

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• The Arizona Fall League Rising Stars game can be seen here
  If you are like me and dont get MLB Network, this is your chance to catch Chris Heisey, Yonder Alonso, and Mike Leake tear it up against their elite prospect peers. Thanks to Sharks for the heads-up in the FanShots.

• The Crawfish Boxes takes a look at the GMs of the NL Central
  Here's what they say about our own Walt Jocketty:
  
  "The interesting thing about Jocketty is he went from a winning team to one that is continually frustrated by not being able to get over the hump. He also went to a team that walked away from a more progressive-thinking GM in former Twins assistant Wayne Krivsky for the more traditional Jocketty. Of course, Jocketty also followed Tony LaRussa from Oakland to St. Louis, so it's unclear how much of his philosophy is tied to LaRussa's.
  
  The Reds haven't exactly been dramatic in making over the club, but Jocketty has shown a willingness to be aggressive with the team's prospects and not trade off valuable assets for overhyped players (I'm looking at you, Jim Bowden). Still, Jocketty hasn't shown the same level of success as at his previous two stops. It will take a little more time to see whether his player evaluation method transfers to the Reds scouting department. If Jocketty can hit a few home runs in the draft, the rest of his record in the Queen City will be moot."
  
  Check out the full article to see how Jocko compares to the other GMs in the NL Central.

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More photos » by Keith Srakocic - AP

Ramon Hernandez poses with World Series Champion New York Yankee Melky Cabrera. Congratulations BubbaFan!

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• THT is doing a series of player profiles for their fantasy department
  and here they take a look at Jay Bruce. It does a terrific job of breaking down his '09 season, and says the future is very, very bright for him. To wit:
  
  "While at first glance, Jay Bruce's 2009 season seems like a step back in his development, he actually made a number of significant improvements that will progress his career. He improved quite significantly in his strike zone judgment and selectivity, while also improving his fly ball tendencies. While wrist issues are always problematic for a hitter, he seems to have put these concerns to rest with a strong September. For 2010, expect a very different Jay Bruce, one who finally lives up to his No. 1 prospect billing. A .275-.285 average with 30 home runs doesn't seem out of the question. If he is able to maintain his plate discipline gains, he could post an OPS in the .900s as well, with the high .900s a possibility and 1.000—while a reach—not out of the question."

• The Fay says the Reds are talking to Ramon Hernandez about his contract
  They hold an $8.5 mil option for next season, which should be declined. They are talking to him about possibly re-working the deal so that he can come back at a reduced rate. I would be ok with him coming back under the right conditions, like if they are paying him $2 mil and he doesnt play more than Ryan Hanigan does. I doubt either of those conditions would be met though.  Let us know what you think in the poll below.

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