I haven't really had the opportunity to post in a while due to work obligations.  I'm in town back to Cincinnati for a short bit to support my family.  As you might have seen on the news, my brother Aaron Fox was involved in an accident on the playing field on Thursday night.  I know a good bit of commenters here have family involved in youth sports or that will be involved shortly.  I played all levels of Knothole baseball growing up and all the way up to my college days.  Baseball has been very important to me and my family.  It has never really been a thought to wear protection in the field for youth pitchers and infielders.  I wanted to take this opportunity to raise awareness, in the wake of Aaron's injury, of the need for youth baseball and softball players to wear head protection in the field.  Two weeks ago if you asked me if pitchers should wear helmets, I would have made a John Olerud joke.  But the fact of the matter is that youth pitchers in Aaron's league pitch from 50 feet away (45 feet after delivery) and the batters use aluminum bats.  It was a freak injury that occurred, but more could be done in youth baseball to prevent these injuries.  You can visit the charity playfor4.org and read more about it.

 

Paul Toti and Channel 12 were magnificent with her professionalism and respect for the family.  Channel 9 interviewed me and I was less impressed with their portrayal of the story.  While Scott Wegener was very nice and professional in person, he seemed to imply that Aaron should have known better and worn head protection while pitching.  I know Bill Cunningham is a controversial figure around Cincinnati but he did a wonderful job addressing the situation on his radio show.

I have posted here about my little brother before.  Chris Welsh was supposed to say something on air about Aaron but I didn't get a chance to catch the game.  Did anyone catch that segment? 

I contacted the Reds PR department and they have promised me and my family that their community fund manager is aware of the situation and the Reds will do something for my brother.  I'll keep you guys posted if and when they do stuff Aaron.  If you are the facebook kind of person, I'm running a facebook page for him and one of his 12-year-old peers at school started a fanpage for him.

Fans of baseball should be well acquainted with each story of Bob Feller, Hank Greenberg, Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams.  They left the primes of their careers to serve in WWII.  The statistics that would have been compiled are mind numbing to think about.  All of these players lost out on 3+ seasons to support their country.  Here are their stats if interested: Bob Feller , Hank Greenberg, Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams.  Ted Williams also participated in the Korean War as well.  A brief rundown of Ted Williams combat experience: commissioned officer and pilot in the United States Marine Corps, wingman for Senator John Glenn, shot down once, and awarded the air medal.  Imagine the totals he would have put up without missing 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1952, and 1953...  Yeah thought about it, um, wow.

FDR did a great thing in allowing Major League Baseball to continue for the 1942-1945 seasons.  The game was essential to the morale of the country at the time.  I only named the most famous of the ball players who contributed to the war effort, but there were many baseball players who gave up their playing careers to help their country.  Lesser know major leaguers lost their lives and gave the ultimate sacrifice to their country.  Elmer Gedeon and Harry O'Neill lost their lives during WWII.

The Cincinnati Reds own Eddie Grant died in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in 1918 in The Great War.  He was a lawyer, a graduate of Harvard, a pro baseball player, and a Captain in an Infantry Division. 

Ty Cobb, Christy Mathewson, and a slew of other players contributed stateside to the efforts of The Great War.  Players were combat veterans of the Civil War, Spanish American War, WWI, WWII, and Korea.  Many MLBers also participated on weekends in the National Guard in support of the Vietnam War.  I can't think of or find anyone in the Gulf War, Operation Enduring Freedom, or Operation Iraqi Freedom.

 

Grading the markets

I wanted to take a look at individual baseball markets and see how efficient they perform. I wanted to find a way to correlate Market Population, Attendance, and Wins as a way to grade team markets. Teams like the Yankees, Dodgers and Mets ranked lower because of the percentage of population that attend games. I felt the need to put more emphasis on the ratio of attendance to market population than on correlating wins and markets. So I created a win coefficient as a motivator to attend/not attend games. The one major flaw is that there are capacities for teams in markets that could sell 200,000 tickets if they were able to but cannot do so. So, if the Yankees were able to stuff 120,000 people per game, it would make their ratio of attendance and population more comparable to smaller markets. So in essence, the purpose is to rank the specific market's ability to put people in the ballpark based on population and wins. Basically I needed something to do while bored at work and conjured up this to occupy my time.  I'm sure if anybody had time to waste like me that they could come up with a better formula.  For the most part the information analyzes which small market teams are the most efficient.

I took into consideration Market Population, MC-Market Coefficient (Market population/MLB Market average population), Att/G-Home Attendance per game, AMA-Adjusted Market Attendance (Home Attendance per game * Market Coefficient), WC-Win Coefficient (Team Wins2 / League Avg Wins2) and T&MP-Team and Market Performance (Adjusted Market Attendance * Win Coefficient). Market Population, Wins, and Home Attendance per game were the statistics that I did not make up.  All statistics were used from the 2007 season.

T&MP=(1/MC)(Att/G)(Wins^2/League Avg Wins^2)

T&MP Rankings

Here is the complete data table.

My creation of the Team and Market Performance (T&MP) ranked Milwaukee the best because they have 16% of average market population yet have the 13th highest attendance ranking and fans have more motivation to go to the games because they have a positive winning coefficient.

Our beloved Reds finished 9th on my list. If the Reds would win an optimistic 90 games this coming year and would average 30,000 in attendance, then they would move up to 3rd in T&MP rankings if everyone else performed the same as in 2007.

Feel free to criticize my conjured up statistics and rationale.

Kosuke Fukudome and the Chicago Cubs agreed on a 4-year $48 million contract pending a physical.  That's quite a sum of money for an untested Major League player.  I know the Japanese league has thrown over some quality players, but that is also the league that Cecil Fielder, Kevin Mitchell, and others went to further their careers.  The quality of the league is debatable, but I figure it to be a little better than AAA.  The guy is already 30 years old and may be on his downside of his career.

Also, the Astros traded for the 31-year old Miguel Tejada from the Orioles for 5 players.  The Orioles will get outfielder Luke Scott, pitchers Matt Albers, Troy Patton and Dennis Sarfate, and third baseman Michael Costanzo.  The Orioles really look to start the rebuilding immediately with prospects and maybe get more prospects with a deal for Bedard.

It appears that the Cubs are not risking as much with Fukudome that the Astros are with Tejada.  The Cubs have the money but will Fukudome be any good here?  The Astros really look like they are trying to play for 2008 and they are unloading the farm system to prove it.  Maybe the Astros could be very good this year, but it is quite doubtful with their lack of talent.  I really hope this means that the Astros will be bad for years to come with deals like this.  

The Mitchell Report comes out tomorrow at 2:00 et and I hope his name is on it.  I wouldn't be surprised to see Bagwell's name on it either if it targets former players.  These moves seem to be way worse than the amount of money the Reds spent on Cordero.

Astros
Roy Oswalt-$13 million
Woody Williams-$6.25 million
Wandy Rodriguez(--)
Chris Sampson(--)
Matt Albers(--)
Jason Jennings()
Brandon Backe(#)
Brian Moehler()
Chan Ho Park()

Brewers
Ben Sheets-$11 million
Jeff Suppan-$8 million
Claudio Vargas(#)
Chris Capuano(#)
David Bush(#)
Yovani Gallardo(--)

Cardinals
Chris Carpenter-$10.5 million
Mark Mulder-$6.5 million
Braden Looper-$5.5 million
Joel Piniero-$4 million mutual option
Kip Wells()
Adam Wainwright(--)
Anthony Reyes(--)
Brad Thompson(--)
Mike Maroth(#)
Todd Wellemeyer(#)

Cubs
Ted Lilly-$7 million
Carlos Zambrano-$15 million
Jason Marquis-$6.375 million
Steve Trachsel-$4.75 million club option
Jeff Samardzija-$2 million
Rich Hill(--)
Sean Marshall(--)
Mark Prior(#)

Pirates
Matt Morris-$9.5 million
Tony Armas-$5 million mutual option
Tom Gorzelanny(--)
Ian Snell(--)
Zach Duke(--)
Paul Maholm(--)
John Van Benschoten(--)

Reds
Aaron Harang-$6.75 million
Bronson Arroyo-$3.95 million + $2.5 million bonus
Matt Belisle(#)
Bobby Livingston(--)
Homer Bailey(--)
Eric Milton()
Phil Dumatrait(--)
Tom Shearn(--)

() Free Agent
(#) Arbitration Eligible
(--) Pre-Arbitration
Highlighted players because I don't know how the hell to de-highlight them

There is tendering and arbitration a plenty to happen this off-season.  However, the Cubs have already invested the most in Starting Pitching at ~$35 million for the upcoming year.  They will probably have the best staff once again in 2008.  Mark Prior will probably be offered arbitration to round out the staff with the Lilly, Zambrano, Hill, Marquis core of 2007.  Marshall and Prior will probably duke it out for the 5 spot.  Marshall posted a 3.91 ERA and a WHIP slightly under 1.40 and will be ready if/when Prior goes down.    

St. Louis is interesting because of the question marks that are Carpenter and Mulder.  Can they rebound to be a shell of what they once were, or will they be sub .500 has-been pitchers.  Looper, Reyes, Wainwright and Thompson may be middle to bottom of the rotation guys for the next couple of years.

If you consider the faint possibility that the Pirates pick up Armas' option, that means the Reds have the least amount of money invested in Starting Pitching.  However, with a small budget and pre-arbitration youngsters the Pirates will probably end up with the smallest payroll and have the least amount of money invested in the starting staff.  The Pirates will probably have Gorzelanny, Duke, Morris, Snell, and Maholm as their staff. These guys will get no support but should be the second best staff in the NL Central.

The Brewers will have quite a questionable staff once again but Sheets and Suppan should be their #1-2 punch.  Just like Carpenter and Mulder, how will Sheets rebound?  The bottom of the rotation guys will strangle the team once again with Dave Bush, Chris Capuano, and Claudio Vargas.

Houston has Oswalt and that's about it.  Woody Williams is under contract and will be on the staff.  Rodriguez, Sampson and Albers will be tendered.  The Astros have to bring in a pitcher or two from Free Agency, but it's going to be a thin market.  They just might ride out that trio but they are not really that good so I doubt it.

Our beloved Reds have Harang and Arroyo, but the rest are question marks.  Just an assumption that Bailey will be in the rotation.  With the Free Agency market I would guess that Belisle will be offered arbitration.  Anybody else as a 36 game starter scares the hell out of me.  Wayne Krivsky has to get an Arroyo caliber pitcher to be slightly competitive on the starting pitching front.

I got all the above info from http://www.mlb4u.com/ and http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/ so I hope it's all correct.

2008 Pre-Offseason Starting Pitching Rankings

1. Cubs
   
2. Pirates
   
3. Cardinals
   
4. Reds
   
5. Brewers
   
6. Astros

Bronson Brandon Arroyo has looked good lately and so has Paul Maholm though.  Put this squad in Pete.

Adam Dunn will redeem his late inning strikeout and act like Malholm is Bob Wickman. Nice to see Gonzalez back even if he struck out.  My best friend is a
Pirates' fan and I could not stand to see a doubleheader victory for the Pirates.

Just my opinion based on some stats and how I think the public has perceived the players.  Granted my perception is a whopping 24 years, so I may not have the proper merit to opine. Forty or 50 somethings probably would have better perception than my age group and the older, more senile age group of 60 and older.  Four Hall of Famers are listed below, but most don't know that they existed or do not draw proper comparisons to other time period players.  

10. Todd Helton (career .330/.429/.583 but at Coors Field .367/.464/.664 or would be higher)
    
9.  Mike Mussina (247 Wins, 15 straight double digit win years, .633 winning %)
   
8.  Adam Dunn (#5 all-time HR per AB, #21 active OBP, career .248/.379/.519)
   
7.  Chuck Klein (career .320/.379/.543 300 HR)
   
6.  Edgar Martinez (career .312/.418/.515 would be higher but the DH is kinda like cheating)
   
5.  Larry Doby (Should be mentioned with Jackie Robinson in all discussions)
   
4.  Lefty O' Doul (Rick Ankiel type comeback career.349/.413/.542)
   
3.  George Foster (348 HR 1239 RBI)
   
2.  Harry Heilmann (career .342/.410/.520 OPS .930)
   
1.  Johnny Mize (career .312/.397/.562/ OPS .9591 359 HR)

For quelling of arguments against this opinion, I do not think Adam Dunn is better than Todd Helton over career numbers.  It is just that Adam Dunn is incredibly publicly omitted compared to Helton's semi-well noted career.  Even Dunn opponents can agree that there has never been a formidable power hitter as publicly ignored as Dunn.

Johnny who? Mize had a better OPS than Willie Mays, Mel Ott, Ken Griffey, and other more famed players.  Unbelievable career and nobody seems to mention him anymore.

More personal opinion, but it was hard to find ignored pitchers.  A couple to ponder: Antonio Alfonseca, John Franco, Troy Percival, Dan Quisenberry, and Bob Welch.

This was a production due to boredom at work.

Keppinger goes deep after a Freel single. Go Reds!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

The Cincinnati Reds have finished in last place since 1983.  Since then, every other major league team has finished in last place at least once.  Yes, even the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, and St. Louis Cardinals have even placed last in their own divisions since the Reds have (They have also won World Series championships since then as well).  

Moral victories are all we have right now and I just wanted to point one out.  Hopefully we can pick up the pace and chase the Pirates and capture the awesome fifth place in the NL Central.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playerRating?type=batting&team=cin&position=all

The Worldwide Leader has decided to come up with a way to rate everybody on an even plane.  However, they think that David Ross and Juan Castro are having a better season than Edwin Encarnacion, Scott Hatteberg, and others.

I like the idea of coming up with a way to rate everyone, but it is a difficult task.  I think Slyde would do a better job of creating a system to rate everyone than ESPN did.  

http://www.1869reds.com/history/

The best undefeated team of all time. Period.  

Anybody else realize that we called up Enrique Cruz up as a replacement for Gonzalez out of Double A instead of someone from Triple A.  Just curious if anybody knew if Milton Loo had checked in yet and if Paul Janish was available.  I'm not saying either of those two should have been called up yet, just saying I haven't heard anything on this Cruz character and nothing about the propects in a while.  A google search of the namesake provided black and latino gay porn. That was the second biggest mistake I made today next to finding out that Chris Sabo went to Michigan.  I no longer find Rec Specs to be cool.

Great article linked off of Deadspin about the Minnesota retread Kyle Lohse.
http://baseballcritic.wordpress.com/2007/01/18/42-million-for-kyle-lohse-and-thats-not-the-worst-par t/

I certainly agree with him on the fact that paying Lohse 4.2 mil and offering Harang 4.25 mil is a slap in the face to Harang and laughably he will get his 5.5 mil his agent requested for him.

I didn't remember this happening because of the huge Rafael Palmeiro steroid story, but Ryan Franklin was caught using steroids the next day.  And like everyone else, he denied it ever happening.  He might be the skinniest guy on the team, which goes against the stereotype of huge muscles and steroids.  I just figured that I would throw that out there for more joke fodder at Ryan Franklin, whom Jerry Narron uses more than he should.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/al/mariners/2005-08-02-franklin-suspension_x.htm

http://steroidlist.com/

And even though he panned out and was released for hitting .225 in the minors, Krivsky also signed another steroid user Alex Sanchez.  Why sign people who tested positive for steroids?  It seems to me that their productivity would go way down after being caught and if they are not using them anymore.

http://www.kffl.com/player/5551/mlb

I really appreciate what Krivsky has done for us Reds fans and giving the Reds a shot at the playoffs, but he has done a couple of unspectacular moves.

1.  The Trade.
   
2.  Trading PTBNL for Hollandsworth.
   
3.  Acquiring two steroid users, Franklin and Sanchez.
   
4.  Signing Rheal Cormier through next year.
   
5.  Not signing Edwin Encarnacion to a 17 year contract extension (kind of a joke, but really wanna see this guy locked up for a long-term deal).

If I had to field an All-Time Reds Team this would be my roster:

C- Johnny Bench
1B Ted Kluszewski
2B Joe Morgan
SS Barry Larkin
3B Pete Rose
CF Edd Rousch
RF Frank Robinson
LF Vada Pinson

C Ernie Lombardi
1B Frank McCormick
CF Eric Davis
LF George Foster
SS Dave Concepcion
3B Heinie Groh

SP Johnny Vander Meer
SP Paul Derringer
SP Don Gullett
SP Gary Nolan
SP Jose Rijo

RP Clay Carroll
RP Rawly Eastwick
RP Rob Dibble
RP John Franco
RP Dolf Luque
RP Pedro Borbon

And an added tidbit of video

<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/LpP9xDJWxhc"></param></object>

For his 9th birthday, I took my lil bro to his first game this year.  The gates open 2 hours before the game and we went in as they opened.  We went to our seats in left field and watched the ensuing batting practice.  Some Reds that we saw hit first - Brandon Phillips, Royce Clayton, David Ross, Rich Aurilia, Ryan Freel.  Royce Clayton was the only one not hitting home runs, by the way.  It has always bothered me when grown men bring gloves to the ball park and some guy in the section over caught 3 balls with it.  There should be a man law against this or something.  

So after several missed attempts at homeruns slightly over my 6'6" head, a ball smacked against the bottom of the wall and there was none other than Billy Hatcher shaggin balls there to retrieve it.  So I asked him by name if my lil bro could have it for his birthday.  Sidenote, how many people could identify Billy Hatcher when he's not wearing a jersey that says his name on it.  He looked up and told me that if he gave my  lil bro a ball that he would have to give 20 other    people a ball.

So batting practice continues...

The same scenario happens where a ball hits the bottom of the wall as the Dodgers begin BP.  Andre Ethier comes out to retrieve the ball.  Once again he is asked by a dozen people above the ball for the ball.  This time he smiles and looks at me and my lil bro and throws it to us, I catch it and give it to him.  He smiled and gave me a hug and told me it was his best birthday gift ever.  Excuse me on the great moment in brother history, it's just I don't get any more of those being stationed at NAS Pensacola and never really get to go home that often.  

Moral of the story:  Andre Ethier is more likely to give you a ball than Billy Hatcher.

Sidenotes and Observations:

1.  Brandon Phillips goes up to bat to the song "Hustlin, Hustlin" which I think is pretty badass.
   
2.  Ken Griffey Jr. came up to "What I am" by Eminem which was written kind of as a big F.U. to all his critics.  Might Junior feel the same way.
   
3.  Rich Aurilia goes up either to ACDC or the Beastie Boys.
   
4.  After Freel made that error in right, Dunn put his face in his glove and said something and turned around towards the wall with a look of dispair.  Stuff like that you don't see on TV.
   
5.  The Royce Clayton to Scott Hatteberg play looked like a double play... I didn't see the replay cuz I sat in left, but this left-field umpire thought he was out.
   
6.  Royce Clayton was booed twice.
   
7.  The Machine Room Grille has the best food for a decent price before the game.
   
8.  My record at GABP now stands comparitive to Anthony Young circa 1993 at 1-17.  I better rethink going Thursday - Sunday.
   
9.  David Ross was not clapped for when he exited the game and went down to be the bullpen catcher for the rest of the game.  Sometimes fans don't appreciate what they have, or just are ignorant of what they have.
   
10.  Ohio State merchandise is worn just about as prevalent as Reds merchandise.
    
11.  George Foster was signing autographs at 30 bucks a pop for a baseball. Thanks, but no thanks.

-Go Reds

ESPN.com is stating that Justin Germano will be up on Saturday to pitch in Milwaukee.  I have not seen any confirmation on this information anywhere else.  However,  he was held out of the Bats rotation this week in what appears to be his first start for the Reds on Saturday.

So for those scoring at home... We traded Joe Randa for Germano and Travis Chick, who we just traded for Eddie Guardado.  So the second half will tell if that ended up being an amazing under the radar trade from last season.

AAA
Justin Germano 8-6, 3.69 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 117 IP
Chris Michalak 8-4, 2.79 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 116.1 IP
AA
Tyler Pelland 6-3, 3.35 ERA, 1.60 WHIP, 102 IP
That other guy with the initials H.B. 4-0, 0.88 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 30.2 IP

Well I think all these guys are better than Joe Effin Mays.  We all know Bailey's got the best stuff but we are pretty sure that's not gonna happen this year.  Germano has the best stuff of the guys listed here and Michalak is in his 30s.  Pelland is not ready for that level of baseball yet and doubt he ever will be able to perform on that level.  Claussen and Wilson do not seem to be viable options at the moment and at least for another month or so it will stay that way.

Do we gamble with someone from the farm or do we acquire Lima time and have a Mays-esque veteran suckasstic perfomance?  Do we trade for someone at an outrageous cost again?  Do we go for a 4-man rotation?  Anything has to be better than Mays at this point.  Hell, I was radared at 93 before Ohio State tryouts a couple years back, sign me up Kriv.

US Bank Arena should be torn down for parking sake if they want to use the property between Paul Brown Stadium and Great American Ball Park.  I have been to 17 Reds games (at an atrocious record of 1-16, i witnessed the win on Saturday finally!!!), and every time it has been quite a bitch of a time finding somewhere to park.  That property is the prime parking spot for those particular venues.

The overlooked piece of Cincinnati nostalgia is the Cincinnati Gardens.  We forget about the great history of boxing and the Cincinnati Royals that once headlined Garden events.  Any event that would go on at the US Bank Arena could be held at the Cintas Center or at the Cincinnati Gardens.  Also, a good plan for the area would be a new arena for the Cincinnati Bearcats.  Fifth Third Arena holds 13,176 at max capacity.  In comparison, other major area college teams such as The Ohio State University, University of Louisville, Indiana University, and the University of Kentucky all hold upwards to 20,000 at max capacity.  Fifth Third Arena sells out almost every game and this local hotbed of college basketball would very easily sell more tickets to a new, larger arena for the Bearcats.

A revitilization of the Riverfront area to include some bars (which downtown Cincinnati desperately needs), some classy downtown condominiums or luxury apartments, and some fine dining in ballpark areas would be a huge boost to the Cincinnati's economy as well as a huge boost to its empty nightlife scene.  The Nationwide Arena district is pact with bars, luxury apartments, and restaurants in the area and substantially boost the Columbus Blue Jackets' attendance.

Bottom line: All parties (Bengals, Reds, the city itself, Bearcats, & Cincinnati Gardens) would benefit greatly from this scenario or one similar to this.

I apologize for this not necessarily this strictly being a baseball topic, but it would greatly improve attendance and the city that I love.

Continue reading this post »

2006 Projected Stats
                     HR    RBI   R   SB  
Aurilia            25    77    73     2
Dunn              51    107  114   4
Encarnacion    14    86    65     0
Freel              10    30    83    40
Griffey Jr.       41    115  69     0
Hatteberg       16    54    72     0
Kearns           30    94    100   13
Lopez             17    57    103   42
Phillips           14    86    82     31
Ross              32    80    53      0

This is ESPN's projected stats for the rest of the season based on expectations that the player plays the rest of the games.  So Ross's numbers are exaggerated a bit and so are the numbers for Aurilia, Freel, and Hatteberg who seem to start 2 out of every 3 games.  I didn't include anything that includes an average, such as Batting AVG, OPS, OBP, SLG, etc., because they obviously stay on the same projection.  

1. Ken Griffey Jr. has counted to infinity - twice.
   
2. Ken Griffey Jr. can divide by zero.
   
3. Most men are okay with their wives fantasizing about Ken Griffey Jr. during sex, because they are doing the same thing.
   
4. Ken Griffey Jr. clogs the toilet even when he pees.
   
5. Superman owns a pair of Ken Griffey Jr. pajamas.
   
6. Whenever opposing pitchers are constipated, doctors send them to Ken Griffey Jr. so he can scare the shit out of them.
   
7. Ken Griffey Jr. is not hung like a horse... horses are hung like Ken Griffey Jr.
   
8. Contrary to popular belief, America is not a democracy, it is a Grifftatorship.
   
9. Ken Griffey Jr. CAN believe it's not butter.
   
10. Ken Griffey Jr. knows exactly where Carmen SanDiego is at all times.

It pains me to be honest about how bad the Reds are right now, and thought I would take a some time from studying for finals to say some things.  You cannot sign a #3 starter and expect him to be an ace, and I blame his high salary on Omar Minaya and the so called negotiator Anna Benson for signing Kris Benson at an evenly lucrative price.  There was no pre-season expectations on Aaron Harang and that is why he is pitching so well, and a higher salary is on the line for him.  With a lagging bullpen and a less than stellar starting staff, you cannot win ballgames.  At the beginning of the season I thought our stacked lineup could carry us to more victories.   This is not so, and it pains me to come to the realization that you cannot win without pitching, which is something I argued profusely at the beginning of the season when I thought our second rate pitching staff could get the job done.  As much as I like Kearns, Pena, Griffey, and Casey, some of them have to go so we can sign Dunn to a long-term contract, which may be out of the question with our front office being so inept, or get some quality pitching prospects.  We don't have a Zach Greinke or a Scott Kazmir to look at to be our ace in the future.  Unfortunately, the time is not now, and O'Brien can redeem himself with a couple of good trades to build up some pitching.  Then we can build upon our future nucleus of Dunn, Encarnacion, Lopez, Wagner and maybe Kearns or Pena if they are still around.  I have withdrawn any possibilities of the Reds being a winner this year or even next with our current roster.  But until trades are made for younger, better pitching  I will still support my beloved Reds and hope for 2007 or 2008 as the year we can compete.

Poll

Can the Reds compete next year?

27%

Yes, Only if we re-sign Dunn for a long-term deal and make trades

8 votes

17%

Yes, Wait for this roster and free agency next year to compete

5 votes

37%

No, no way

11 votes

10%

No, But there is hope for the future

3 votes

6%

Don't Care, cuz the guy who made this stupid poll should have been studying for finals instead of lamenting about the Reds

2 votes

29 votes | Poll has closed