Marty says Homer best he's seen in 30 years

[Ga_Red]

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070224/SPT04/702240368/1071

[Topcat]

Be careful with this kid and the words "reds and also rans maybenot be spoken around these parts for many years:D

[StillFunkyB]

It's been awhile since I have been excited about a minor leaguer. Now we have three that I am starting to really have high hopes for in Bailey, Bruce, and Votto.

Growing up in Cleveland, I remember the media talking the likes of Manny Ramirez, and Jim Thome much the way that we are seeing with Bailey now.

I can't wait to see him pitch at GABP.

[OnBaseMachine]

All eyes are on phenom
BY JOHN FAY | JFAY@ENQUIRER.COM

SARASOTA, Fla. Homer Bailey's spring training roommate, John Purdom, showed up the other day.

Purdom lives in Cincinnati.

"He told me you wouldn't believe how often I have to look at your ugly face in the Cincinnati newspapers," Bailey said.

The Reds have begun full-squad workouts. Call it "Camp Homer."

There is no player in camp who is getting more attention than Bailey. There is no player who carries higher expectations. And there is no player more important to the future of the franchise.

Bailey, who doesn't turn 21 until May 3, shrugs off all of it.

"I don't feel any pressure," he said. "I really don't pay attention to it."

But people like Purdom, a minor-league catcher who attended Sycamore High, reminds Bailey of it from time to time.

The 6-feet-4, 205-pound Bailey has gotten unprecedented attention in Cincinnati because of his promise as a player. He's well known in baseball circles. Depending on who is doing the list, he's ranked as the No. 1 or 2 pitching prospect in all of baseball. There's debate whether he or Phillip Hughes, a New York Yankee prospect, is No. 1. But virtually no one has Bailey any worse than second.

Reds radio play-by-play man Marty Brennaman calls Bailey the best pitching prospect he's seen in his 33 years with the club.

Bailey has the nonchalant way of the Texas farm boy that he is. But he also exudes a certain confidence.

"I don't think (the attention) concerns him," Reds manager Jerry Narron said. "I think he knows he's pretty good. I think he's smart enough to know that he's not going to come to the major-league level and just dominate from the beginning. There's going to be some ups and downs.

"He's very, very level-headed. He works hard. He's got great stuff. It's going to give him every chance in the world to be successful."

The big question is when the Reds will bring Bailey to the big leagues. He's had only two full professional seasons. Three years ago at this time, he was pitching LaGrange High School to the Texas state championship.

But his dominance at Double-A last year had the Reds' front-office executives talking about bringing Bailey to the big leagues. Bailey is theoretically competing for the fifth spot in the starting rotation this spring. But there's a lot of sentiment in the front office to start him at Triple-A Louisville.

"He's got a chance to be great," said Mario Soto, a Reds Hall of Famer. "If they need somebody this year, he's ready. I pitched A ball, went to Triple-A for a couple of months and then pitched in the big leagues."

Soto was the last dominant right-handed starting pitcher the Reds have developed. He retired in 1988. The club has been hoping to find someone like Bailey since.

"It's exciting for the fans, because quite frankly there hasn't been someone in the Reds organization come along like this as a starting pitcher in a long time," Reds general manager Wayne Krivsky said. "But a certain amount of patience is required. You want to put the guy in the right spot to have success."

When will that be?

"We want to do what's best for him," Krivsky said.

The Reds picked Bailey with their No. 1 pick and the seventh pick overall in the 2004 draft. He was named the USA Today high school pitcher of the year. His senior year, he went 15-0 with a 0.68 ERA and 201 strikeouts in 922/3 innings.

He was slowed by a knee injury his first season as a pro. He showed promise in 2005, going 8-4 with a 4.43 ERA for Single-A Dayton.

But last year was Bailey's breakout season. The Reds moved him to Double-A Chattanooga at the halfway point of the season. Bailey went 7-1 with a 1.59 ERA. He was so dominant that there was talk of bringing him up for the stretch run with the Reds.

Krivsky resisted.

It will be hard not to do that at some point this year.

Narron was a bit coy about the plan for Bailey this spring. He wouldn't even reveal if Bailey will start a game.

"If I say yes, Wayne's going to come down here (and be all over me)," Narron said. "I'm not going to tell you until the day before. We'll kick it around some and see if we can work him in. He's got other guys ahead of him in that respect.

"If things happen to fall where he can start, yeah."

Later, Narron said there's actually a plan that is a little more definitive than that:

"I know what I'm going to do, but I'm not going to tell you."

The Reds try not to put added pressure on Bailey. But it's a futile exercise because of his ability and the aforementioned Reds' inability to produce a marquee pitcher.

Those who have dealt with Bailey in the minor leagues say he is remarkably mature for his age.

"Stuff-wise, it comes as advertised," said Mack Jenkins, the club's minor-league pitching coordinator. "But, for his age, he has such a good head on his shoulders. The thing I like best about him, the thing that separates him, is his competitiveness. Every time he takes the field, he goes out there to win. And he prepares the four days in between to the 'nth' degree to win. Guys his age don't have a game plan. He's got a game plan for every day, whether he's pitching or not pitching."

It's no coincidence that Roger Clemens, one of baseball's hardest-working, most-prepared pitchers, was Bailey's hero growing up.

The jump Bailey made from 2005 to 2006 indicates hard work and that he had a plan. He pitched better against better competition.

"He made a lot of improvements during the season," Jenkins said. "When he was sent out last year, Jerry told him he had a few things to work on. He worked on them daily. I think he conquered those things."

Bailey's fastball is so good, in one start last year his 96th pitch of the game was clocked at 98 mph.

Reds reliever Todd Coffey plays catch with Bailey every day in warm-ups. Coffey is a student of pitching. Bailey's stuff stands out even to someone like Coffey, who throws 94, 95 himself.

"He can be as good as he wants to be," Coffey said. "He's got the stuff. The more you pitch the more you learn. He's only pitched two years (as a pro). As good as he is now, think how good he'll be in two years."

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070224/SPT04/702240368/1071

[WMR]

::knock On Wood::

[Hoosier Red]

::knock On Wood::

Why? what's wrong with Travis?:p:

[NJReds]

And he prepares the four days in between to the 'nth' degree to win. Guys his age don't have a game plan. He's got a game plan for every day, whether he's pitching or not pitching.

Of that entire article, this is what stood out to me. There are a lot of guys with "stuff" -- but it's good to know that this kid takes the work inbetween seriously.

[jmac]

Nice article...Here's :beerme: to success !

[Grounds_Crew]

Great article! I, like the rest of you, am really excited for the day that he will step on to the mound at Great American. It's great to have a "home grown" prospect like Bailey.


I enjoyed this part of the article:


"I don't think (the attention) concerns him," Reds manager Jerry Narron said. "I think he knows he's pretty good. I think he's smart enough to know that he's not going to come to the major-league level and just dominate from the beginning. There's going to be some ups and downs.

"He's very, very level-headed. He works hard. He's got great stuff. It's going to give him every chance in the world to be successful."


...and, this party really get's me fired up! :beerme:


Bailey's fastball is so good, in one start last year his 96th pitch of the game was clocked at 98 mph.

[TeamSelig]

Hmm... Marty also thinks Dunn is horrible, so I'm not sure I trust his "scouting"

good article though

[reds44]

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070224/SPT04/702240368/1071
He better round out to the mound, or Marty will turn on him. :evil:

Very nice article.

[Highlifeman21]

The Reds picked Bailey with their No. 1 pick and the seventh pick overall in the 2004 draft. He was named the USA Today high school pitcher of the year. His senior year, he went 15-0 with a 0.68 ERA and 201 strikeouts in 922/3 innings.

I'm assuming that's 92 and 2/3 innings?

Impressive that the kid averaged over 2 Ks per IP.

That's probably where his love for his fastball first started. Just imagine what kind of numbers he could produce if he fell in love with his other pitches as well.

[BigRedSmokey]

Realistically, what do you guys think of his chances to make the opening day roster this year? Think they will hold him back and go slow or buckle to pressure to put him on the roster and sell tickets if he performs well in ST?

[redsgabp]

Realistically, what do you guys think of his chances to make the opening day roster this year? Think they will hold him back and go slow or buckle to pressure to put him on the roster and sell tickets if he performs well in ST?

honestly i would imagine he would sell some tickets, but i don't think he would sell out a game between the reds and brewers.

a lot of people will want to see his first game and if he does well they will want to see his other games.

with arroyo and harang last year (great pitching) the place didn't sell out that often.

if bailey is as good as we all say he is...
the reds of this year - 2010 are set-up for a few post seasons.

now if only we can get Joey Votto up north for the 2008 season!

[dougdirt]

Realistically the odds of Homer breaking with the Reds are about 5%. They would rather have him in AAA for a while, and lots of people have to do very poorly before they just have no other choice.

[Aronchis]

The Reds would like to hold Votto and Bailey down in AAA to June because of options themselves.

Then when injuries start piling up they become options.

[edabbs44]

Reds radio play-by-play man Marty Brennaman calls Bailey the best pitching prospect he's seen in his 33 years with the club.

Not much competition...

[BLEEDS]

We need to bring them up for the August stretch run - where we are looking to overtake Milwaukee for 4th place in the Central...

Honestly, there's only a few things have to happen to bring up Bailey right after the All-Star Break:
(Break Stats)
Phillips and EE have 10-15 HR's each
Griffey is healthy and batting over .260 with Power, and Josh Hamilton fills in admirably in late-innings and spot starts
Dunner only has 100K's (and 25 HR's)
Gonzo has more HR's than E's
Conine is spelling Hattenberg and 4th OF WAY over his head
Lohse has a <4.0 ERA and can keep us in games
The BULLPEN isn't blowing saves like a ***** in Navy shoreleave port
meaning:
Coffey's sporting a <2.5 ERA as a set-up guy
Weather's and Stanton come through (since they're our only other RH relievers, and hold it down for Easy Eddie or some other closer to step in for the stretch run
Bray and Cormeal are lighting it up
Majewski is back in form, OR our grievance comes through and we get $10M back from the Nats

Then, we MIGHT be within striking distance of the Cubs/Cards/Stros.
We can think of bringing up a AAA dominating Homer, who's now sporting a real curve and change, to fill the gap of a probably underperforming Milton and/or Saarlos, for a stretch run.

Worst case: The Reds are out of it by the Break, and they bring up a fast-ball only Homer in September to sell some tickets and get him some Major League action. We've got $10M freed up after dumping Milton to spend on a REAL #2/#3 SP, can bring up Votto to play a REAL full-time Power 1B, spend $10M on a REAL veteran CF-er FA and move Griff to RF, and maybe get a PROVEN closer.

Then Homer has a place on real roster worthy of competing for Pennants.

PEACE

-BLEEDS

[dougdirt]

Milwaukee will win the central this year.... so if we are going to overtake them, nice.... we will be going to the playoffs.

[flyer85]

with most organizations that statement would really mean something but in the case of the Reds, it doesn't

[klw]

Just don't let anyone compare him to Seaver!

[Stingray]

Not much competition...


hmmm ..... Let's see - Gullet, Soto, Browning, Seaver, Rijo. Not much competition there.

[flyer85]

hmmm ..... Let's see - Gullet, Soto, Browning, Seaver, Rijo. Not much competition there.the only two of those "developed by the Reds in the last 30 years" are Soto and Browning. Soto you might even exclude because he made it to the majors in 77 meaning he is on the very edge of the 30 year period.

The Reds starting pitching development over that period has been so abysmal there really isn't much to compare Bailey with.

[Stingray]

the only two of those "developed by the Reds in the last 30 years" are Soto and Browning. Soto you might even exclude because he made it to the majors in 77 meaning he is on the very edge of the 30 year period.

The Reds starting pitching development over that period has been so abysmal there really isn't much to compare Bailey with.


I'm sure Gullet was originally signed & developed by the Reds. I didn't know Marty's remark was limited to those "developed" by the Reds. If Homer's career is better than Soto's & Browning's, I'll be very happy. Also Rijo's career with the Reds exceeded his previous efforts which indicates some development by the Reds.

My remark was not intended as praise of the Reds pitching development in the last 33 years. It's clear the Reds pitching development over that period has been bad. To say "Not much competition..." in response to Marty's comment, however, diminishes his evaluation of Homer in my opinion since(even excluding Seaver and Rijo) the Reds have had several outstanding propects in that time period.

[IslandRed]

I'm sure Gullet was originally signed & developed by the Reds. I didn't know Marty's remark was limited to those "developed" by the Reds.

Well, Marty supposedly said Bailey was the best pitching prospect he's seen in his 33 years with the club. I believe that puts the context as "guys who were Reds pitching prospects during or after 1974," although it wasn't a direct quote so I can't be sure he's referring only to Reds prospects. But let's say he is. Gullett wouldn't count, because he was well into his major-league career by 1974. Seaver wouldn't count, he was a veteran who came over in trade. Rijo may not count, because he had also advanced beyond prospectdom (although he was not as good as he would become) when he was acquired by Cincinnati.

That leaves Soto and Browning. Not too shabby, those two. But were either of them considered one of the best two pitching prospects in all of baseball as they approached the major leagues? My memory is imperfect, but I don't think they were quite that highly regarded at the time.

No guarantees about anything for Bailey, of course. But I have a hard time disagreeing with the premise that he is, at least, the most anticipated pitcher by Reds fans in, if not ever, pretty close.

[bucksfan2]

You guys are taking his quote too serious. I think this is more a compliment to how good and dominant homer is. I dont think he ment to say that homer is the best of a pitching starved organization.

If you take Marty word for word dont you also have to consider Armstrong, Williamson, BJ Ryan, and Hoffmann?

[dougdirt]

You guys are taking his quote too serious. I think this is more a compliment to how good and dominant homer is. I dont think he ment to say that homer is the best of a pitching starved organization.

If you take Marty word for word dont you also have to consider Armstrong, Williamson, BJ Ryan, and Hoffmann?

Not Hoffman. He played SS for the Reds. He was never a pitcher in our organization.

[bucksfan2]

Not Hoffman. He played SS for the Reds. He was never a pitcher in our organization.

Gotcha. I didn't know if it was the reds who converted him or not.

[flyer85]

I'm sure Gullet was originally signed & developed by the Reds. ... in the late 60s.

BTW Bailey is a great prospect, they really is nothing to compare him with for the Reds over the last 30 years. There is no doubt he has the ability to be special.

[flyer85]

Gotcha. I didn't know if it was the reds who converted him or not.Reds converted him and he spent two years as a pitcher in the system ... as a reliever.

[dougdirt]

Reds converted him and he spent two years as a pitcher in the system ... as a reliever.

Wow.... talk about a mind fart.

[OnBaseMachine]

2006 Lookouts Pitcher, Homer Bailey, Makes Spring Training Appearance
by Tim Evearitt
posted March 1, 2007

We have our first Spring Training report on Homer Bailey coming from his performance during an intrasquad game in Sarasota. Baseball fans (and scouts) who watched Bailey at BellSouth Park last summer hadn’t seen anyone like the 6-4 Texan since Mark Prior was throwing for West Tennessee in 2002. Bailey was 7-1 in 13 starts for Chattanooga finishing with a 1.59 ERA.

Many thought he would have been called up to the Reds last summer; he might have been if Cincinnati was still in the race for the post-season playooffs.

The Reds watched Bailey, whom Baseball America ranks as the top prospect in the Cincinnati organization, perform in front of fans at Ed Smith Stadium. He left them (and teammates) impressed.

"He's so smooth it just seems like half of the pitch gets on you a lot quicker than it looks," said fellow Texan Adam Dunn, one of four hitters Bailey faced in his one-inning outing.

The 20-year-old Bailey didn't make a big to-do of his performance. While he admitted he tried to impress people, he also wanted to work on some things. In his case, that meant working on his offspeed pitches.

Nobody questions the high-octane fastball Bailey possesses, because it's the pitch that had long drawn raves from scouts. But to get to the big leagues, he'll need more than one pitch to survive, which is why he's been working on his offspeed stuff.

It's that pitch that will decide how quickly he goes from prospect to a Major Leaguer. But like any pitcher in the early days of Spring Training, Bailey is trying to find his groove. He's working on mechanics and location. His strength is there, and so is his fastball.

"But that doesn't mean I have to go out there and try to throw 97 every pitch," Bailey said.

And he didn't try to do that either, which perhaps explains why his outing was as uneventful as it was: four hitters, one walk, no runs.

Not a bad box score for a pitcher fresh from the college ranks. His work performance showed people plenty, particularly Dunn.

"He looked good," Dunn said of Bailey. "I'm on the bandwagon."

http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_102723.asp