Has WayneK pulled another rabbit out of the hat
As much grief as some have given Krivsky..."The Trade" being the lightning rod and deservedly so...
With Hamilton, albeit premature, looking to be an improvement to the roster and maybe a big-time improvement isn't this proof that WayneK keeps a solid eye for potential talent laying on other rosters that we can pick up for beans?
1 and 2. Phillips and Ross last year for nothing.
3. Arroyo for a talented but excess player for an arm we sorely needed.
4. I have to give him credit for Hatteburg at 500k last year. The guy was solid and fit the role we needed on this team to a tea.
Now Hamilton looks to be added to that list of great finds. I'm intrigued to see if Sarloos can pick it up this year and be a steal for our pitching-starved rotation.
I think the job WayneK has done has been very solid thus far. A few warts on the pitching evaluations, but more positives then negatives for the team so far. The next biggest item is how do WayneK's drafts turn out for the future and then we'll have the best idea of where we are.
Re: Has WayneK pulled another rabbit out of the hat
And both Thom Brennaman and Jeff Brantley were raving about the pick up of Bobby Livingston during today's game. I think this is going to be an intriguing year.
Re: Has WayneK pulled another rabbit out of the hat
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Originally Posted by
redsmetz
And both Thom Brennaman and Jeff Brantley were raving about the pick up of Bobby Livingston during today's game. I think this is going to be an intriguing year.
That's what is so exciting about this year. There are a lot of question marks this year, but most are GOOD question marks:
When is Homer/Votto going to bust in on the scene?
Is Josh Hamilton for real? He could absolutely explode this year to be a stud.
Adam Dunn, another batting coach, a new determination.
How will Jay Bruce mature at the next level?
Who is this Bobby Livingston? Is this another steal?
Re: Has WayneK pulled another rabbit out of the hat
Usually wins are not that important in Spring Training, but a team like the Reds with many question marks it can only help. This is a great time of year. With the NCAA tourney , baseball and Spring right around the corner.
Re: Has WayneK pulled another rabbit out of the hat
Re: Has WayneK pulled another rabbit out of the hat
What has impressed me most on Hamilton is ...he is doing alot of this against lefties.
As far as Livingston...they were telling his minor league stats today and as they said, it's hard to figure a team letting him get away.
Re: Has WayneK pulled another rabbit out of the hat
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Originally Posted by
Col_ IN Reds fan
Usually wins are not that important in Spring Training, but a team like the Reds with many question marks it can only help. This is a great time of year. With the NCAA tourney , baseball and Spring right around the corner.
FWIW - the Reds won the most ST games in baseball last year and finished below .500.
Re: Has WayneK pulled another rabbit out of the hat
While I am rooting for Hamilton I still think it may be a bit early to add him to the roster. If he keeps hitting at a .500 clip as we get further into the Spring Training...He's in!
In addition to Livingston the one player that Special K has picked up that I am really intrigued with is Saarloos...4 quality pitches and working on a 5th...he is the one that has me the most curious.
Re: Has WayneK pulled another rabbit out of the hat
I have to chime in on Livingston....the guy makes Joe Mays look like a fireballer. He tops out at about 86 MPH. I just cant see him being a very productive MLB pitcher when he cant even get to the high 80s with his fastball.
Re: Has WayneK pulled another rabbit out of the hat
Add me to the Hamilton bandwagon.
Re: Has WayneK pulled another rabbit out of the hat
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Originally Posted by
MartyFan
While I am rooting for Hamilton I still think it may be a bit early to add him to the roster. If he keeps hitting at a .500 clip as we get further into the Spring Training...He's in!
In addition to Livingston the one player that Special K has picked up that I am really intrigued with is Saarloos...4 quality pitches and working on a 5th...he is the one that has me the most curious.
He'll be on the roster. They're not going to lose him after going through all this hullabaloo.
Re: Has WayneK pulled another rabbit out of the hat
Quote:
Originally Posted by
dougdirt
I have to chime in on Livingston....the guy makes Joe Mays look like a fireballer. He tops out at about 86 MPH. I just cant see him being a very productive MLB pitcher when he cant even get to the high 80s with his fastball.
I agree he was on the wavier wire for a reason.
Re: Has WayneK pulled another rabbit out of the hat
I want to see Hamilton succeed, in a big way, but you have to remember that most of the pitchers are throwing a lot of fastballs right now, just trying to get their arms going. The hitters are always far ahead of the pitchers at this point. When they start mixing in their breaking pitches and changing speeds is when we all will see how much the layoff has hurt Josh Hamilton. It is great to see that he is making solid contact and driving the ball to all fields. I am much happier to see that than if he were pulling the ball all the time. That tells me that he is making adjustments and gives me a lot of hope that he can do the same when they start mixing it up.
It's a great story and I wish him the very best and hope he makes it the story of the year.
Re: Has WayneK pulled another rabbit out of the hat
Quote:
Originally Posted by
dougdirt
I have to chime in on Livingston....the guy makes Joe Mays look like a fireballer. He tops out at about 86 MPH. I just cant see him being a very productive MLB pitcher when he cant even get to the high 80s with his fastball.
Absofreakinlutely concerning Livingston...... And Saarloos has 4 quality pitches while working on a fifth? I guess the first requisite of a quality pitch in my mind, is that it can be thrown for strikes. The second requisite is that it can be used to induce outs. There isn't much evidence that Saarloos has one quality pitch IMHO. He may look nasty but his K/BB rate hasn't been over 1 since 2003. He gets groundballs... so really rather than having 4 quality pitches, he crosses his fingers alot.
Concerning Hamilton. He's a geat personal interest story but really he's having a pedestrian spring compared to Dunn (.667/.750/2.000), Freel (.800./.833/1.200), Hatteberg (.600/.600/1.400), Phillips (.500/.500/1.500) and Keppinger (.750/.750/1.125). This spring suggests the Reds are on track to score 1458 runs this season while only giving up 486. That suggests they'll have a record of 146-16. Yes...that's 146 wins....an all time record! I'd be less enthusiastic if the sample size wasn't so large. I'm thinking that will make them dark horses for the world series? Wow...and people want to talk about Josh Hamilton? I understand that his 12 at bats last week completely trump the 1060 in low minors where he only had an OPS of .807 or the 89 at bats he had in AA ball where he went .180/.221/.236. It's so obvious. But even so, what are his realistic chances of making a club that is going to win 146 games?
Re: Has WayneK pulled another rabbit out of the hat
Quote:
Originally Posted by
jmcclain19
FWIW - the Reds won the most ST games in baseball last year and finished below .500.
True, but the Reds used the momentum from Spring Training and had a great month of April which put them in contention for most of the year.