Hot Stove League show report

Here is the Reds Hot Stove League show report for 11-30-10.

Thom and Marty were the hosts and they began the show by saying Phil Castellini will call in and so will Brandon Phillips. Thom said Brandon’s a guy who will never get too big for his britches and he’s not too much of a big shot to go on the caravan or go to Reds Fest. Marty said that he hasn’t ever met a more fan-friendly player than Brandon. Thom said it's sad that the national perception of him is different from reality probably because of the things he said before the StL series. He said he's great with fans, kids, his mom and dad. He said he'd be proud to call him his son.

Marty said that Troy Tulowitski and the Rockies agreed to an extension starting in 2014 where he will receive at least $132M over 7 years. Marty said he never would have dreamed Tulo would have signed a contract that big. Thom said that he didn't know how you would say no to that. He said he doesn’t understand why they would give him a deal that big. He said he's great in the clubhouse, the community, a valuable and special player but 2020 is a long time. Marty said that he was in the running for MVP this year. Thom said that he's a great player and there's no reason to believe he won't live up to that deal but locking up a guy for that long is tough when you don't have a $120M payroll.

Marty then talked to Phil Castellini via phone about Reds Fest. Phil said he just got back from an industry meeting where teams got together and shared ideas about business practices. (I would have loved to attend the Marlins seminar on how to give a fan their own section in the stadium for a season.) He said he's proud to say the Reds have one of - if not the -best fan fests in baseball. Marty said that he doesn't think anyone does it with more class than the Reds. Phil said the players participating make it special. He said they have a lot of retired players and most of the 40 man roster there. He said he can't say enough about the job Walt and Dusty have done to instill the value of connecting with the community and the fan base with the players. Thom asked Phil what are the must see events at Reds Fest. Phil said that this is the closest you come to an All Star Game fan fest. He said they have literally modeled reds Fest after the All Star Game fest. He said the HOF area is a must see {shameless plug alert] (including the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings and Cincinnati Buckeyes vintage base ball teams who will be selling T-Shirts) [/shameless plug alert] He said they are going to debut the new ST & BP jersey on Friday and there will be some neat things done with merchandise including some game used stuff. Marty gave the dates and hours and prices. Phil said there has been 2 1/2 times more tickets sold this year than last year. He said there will be a tribute to Sparky on Friday night to kick off things. He said there wasn't anyone who embodied the Reds more than Sparky. After that will be the team introduction and awards. Marty said that there will be the obligatory Bronson concert at 2:10 on Saturday. (Yay?) Phil said Bronson’s been kind to them for doing that every year and said the female fans really love that part of Reds Fest.

After commercial, the first caller said he's happy with the pitching but he believes Gomes is a weakness in the field and what he did in the 2nd half is his norm. He said he knows he's a fan and media favorite but he shouldn't be batting 5th like he did all last year. Thom said that he can't disagree about Gomes' shortcomings but the Reds don't win the division without Gomes playing the way he did last year. Thom said he doesn't know if he can do it again this year. He said he thinks the Reds are looking for a platoon partner for Gomes who can fill a couple of roles which is a leadoff guy with speed. Thom asked if the Reds look at him as an everyday guy. Marty said they don't. (Could have fooled me.) Marty agreed with the caller and Thom and thinks Gomes will get a lot of playing time next year unless someone else comes in. The caller asked if Podesnik was a possibility. Marty said he doesn't know if he is or not. Thom said that he has a young body. (OK, I made that last one up. :D )

The next caller asked if the Reds could sign Carl Crawford even if it meant trading someone like Arroyo. Marty said the Reds don't have the money to sign him even if Arroyo was traded. Thom agreed with Marty and would definitely consider moving someone making a lot of money to sign Crawford. The caller asked why Sparky didn't have any funeral or memorial services. Marty said that he wasn't surprised because he and his wife were and are private people.

The next caller said he'd keep Gomes because of what he brings to the team for being a team player. He asked who is the starting rotation. Thom said it depends on Chapman's role but to go deep in the playoffs, you need a legit #1 starter and based on pure stuff, Chapman is that guy. Marty said it's not important in the regular season as it is in the post season. Thom said assuming Chapman is in the rotation it's him, Volquez and Arroyo for sure. Marty said he would include Wood. Thom agreed and said in the 5th spot there's Leake and Homer and asked if he was forgetting anyone (Johnny Cueto anyone?) Thom said as great as Leake was in the 1st half, Homer got better as the season went along. Marty said everyone is going to be starting from Square 1. Thom eventually remembered Cueto.

After commercial, Brandon Phillips called in from ATL. Marty said Reds Fest was right up his alley. Brandon said he loves Reds Fest and he feels that the fans come out and support them all year long so they should go to Reds Fest and support them. As far as being fan friendly goes, he just tries to be himself and he feels he's no better than anyone else and his parents raised him like that. Thom asked if he talks to his teammates about the "love" he feels from the fans because he's willing to interact with them more freely. Brandon said he doesn't say anything about it and lets them be their own person and he can't make the players do that. He said the fans remember the interactions with the players. Marty facetiously asked Brandon if he would be at Reds Fest for both days. Brandon asked Marty who does he think he's talking to. Marty said he likes pulling his leg every now and then. Marty asked when Brandon begins to focus on baseball during the offseason. Brandon said January 4th has always been the date when he starts. Marty said he has to be full of enthusiasm for 2011 considering what happened in 2010. Brandon said he feels they can do more than they did this year. He said if you bring back the guys who can get the job done and OCab did a great job last year and taught them and especially Janish how to go about his business out there. He believes in Janish and he's never played with another SS as good defensively as Janish and he's played with a lot of them. He felt like Rolen was the key to the puzzle and when he came here Brandon knew this was the year the Reds would give Cincy what they deserved.

After commercial, the next caller asked what Thom and Marty enjoy most about ST in AZ. Thom said the travel and being able to go to every ballpark since the farthest one is only 45 minutes away. He said the weather's better - except FLA has beaches. He said it's nice to see some of the younger players play but it's not like they play every day. Marty said ST doesn't get that interesting till the last week when managers are playing their regulars more and there are a couple of spots being fought over. Marty used the example of Mike Leake and Travis Wood and how that went down to the last day. Marty said that he went to AZ kicking and screaming but he grew to like it a lot even though it isn't Sarasota. The caller asked if the Reds will get more national coverage next season. Thom said you have to earn that and this year was the 1st year they have done well for 15 years. He said StL is not a large market team but they get a lot of national attention. Thom said if the team does better, more fans will start going to games, the payroll will increase and that’s how it gets rolling.

The next caller said he isn't happy the Reds aren't bringing back Arthur Rhodes. Thom said that they are still interested in bringing him back but if they offered him arbitration, he may get four times what he'd be willing to settle for. Thom said Arthur loves pitching here and the Reds love Arthur.

After commercial, the next caller asked if Chapman were to develop a straight change, wouldn't he be unhittable. Thom said he's close to being that now. Thom said he has tinkered with it and it's usually the last thing to come. From what Thom's been told, he is so far ahead of where a guy like Randy Johnson was at his age and he got by with just a fastball and slider for many years.

The next caller wanted to know what to say to the players at Reds Fest to try to get to know them better while not invading their privacy. (Stalker alert!) Thom said you don’t have a lot of time to interact with them. He said they are very nice when you say hello to them and shake their hands and get pictures with them but there isn’t a lot of opportunity to get into a big conversation with them. Both Thom and Marty said they don’t even interact with the players much at Reds Fest.

The next caller said he'd love to see Ty Wiggington play with the Reds since he can play the OF and back up 3rd base. Thom said he'd be a good guy to have but since he's become a regular, he's going to want to make pretty decent money so he's going to want to start for a bad team or accept a smaller role for less money with a contender. Marty said he doesn't see him ending up with the Reds either.

The next caller asked about keeping Bruce and Votto long term. Marty said the time isn't now despite the hue and cry heard about locking both of them up. Marty said the Reds have them for three more seasons each (Four I believe with Bruce) so nothing needs to be done till at least after next season. Thom said that only Votto has performed well enough to warrant a long term deal and Jay has to go out and earn it.

The next caller asked what the most likely scenario is for the Reds leadoff man next year. Thom said the big question is how much progress has Stubbs made in bunting and making better contact. He said if he can hit .270 and get on base at a .340 percentage and beyond, he would be the best leadoff hitter in the NL and get 60--80 SBs hitting 25+ HRs a year. (I'll eat my hat if he steals 60 bases.) Marty said it will be interesting to see how much work he's done on that.

Thus endeth the Reds Hot Stove League show report for 11-30-10. So let it be written. So let it be done.