Winning easier said than done
But many feel Castellini can do it
"I'd certainly like to go to the NCAA Tournament next year. If you get a good draw in those kinds of things, you have a chance at the Final Four."
Bob Huggins at his introductory press conference as UC coach, March 29, 1989
"We don't do this business without wanting to play on this final Sunday. When you don't win that last game, it's like you fall off that cliff. Let's not fall off that cliff. Why do we do this? To win that championship."
Marvin Lewis at his introductory press conference as Bengals coach, Jan. 14, 2003
"I want to make a promise today to Reds fans, a promise from one fan to another: We will bring championship baseball to Cincinnati."
Bob Castellini at his introductory press conference as Reds CEO, Jan. 20, 2006
So the question to ponder over your breakfast this morning is: Can Castellini deliver on his promise the way Huggins did and Lewis is on his way to doing?
The guess here is yes.
I've met Castellini twice and have been very impressed. I know people who know him well, and they are convinced he'll come through.
That said, it is an enormously difficult task, much more difficult than the one Huggins or Lewis faced.
UC was in awful straits when Huggins took over. The Bearcats were 70-100 the previous six years under Tony Yates.
But in college basketball, you're always one good recruiting class from turning it around, and everyone from Duke to Drexel gets the same number of scholarships.
The Bengals were in awful shape when Lewis took over as well. The Bengals were 12 seasons removed from the playoffs and 56-139 over that span.
But the NFL is set up for parity, and you draft players who are instantly ready to contribute.
Baseball is not set up for quick fixes. How is this for parity? The New York Yankees started last season with a $208.3 million payroll; the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, their division rivals - in the loosest sense of the term started with a $29.7 million payroll.
In baseball, you draft players and hope they can contribute in four years. They don't always pan out - see Ty Howington, Chris Gruler, Brandon Larson, et al.
The other big difference is Huggins spent his working life in the basketball business and Lewis spent his in the football business before they arrived here.
Castellini has been involved in baseball for 30 years, but he's running a team for the first time.
So what led me to say about 17 paragraphs ago that I thought he could succeed?
The thing he has in common with Huggins and Lewis is the sheer force of his personality. Castellini has been successful in his other business ventures because he's a forceful, no-nonsense leader who demands results.
The Reds can use a healthy dose of that. We were told Carl Lindner wanted to win. But he never took the podium and made promises to the fans. He was a hands-off owner, content to stay in the background and let his point man, John Allen, take the heat.
Castellini says he'll be out front.
He knows a quick turnaround is difficult in baseball. He admits it will take some luck, at least good fortune, for the Reds to contend this year.
"Look, if all the stars line up right, we're going to have a pitching staff that's a lot better than it was last year," he said. "St. Louis had no idea Chris Carpenter would come off rehab and become the Cy Young Award winner. We've got two or three instances like that on our pitching staff.
"We're going to be better than a lot of people believe we are, even though we've been picked last. We're going to be better than that. We'll have a contender."
That sounds hopelessly optimistic. But then again, so did Huggins back in 1989 and Lewis in 2003.
JOB ONE: One of the first things on Castellini's to-do list should be to sign Adam Dunn to a multiyear deal. If the Reds let Dunn go to arbitration, there's about a 90-10 chance Dunn will walk when he becomes a free agent after the 2007 season.
But Castellini is Dunn's kind of guy - direct and to the point - so if the Reds want Dunn long-term, Castellini probably could get the deal done.
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If RCast can do that, then I'll have some hope.
Re: Winning easier said than done
RCast is right.. the stars have to line up right and have some luck this season to get to the top. They always seem to start off well, and they have the offense to compete with anyone. Pitching is the key factor for them. If our offense can give us 6 runs a game can our pitching staff give up less then 6 runs?
This team hopefully will generate a lot of money or "revenue" this season and then we can make a run at some of the potential free agents like:
Barry Zito
Mark Mulder
Andy Pettite
Jason Marquis
Greg Maddux
Jose Contreras
Jason Schmidt
Re: Winning easier said than done
great article by the way creek!
Re: Winning easier said than done
Quote:
Originally Posted by creek14
"Look, if all the stars line up right, we're going to have a pitching staff that's a lot better than it was last year," he said. "St. Louis had no idea Chris Carpenter would come off rehab and become the Cy Young Award winner. We've got two or three instances like that on our pitching staff.
This quote scares me beyond belief.
Quote:
"We're going to be better than a lot of people believe we are, even though we've been picked last. We're going to be better than that. We'll have a contender."
Not without a major overhaul of the starting pitching, Bob. You do that, and you have a contender. You hope that the current staff turns from frogs into princes, and we're just as screwed as last year.
Re: Winning easier said than done
Yeah it's more than a little frightening that he is counting on all the stars lining up to fix the pitching. :scared: :all_cohol
Re: Winning easier said than done
Quote:
We've got two or three instances like that on our pitching staff.
and i have ZERO doubt they're refering to Luke Hudson, Dave Williams, and Paul Wilson in that order.
Re: Winning easier said than done
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ravenlord
and i have ZERO doubt they're refering to Luke Hudson, Dave Williams, and Paul Wilson in that order.
and the more i think about it, i'm not sure it's so much that Castellini thinks that as much as he believes in the sincerity that O'Brien and the coaching staff might have in this belief.
Re: Winning easier said than done
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ravenlord
and the more i think about it, i'm not sure it's so much that Castellini thinks that as much as he believes in the sincerity that O'Brien and the coaching staff might have in this belief.
Yep. The quotes are starting to add up to a conclusion that I don't think anyone should look away from: Castellini has no idea what the hell he's purchased. He has no idea how bad the problem is.
So we all get to take a long slow ride on RCast's Learning Curve--so buckle up--eh, never mind, we won't be going fast enough to need a seatbelt.
Re: Winning easier said than done
Quote:
Originally Posted by Falls City Beer
Yep. The quotes are starting to add up to a conclusion that I don't think anyone should look away from: Castellini has no idea what the hell he's purchased. He has no idea how bad the problem is.
So we all get to take a long slow ride on RCast's Learning Curve--so buckle up--eh, never mind, we won't be going fast enough to need a seatbelt.
I'm enjoying your posts, FCB! I can tell you're excited and luving every minute of it...;) :evil:
Re: Winning easier said than done
Quote:
Originally Posted by KittyDuran
I'm enjoying your posts, FCB! I can tell you're excited and luving every minute of it...;) :evil:
It's not just me: the confederates/non-Kool Aid drinkers as I see them: MWM, creek, Krono....you're more than welcome aboard, Kitty!
Re: Winning easier said than done
Re: Winning easier said than done
Quote:
Originally Posted by KronoRed
We have sprite ;)
Mmmm. Sprite...:)
Re: Winning easier said than done
What do you mean this team can't make a quick turn around? All it needs it to move Milton and get two Aces. That would be a quick turn around. But the question is how much is Cast willing to do to make it happen? He could pay most of Milton's salary to get him traded and then another 20 some million to get the two Aces plus some talent, but then payroll would be in the 70-80 million range. This teams weakness is in the worste area, front line starter. Our offense is good, our 3,4, and 5 starter are avg., but our 1 and 2 starters flat out suck.
Re: Winning easier said than done
Quote:
Originally Posted by Falls City Beer
It's not just me: the confederates/non-Kool Aid drinkers as I see them: MWM, creek, Krono....you're more than welcome aboard, Kitty!
Can our official drink be Bloody Mary's? :thumbup:
Re: Winning easier said than done
Quote:
Originally Posted by Redmachine2003
What do you mean this team can't make a quick turn around? All it needs it to move Milton and get two Aces. That would be a quick turn around. But the question is how much is Cast willing to do to make it happen? He could pay most of Milton's salary to get him traded and then another 20 some million to get the two Aces plus some talent, but then payroll would be in the 70-80 million range. This teams weakness is in the worste area, front line starter. Our offense is good, our 3,4, and 5 starter are avg., but our 1 and 2 starters flat out suck.
The Reds can't buy their way out of this. Aside from that, there aren't any aces on the free agent market at the moment and the player cost to land established aces would blow holes in other portions of the team. This isn't a quick fix.