[red-in-la]

WHAT O'Brien plan?

The team that is winning is the one Bowden built.....minus some serious talent that the Limited dumped before O'Biren got here.

One thought so far was compare Todd Jones to Rietsma.....are we serious?

Rietsma has a 2.17 era while Jones is at 4.30 and was over 5 a week ago.

The other thought has been the "quality arms" the Reds got. If the arms are SUCH QUALITY, how come Valentine pitched Sunday and threw that game away before the first inning was even over with?

So far, you cannot judege what O'Brien has done, because what he was hired to do is supposed to take years to accomplish. As for the current success, the Reds have had similar early success 3 of the last 4 years and Bowden was fired for it. So don't try to hang good or bad on O'Brien for what has happened so far.

His trade of Rietsma was STUPID....no other way to put it because as other posters have said, it screamed loud and long that the Reds had no intention of fieling a ML team in 2004. The fact that JR and Larkin are finally healthy, and that Casey is having an all world first two months are the reason for the current fine fortune.

As for pitching to contact, that is also a bunch of bull. Fact is that Wilsn WAS finally healthy, Acevedo MADE the FO finally concede that he might be a ML pitcher, and public condemnation led to the release of Haynes (which I DO give o"Brien and mostly Miley kudos for). If your insightful plan is ACTUALLY that pitching to contact makes you win, why in the world do you call up a WILD MAN like Valentine? That sure makes a statement.

MHO is that if you DON'T trade Rietsma, that Reds are probably 13 games over .500 right now instead of 9.....but who really knows?