Kearns' Weight

[Terry]

I don't know what his listed weight was when he was drafted, but I saw him pitch several times during his senior season at Lexington Lafayette, and looking at him now, compared to back then, it's hard to believe it's the same guy. Some of it is just natural filling out obviously, and some of it's because of having access to major league workout equipment and trainers. But he is absolutely huge now compared to when he was drafted. And I don't mean that in a good way either.

[KearnsyEars]

steroids or cheeseburgers terry?

anyone got an update on how kearns is hitting now?

[Redsland]

Through Sunday he was 14 for 42 in 10 games with 8 doubles, one homerun, 5 walks, 15 strikeouts. .333/.417/.595/1.012

[Jesus Freak]

Maybe Kearns can drink the potion that Sherman Clump drank to turn him into Buddy Love - from Austin Kearns to Austin Powers.

[KearnsyEars]

he just needs to lose some weight and keep hitting like he is at AAA, maybe a few homeruns or so....

[deltachi8]

the more i think about it, the more i believe that Austin Kearns has played his last game for the Reds.

[OldRightHander]

Maybe he's trying to bulk up so he can sit on Ray King and return the favor.

[KearnsyEars]

I think either Dunn or Kearns will be here for the long term. They won't let both go.

[Garrett]

I think just as many have advocated getting rid of Dunn or Pena. And still others have wanted to get rid of Jr. or Casey.

I think you're right about Pena. I also think what we see is what we're going to get from Pena. Ungodly power, great speed, a howitzer for an arm that is pretty accurate. However, his defense is atrocious. He can make the big play every once in a while though but his instincts are bad. It hasn't helped that the Reds didn't have a full time OF instructor on staff for the last year and a half. I just don't think he's really going to get that much better defensively. I don't think he's ever going to hit for a high average and he's going to strike out a bunch. If you accept him for that, you shouldn't have any problems with Pena.

A lot of Reds fans see Kearns as he was when he first came up and what he did 2 years ago before Ray King sat on him. Truly a 5 tool player with great plate discipline as well. Of course injuries have set him back. I don't think he's ever been a workout freak though. I remember listening to him on the radio during RedsFest after his first year and they asked him what he did during the offseason. He said that he basically played PlayStation. That isn't a big deal in and of itself but lately you have to wonder if that is all he does during the winter. He has gained weight the last couple of years. I would think some of it is muscle but some could be fat. Even if it is all muscle, is it necessary for him to be that big? He had power before he gained that weight. Then there are the attitude questions. Even before DanO got here he didn't react well to being sent down to the minors. Perhaps DanO hasn't exactly been his biggest backer but what has Kearns done since DanO has been here. To his credit, Kearns did give the 3rd base transition a go. That gives him major points attitude wise in my book. But he still hasn't produced this season. Even some of his biggest supporters has said he's out of shape and isn't the defensive player he once was. When he got regular playing time this year he hasn't produced. He didn't pull anything with power. That could be the aftereffects of the shoulder injury as Casey had a similar injury and he didn't pull anything with power till last season. He seems to have taken his latest demotion as well as could be expected and is hitting well in LOU.

I don't think it's necesarily a choice between Pena and Kearns. I think it's a judgement whether Kearns will once again be the player he was pre-Ray King or if he's going to be what he is now. That is a decision that a GM is paid well to make and it's a decision that his reputation is going to either be made or broken on.

Excellent post. A GM's reputation will ride on this. Right now, almost everything O'Brien has touched besides Randa hasn't done well. He needs some wins, or he'll join Miley.

[KearnsyEars]

"Life's a dance, learn as you go, sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow"-- John Micheal Montgomrey


take note Austin

[TeamBoone]

06/28/2005 1:34 PM ET
Kearns keeps a positive outlook
By Kyle Jepson / MLB.com

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Austin Kearns arrived in Louisville two weeks ago with a smile on his face and just four words on his mind: "Let's play some ball."
There was no harboring ill will toward Reds management, no pouting around the clubhouse and no giving up on the season.

Just four words: "Let's play some ball."

Well, maybe a bit of frustration, too.

"Of course there's frustration," Kearns said. "I didn't like the decision. I didn't think that it was right. But I figured, coming here, playing every day, I'll show people that I can play, and that'll take care of itself.

"I didn't like their decision, but there's nothing I can do about it. I'm easy going, I just like to play. I think I played the game the right way. I'm going to enjoy it while I'm here. And wherever I go from here, I'm just going to take that same attitude."

Kearns decided to make the most of playing Triple-A ball and moved past being ticked off. Now, he's just trying to get back to the Majors.

Kearns was optioned down to Louisville on June 12 because of his poor performance with the Reds this season. He was batting just .224 with six home runs and 25 RBIs at the time.

Once he arrived in Louisville, he was placed on a program of sorts by Reds management that included him playing every day and losing weight. Although Kearns didn't say what he weighed, entering the season he was up around 245. He said Reds management wants him under 240.

But Kearns feels if he had been able to play with the Reds every day, he wouldn't have put up such poor numbers. And the weight, he said, wasn't a factor at all.

"I probably just put too much pressure on myself," Kearns said. "I started off slow, then I started swinging well, then I hit another slump. So it was probably just putting some pressure on myself. And then not being in there every day just made me try that much harder, which probably made things worse."

"But my first game down here I was running and running well. It doesn't hurt to lose weight, but I don't feel that was causing me to struggle. In Spring Training, it wasn't any different, and I was doing fine and nobody said anything about it then."

Regardless of why Kearns was struggling, he's in Louisville and apparently not going anywhere anytime soon. Reds general manager Dan O'Brien said Friday that the organization has no interest in trading Kearns. And after calling up three players over the weekend, including outfielder Jason Romano, it seems the Reds are going to keep Kearns in Triple-A until he meets their standards.

Kearns said he hasn't, and won't, demand a trade, despite not getting the call back up. He said he prefers to play in Cincinnati if at all possible. But he'd rather be an everyday player anywhere than see minimal time in the Reds organization.

"I would like to go back to Cincinnati and play every day," Kearns said. "But if that's not the case, I'd like to go somewhere else and play. I might like a shot somewhere else, because I think I'm an everyday player.

"You want to play with the organization you came up with. But I want to play every day, too. I like playing in Cincinnati. I like the city; it's close to home for me. But there comes a time when you want to be an everyday player."

And Kearns has not kept this a secret from the Reds.

"I've already told them what I felt," he said. "I said if I can't play [in Cincinnati] every day, and there's an opportunity somewhere else, then [a trade] wouldn't bother me a bit."

For now, though, Kearns will have to continue playing in the Minors and working his way back up to the level he was playing his first three seasons with the Reds.

Since being sent down to Louisville, Kearns showed right from the start the type of player he is, batting nearly .400 with a homer. His last two games, however, he's struggled, unable to record a hit in either game. Now Kearns' average sits at .311 with still one home run and nine RBIs in 11 games.

But he isn't worried that he'll be lost in the shuffle. He understands that those players were called up just to see Major League time and not to be a permanent fixture with the team.

"If they were outfielders getting called up to play every day, yeah, I'm sure I'd be upset," he said. "But that's not the case. I understand why they're calling people up."

And in agreement with it or not, Kearns also understands what he has to do to get back to the Majors.

"I work hard," he said. "I think it's just a matter of relaxing and playing. I put the work in. I was putting the work in when I was there. It's just that the results weren't there. So, probably, the best thing for me is just to relax and have fun."

"It'll work out. I'm confident that things will work out."

http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/NASAp...=.jsp&c_id=cin

[KronoRed]

Great article

Go Austin

[KearnsyEars]

Great article. Come on Kearnsy. There is no way we've heard the last of this guy.

He said he prefers to play in Cincinnati if at all possible.

[luvdozer]

you see it again and again. All the talent in the world. Adulation in high school and pro baseball. Girls running after you by the dozens.
And the pxxs it all away!

That's definitely what happened to me

[KearnsyEars]

When do you guys think he'll get another shot in the Major Leagues?