Here is the Reds Hot Stove League show report for 1-25-06. Steve Stewart was the host tonight. The show took place at the 22nd annual La Salle High School sports stag. Steve said it will be 22 days till pitchers and catchers report. Steve was joined by Dave Williams. Steve asked Dave what his feelings were about coming to the Reds. Dave said he was excited to be traded for and wants to let it rip. Steve asked Dave about his shoulder and his opinion on his 2005 season. Dave said he feels like his shoulder injury is behind him and has been for a while. He said his season was cut short last year by a rib injury. Steve said Dave will have opportunity here and he should get a lot of run support here. Dave said that he heard the offense was great and is thankful for the opportunity given to him and hopes to take advantage of it.
After commercial Steve asked Dave about replacing Sean Casey. Dave said being traded for Casey is an honor and exciting. Steve asked him about his pitching style. Dave said that he doesn't prepare any differently to pitch except for Coors Field. Steve mentioned that hitters make adjustments to pitchers and vice versa and asked him about how he would go about that. Dave said he is going to talk to Javy and Jason at ST and get feedback on what the hitters are doing. Steve said PIT came on strong later in the year and asked him his opinion on the Pirates. Dave said he was looking forward to facing them and will battle them like he does any team. Steve asked him about the ownership change and if he met Bob yet. Dave said that he hasn't been there long enough but hopes to meet a lot of nice people on the caravan.
After commercial Steve talked to the Reds Minor League Player of the year Chris Denorfia (Poor guy). Steve rattled off his stats and asked if last year was a dream season for him. Chris said it was and was lucky he was healthy and stayed consistent. Steve asked him if the award was an honor and Chris said it was and he felt he was an underdog and played with a bit of a chip on his shoulder. Steve said that the Casey trade was a blessing for him and wanted to know what he thought his chances were of making the team this year. Chris said that was something that isn't up to him and he just wants to go to ST and show them what he's got. Steve asked him about his first big league HR. He said it was overrated and now Marty wants to adopt him (Just kidding) Actually he said it was a thrill and his family got to see him hit it. Steve asked him what his winter was like. Chris said the training facility has been getting more crowded with Reds players lately. Steve asked him how would he describe himself as a player. Chris said scouts describe him as someone who doesn't do anything great but does everything pretty good. Steve said he seems like the kind of player Narron likes i.e. doing the little things right, good baserunning, etc. Chris said that that has been nailed into his head hard with his dad coaching him and playing 4 years in college also helped him be a better teammate and become more fundamentally sound. Steve asked him about players from the Northeast. Chris said it's tough but you can use it to your advantage because in the beginning of the season it can be pretty cold and a lot of players aren't used to that but he is. Steve asked him about playing with Jr. Chris said it's a thrill to play with him as he has collected his baseball cards. Steve asked him what OF position he preferred to play and he said CF but the corner spots are tougher and playing there you can show off your OF skills more.
After commercial Steve talked with Phil Niekro. Phil said he liked coming back to Cincinnati and playing against the Reds since he's from Ohio and the BRM was the best group of players he's ever seen. He said he hated to face Bench and Perez. Bench told him after they retired that the reason he hit well against him was that he didn't look at Phil like he was a knuckleball pitcher but as a breaking ball pitcher who only threw breaking balls.
After commercial Steve talked to Brad Kullman. Steve asked Brad if he'd signed Niekro to a deal. Brad said that he'd like to teach some of the minor league pitchers the knuckler. Steve asked him what the last couple of days have been like. Brad said that people who come see him always say, "He's on the phone again." He said he talked to 17 major league teams yesterday and the rest of them today just touching base with them to see if they are looking for anything. He said the top advisors will be in town the next two days and work through it to see if there are any deals to be made. Steve asked him how difficult it is to make deals now versus what it would be at the winter meetings for example. Brad said it's more difficult now since most teams feel they are set but there may be a few teams out there willing to make a deal. Steve asked him if he was able to hit the ground running when he became GM and Brad said he was and will keep Narron up to date on any possible trades and get his input. Steve asked about this being an audition for the permanent GM job. Brad said that it's difficult because you'd like to make 5 trades and impress Bob but you don't want to make 5 trades that won't work out. He said he wants to be a part of the organization no matter what happens. Steve asked if there was any flexibility in the payroll to add a big salary and Brad said there is. Steve asked him if there's a level of interest in the Reds young players and he said there definitely is.
After commercial Jerry Narron joined Steve. He asked Jerry about Denorfia and he said he was thrilled for him. He plays the game with energy and plays the right way and could be a 4th OFer. Steve asked Jerry about the last few days and what his thoughts were about the upcoming season. Jerry is excited to have someone who has high standards for the organization. Steve asked him if it was an advantage for Bob to have baseball knowledge rather than have an owner who doesn't. Jerry said it's a huge advantage since he's had success in StL. Steve asked Jerry about Dave Williams. Jerry said he's looking forward to seeing him and says from what he hears he will outwork everyone on the staff (That's what we heard about Milton too. My kingdom for a slacker pitcher). Steve asked Jerry about Paul Wilson and Jerry said if everything works out they are looking to use him on April 9 sort of as a 6th starter. He wants him out there at 100% though. Steve asked him about Milton and said he couldn't be any worse than last year. Jerry agreed and said people don't realize how much he competes.
Thus endeth the Reds Hot Stove League show report for 1-25-06. So let it be written. So let it be done.
Originally Posted by Raisor
