Here is the Reds Hot Stove League show report for 2-15-06. Marty was the host tonight and he talked about the Reds signing Tuffy Rhodes and Quintin McCracken to minor league deals.
After commercial, Marty said that Bong cleared waivers and was assigned to LOU and invited to ST. Tomorrow the pitchers and catchers will report for physicals and the first workout will take place on Saturday. They had problems with the first caller and Matt saved the day (Nice job, Matt!) but the caller's cell broke up.
The next caller asked who was taken off the 40 man roster for the two new signees. Marty didn't know. (No one since they were signed to minor league deals. So nice that the Voice of the Reds is up to date on these transactions)
The next caller asked where they were going to play the WBC games at. Marty said they would be played all over the place and then when they get down to the last few games it will be in places like San Diego. The caller expressed concern about players being injured. Marty agreed but said that's a concern for every club that has players there. He said most clubs aren't happy about this but MLB is and that's what counts. Marty likes the concept but doesn't know if it will be a long lasting thing and doesn't know how good it will be for the game. The caller asked if Marty would like Joe and Steve in the booth with him during games. Marty doesn't like the 3 men in a booth concept very much.
The next caller said he was concerned about Jr. playing in the WBC. Marty said it's a concern but there's not a whole lot anyone can do about it. He wants to play, they want him to play and you have to live with it. The caller then asked about the Reds going after a closer. Marty said they were going to go with what they have and perhaps a guy like Coffey can be the closer.
After commercial, Marty mentioned Opening Day tickets will go on sale Saturday morning at 9 a.m. and the rest of the games will go on sale at 9:30.
The next caller said he felt the bench has really been handicapped in the past few years since the players were so one dimensional. He thought the veteran acquisitions were good but worried there may be too many vets and not enough kids. Marty said that the ownership was approved so late in the off season they really don't have a lot to choose from. He said they give Narron more flexibility off the bench. The caller said everyone is picking the Reds last and wondered if they were that bad. Marty said that they may not be as bad as people think. He said people haver to be realistic and he has never been as optimistic about Reds' ownership as he is now.
The next caller asked about Jr.'s health. Marty said he is healthy and excited about the WBC.
After commercial the next caller asked who was carrying the WBC. Marty said he thinks ESPN will be carrying some of them.
The next caller asked if the Reds could sign Jeff Weaver and Marty said the Angels signed him. Marty thought it would have been a bad idea to sign him. The caller asked about Paul Wilson and Marty said that he might be ready to pitch the first week of the season. The caller asked who would be the Opening Day starter and Marty said it probably will be Harang. The caller said he thinks another big trade will happen before the beginning of the season since they are signing all those OFers. Marty disagreed that Kearns and Pena will be traded and thinks Pena doesn't have much trade value.
After commercial, the next caller asked what Marty thought about Pena and he thinks they should give him a shot to play every day. Marty said that he would like to see a little more effort out of him in ST to improve defensively. He said if he's content to be a one dimensional player then shame on him.
The next caller asked what are the chances of the OF fences being moved back. Marty said it would be a major undertaking because of the way it's built.
The next caller asked about any free agent pitchers out on the market that are at least #2 pitchers. Marty said not to his knowledge.
The next caller said he thinks Pena has vision problems cause he did a lot of the same things when he was playing. Marty said that he gets his eyes checked every year and he's just a bad OFer.
The next caller asked who puts out the effort to get better and if the Reds would have better baserunning this year. Marty said that you have to have players with baseball sense and more emphasis will be placed on small ball. He said if you don't have the talent other teams have you have to play more small ball.
(Gee, if you listened just to this show you would never have known Adam Dunn signed a multi-year deal with the Reds. Guess that doesn't qualify as news but signing Tuffy Rhodes does. )
Thus endeth the Reds Hot Stove League show report for 2-15-06. So let it be written. So let it be done.