Here is the Reds Hot Stove League show report for 11-22-06. Marty was the host tonight. He talked about the cruise he was on then they went to commercial.
After commercial, the executive director of the Reds Community fund Charlie Frank joined Marty and they talked about RedsFest next Friday and Saturday. Marty asked him about the highlights of RedsFest and said that if you have been to RedsFest before, be prepared for something entirely different. Charlie agreed and said the focus in past years was on the autographs, photos and the memorabilia. He said that will still be a smaller part of the event but the entire floor of the convention center will be wall to wall with baseball activities. The sports bar there will have 2 70 ft (sic) flat screen TVs (Those are some big ass TVs), pool tables and video games. There will be a concert on Friday night. Marty went down the list of current and former players who were attending. All the broadcasters will be there (so you can say Hi and Hello to George.) Chuck (I'm going to call him Chuck from now on cause this is my report and I will say what I darn well please) Chuck said they are going to be putting up all the signs for who is signing autographs about 2 hours before hand so there is some mystery to it and there will be a central location where you can get that info. Marty asked Chuck and the celebrity poker tournament. Chuck said it is one of the best engines they have for raising money for the fund. This will be at 7 p.m. up on the 3rd floor. Info is available on Reds.com. Chuck said it's also a great way to meet players and you can just mingle for $30. Marty asked about the concert on Friday. Chuck said Bronson will be playing along with Screaming Mimes and Peter Frampton (I wonder if he'll play his big hit "Do You Freel Like I Do"?
After commercial the first caller talked to Marty about the cruise and said Brandon Phillips and Todd Coffey were really great on the cruise and Marty agreed. They then talked about Tom Browning no-showing the cruise.
The next caller said that the LaRue trade was a good move and asked who were the Reds going to get in return. Marty said he didn't know and often times the player the Reds get back depends on the performance of the player who was traded.
After commercials, Wayne Krivsky called in. Marty asked if this is a better team with the additions of Gonzalez and Stanton. Wayne said he thinks so. He thinks Gonzo solidifies the SS position and his defense is among the top 5 or 6 in baseball at SS and Stanton gives the Reds a quality, durable arm for the bullpen and he did close some last year even though he's been a setup guy for most of his career. Marty asked if the Gonzo addition makes the pitching better. Wayne said that he thinks so and anytime you have that quality defense up the middle and with Phillips at 2nd you have an exciting and young double play combination. It's athletic and has range and he's had a few people tell him that this combination reminds them of the Gonzo/Castillo combination in FLA a few years ago. Marty said Gonzo only hit 9 HRs last year but you have to think it will go up in the Reds ballpark but he struck out over 100 times last year and that's adding another 100K strikeout guy to a lineup that already strikes out a lot. Wayne said that's a negative and
although he hit only 9 HRs that was in 111 games last year. He had a couple of minor injuries last year and Terry Francona chose to play Alex Cora over him at times against certain RH pitching. He's comfortable with the total package and maybe if he works with Jacoby he can cut down on the Ks. Marty asked of he was shopping Dunn. Wayne said Marty asks him that all the time. Marty said he asks Wayne about Homer all the time. Wayne said him and Narron. Wayne said he won't talk about any of the players in that regard. Marty asked if the Gonzo signing spells the end of Rich Aurilia's tenure here. Wayne said that have till Dec 1 to offer him arbitration in order for them to get compensation. He's had conversations with his agent and they are going to have to see how it plays out. Marty asked if he was shopping for a closer. Wayne said that position is weak in the free agent market. The Cubs are going to give Kerry Wood a shot at closing along with Dempster and there are a few guys coming off injuries and they have had conversations with Guardado's agent and he's trying to get all the quality arms he can get and let Jerry sort it out. Marty asked if this is the time to make deals or is it the time to lay the groundwork for future deals. Wayne said the GM meetings were more for seeing who you could match up with but things change all the time. A free agent signing with someone could eliminate a potential trade. He has touched base with about every GM who they may have a match with (Including JimBo? )
After commercial Marty gave props to our own Matt700WLW for producing the show. The next caller asked if the Reds would get on more national TV games next year because of the way they played last year. Marty said he isn't sure and Fox is going to show games from the beginning of the year till the end of the season. The caller asked if Thom was going to miss some Friday and Saturday games because of that. Marty said that Fox is not having Thom and Joe Buck announce all the games but when he does games he will miss the Friday and Saturday games.
The next caller said he was glad the Reds got someone at SS who had some World Series experience since it's always helpful going down the stretch and the guy has a great fielding percentage. (If we're relying on Gonzo to carry this club during September, we're in trouble.) The caller also asked if there were any pitchers coming to the Reds. Marty said that Wayne isn't done yet and he thinks he'll address the rotation but it comes down to which club you have a fit with. Marty said that the Reds have Homer and Johnny Cueto in the minors. The caller asked about Homer's breaking pitches. Marty said they want Homer to work on that very thing and once he refines his breaking pitches, he'll be an outstanding big league pitcher. The caller asked abut Dunn and said he likes him but he can't hit in the clutch except for the grand slam against CLE and would rather him hit HRs with guys on than with no one base. Marty agreed and said he was abysmal with RISP and he doesn't know if that can be corrected. He'd love to see it corrected and make more contact and it would be absolutely scary to see what he could do if he made more contact but he hasn't improved since he came up and that is a concern.
After commercial the next caller asked of Jeff Brantley was going to be one of the announcers. (I think he's calling from the moon) Marty said that's news from a month ago and he will do radio and TV. The caller asked Marty if he could get Brantley to stop being as critical of the Reds as he was on ESPN. Marty rushed to his boyfriend's defense and said he was a national broadcaster. The caller asked about Bubba Crosby. Marty said a .217 hitter is a .217 hitter and says he has a split contract. The caller asked if Freel wold come out with the same explosion he came out with last year. Marty said he always does. The caller asked if Marty was surprised Bronson only got 1 vote for Cy Young. Marty said he was even more surprised Harang didn't get any with all the categories he led the league in.
The next caller asked Marty why Castro couldn't do for less money what Gonzo is supposed to do for the Reds. Marty said he doesn't know if Castro is strong enough too play every day and he hasn't shown that. He thinks that he's the best utility player he's seen as an infielder.
The next caller asked if there was any talk about bringing Barry Larkin back to the organization in the front office. Marty sad not to his knowledge but if they were seriously considering it they would have to go to Barry nd see how active a role he would want to play. He thinks it will happen one day.
This endeth the Reds Hot Stove League show report for 11-22-06. So let it be written. So let it be done.
Originally Posted by Raisor
