Well with Baez gone and Bradford,Speir,Williamson, no longer options (if they ever were) now comes this statement from Weathers Agent:
"Horwits also said the Reds hadn't expressed any interest in a couple of his other free agent relievers, Keith Foulke and Octavio Dotel."
Wow who are we gonna get? Is Ted Power available? Can Hume do it? Whats Kent Tekulve up to?
I dont get it.
Hoping for another Reds October
It's only November. Trades can be made and there is no reason to go and buy a closer, when there really isn't a good option out there. Closers do zero amount of good if you can't get him the ball.
Focus on the rotation.
"My mission is to be the ray of hope, the guy who stands out there on that beautiful field and owns up to his mistakes and lets people know it's never completely hopeless, no matter how bad it seems at the time. I have a platform and a message, and now I go to bed at night, sober and happy, praying I can be a good messenger." -Josh Hamilton
This isn't about closer but about rotation. Would Griffey wave no trade clause to Braves and could we get Tim Hudson? His contract is OK in 07 but goes to 13M in 08-09 .That is common money though for ACE, he is Right!
And yet, aren't there legitimate concerns about the health of his clients? I know there is with Foulke, but if my fantasy team memories are correct, Dotel was on the DL fairly regularly in recent years. I believe the phrase used around here is "an injury waiting to happen".Originally Posted by Redus
Bingo. Who's gonna close? Who cares.
That's a bit over the top but I agree that if you can't get the closer the ball then forget it. Don't get me wrong, if a chance to reasonably trade for one comes up, they should take it. Just having Everyday Eddie made the bullpen jell for those few glorrious weeks. But as far as spending big FA dollars on a closer? Totally skips over the real needs of the team, starting pitching and another big bat.
I think Bray will get a chance to close. Stanton takes Bray's place as the top lefty set up man.
.
My money is on Salmon or Shafer
Jeff Brantley or Jeff Shaw.
Where we gonna go?
I now have a feeling also it will be Bray. I thought a Foulke or Dotel would come cheaper than usual based on the injuries and getting a chance to close for someone.
Hoping for another Reds October
Acquiring a closer actually improves the whole pitching staff. It allows your second and third best relievers to pitch the 7th and 8th, which means your starter knows he only has to go 6 strong innings instead of 7.
"I prefer books and movies where the conflict isn't of the extreme cannibal apocalypse variety I guess." Redsfaithful
True enough, but the Reds have too many guys who have a problem going 6 strong innings.
with the current state of the team it isn't going to matter.
It only improves your staff if you closer is better than the guys he's pushing back. Otherwise, it's just giving high leverage innings to a mediocre pitcher. Personally, I'd build a bullpen around a high leverage right & lefty who have the ability to strike guys out and keep the ball in the yard and a veteran "closer" who can handle the supposed pressure of being "the guy" while his actual job is getting 3 outs before he allows 2 runs.
I'm much more worried about the tie game, 2 on, 1 out situation in the 7th than I am about about the up by 1, bases empty, 0 outs in the 9th. Who's out there that's going to be any better than who we already have?
Games are won on run differential -- scoring more than your opponent. Runs are runs, scored or prevented they all count the same. Worry about scoring more and allowing fewer, not which positions contribute to which side of the equation or how "consistent" you are at your current level of performance.
I think Lohse would be a good closer; he's got great stuff, and seems to have kind of a nasty attitude. But he'd have to embrace the job- he's got his heart set on being a SP, which frankly, he's very erratic at, as we've seen.
Of course, he may be just as erratic as a closer, but it's an intriguing thought, to me. I'd give it a shot, especially if the Reds add another SP.
sorry we're boring
I think they should acquire/groom a closer for the reasons you mentioned. As I said in my previous post, however, I think there are more pressing needs for our limited resources. Namley, another staring pitcher and a RH bat.
Once those are nailed down, and there is a trade opportunity or FA available, by all means a closer would be great.
Even better would be if Bray could step up and fill the role.
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