Sunday, August 12, 2007
Bats' faces keep changing amid flurry of roster moves Past 11 days have seen 24 changes
By Michael Grant
Louisville manager Rick Sweet might be feeling dizzy and might need name tags.
From July 30 through Thursday, the Bats made 24 roster moves involving 17 players. The flurry began with right-handed pitcher Tom Shearn, who was sent to Class A Sarasota on July 30. (He was recalled Aug. 3.) It ended with RHP Todd Coffey being optioned from the parent Cincinnati Reds and RHP Steve Kelly being sent down to Double-A Chattanooga.
"It's part of the business at Triple-A," Sweet said. "We are not the priority. The priority is the major league club. We need to make adjustments. We need to stay tough mentally, go out and play well. Even though we've got all these changes I like this ballclub.
"We have some very good young players. We've moved some players up. They're getting an opportunity to play at this level and getting an opportunity to get better. That's why they are here."
It's hard to gauge what effect this has had on the win-loss record. During the span with all the transactions, the Bats went 4-6 (.400). Their overall record was 57-61 (.483).
Sweet said he has pushed hard for a young roster. Louisville has eight players who are 24 years old or younger.
"They are going to make mistakes," Sweet said. "They are going to have mental lapses. But they are here to learn. They are learning. They are here to get better. I like some of these guys. And a lot of them are going to be back next year. And they're going to be that much better for being here."
Sweet said Cincinnati general manager Wayne Krivsky has "been very good at communicating" with him. That hasn't always been Sweet's experience in other organizations, he said.
"I've been other places where the communication is not good," Sweet said. "I have no complaints with Wayne and the major league club."