Jocketty analyzing Reds talent

[OnBaseMachine]

Jocketty analyzing Reds talent
New GM may have interest in recently released Morris
By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com

ST. LOUIS -- New Reds general manager Walt Jocketty has been doing his due diligence and evaluating the hand he's been dealt since he took over.

Jocketty has assembled his consiglieres at his former stomping grounds in St. Louis this week to go over what he wants and what Cincinnati still needs.

Could one of those wants be starting pitcher Matt Morris? Jocketty has long been fond of Morris, who is on the open market again after his release from the Pirates on Sunday.

"I'm going to look into it, but I'm not sure there is a fit right now," Jocketty said on Tuesday. "But I like Matt a lot, and I have a history with him. In fact, I tried to trade for him last year with the Cardinals."

Morris won 101 games over nine seasons for St. Louis from 1997-2005, all while Jocketty was GM of the Cards. After he signed as a free agent with the Giants in 2006, Morris was traded to the Pirates last July. Pittsburgh beat out St. Louis to get the deal because it agreed to pick up his full contract.

This season, Morris struggled mightily, going 0-4 with a 9.67 ERA in five starts. Pittsburgh is on the hook for all of his $10 million salary for 2008, which means Morris would probably come cheap for any club that tried to pick him up once he clears waivers on Wednesday. If Morris doesn't retire, it is rumored that the Rockies would also have interest in his services.

Jocketty became president of baseball operations and GM of the Reds when Wayne Krivsky was dismissed last week. Jocketty has yet to make any significant changes to the field or front-office personnel.

Assistant GMs Bob Miller and Scott Nethery, senior director of scouting Chris Buckley and director of pro scouting J. Harrison are among those in town to brief Jocketty on the state of the organization. Jocketty has also met extensively with manager Dusty Baker and the coaching staff.

"The meetings have gone well," Jocketty said. "What I'm trying to do is get a good sense of the organization. We're talking about young players in the organization and what their futures are. We're putting an organizational chart together. I'm picking up a lot of stuff. The players on the upper levels I knew -- and the top guys. I'm learning about the other guys, different scouts and personnel people in the organization."

The quality of the organization's youth has much to do with some decisions on veterans. The Reds will have several players eligible to become free agents at the end of the season, most notably Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey Jr.

No conclusions have been reached, yet.

"It's one thing we've touched on but, we haven't spent a lot of time yet," Jocketty said. "That's why I want to find out what we have coming and what kind of timeline there is for certain players."

http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/news/...=.jsp&c_id=cin

[Reds Freak]

Matt Morris? Let's get serious Walt...

[VR]

Oh my, how disturbing.

You've already Matt Morris, his name is Josh Fogg. If not Fogg, then Affeldt. If not Affeldt, then Bailey. If not Bailey, then Maloney.

It funny the title is about 'evaluating talent', yet most of the article is focused on 'acquiring the untalented'

[flyer85]

Morris will have 'em wishing for Fogg

[Matt700wlw]

Jocketty has to remember that his pitching coach ISN'T Dave Duncan anymore

[REDREAD]

Walt isn't going to sign Morris.. Note he said "I'm not sure there is a fit right now"

Walt was on the radio with Marty tonight during the game. The thing that impressed me the most is when he first came on, Marty asked how he was doing, and Walt said not very good, because the Reds were losing. Even if it was staged, that's a nice message to send. Not to mention, it was nice of him to go in the radio booth and talk during the game. Not sure the Reds have ever had a GM do that, although I could be mistaken.

[OnBaseMachine]

Walt isn't going to sign Morris.. Note he said "I'm not sure there is a fit right now"

Walt was on the radio with Marty tonight during the game. The thing that impressed me the most is when he first came on, Marty asked how he was doing, and Walt said not very good, because the Reds were losing. Even if it was staged, that's a nice message to send. Not to mention, it was nice of him to go in the radio booth and talk during the game. Not sure the Reds have ever had a GM do that, although I could be mistaken.

You're mistaken. Krivsky was in the TV booth a couple nights before he was fired.

[Caveat Emperor]

Not sure the Reds have ever had a GM do that, although I could be mistaken.

Krivsky did it a few times.

FCB also mentioned once that Jocketty used to do radio in St. Louis fairly frequently. I hope that trend continues here in Cincinnati.

[RedsManRick]

If you liked Krivsky, you're going to love Jocketty.

[REDREAD]

You're mistaken. Krivsky was in the TV booth a couple nights before he was fired.

I don't watch them on TV very often, so I didn't know.

Was he ever in the radio booth? If he was, that's good.

[reds44]

If Jocketty signed Morris, which he won't, he'll get ripped just as much of Wayne would have. I'm really not sure what you are getting at, OBM.

[fearofpopvol1]

I hope Jocketty is just being PC when discussing Morris. That dude is done. He's lost all his velocity. He was mostly a "luck" kind of pitcher and now that he has lost velocity, he's pretty much worthless. He might survive on some team's bullpen, but I pray it ain't the Reds.

[AmarilloRed]

Matt Morris just announced his retirement, so you don't need to worry about this possibility.

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbc...0316/-1/NEWS14

[Unassisted]

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8132546#

Win-now focus in Cincy could mean heavy action
By Ken Rosenthal
Ken Rosenthal has been the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com since Aug. 2005. He appears weekly on the FSN Baseball Report and MLB on FOX.

Updated: May 13, 2008, 11:15 AM EST

Dusty Baker is a win-now manager, Walt Jocketty a win-now GM, Bob Castellini a win-now owner.

Alas, the Reds need to rebuild.

That means trading right fielder Ken Griffey Jr., left fielder Adam Dunn and any other veterans who can bring a return. It means promoting outfielder Jay Bruce and any other prospects who can make a difference. It means committing to the future, once and for all.

The Reds seem prepared to at least consider such measures; Jocketty recently asked Griffey if he wanted to be traded, according to a major-league source. Griffey replied that his preference was to stay in Cincinnati and try to turn around the Reds' season. But, he added, if the front office wanted to change direction, he would consider a deal.

Jocketty surely isn't ready to sell off parts, not with the July 31 non-waiver deadline still 10 weeks away. But Cincinnati isn't St. Louis, where Jocketty built contenders year after year. Nor is it Chicago or San Francisco, where Baker was accustomed to managing veteran clubs. To fix the Reds, Jocketty and Baker will need to adopt different mindsets. And Castellini, for once, will need to show patience.

As Johnny Cueto's recent struggles show, prospects do not always progress in linear fashion. At the same time, they need to be given every opportunity to advance. Why are the Reds waiting to promote Bruce, who has a .984 OPS at Class AAA? Corey Patterson, their most frequently used center fielder, needed to go 4-for-5 Monday night to raise his on-base percentage to .276.

The Reds are in last place in the NL Central, seven games back. Perhaps they could try to win while building toward the future, the way the Braves did when they promoted Jeff Francoeur and Brian McCann in 2005. But the fact remains: Including Griffey and Dunn, the Reds have 13 potential free agents, the most of any club.

Griffey enjoys full no-trade protection, essentially giving him the right to choose his next team. However, he would not necessarily require a team to exercise his $16.5 million option for 2009 as a condition of a deal. He also is open to a greater number of teams than in the past, when his children were younger and being closer to his home in Orlando was a priority.

The Mariners, the most frequently mentioned possibility for Griffey, are last in the AL with a .579 OPS from the DH spot, yet even further out of first place than the Reds. Griffey, 38, would not be a certain cure-all -- his .717 OPS is more than 200 points below his career mark, and he has gone 63 at-bats since his last home run.

In any case, the next step for the Reds should be obvious. Their management team needs to step backward before going forward, unfamiliar as that path might be.

[Matt700wlw]

Krivsky did it a few times.

FCB also mentioned once that Jocketty used to do radio in St. Louis fairly frequently. I hope that trend continues here in Cincinnati.

Paging Lance...paging Lance...