Walt Jocketty Poll Time

[princeton]

Cordero has a full no trade clause for 2009. I doubt he'd want to go somewhere where he wouldne be closing.

"Add a year to my client's contract and he'll go wherever you want him"

--Bean Stringfellow, agent de Coco

[flyer85]

Its a privately held company. The Reds don't have to show anyone their books to anyone except for the handful of owners. So neither you or I have seen evidence that Castellini has made or lost money while he has been running the team.

And seeing that they aren't likely to open their books and show us that they were forced into making these financial decisions because their are bleeding on the bottom line I am not one who will believe that Castellini is running the team at a loss. If that was the case all Uncle Bob has to do is open the books and show everyone the data.

[Big Klu]

"Add a year to my client's contract and he'll go wherever you want him"

--Bean Stringfellow, agent de Coco

But who pays for that year, the Reds or the Yankees?

[jojo]

I thought it mattered because he was being compared to other CFs in the majors and one of the biggest gripes against Taveras was the amount of his contract.

I don't know if he's cheap or not, I just thought the question was relative since there's a lot talk about how the Reds need good bang-for-the-buck for each player they put on the field.

One of my biggest gripes is that Taveras isn't likely to be all that good and the Reds needed an infusion of "high ceilingness" in order to max their chances of making the playoffs.

I think there is little doubt that the Reds will get what they paid for...he's projected to be roughly a 1 to 1.5 win player (that's worth about $4-$6M on the open market).

As M2 suggests, getting a good deal on below average production is a hollow victory.

[membengal]

Doesn't at all concern me. He was 23 and hurt that year. His RC/G actually went up by a bit: in 2007 it was 4.9 and in 2008 it was 5. If only Encarnacion had Zimmerman's upside.

27 games in a row with a hit.

One for you pahster. Acutally, 27 for you, pahster. I yield.

[RED VAN HOT]

Is it time to run this poll again? I think the success of the personnel decisions has surprised most of us.

I was in the Taveras camp, but must admit that he has exceeded my expectations by far. It appears that Dickerson was not ready to take over CF.

Hernandez has produced well giving Hanigan the opportunity to work in and become the starting catcher next year.

Of the candidates that were signed for LF in the off season, I was surprised that Nix was kept on the roster. It looks like a good decision.

Keeping Owings over Bailey looks like the right decision. Homer still needs work. Owings is doing a better job of keeping the ball down. With 22% of the season behind us, we have only used five different starters.

Arthur Rhodes and David Weathers were good signings. Both can be used in the setup role. I still have questions about re-signing Lincoln, but that may also prove out. Moreover, with the starting pitchers consistently going seven, the bull pen is strong and deep.

Janish has been an adequate back-up at SS.

Re-signing Hairston looked to be a bad move for a while. It appears now that he only needed to build up his strength after the WBC.

WJ is rebuilding this team without succumbing to the temptation to trade a top minor league prospect for a middle of the road veteran player.

[wheels]

Its may.

[westofyou]

Hey a poll!!

Wonder what George Brett would say about that?

http://joeposnanski.com/JoeBlog/2009...ou-believe-me/

Every manager
takes criticism. Every
manager
is gonna take criti …
I don’t give a (bleep)
if you are
Joe
(Bleeping)
Torre
You’re gonna take criticism

I think the problem
is in this town
we’ve lost so many (bleeping) years in a row
that people don’t have any
patience
so as soon as he does
something
that the media
doesn’t like
they explode on him
(Bleep) you and
(Bleep) them.
Believe me.

There’s thirty teams in Major League Baseball.
Thirty.
No one’s ever called these guys
to manage
Have they?
No one’s ever called them
to be the general manager.
Why?
‘Cause they don’t know
what they’re talking about
sometimes.
And I’m sick and tired
of listening to it.
OK?
I’m sick and tired
of listening to it.
Believe me.