Hot Stove League show report

[Chip R]

Here's the recap of the Reds Hot Stove League show report for 1-27-08. Thom was the host tonight. He started the show by talking about the caravan and season tickets.

The first caller thanked Thom for the caravan and Thom said he can't believe that people are still so passionate about the Reds considering how lousy they have been.

The next person wanted to know if Walt was interested in bring in a minor league OFer named Perez from Tampa. Thom said that what he sees happening is Votto to LF and Yonder to 1st.

The next caller wanted to know what the top 2 spots in the batting order would be if Gonzo was healthy and Hariston won the every day LF job. Thom said it would probably be Tavaras leading off. He said that LaRussa likes to use a power guy in the #2 spot and maybe Phillips or Dickerson could be that #2 guy but they may strike out too much.

The next guy asked about the NL Central and Thom said the Reds are the second most improved team in the division.

The next person asked who would be the 5th starter and if Bruce could continue his play from last season. Thom said the Reds are still high on Homer. He said Owings, Thompson, Ramirez and Masset could be the 5th starter.

The next caller was concerned about the lack of lefty starters. Thom said the Angels have the same problem in the bullpen but they would rather have good RH pitchers than mediocre LH pitchers.

The next caller defended the Reds decision to not spend more money. He said they weren't going to sign Manny and they are at least a year away. Thom said they didn't cut the budget and they addressed their needs. He said the Reds were a laughingstock when they signed Milton.

The next guy asked about the AZ complex. Thom said it's in Goodyear about 11 miles west of Phoenix. He also said Sarasta doesn't have a team to replace the Reds.

Thom closed the show by congratulating Sean Casey on his retirement.

[Heath]

Here's the recap of the Reds Hot Stove League show report for 1-27-08. Thom was the host tonight. He started the show by talking about the caravan and season tickets.

The first caller thanked Thom for the caravan and Thom said he can't believe that people are still so passionate about the Reds considering how lousy they have been.

The next person wanted to know if Walt was interested in bring in a minor league OFer named Perez from Tampa. Thom said that what he sees happening is Votto to LF and Yonder to 1st.

The next caller wanted to know what the top 2 spots in the batting order would be if Gonzo was healthy and Hariston won the every day LF job. Thom said it would probably be Tavaras leading off. He said that LaRussa likes to use a power guy in the #2 spot and maybe Phillips or Dickerson could be that #2 guy but they may strike out too much.

The next guy asked about the NL Central and Thom said the Reds are the second most improved team in the division.

The next person asked who would be the 5th starter and if Bruce could continue his play from last season. Thom said the Reds are still high on Homer. He said Owings, Thompson, Ramirez and Masset could be the 5th starter.

The next caller was concerned about the lack of lefty starters. Thom said the Angels have the same problem in the bullpen but they would rather have good RH pitchers than mediocre LH pitchers.

The next caller defended the Reds decision to not spend more money. He said they weren't going to sign Manny and they are at least a year away. Thom said they didn't cut the budget and they addressed their needs. He said the Reds were a laughingstock when they signed Milton.

The next guy asked about the AZ complex. Thom said it's in Goodyear about 11 miles west of Phoenix. He also said Sarasta doesn't have a team to replace the Reds.

Thom closed the show by congratulating Sean Casey on his retirement.

The bolded is a bit of news, that even, T. Brennaman didn't elaborate on.

Well Done Chippers!!

[BCubb2003]

Thom said he can't believe that people are still so passionate about the Reds considering how lousy they have been.

He went on to call the fans "chumps" and said, "Give it up, already!"

[Raisor]

Wasn't Walt supposed to be on after HSL? Anyone give a listen?

[Chip R]

Wasn't Walt supposed to be on after HSL? Anyone give a listen?

I listened to some of it. Nothing new, really except that he graded Tavaras as average to above average defensively and Patterson the same. Daugherty kind of baited him talking about how the team had a winning record after Dunn was traded and Walt said that they played well after he was traded.

[Hoosier Red]

You didn't mention the guy who complained about being drunk and getting arrested last summer.
That was my favorite call, Thom is not a better person for having spoken to that guy.

[Blitz Dorsey]

Thom did not seriously say that (Dusty) likes to use a "power guy" in the No. 2 spot, did he? How would he then explain using Janish there for a couple weeks last year when he was up?

A better way of saying it is Dusty likes to bat the SS in the 2 hole. This is why I have little doubt the lineup will be:

1. Taveras CF
2. Gonzalez/Hairston SS
3. Votto 1B
4. Phillips 2B (or Encarnacion 3B)
5. Bruce RF
6. Encarnacion 3B (or Phillips 2B)
7. Hernandez C
8. Dickerson/Gomes LF (or he could bat Hernandez 8th and the LF 7th)

[Chip R]

You didn't mention the guy who complained about being drunk and getting arrested last summer.
That was my favorite call, Thom is not a better person for having spoken to that guy.

Yeah, I'll touch on that tomorrow.

[LoganBuck]

Walt was on with Daugherty at 7.

Nothing new. Thinks team will be different and refreshing. More exciting with improved defense. You know the drill.

Daugherty apparently has had his inbox filled with posts about how terrible Taveras is because he asked Walt directly about Taveras' defense. Walt called him "average to above average with an above average arm".

He is hopeful that Gonzalez will be back.

Likes the pitching staff.

The whole conversation was company line. Said they haven't really looked at ANY power bat since the Jermaine Dye trade talks fell through.

[jojo]

I think it's fair for Jocketty to call Taveras something akin to a neutral defender. It's actually encouraging to see him describe Taveras' defensive ceiling honestly.

On a side rant, Bob C should be banned from interacting with the media.

[nate]

I think it's fair for Jocketty to call Taveras something akin to a neutral defender. It's actually encouraging to see him describe Taveras' defensive ceiling honestly.

On a side rant, Bob C should be banned from interacting with the media.

He's no silver-tongued charmer.

More like a sandpaper-tongued cat that just eat chunky peanut butter.

[OldXOhio]

You didn't mention the guy who complained about being drunk and getting arrested last summer.
That was my favorite call, Thom is not a better person for having spoken to that guy.

That's okay - he's got a surplus of better in him after spending 15 minutes with Tim Tebow earlier this month.

[Chip R]

Here is the Reds Hot Stove League show report for 1-27-09. Thom was the only host and he started off the show by thanking everyone who came out to the caravans. He also pimped season tickets.

The first caller thanked Thom, et. al. for doing the caravan. Thom said he is amazed about the number of people love and care about Reds baseball even though they haven't had a winning season since 2000 and want to see them do better. The caller said it has a lot to do with the announcers. (The same announcers who think nothing about degrading players on the same team.)

The next caller said he asked Walt if he was interested in acquiring Fernando Perez from the Rays. Walt told him they aren't interested in dealing him. He asked if there is someone in the minors similar to him who is on his way up. Thom said that he's talked to Walt and Walt has told him that decision is at least a year away but Thom's thinking that if Yonder is all that he's supposed to be, they will probably move Votto to LF. He thinks the corner OFers of the future are Votto in LF and Bruce in RF and you probably can't do much better than that. Thom said Votto is a good enough athlete to make the switch and he's enough of a team guy to do it and the question is, will they have to ask him. (Knowing this bunch, they'll be scared silly to ask.)

After commercial, the next caller asked assuming Gonzo is healthy and Hariston wins the everyday LF job (God help us) who would bat 1 & 2, Hariston and Tavaras or Tavaras and Hariston and will Brandon bat 4th and he asked if Harang was healthy. Thom said Aaron's healthy and proved it at the end of last season. He said that Tavaras is here to lead off and he'd have to dramatically fall off or falter for that to change. (like fall off a cliff.) Thom said there's a theory out there that La Russa has popularized about having a big bat in the 2 spot. He wonders of Phillips or Hariston is that guy or perhaps Dickerson but he and Phillips may strike out too much. He said that during the caravan, Walt and Dusty made it clear that they will tinker with the lineup a lot during ST to see where some of these pieces come into place. The caller asked if there were any moves coming like trading for Nady. Thom said he doesn't think anything else will happen. He thinks a lot of guys out there who are still available are in for a rude awakening.

The next caller made one of the all time classic calls on the HSL. I'm going to try to do it word for word:

Thom: **** is standing by in West Virginia. How are you, ****?
Caller: I'm doin' fine. I'm a huge Dodger fan here in West Virginia. Grew up listening to your dad and Joe Nuxhall. They did an excellent job for the Reds even though I always wanted them to lose.
Thom: Mmhmm.
Caller: Cause they were in the same division at that time... I just wanted to say back in last June you referred to me as a monster when I got arrested.
Thom: A what?
Caller: A monster.
Thom: I have no idea what in the world you are talking about, ****.
Caller: The Reds game I got arrested - you wouldn't remember that.
Thom: I wouldn't have any idea.
Caller: I'd like to take this opportunity to, um, when I was like taken below the stadium, you know, I wasn't able to get my $600 worth of property back. I tried to plead with the cops to get it. They wouldn't let me get it. So naturally I became quite angry and, uh, verbally abusive and one of the cops - cause at the time I had these really long sideburns. You know he had me up, yanked my sideburns, and you know, got in my face and was, you know, a little rough with me.
Thom: ****, I tell you what, you know, I'm sorry all that happened to you and and I don't know anything about what you're talking about and I'm sorry that happened but we have a lot of people that want to talk about baseball here tonight and so if you want to call back and talk about baseball, that's great.

The next caller said, "There's a Dodgers fan for you." He asked Thom what he thought about the division this year since he's a Cards fan. He added anyone who thinks Bob is out of place by setting a budget and sticking to it isn't paying attention to our economy now. He said Bill DeWitt in StL is sticking to a similar budget and isn't going to break the bank. Thom said he has a good point and said that a lot of companies are going through hard times. He said the Reds had a budget before the economy hit the skids and they are staying with it and not cutting it. He said people overreacted last week when it was said that the Reds weren't going to go out and spend $7-10M on a RH hitting LFer. He said he was stunned at the reaction. (God, it wasn't as much that as it was Bob speaking out of both sides of his mouth. He hires Wayne to build through the farm system then when they don't win he fires him and says that the losing stops now. Now he says that was taking out of context and then he says they will win this year. It's be nice if Bob could make up his mind.) Thom said that on paper the Reds are the most improved team in the division besides the Cubs.

After commercial, the next caller asked what to expect from the #5 spot in the rotation and what to expect from Jay Bruce - an explosion to stardom or a slower ride. Thom said that some guys burst on the scene and never slow down like Pujols. But then there's a guy like Troy Tulowitski with the Rockies who got hurt in ST and got off to a slow start and by th time July rolled around he was hitting .210. He doesn't think that will happen to Jay but to expect him to be a 35 HR 110 RBI guy is a little too much. As for the 5th starter, Thom said the Reds are still high on Homer and emphasized that if he were still in college, he'd be a senior. (and if I were a frog, I wouldn't hit my butt every time I jumped.) He mentioned the usual suspects of Owings, Thompson, Ramirez, Masset and Maloney. He thinks the 5th starter could be a pleasant surprise.

The next caller said he was concerned about the lack of a LH starter. Thom said he doesn't think that's a big deal and the Angels have not had a LH in the bullpen that has been consistent. Scioscia said that he'd rather have a really good RH pitching to a LH hitter than a mediocre lefty.The caller asked besides Maloney, who do the Reds have for a LH starter. Thom said they have a minor leaguer named Viola but he's projected as more of a reliever than a starter.

The next caller said that he's happy with what the Reds have done and they are a year away no matter what they did this year. He gives Bob a lot of credit for what he's done and if he were Bob he'd be sweating bullets now. Thom repeated that the Reds have not cut the budget and ave brought on some nice pieces. He said he wasn't around when Milton was signed but said that was one of the laughing stock moves in baseball. If the Reds went out and overpaid for someone not named Manny or Burrell at 3 years and $24M people would be whining about it if he didn't produce and he's blocking Yonder or someone else. (Of course a lot of people whined about the LF last year who did produce.) Thom emphasized that the projected Opening Day lineup has 5 RH hitters in it and 4 of them have hit 20 or more HRs at least once. (Oh, but I thought HRs were overrated and the Reds were going to do it with speed and defense this year? My head hurts.)

After commercial, the next caller asked if Dickerson and Gomes didn't work out in ST, would the Reds go after Jim Edmonds and add a million or 2 to the payroll. (I wonder if that was Grande disguising his voice?) Thom said that if the Reds got off to a fast start, he could see them doing something like that. The caller asked who the better LFer would be, Votto or Yonder. Thom said Votto without a doubt and he's a far better athlete than Yonder.

The next caller asked if Javy has been picked up by any other team yet. (It wasn't me, I swear.) Thom said no one has signed them yet. The caller asked if they were going to carry 2 catchers this year. Thom said probably but if Castillo makes the team he could be considered the 3rd catcher. The caller said he was concerned that Tavaras would be another Patterson. (On my mother's life, it wasn't me.) Thom said he wouldn't. He didn't like his stats from last year but this was something they had to do and we'll see if it plays out and works out. (They had to do that? Did someone put a gun to Walt's head?)

After commercial the next caller asked about the new ST complex in AZ. Thom said Goodyear is about 11 miles west of Phoenix and CLE is opening it up this year. The caller said he's going to miss Sarasota and Thom said he would too. He said that's a great place to have ST and surprisingly they don't have another team in there. He said the Reds bent over backwards to stay there.

Thom wrapped up the show congratulating Sean Casey on his retirement and new gig with the MLB network.

This endeth the Reds Hot Stove League show report for 1-27-09. So let it be written. So let it be done.

[Blimpie]

You da man, Chip...

[Raisor]

Chip,

Wouldn't it be easier to just take a hammer and whack yourself in the groin with it 20 times a week?