Let's say they sign Dye and let's even be generous and say they're able to pry Escobar away from Atlanta (both big ifs in their own right). Even then, it would probably take moving Arroyo and part of Harang's contract to add a big bat.
Their offense would be quite a bit better, but do you really they have the pitching staff to contend or that the dollars would be there to add meaningful pitching after adding a Rolen and a big bat?
^^^^^
OMG, like this guy gets it.
The rest of you (other than Stormy) I don't know about.
Only kidding, kind of. I apologize to anyone I have been abrasive with in this thread. I'm drinking a few beers and the wife is asleep, so she can't hold me and tell me it's gonna be alright. I'm a little pissed, but I'll be okay.
Tomorrow (which is now, but I'll consider tomorrow when I wake up...9-ish) I'll support our newest Red.
But for now...
I think a lot of our fanbase is so starved for any kind of meaningful attempt at change that they're star struck by the Rolen name and not really asking how does this actually help us compete.
It will be fun watching Scott Rolen play, I've always been a fan.
But it sucks knowing it's going to be a lot of years before the Reds contend again. It's ok though, I've got practice with this sort of thing being a Bengals fan and all. Hopefully the Reds can avoid the complete and total Pittsburgh Pirates franchise death spiral (they're already half way there as far as consecutive losing seasons go), but it's not looking too good right now. We'll probably need another owner and GM before the Reds do anything, Castellini doesn't have the money or doesn't want to spend it and I don't think Jocketty knows how to win with a small payroll.
Hopefully I'm wrong, I'd love to be.
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
It's worth noting that the splits for Rolen show that there are only a few ballparks where he hits better than in a Cincinnati ballpark. And it seems like he wanted this deal to happen. Playing for the "home team" could give his career a boost. If he's healthy he could possibly be a top 5 3rd baseman when you look at his offense, splits, and defense. It just depends on that back of his.
He didn't oversee the major league team in Oakland. Director of minor league operations for 5 years and Director of Baseball administration for 9 years. Never won a thing in St. Louis until LaRussa got there, I'd argue LaRussa made Jocketty a winner and not the other way around. The guy is a whiz at PR and running a major league operation from an administrative perspective but not much for unearthing a whole lot of unknown talent. Most every player he ever traded for was an established player, he doesn't seem to like to trade for potential stars. Which is fine for right now but this is why the cupboard was pretty bare when he left St. Louis. How can you draft young talent when you don't know it or don't know that you aren't drafting much of it.
Interesting that he's had sustained success only when he had a HOF manager who is an excellent strategist and a pitching coach turning pumpkins into pitchers. Yeah I'd say that is fortunate for him.
"You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one."
--Woody Hayes
Yep, he never won anything during that one strike shortened season that he was GM and Torre was the manager. That prove it was all LaRussa those other 13 seasons, and Walt had nothing to do with it.
And the Cards farm system is bare right now, because so much of it is on the major league roster. Molina, Pujols, Shoemaker, Ryan, Rasmus and Ankiel are all home grown.
"Imagination is more important than knowledge." -- Albert Einstein
Another way to look at the Rolen trade is that the Reds traded EE and Roenicke for Rolen, then sold Stewart for $4M.
Rolen costs the Reds around $9M more this year and next than EE. He's probably worth about $6-11M more, depending on how much he plays.
$4M is a lot to pay for a top 50 prospect. Odds are about 1 in 3 that he'll be an everyday player. If that happens, he's worth close to $10-12M, so $4M is about right, maybe a bit high.
Another way to see how the trade could be considered even, depending on how much Rolen plays.
"Imagination is more important than knowledge." -- Albert Einstein
Let me say this. I like Scott Rolen, always have but I believe this is a bad move.
Rolen is nearing the end of his career, he ain't what he used to be. The Reds traded some valuable chips in hopes a guy in his mid 30's with a history of injuries can stay on the field long enough to improve the defense and provide leadership in the clubhouse. I honestly hope he does but I doubt it.
The Cincinnati Reds need productive players, sad thing is they have a history of not being able to identify productive players. The young trading chips plus the 11 million dollars Rollen will be paid in 2010 causes me to wonder just what kind of production they expect out of him.
The moans and groans about how much Adam Dunn was paid filled the airwaves, local sports pages, blogs and message boards. I'd bet a dollar to a dougnut both Edwin and Adam will produce more runs than Rolen in 2010.
I hope I'm wrong.
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