Tavares Signed, Sealed, and Delivered.. (according to ORG)

[Slyder]

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs...cincinnati.com

http://hotstove.mlblogs.com/archives...n_taveras.html

So says John Fay and hot stove MLB blog....I guess we have our lead-off man now...

We shall see, but I fully expect Duhhhsty's printing press to be working over time to make sure he has 160 lineup sheets with Willy Tavares playing CF and leading off regardless of how much he helps/hurts the offense with his free swinging.

*Please note the sarcasm*

Dude you gotta bat your CF first and your SS second I dont care who they are Dude!

I played with Hank Aaron and he told me a winning recipe requires those two things!

I present to you a Duhhsty Special.

1 Willy Tavares CF
2 AGon/Keppinger SS
3 Jay Bruce RF
4 Brandon Phillips 2b (Because dude you cant have 2 lefties batting back to back, 1 ab might make a team burn an extra pitcher!)
5 Joey Votto 1b
6 Edwin Encarncion 3b
7 Chris Dickerson LF
8 Ramon Hernandez C (dont kid yourself that Hannigan at this point is anything more to Duhhsty than once a week)

[HalMorrisRules]

The board implodes in 3....2.....

[Nasty_Boy]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You have to be kidding! You can't steal 1st base Walt! We would have gotten more production from any Stubbs Dickerson combination! This move blows, and Walt is officially becoming Dustyized!

[DTCromer]

Why would you have Ramon Hernandez hitting 8th?

[Bip Roberts]

I'm pretty much done with this season before it starts.

[CesarGeronimo]

Walt even says in the Reds' news release that Tavares will bat at the top of the order and play centerfield. This is a huge blow to Walt's credibility, in my view. I'll never root for another team, but I'll pay less attention to the Reds in losing season after losing season as this kind of incompetence continues.

[UGADaddy]

i wonder if there is any chance of dickerson starting in left field.. even if he does, i dont see him leading off over taveras. if nothing else, it is a major improvement over our last centerfielder, and this gives stubbs a little more time to develop.

[Slyder]

Why would you have Ramon Hernandez hitting 8th?

Dude you dont want to hit the same handed batter back to back dude. You might make the other team burn an extra pitcher dude!:

[Nasty_Boy]

We are going to have to have Harang, Volquez, Arroyo, and Cueto be lights out along with Cordero, Rhodes, Lincoln, and Burton. This team will not score enough runs to win next season, and they aren't good enough defensively or pitching wise to prevent a significant amount of runs. What a dumb signing! Cory Patterson Part Duex!

[Nasty_Boy]

i wonder if there is any chance of dickerson starting in left field.. even if he does, i dont see him leading off over taveras. if nothing else, it is a major improvement over our last centerfielder, and this gives stubbs a little more time to develop.

He is worse than Patterson! He's not as good defensively, the OBP is comparable, but Taveras hits for zero power. And not just HR power, he doesn't even hit doubles! Dickerson, Stubbs, and Heisey could produce better than Willy! Hell Norris Hopper is the same player minus a little speed! Willy has to get on base at a better than .350 clip if he's going to be worth anything and he's only done that once.

[Nasty_Boy]

Anyone that defends this signing is out of their minds! He has 1 positive quality and that is speed... and without getting on base, speed means jack!

I really want to puke! 2 flipping years!!!!! Why? Did we really have to give him 2 years?! What a joke!

[CesarGeronimo]

One really scary thing is how Walt talks in the Reds' announcement of this deal about Tavares giving the Reds the speed they need at the top of the lineup. Sounds just like Dusty.

So is Walt giving Dusty what he "needs" in his lineup? Was LaRussa the brains, the strategist in St. Louis, not Walt? If we've got Dusty playing much of a role in driving the ship in Cincy, we are screwed.

[UGADaddy]

He is worse than Patterson! He's not as good defensively, the OBP is comparable, but Taveras hits for zero power. And not just HR power, he doesn't even hit doubles! Dickerson, Stubbs, and Heisey could produce better than Willy! Hell Norris Hopper is the same player minus a little speed! Willy has to get on base at a better than .350 clip if he's going to be worth anything and he's only done that once.

Their OBP's are not even close to comparable. patterson career OBP= .291 and Taveras= .331. Taveras is also a better career defender if you look at range factor. Taveras also steals more bases. But, patterson does hit for more power, and boy are we gonna miss his 10 bombs last year!

Bottom line, its not even close. Taveras>>>>>>>> patterson

[Mitri]

Yeah, I could actually swallow this this deal if I knew he'd be down in the 8 or even 9 spot. But he'll see 500 abs at the leadoff spot, making outs like none other.

At least they're getting serious about the defense. If this deal is coupled with a Bob Abreu signing it'll make a bit more sense. Abreu and a SS with a decent OB% would actually counter Taveras' ineptitude with the bat. But I have no confidence that this will happen.

I will give my final verdict when the offseason is over. My feeling is Walt gets another OF and is done.

[Bip Roberts]

Catcher bats 8 under Dusty Baker. Just like CF and SS are 1/2