Anyone else concerned we still haven't heard anything? It's probably just Gomes and his agent holding out until the last minute for a possible Major League contract from another team (and they probably won't get any takers) but I'm a little bit worried that this is still unresolved.
And I don't blame Gomes for not jumping on a minor league contract right away. The guy is better than that. I would love it if the Reds were able to get it done though -- what a bargain.
I think he knows he will be on the Reds roster come Opening Day.. it's just I'm sure he is getting more offers now that reports were claiming that Gomes is on the verge of accepting a Minor League deal. Teams probably came calling. I have a feeling that he won't be a Red in 2010. Instead the Reds would look toward the in house options of Dickerson, Heisey, and Nix.
Tim McCarver: Baseball Quotes
I remember one time going out to the mound to talk with Bob Gibson. He told me to get back behind the batter, that the only thing I knew about pitching was that it was hard to hit.
"My mission is to be the ray of hope, the guy who stands out there on that beautiful field and owns up to his mistakes and lets people know it's never completely hopeless, no matter how bad it seems at the time. I have a platform and a message, and now I go to bed at night, sober and happy, praying I can be a good messenger." -Josh Hamilton
I'm not arguing that he deserves a multi million dollar contract; I'm arguing that he's not an abysmal player. I've already shown that relative to all hitters he was average-ish in 2006 and 2007. He was pretty bad in 2008, but given how little he played and his injury problems that year, I don't think it's fair to assume that he showed his true skill level that year.
Here's how he compared to his direct peers as a hitter from 2006 through 2008.
Gomes
2006 .216/.325/.431/.757
2007 .244/.322/.460/.782
2008 .182/.282/.383/.666
MLB average for LF
2006 .278/.354/.464/.818
2007 .277/.347/.453/.800
2008 .269/.344/.442/.786
MLB average for DH
2006 .263/.347/.463/.811
2007 .268/.354/.447/.801
2008 .255/.338/.433/.771
He doesn't come out looking as good here, but that's to be expected since the best hitters tend to play LF and DH. That said, other than when he was hurt, he still appears to be a respectable hitter. Is he an All Star caliber player? No, but he's also not abysmal. I'm not a big fan of his OBP either, but it's acceptable given the power he provides.
May just be me personally, but OBP and defense aren't exactly the top thing I'm looking for out of my #7 hitter in the lineup in LF. He has the catcher and pitcher behind him. I'd much rather have a guy that can knock in the guys in front of him, which is EXACTLY what Gomes does.
Domo Arigato, Here Comes Joey Votto
---TRF
"I do what I want to do and say what I want to say."
--Bronson Arroyo
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