What is the Reds' "Plan"

[registerthis]

I was just talking with my fiancee last night, explaining to her non-baseball-centric self about the follies of my favorite club. She listened with some amusement, and then asked "Well, what is their plan? Why do you think they're making--or not making--these moves?"

And I pondered it for a second, and realized that I hadn't a bloody clue.

Do they honestly think the team can be competitive with the rotation and bullpen they have? I have to think that, somewhere deep down, DanO realizes that this pitching staff is among the worst in all of baseball, and no amount of raking by the offense is going to overcome that.

So, are they trying to sell tickets with a couple of marquee names in the lineup?

Are they trying to catch lightning in a bottle, as the '99 team did, and play over their heads for an entire season?

Are they so cost-conscious that they refuse to sign worthy players to LT contracts, and so wary of a fall off in attendance that they would rather play aging vets with a "name" over younger, unproven (but likely superior) players?

Are they honestly trying to build the team from the ground up and have an entire front office that is woefully incompetent?

Are they trying to win now and have deluded themselves into thinking that guys like Womack, Aurilia and Hammond are the missing parts?

Or, is there no plan at all? Are the Reds being run like a ship without a rudder, bumping into icebergs and other debris, leaking water all over the place with a crew simultaneously threatening mutiny and to plunge overboard?

I honestly don't have an answer...i think you could make a strong argument for several of the scenarios above, and perhaps I left some out. I dunno. What I do know is that the reds FO somehow took an awful team from last year and, through celever maneurvering and strategic thinking, managed to make it a little bit worse. And that's really saying something.

[KronoRed]

Plan to not suck as much as we could.

[flyer85]

Originally Posted by KronoRed

Plan to not suck as much as we could.

I disagree, I think the plan is to take suckitude to a new level.

[KronoRed]

Originally Posted by Ricardo Cabesa

I disagree, I think the plan is to take suckitude to a new level.

Nah, as long as someone else sucks more the Reds go to bed smiling.

[Johnny Footstool]

The plan has to involve trading vets like Womack, Aurilia, and Hammond to contenders in exchange for semi-prospects.

Assuming, of course, that the Reds actually have a plan to succeed.

[Blimpie]

Now that we have re-signed Jason Larue, my wife thinks the Reds can stand pat. Apparently, he is dreamy...

[Joseph]

Originally Posted by Blimpie

Now that we have re-signed Jason Larue, my wife thinks the Reds can stand pat. Apparently, he is dreamy...

We need to start a club.

[Ravenlord]

Originally Posted by registerthis

Do they honestly think the team can be competitive with the rotation and bullpen they have?

i honestly believe that O'Brien & Friends think they can be.

Are they trying to catch lightning in a bottle, as the '99 team did, and play over their heads for an entire season?

that's the reality that will have to happen to hit 500 let alone win 90+ games.

Are they so cost-conscious that they refuse to sign worthy players to LT contracts, and so wary of a fall off in attendance that they would rather play aging vets with a "name" over younger, unproven (but likely superior) players?

i fear that it's more like they believe that McCoy and Brennamen are reflective of how a vast majority of fans think of players and the game. i also think this front office, like the Reds media believe that veteran presence and playoff experience are two of the most relavent things for a team.

Are they honestly trying to build the team from the ground up and have an entire front office that is woefully incompetent?

they probably believed most everything was in place, and that they simply needed some 'winning pitchers who are battlers' and some guys with 'playoff experience' to set the team into place.

Are they trying to win now and have deluded themselves into thinking that guys like Womack, Aurilia and Hammond are the missing parts?

Womack is the starting Reds 2B according to the Reds homepage, and Narron has basically said he'll be leading off. O'Brien siad for all intents and purposes, that he believes Womack's disaster last year was playing in the AL.

Or, is there no plan at all? Are the Reds being run like a ship without a rudder, bumping into icebergs and other debris, leaking water all over the place with a crew simultaneously threatening mutiny and to plunge overboard?

i honestly think that would be better than the current state of affairs.

[RFS62]

There are plans, and then there is the execution of the plan.

I believe that DanO had quite a plan when he interviewed. He told them exactly what they wanted to hear. He told them that he could rebuild the infrastructure and develop talent from within, just like the Twins and A's. He sold them on this approach as the only way a small market team could compete.

That was the long term plan.

I believe he told them that we weren't all that bad right now, and with a few key acquisitions we could be "competitive".

Competitive. The holy grail. Not champions. Competitive.

And to an old school businessman like Lindner, it must have sounded reasonable. Get the infrastructure in order, become competitive in the short term, and build for the future.

Problem is the guy in charge of the few "key acquisitions" was DanO. And when the purse strings loosened last winter, he wasn't up to the task.

He's in over his head. I don't know for sure what he's done with the infrastructure. I'm not there. I know with absolute certainty what he's done for the big league team.

Institutionalized mediocrity.

[Chip R]

Originally Posted by RFS62

There are plans, and then there is the execution of the plan.

I believe that DanO had quite a plan when he interviewed. He told them exactly what they wanted to hear. He told them that he could rebuild the infrastructure and develop talent from within, just like the Twins and A's. He sold them on this approach as the only way a small market team could compete.

That was the long term plan.

I believe he told them that we weren't all that bad right now, and with a few key acquisitions we could be "competitive".

Competitive. The holy grail. Not champions. Competitive.

And to an old school businessman like Lindner, it must have sounded reasonable. Get the infrastructure in order, become competitive in the short term, and build for the future.

Problem is the guy in charge of the few "key acquisitions" was DanO. And when the purse strings loosened last winter, he wasn't up to the task.

He's in over his head. I don't know for sure what he's done with the infrastructure. I'm not there. I know with absolute certainty what he's done for the big league team.

Institutionalized mediocrity.

I think that pretty much sums it up. I honestly think they are trying to build through the farm system but they really haven't done too good of a job so far. Last year's draft showed promise but it's still going to be a few years before any of those players can contribute on the big league level. But they fear actually backing up the truck and going on a full rebuilding mode on the big league level because they fear attendance will drop like a rock. That's why they go after guys like Aurilia and Womack because they don't quite trust the youngsters to make mistakes on the major league level because an error or a strikeout may lose a game for them. I do believe that they think the pitching is what it's not cracked up to be but what can you do about it? Basically their plan is to tread water until the young pitchers are ready.

[savafan]

I'm sick of hearing competitive, I want to win. I'm tired of hearing baseball fans talk about Billy Beane and Moneyball like they are the second coming of Jesus Christ. Billy Beane and the Oakland A's haven't won a damn thing. The plan should be to win year in and year out. Not playing to win is playing to lose, and that is unacceptable.

Rant over.

[RedsBaron]

I've posted it before: Yes, DanO and the Reds may have a plan, but Custer had a plan at Little Big Horn--it just wasn't a good plan.

[deltachi8]

Originally Posted by savafan

I'm sick of hearing competitive, I want to win. I'm tired of hearing baseball fans talk about Billy Beane and Moneyball like they are the second coming of Jesus Christ. Billy Beane and the Oakland A's haven't won a damn thing. The plan should be to win year in and year out. Not playing to win is playing to lose, and that is unacceptable.

Rant over.

This morning on the local sports station in Buffalo they were talking how the Sabres captains (Drury and Briere) pulled the team aside this year and said no more of this nonsense frm the past of hoping to get to .500. We want to win.

Hoping or trying for .500 or to be competitive may or may not get you there, but it most certainly keeps your eyes of truly winning. Its really a distraction to make fans or teams feel like they are accomplishing something great, when really they are just avoiding suckitude.

[Ravenlord]

what exactly did Billy Beane have to do with this?

[savafan]

Originally Posted by Ravenlord

what exactly did Billy Beane have to do with this?

Don't let facts get in the way of a good rant.

What I was saying is if the plan isn't good enough to win, then it simply isn't good enough. So many here would like for Beane's plan in Oakland to be adopted by the Reds. Why? How has it worked for the A's?