Krivsky's deals give Reds a chance - Buster Olney - ESPN Insider

[paulrichjr]

Very Very Interesting in my opinion. One of the first positive articles about the trade that I have seen..

Krivsky's deals give Reds a chance
I called Reds general manager Wayne Krivsky the other day to talk about Cincinnati's trade with Washington, and I really didn't mean anything negative when I referred to Bill Bray and Gary Majewski as middle relievers. Honest, I didn't.
To me, Mike Timlin is a middle reliever, and so were Jeff Nelson, Mike Stanton and Ramiro Mendoza on the championship Yankees; underrated Padres pitcher Scott Linebrink is a middle reliever, and the overpowering Joel Zumaya is a middle reliever.

Krivsky thinks the phrase "middle reliever" is inexact, with some negative connotations. "It depends on what vernacular you use," he said.

His vernacular is more precise. For Krivsky, there are closers and there are middle guys and there are long guys, and there are guys with the ability to ferry a lead to the closer. He says Majewski and Bray fit the last description, and in fact, before he made the trade with Washington, he asked his scouts a related question about each: "Is this a guy who can handle a pressure spot in the seventh or eighth inning?" What he was told was, yes, they are.

Many general managers and scouts and talent evaluators thought that Krivsky made a poor trade last week. "I don't get it at all," said one veteran executive.

They think he paid too much in giving up outfielder Austin Kearns and shortstop Felipe Lopez. I disagreed, even before dialing up Wayne and having the chat about bullpen vernacular.

Here's why I think the move could turn out fine for Cincinnati -- and why, in the end, Krivsky's deal has a chance to look smart: The value of middle relievers (or set-up men, or whatever you want to call them) is increasing, like oil stock.

Just about every contender is looking for bullpen help these days, with GMs and scouts reporting that there's virtually nothing out there, unless you want to take a shot at a Roberto Hernandez. Well, Krivsky got the bullpen help he wanted and needed. "I'm scrambling to find the best pitching available," he said.

Two weeks ago, the Reds had a bullpen they could not win with, and Krivsky could have been conservative and played it safe, and eventually the Cincinnati relief corps would've torpedoed the team's chances for playing in the postseason.

But he made a deal and gambled on Eddie Guardado, hoping that Everyday Eddie would benefit from the adrenaline of being in a new situation with a new challenge. Then he went out and got two quality arms in Bray and Majewski. Cincinnati may or may not make the playoffs, in the end, but the Reds won't be taken down by their vastly improved bullpen.

Kearns and Lopez are young and talented, both 26 years old, and both could turn out fine. But the Reds couldn't make the playoffs with the team they had, and now they can. And if you want a set-up man, or a middle reliever, you have to pay -- a trend that gained momentum in the offseason when, for the first time, more money was spent on relievers than on starting pitching. Kyle Farnsworth got $17 million to be the Yankees' set-up man, the Red Sox spent decent cash on Julian Tavarez and Rudy Seanez and got the best bargain in baseball with their signing of Timlin, and the Cubs paid big cash for Bobby Howry and Scott Eyre.

The Mets' trade for Duaner Sanchez looked odd at the time it was made -- a swap of a starting pitcher for a middle reliever -- but it might turn out to be the best move of the offseason, this side of Krivsky's Bronson Arroyo-Wily Mo Pena trade.

The volatility of middle relievers is well-established. Just consider the recent rise and fall of Cliff Politte of the White Sox as perhaps the best example. It may turn out that Bray and Majewski don't an especially long shelf life, that Kearns and Lopez last longer as productive players.

But you need solid middle relief to win. The Indians, devastated by the departure of Howry, will tell you that. So will the Yankees, who haven't been able to recreate the deep bullpens of their dynasty years, the biggest reason they haven't won a World Series in nearly six years.

More than a dozen teams will be fighting over the scraps of the middle-relief trade market in the next 14 days, but Krivsky will not. He got his guys, whether you want to call them quality set-up men, as Krivsky did, or middle relievers, as Washington general manager Jim Bowden referred to them after the trade was completed.

Krivsky now has a bullpen good enough to contend. The Reds have a chance to make the playoffs, and if they get there, it'll be because he was willing to pay a high price for something he had to have.

The Reds keep on winning, and the bullpen has looked solid.

[OnBaseMachine]

Buster Olney likes the trade? Oh boy, now I really hate the trade.

[pedro]

Originally Posted by OnBaseMachine

Buster Olney likes the trade? Oh boy, now I really hate the trade.

This is ironic for those who like it as well.

[Tommyjohn25]

Originally Posted by OnBaseMachine

Buster Olney likes the trade? Oh boy, now I really hate the trade.

I can't stand Olney either, but this was a refreshing article to read.

[The_jbh]

4 days after the trade we are leading the wildcard winning 4 straight games that were close and needed the bullpen to pull it off. Granted the new guys werent used that much, the trade is accomplishing what it needed to do so far, stabilizing the pen

and you gotta remember both relievers are young so its not like he dealt felo and kearns for a jose mesa type guy. Hopefully coffey Bray and Maj will be staples of the pen for the next 4 to 5 years. Remember in 99 it was the pen that carried us to that playoff game to get to the playoffs with Mets... like Onley said, in theory the bullpen shouldn't be what stops us from getting to the playoffs like it was looking b4 the break


and i know u cant get excited about 4 games but the Rockies were tied with us in the wildcard b4 the series

[NJReds]

Krivsky thinks the phrase "middle reliever" is inexact, with some negative connotations. "It depends on what vernacular you use," he said.

Wayne said the same thing to Joe and Steve when he was on with them this weekend during Saturday's game. He got very defensive.

[NJReds]

Well I've learned one thing from this trade.

There's not one analyst on TV, radio or web that is liked or respected.

[BoCcc2832]

Like Olney said, the trade made the Reds go from a probable non-playoff team to a playoff-bound team. I want to see people complaining about this trade when we make the playoffs in October.

[RedsMan3203]

When the trade...

You aren't running out there a White, Yan,, Hammond every other day...

You don't have to call on Coffey everytime out when you NEED an out....

You now have 3 good arms in the pen... Its going to be spread out and used to the good... I loved the trade... Still loving it....

But, all in all... We'll find out what we are made up coming up the last week of July.

[Patrick Bateman]

Originally Posted by RedsMan3203

You aren't running out there a White, Yan,, Hammond every other day...

ya, but now you are running the likes of Clayton/Castro out there everyday.

[keeganbrick]

Originally Posted by Austin Kearns

ya, but now you are running the likes of Clayton/Castro out there everyday.

Well we need the defesive part almost as bad as we needed bullpen help. Not to mention Castro's great hitting since he arrived in Cincy, wouldnt it be something if that continued.

[registerthis]

Originally Posted by keeganbrick

Not to mention Castro's great hitting since he arrived in Cincy, wouldnt it be something if that continued.

it wouldn't only be something, it'd be unheard of.

Check back in a month, he'll be hitting .250, slugging at or below .300, and will have proudly reclaimed the title of lineup blackhole. I'm glad he's been productive thus far, but don't expect this to continue.

[Steve4192]

Originally Posted by registerthis

it wouldn't only be something, it'd be unheard of.

I wouldn't go that far.

Lousy hitters have been known to play over their heads for months or even a year at a time. It's not a great percentage bet, but it does happen. Just look up Tony Womack's 2004 season or Clayton's 1999 season for proof. Stuff happens, and even the worst hitters can catch lightning in a bottle.

[vic715]

Originally Posted by registerthis

it wouldn't only be something, it'd be unheard of.

Check back in a month, he'll be hitting .250, slugging at or below .300, and will have proudly reclaimed the title of lineup blackhole. I'm glad he's been productive thus far, but don't expect this to continue.

I'm sure you're right but I had lost faith in FeLo as well. Every at bat he ran the count to 0-2 or 1-2 and had himself at a big disadvantage.I will predict he won't hit much above .250 this season himself. Add those fielding mishaps and I'm content to take whatever Castro can give.

[KoryMac5]

Olney covered the Yankees pretty well during their dynasty and knows the value of a good bullpen. Good to see him stepup and really analyze the trade instead of looking at it on the surface.