Mike Stanton a Red

[Gallen5862]

Espn Insider listed Stanton as the 30th best free agent.

[Falls City Beer]

Originally Posted by reds44

You can patch a bullpen together if you have a good closer.

See: the Cardinals in the 2006 playoffs.

Tyler Johnson and Brad Thompson were on the rise; the Reds currently have exactly NO pitchers of that caliber, much less the caliber of a Wainwright.

Hell, the Reds don't even possess a Braden Looper in their current bullpen.

[reds44]

Originally Posted by Falls City Beer

Tyler Johnson and Brad Thompson were on the rise; the Reds currently have exactly NO pitchers of that caliber, much less the caliber of a Wainwright.

Hell, the Reds don't even possess a Braden Looper in their current bullpen.

They were on the rise because they were used correctly.

Like I said, if you have good closer, you can patchwork your bullpen. Wainwright was a good closer.

[jnwohio]

Originally Posted by Scrap Irony

Does this make other bullpenners available? If Santon is the set-up guy (and he probably will be), then at least four the following is sure to be sitting on warmer seats today:



Standridge-- Solid last year, in spurts. The biggest odds against making the team, IMO, as he's been unheralded and unknown largely thorughout his career. Still, he's had a couple cups of coffee and knows a bit about the role as mop-up man. Little trade value.

It was reorted on Marc's blog last week that Standridge had been lost on a waiver claim to the Mets. My guess would be they were trying to sneak him through and got burned.

[M2]

Originally Posted by Falls City Beer

Tyler Johnson and Brad Thompson were on the rise; the Reds currently have exactly NO pitchers of that caliber, much less the caliber of a Wainwright.

Hell, the Reds don't even possess a Braden Looper in their current bullpen.

The Reds did have some interesting bullpen arms in AA this year. That doesn't mean they'll pan out, but there's some talent there.

I'm glad you've come to like Wainwright.

[Falls City Beer]

Originally Posted by reds44

Like I said, if you have good closer, you can patchwork your bullpen..

We'll just have to agree to disagree on this point.

I think the greater imperative is not to spend decent-sized chunks of your payroll on 40 year old relief pitchers.

[pedro]

Originally Posted by M2

I mind that he's the #1 LH PH.

I'm for making that Scott Hatteberg's job.

hard to argue with that M2.

I'd like to see the Reds sign a corner OF, move Dunn to 1B, and put Denorfia in CF.

[vaticanplum]

Originally Posted by Falls City Beer

I think the greater imperative is not to spend decent-sized chunks of your payroll on 40 year old relief pitchers.

Ahem. 39.

Really though, if the deal is really $1 million as reported, that is not a huge chunk of payroll. I see your point if it starts to add up, but we're losing some relievers and their salaries too.

[gm]

Here's hoping Stanton will have more left in the tank than Chris Hammond did

[Spring~Fields]

Originally Posted by vaticanplum

Ahem. 39.

Age before beauty. But I heard pitching was an art.

[Spring~Fields]

Originally Posted by gm

Here's hoping Stanton will have more left in the tank than Chris Hammond did

Appears that Krivsky is consistent, he had similiar pickups for his bullpen and utility players last year.

[Caveat Emperor]

Originally Posted by pedro

hard to argue with that M2.

I'd like to see the Reds sign a corner OF, move Dunn to 1B, and put Denorfia in CF.

A move like that could also potentially free the Reds to package Votto with another player to try and bring some pitching help.

[Jpup]

I am jumping off the Krivsky bandwagon until further notice. The Reds didn't need this. Isn't this why they went and got Bray and Cormier? Stanton is washed up and will get killed in GABP.

[Gallen5862]

This was on the Free weekend preview.
Click here: ESPN.com - MLB - Law: Top 40 free agents (21-30)
30
Mike Stanton

POSITION: Relief Pitcher
AGE: 39 | BATS: L | THROWS: L
2006 TEAM: San Francisco Giants
STATUS: Unsigned
2006 SEASON STATISTICS
GM IP W L BB K ERA
82 67.2 7 7 27 48 3.99


Stanton may have done more for his market value this fall than any other non-Cardinals pitcher in baseball. While it's unlikely that any team will see those eight saves and think of Stanton as a closer -- unlikely, but not impossible -- Stanton showed that not only is he still relevant, but he has value as a setup man rather than as only a lefty specialist.

Stanton's pitching plan is simple: get ahead with the fastball and/or cutter, then finish hitters off with the curve middle-out or down (for lefties) or changeup middle-out to outside (for righties). He cuts most of his fastballs, throwing them at 85-86 mph and touching 88, trying to stay away from solid contact while getting ahead in the count. His curve is slow and has a big break, at 69-71 mph, with good depth; he controls that pitch better than any of his other pitches, and will go for the swing and miss on a curve down when he's ahead of a left-handed hitter. His changeup is a little easier to pick up as he slows his arm, but it has some late fade, and makes him more effective against right-handed batters than a lot of lefty relievers today.

Of course, Stanton turns 40 in June, so this could all go south quickly, but a short-term commitment here should pay off nicely.

[PuffyPig]

Originally Posted by Falls City Beer

Another good point--this team's bench sucks.

In November most teams bench sucks.

They are generally filled by FA signing of the fringe players and AAAA guys.

Right now we have Denorfia, Ross, Valentin, Castro and ???

That's not a bad start. Getting a Craig Wilson type player to platoon with Hatteberg would make it look much better.