Gonzalez healthy

[fourrunhomer]

John Fay just reported that Dr. Tim said he would be ready for 100% participation from day one of ST. Pretty good news.

[Z-Fly]

Wow! That seems hard to believe.

[Slyder]

The real test will come when he resumes day to day baseball activities. Its good to hear that Gonzo will be ready. Makes LF more interesting and not in a good way.

[AccordinglyReds]

Glad to hear that. A productive and healthy AGon would really help. It's sucked to see him battle with injuries and his son's health in his first two years in Cincinnati.

[CRedsLarkin11]

I'm really excited to hear this. I really like A Gon. It just seems like I haven't seen him play in forever, hopefully he still has another year left in that body. Unfortunately it wouldn't take much to outperform Hairston/Keppinger especially defensively

[RED VAN HOT]

That improves our left side defense and adds 15 HRs. It frees up Keppinger for backup and pinch hitting, giving us a stronger bench. If EE has learned to throw accurately and Dickerson gets the majority of starts in LF, there should be a substantial improvement in defense. Someone stop me before I get my hopes up again.

[TheNext44]

If this is true, even if Gonzo is only back to his 2007 defense, that should be at least 15 runs better than they were last year. It also would be a huge boost to the pitching staff. That black hole on the left side of the infield was killing them last year. It is much easier to pitch when you don't think you have to strike everyone out.

[Emin3mShady07]

Yeah, and then maybe Kepp could play 3rd base against lefties with EE in LF and dickerson in CF in like a 4 way platoon manuever.

[Captain Hook]

This story can be found on the Reds mlb web site.

I think that last years team had five spots that killed them.1 catcher 2 short stop 3 right field 4 center field and the 5th spot in the rotation.All were terrible.There is now good reason to believe that all of these positions will be improved in 09 with the Gonzalez news.Left field will be down but over all should be a improved team.I still don't think we have contender but we're getting closer.

[CesarGeronimo]

This is good news - at least for now. My fear is that if Gonzalez is healthy, Hairston will end up the everyday left fielder because he's a vet. I may well end up disappointed in how it works out, but I'd really like to see what Dickerson can do if given regular playing time. I think he really may be a late bloomer who won't be as good as he was last year, but just might be a legit starter (sure, it'd be better if he was in center where he belongs, but you take what you can get sometimes).

Anyway, the possibility that Gonzalez may be able to play and provide average (or close to it) defense at SS makes spring training and the start of the season all the more interesting.

[fitz1]

So if Gonzo is really ready, would you prefer Dickerson or Hairston in left?

[Farnsie]

Dickerson... Hands down!

[Slyder]

Originally Posted by fitz1

So if Gonzo is really ready, would you prefer Dickerson or Hairston in left?

Dickerson in a heart beat. Lets at least see if he could be a long term contributor. My fear though is as soon as opening day comes Duhhhsty will start with the "I need someone to hit 2nd" and Dickerson will be relegated to the same place as Hanigan after semi successful month... The Bench.

[Blood Red Path]

Originally Posted by Emin3mShady07

Yeah, and then maybe Kepp could play 3rd base against lefties with EE in LF and dickerson in CF in like a 4 way platoon manuever.

Everybody really needs to let this EE playing LF thing go... the team has made no indication that this is under any type of consideration for any reason; moreover, they have continued to assert the exact oposite- that this absolutely won't happen(they even went as far as to imply that a major reason that Wigginton was not an option to be brought in was that they didn't feel he could play adequate LF everyday, without hardly even addressing the alternative of him playing 3B with EE in the OF).

Between the supposed payroll budget being met, paired with Bob C's optomism and the failure to address the LF issues- I have a feeling that management(at every level) is holding out hope that Alonso will hit so well in ST(OPS 1.000 or more for example) that they could try Votto in LF during March with hopes that Yonder forces his way onto the April roster as the everyday 1B.

I'd say the chances of Votto getting a large number of OF starts this year is much higher than EE.

Needless to say, a line-up with Dickerson in center, Votto in left, Alonso at first, and Bruce in right, would absolutely murder righties right now(and just imagine when they all meet their potential).

[RED VAN HOT]

I apologize if this is the wrong thread to be discussing this, but the good health of Gonzalez, the indications of a Dickerson/Gomes platoon, and the recent signing of Hairston pretty much set the opening day roster.

Infielders: Votto, Phillips, Gonzalez, EE, Keppinger
Outfielders: Bruce, Taveras, Dickerson, Gomes, Hairston
Catchers: Hanigan, Hernandez
SP: Harang, Arroyo, Volquez, Cueto, Owings
RP: Cordero, Bray, Burton, Rhodes, Masset, Lincoln, Ramirez

That leaves one position player spot open. Castillo would be the odds choice because he can catch in an emergency. The versatility of Hairston and Castillo is helpful. I can see everyone getting enough playing time to stay sharp. Pinch hitting from (Gomes or Dickerson), (Hanigan or Hernandez), Keppinger, Hairston, and possibly Owings between starts would be good.

Unfortunately, barring injuries to the above, the spring training invitees must be spectacular to dislodge any of the above. Gomes is probably the most at risk, followed by Dickerson. Veteran players will undoubtedly get the nod unless their spring is several degress below the Mendoza line. I think the biggest losers in this are Hopper, Rosales, Janish, Herrera, Roenicke, Richar, and possibly Bailey.

This means that the Louisville roster is set. The outfield will be so crowded that it may be difficult for deserving AA players like Dorn and Henry to move up. The pitching will be among the best AAA staffs. IMO, many of these players would be getting a shot at the ML in other systems. The Reds system may lack spectacular players, but it is certainly deep.