What do you want? Left Field

[edabbs44]

Well it sounds like Jonny will be back so it looks like we will be headed for a platoon.

[dougdirt]

Originally Posted by edabbs44

Well it sounds like Jonny will be back so it looks like we will be headed for a platoon.

He was here this year and still, we didn't see a platoon in the sense that would make sense. Gomes hit for a .709 OPS vs RHP this year, something he has always done, and yet got 375 PA against them.

[Benihana]

Originally Posted by OnBaseMachine

Give me option #4 or 5. Either one. I mentioned Matt Kemp and Grady Sizemore in another thread. I've seen Jacoby Ellsbury's name thrown out there by someone on here a while back. If he can be had cheaply I wouldn't be opposed to that. David DeJesus is another interesting option. He's got a career .360 OBP and plays good defense. The latter two could more than likely be acquired without giving up one of our top young arms.

This.

[edabbs44]

Originally Posted by dougdirt

He was here this year and still, we didn't see a platoon in the sense that would make sense. Gomes hit for a .709 OPS vs RHP this year, something he has always done, and yet got 375 PA against them.

We also saw him giving way to Nix before he got hurt and they also acquired Edmonds, so they were definitely less than impressed with him down the stretch.

[Scrap Irony]

I wish they'd find a legitimate LF masher who can also play defense well enough to not be an embarrassment.

But those guys aren't exactly easy to find nor are they all that cheap.

I'd settle for 270/360/450 bat with a plus glove.

They may be able to cobble that together with what they have, but it would involve sending Gomes to the small half of a strict platoon.

I still hold out hope that an Alonso/ Gomes platoon wouldn't be so bad defensively and might rake.

(Of course, I also still hold out hope for Paul Householder, so what do I know?)

[OnBaseMachine]

From the Cincinnati Enquirer:

Jocketty said the Reds would "probably" pick up Gomes' option.

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/2...-look-familiar

Amazing. If the Reds go into 2011 with Jonny Gomes as the starting left fielder then the offseason will have been a failure, IMO.

[Brutus]

Originally Posted by OnBaseMachine

From the Cincinnati Enquirer:



http://news.cincinnati.com/article/2...-look-familiar

Amazing. If the Reds go into 2011 with Jonny Gomes as the starting left fielder then the offseason will have been a failure, IMO.

Answering "probably" to the question of whether or not an option will be picked up for a little more than a million dollars is a pretty big leap to assuming he's thereby going to start and the Reds won't do anything to address the position in the offseason.

I'm not getting my hopes up, just in case, but let's give it a chance to play out before we get all hot and bothered by a one word response.

[OnBaseMachine]

Originally Posted by Brutus the Pimp

Answering "probably" to the question of whether or not an option will be picked up for a little more than a million dollars is a pretty big leap to assuming he's thereby going to start and the Reds won't do anything to address the position in the offseason.

I'm not getting my hopes up, just in case, but let's give it a chance to play out before we get all hot and bothered by a one word response.

This is from another article in the Cincinnati Enquirer:

The Reds' brass likes Jonny Gomes in left, in part because he'll make "only" $1.8 million next year. Despite Gomes' clubhouse effervescence, he's clearly a defensive liability, and he's never had a full season of offensive production.

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/2...layers-excited

[edabbs44]

Originally Posted by OnBaseMachine

From the Cincinnati Enquirer:



http://news.cincinnati.com/article/2...-look-familiar

Amazing. If the Reds go into 2011 with Jonny Gomes as the starting left fielder then the offseason will have been a failure, IMO.

If we have learned anything over the last year, it's that this franchise knows what they are doing. I think that they have earned our trust. After seeing all the gun jumping that people have done in the past 2 years just to be proven wrong time and time again, maybe its time to sit back and watch this play out.

The season has been over for less than 2 days.

[Tornon]

Maybe we could sign Austin Kearns while we try to bring along a Heisey or a Sappelt or whoever the Reds end up tabbing as their LF for the future

[Brutus]

Originally Posted by OnBaseMachine

This is from another article in the Cincinnati Enquirer:



http://news.cincinnati.com/article/2...layers-excited

While that's not encouraging, it's also at risk of being posturing by the club or simply a message partially lost in translation by the author.

Jocketty has always been one to play things close to the vest, typically. While the Reds could absolutely be planning to pick up his option and start Gomes in left, they also could be misdirecting or masking their real intentions. It's only October 12. I didn't suspect we were going to be given a road map to the Reds' offseason strategy so soon. I think we'll get a better picture heading into December after the 40-man roster is initially set and signings and trades start picking up close to the winter meetings.

[edabbs44]

Originally Posted by OnBaseMachine

This is from another article in the Cincinnati Enquirer:

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/2...layers-excited

So I am listening to a podcast with Buster Olney today and they are talking about why TB would start James Shields in Game 2 over Matt Garza. Olney couldn't understand it and figured that this is the only plausible reason: They are going to trade a pitcher this offseason and will likely be dealing Shields. What would it do to his market value if they threw him to the back of the bullpen for the playoffs? They'd get nothing for him because everyone would know that he is not in their plans for next season.

Moral of the story? Don't take everything at face value. If teams knew that Cincy was desperate for a LF, that would hurt their position in the market.

And while we are at it, here's a thread from the archives which we may want to learn a little bit from.

http://www.redszone.com/forums/showt...hlight=payroll

[SMcGavin]

How about Jay Bruce for 2011 cleanup hitter?

Dusty is probably going to want to go RH there though, and I am not buying Rolen repeating his 2010 numbers (or playing 120+ games). LF seems like the most obvious spot to find a guy for this role (then you could go 3-4-5-6-7 of Votto-LF-Bruce-Rolen-Stubbs).

[VR]

Originally Posted by SMcGavin

How about Jay Bruce for 2011 cleanup hitter?

Dusty is probably going to want to go RH there though, and I am not buying Rolen repeating his 2010 numbers (or playing 120+ games). LF seems like the most obvious spot to find a guy for this role (then you could go 3-4-5-6-7 of Votto-LF-Bruce-Rolen-Stubbs).

I think Votto and Bruce together in the lineup vs. righties is genius. They've both proven the ability to hit lefties, thus elimnating the lefty/lefty fear.

[edabbs44]

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Shin-Soo Choo, the Indians' best player, is quoted in the Korea Times that he prefers to "transfer" to a team that wins more.

http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index...ms_shin-s.html

Pretty cool that, for once, the Reds fit the bill.