"If I Was the GM, I'd......"

[Edskin]

--Cry
--Quit
--Jump into the river

I root for three professional sports teams (Redskins, Reds, and Cleveland Cavs). Combined, these franchises have all provided much more heartache than glory over the past 20 years or so, with the arrival of Lebron really being the only thing from keeping me at rock bottom.

So, please keep that in mind with what I'm about to say:

NEVER, EVER, in my ENTIRE LIFE have I EVER been as hopeless about ANY of my teams as I am with the Reds right now.

I really just want to cry. I've evolved from frustration and anger to sadness and utter bewilderment.

One saving grace as a die-hard sports fan is that you always have hope. If you fancy yourself knowledgeable within the game (as most of us around here do), you can always come up with those moves that will vault your team back into contention. Normally, even in the darkest of Reds seasons, I can find a handful of things I'd like to build around, and I can come up with an outline of how to get us back on track. Then, I hope the front office sees the same thing.

But right now, I have NO idea what they should do.

The roster is AWFUL. So much worse than I thought it was. The implosion of what looked to be a promising rotation is beyond depressing.

We can't count on ONE of those guys to be a solid frontline starter for us in the future. Not one.

Harang is proving to be a solid 4th starter, nothing more. Arroyo is a good 5th starter. Cueto still has some upside, but right now, he's an average starting pitcher at best. Owings is horrible. Volquez should no longer be considered part of the organization. The Reds should treat him (in terms of his place in the building process) as if he does not exist. Anything we get from down the road will be a plus. I have a hard time seeing Homer succeeding with the Reds.

So, looking ahead to 2010 and beyond, we have a grand total of ZERO starting pitchers that excite me, with Cueto and Homer still providing glimmers of hope.

And we all know how much work needs to be done offensively. We probably need 4 new starters if we're going to field a competitive offense next year-- and the next Gomes or Nix ain't gonna cut it.

The bullpen is fine, although beginning to lag. But I really don't consider the bullpen a "bright spot" considering three of the best arms there are old or ancient.

Votto, Phillips, Massett, Hanigan, Hererra.

Those are the 5 players I'm pretty comfortable with in terms of their roles for the Reds in the future-- and the latter three or more "role player" types.

I know Walt is working on the farm system, but the call-ups we've seen this year have been terrible, and his asinine signing of Taveras truly makes me question him. The Rolen trade is utter desperation.

I don't really "blame" anyone right now-- every owner, manager, and most players that have come through here in the past 10 years or so have a hand in this. Walt and Dusty just seem overwhelmed by the task at hand-- not sure either has the patience or skill at this point to get us back on track.

I just really have no idea what I want them to do. Hope is lost. I truly see no silver lining. It's awful.

If you put a gun to my head and asked me what to do, I think I'd try and trade Phillips, Bruce, and Votto-- no, I'm not kidding. I'd add in Cueto, Volquez, Harang, and Bailey too.

I'm starting to think that the Reds should go down a radical path of unloading EVERYONE in an effort to infuse the organization with 18-22 year old high-end prospects. Votto could land a king's ransom. Phillips could bring a bunch, and Cueto as well.

I really don't care one bit if we slip from a 73 win team to a 64 win team--makes no difference to me.

The question you have to ask yourself is this:

Do you see Votto/Phillips/Cueto being part of a winning team in Cincy?

I don't. No way will those guys be around when the rest of the team gets good-- and along the way, their careers will only be further damaged by losing night after night. This kind of ineptitude has a way of draining even the best players.

But in the end, almost nothing the Reds could do right now would excite me. They will literally need to add 2-3 starters who are ALL CLEARLY better than Cueto in the off-season to even really grab my attention. Not gonna happen unless we trade for Halladay and he brings along two clones.

For the first time, I really think we've rock bottom-- I can't think of how we'd get any lower.

[15fan]

1982

The Braves won the West that year only 8 games over .500.

The Reds finished 28 games back.

How bad were the 1982 Reds?

Dan Driessen and Cesar Cedeno tied for the team lead in RBI with...57.

Two Reds hit double digits in home runs: Driessen with 17 and Bench with 13.

Mario Soto threw 257.2 innings with an ERA of 2.79, including 13 complete games, and you know what his record was? 14-13. 1 game over .500.

In the rabbit ball era, the 1982 Reds didn't exactly tear it up on the basepaths, either. Eddie Milner led the team with 18 SBs.

The only reason to look fondly back on 1982 is that Brad "The Animal" Leslie made his debut.

Otherwise, 1982 was as dark and miserable as any baseball season ever has been or ever will be.

[pedro]

1982

The Braves won the West that year only 8 games over .500.

The Reds finished 28 games back.

How bad were the 1982 Reds?

Dan Driessen and Cesar Cedeno tied for the team lead in RBI with...57.

Two Reds hit double digits in home runs: Driessen with 17 and Bench with 13.

Mario Soto threw 257.2 innings with an ERA of 2.79, including 13 complete games, and you know what his record was? 14-13. 1 game over .500.

In the rabbit ball era, the 1982 Reds didn't exactly tear it up on the basepaths, either. Eddie Milner led the team with 18 SBs.

The only reason to look fondly back on 1982 is that Brad "The Animal" Leslie made his debut.

Otherwise, 1982 was as dark and miserable as any baseball season ever has been or ever will be.

Yeah, but they had Larry Biitner...Larry Biitner!

[TRF]

Brad Lesley.

Remember him at the end of TWIB? During the closing credits? I believe he just struck out the side against Montreal, Raines, Oliver, and Dawson? Do I have that right?

ah 1982.

[Kc61]

The current Reds could be good if they spent the money for three players. A power hitting left fielder. A shortstop who gets on base and can hit leadoff. A starting pitcher better than Arroyo.

SS
Phillips
Votto
LF
Bruce
Rolen
Dickerson/Stubbs
Hanigan/vet catcher

New good pitcher, Cueto, Harang, Bailey, fifth starter, say Travis Wood

With some luck -- say Burton comes back strong in the pen, say Bruce hits, say Bailey pitches, this is a real good team, at least for the NL Central.

They are not that far away but they need to be dedicated to winning and spend some money.

[RedsBaron]

The current Reds could be good if they spent the money for three players. A power hitting left fielder. A shortstop who gets on base and can hit leadoff. A starting pitcher better than Arroyo.

All the Reds need to do is somehow add to their lineup "in-their-prime" Ted Williams (power hitting left fielder), Barry Larkin (shortstop who gets on base and can hit leadoff) and Greg Maddux (starting pitcher better than Arroyo). Unfortunately, Barry and Greg are retired and Ted is a bit dead.
The Reds would be better if they could add the players suggested by Kc61, but I'm not sure who is available to fit the bill, and I sure don't expect the Reds to do so.

[Unassisted]

Sorry to nitpick here, but I must defend the memory of my all-time favorite Red. It's L-E-S-L-E-Y, Brad Lesley.

[MikeS21]

The current Reds could be good if they spent the money for three players. A power hitting left fielder. A shortstop who gets on base and can hit leadoff. A starting pitcher better than Arroyo.

SS
Phillips
Votto
LF
Bruce
Rolen
Dickerson/Stubbs
Hanigan/vet catcher

New good pitcher, Cueto, Harang, Bailey, fifth starter, say Travis Wood

With some luck -- say Burton comes back strong in the pen, say Bruce hits, say Bailey pitches, this is a real good team, at least for the NL Central.

They are not that far away but they need to be dedicated to winning and spend some money.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure you will find five people who can agree who that LF, SS, and pitcher should be. And I don't think you can find five people who would agree on who to give up in order the land those players. One thing is certain, FA is NOT the way to fill those holes.

[Kc61]

Unfortunately, I'm not sure you will find five people who can agree who that LF, SS, and pitcher should be. And I don't think you can find five people who would agree on who to give up in order the land those players. One thing is certain, FA is NOT the way to fill those holes.

If the Yankees or Red Sox needed those three pieces, they would fill them without any difficulty. I understand the financial limitations, and I know folks can disagree on the players. All I'm saying is that the team is fixable. There are some good pieces already in place.

I'm not suggesting any of this will happen. I rather doubt that it will.

And I disagree about free agency. You can get good free agents. But you have to compete for the good guys, not wait for the non-tenders usually.

[redsmetz]

If the Yankees or Red Sox needed those three pieces, they would fill them without any difficulty. I understand the financial limitations, and I know folks can disagree on the players. All I'm saying is that the team is fixable. There are some good pieces already in place.

I'm not suggesting any of this will happen. I rather doubt that it will.

And I disagree about free agency. You can get good free agents. But you have to compete for the good guys, not wait for the non-tenders usually.

I agree. Folks like to mock Jocketty and Baker here saying "we're close," but the truth is we're not that far, particularly given the overwhelming number of games lost to injury.

I'm trying to keep my head up. I thought I shared this the other day, but don't see it now, but I said to my wife after another loss, "do you think the Reds will win another game this season?". She was upstairs and called down, "Ah, honey, don't be so pessimistic, it doesn't become you." And they've lost two more games since. Last night I tweaked (that's what you do on Twitter, right?) that having rained all day, it was a shame they were saying we'd get the game in because if rained and rained, it would guarantee we wouldn't lose.

Still, I love the Reds and hope for the best. It's become a bizarre season for a myriad of reasons; some of the club's making, some just freak things (like getting Rolen and having him out right away due to the beaning - we are absolutely snakebit, as they say!).

[NJReds]

Otherwise, 1982 was as dark and miserable as any baseball season ever has been or ever will be.

Except for the All-Star Game.

Dave Concepcion homered and was the MVP.

Soto tossed a couple of scoreless innings.

Tom Hume got the save.

[HokieRed]

What we need from you, then, Kc, is a priority listing. What comes before what, given the fact we're not likely to be able to do the three things you mention? How do we get there? Let's say, for interest sake, we net 7 million of Arroyo's salary, continuing to pay the other 4.

[15fan]

Yeah, but they had Larry Biitner...Larry Biitner!

Biitner was the only guy on the roster to hit .300+ (.310 in 184 ABs) in 1982.

Biitner's .369 OBP led the team, and his .413 SLG tied him with Cendeno for 2nd on the team behind Driessen's .421.

Those numbers aren't based on minimum ABs or PAs, either. That's anyone who stepped into the batters box at all that year.

For more futility in 1982, I present the entire OF:

Milner (452 PAs) - .268 / .338 / .378
Cedeno (543 PAs) - .289 / .346 / .413
Householder (455 PAs) - .211 / .265 / .326
Walker (275 PAs) - .218 / .298 / .322

730 Combined PAs went to the sub-.220 duo of Paul Householder and Duane Walker.

Here are some reference points for those #s:

Pokey Reese (3,138 career PAs): .248 / .307 / .352
Corey Patterson (3,743 career PAs): .252 / .291 / .405
Jason LaRue (3,001 career PAs): .232 / .317 / .399

The good news is that the Reds were rewarded for their 1982 futility with the #2 pick in the 1983 draft. They used that pick to draft Kurt Stillwell, who went to KC for Danny Jackson. Most Reds fans would agree that was a pretty good trade.

Of course, it's also worth pointing out that the Red Sox drafted Roger Clemens with the #19 pick in 1983.

[15fan]

Sorry to nitpick here, but I must defend the memory of my all-time favorite Red. It's L-E-S-L-E-Y, Brad Lesley.

My bad.

[Chip R]

Sorry to nitpick here, but I must defend the memory of my all-time favorite Red. It's L-E-S-L-E-Y, Brad Lesley.

"That's Hedley."