That Ryan Ludwick's name is being tossed out there makes sense. Cardinal connection to Jocketty? Check! Veteran creaminess for Dusty? Check!
A couple of things probably need to be pointed out. While Ludwick would be an upgrade it would not be a significant one.
Here is Jonny Gomes OPS vs Lefties over the last 3 seasons
2011 .972
2010 .857
2009 .914
By contrast Ludwick is a career .763 OPS against lefties. So if you get right down to it what the Reds need in LF right now with their current configuation is a guy that can platoon and hit righties. I thought Fred Lewis would be the guy. So far it has not happened, but there are a lot of other things they could look at to fill that role before they trade for 4 months of Ryan Ludwick.
The other thing is regardless of what you think of Heisey he has value. He can run, he can play defense and and most importantly he is cheap and under control for several more years. I would have no probably sending him in a package with some other guys for a signifcant piece like a front line starter or a Matt Kemp type bat, but moving him for 4 months of a marginal upgrade on a team that already leads all of baseball in runs seems like a misallocation of assets.
In addition to spell check I run all my posts through Veteran Creaminess check before hitting the enter button.
That being said it does seem like GMs like to deal for players they are familiar with. And it seems, to me anyway, that Dusty likes veterans. So a deal for Ryan Ludwick certainly would not surprise me.
Honestly, if the powers that be have decided Heisey is a 4th or 5th outfielder and no more, go get Ludwick. Make the trade and don't look back.
I would rather give Heisey the oppurtunity to be our everyday left fielder than trade him for Ludwick.
I'd rather give Heisey a chance. If that doesn't work out, bring up Dorn or Alonso or Francisco or a healthy Sappelt. Give some of these guys a chance. They have nothing left to prove in triple A. Find out what we got. We know we got in Gomes, Lewis, etc.
Sometimes you catch lightning in a bottle.
What does Ludwick bring to the table? He's not a very good player at this point in his career and only had one really good year and a couple of decent ones. Other than 08 his numbers are not much different than what Gomes has done in the past. I would much rather have Heisey but that is just me.
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