Looking back, did DanO "win" any of his moves?

[REDREAD]

I was thinking back on DanO's trades, and I was wondering if he won any of them.

It's obvious now that DanO lost big on the Reitsma trade.

I think now we can safely say that he got ripped off on the two Philly trades he made where he sent Lidle and Jones there. Hancock is gone. Machado is a bust. Elizardo Rameriz is not going to be a major league pitcher. I think we got two other prospects still in the system from those trades. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think they're really on the radar. In any event, Philly got two pitchers for the pennant drive from us for nothing. Heck, Lidle turned into a long term solution for them.

I guess we'll need two more years so see how the Randa for Geranamo-Chick deal turns out. I'm really not that excited about Geranamo. Maybe Chick will end up being a decent bullpen arm. Too soon to call this a win or a loss.

Mosely for Ortiz -- Considering how much Ortiz was paid and the performance he gave us, it's hard for me to call this a "win". Maybe we can call it a push, since Mosely didn't do anything either.

I think the consensus here is that Womack was a bad trade

Am I leaving anything out? If so it's not intentional.

I mean, it's absolutely amazing that a GM could potentially not win a single trade in 3 years (or however long we was here). He did ok on a few FAs (Mercker, Weathers, Randa, and although some disagree I'll include Aurillia as well).. But considering the relative amount of money he spent on FAs, his batting average is pretty poor there too.

[IslandRed]

I don't know that any trade was a real win. Now, I'll cut some slack on the Jones, Lidle and Randa type deals. Trading away a journeyman rent-a-player at the deadline is a classic low-risk, low-reward scenario; most players acquired in those types of deals never turn out to be anything.

To me, the biggest indictment of O'Brien was how few deals he made, given the teams' needs and unwieldy roster construction. The situation called for an active approach, not a passive one. Of course, given his track record, I guess we can be thankful for the damage not done.

[redsmetz]

I think the Randa and Aurillia signings were his best, although I think Aurillia was badly handled and made for bad chemistry. The Womack trade is bad simply because it was so completely unnecessary. We had no need whatsoever for what he once was and, I agree, it's questionable whether he will ever be that again. I think a Yankee fan summed it up nicely when they asked about the players they received, "Are they breathing? Not that that is a deal breaker." . I'm not sure his drafts have been that great either and stocking the farm system was despicable and that was supposedly his strong suit. I think he will live in history as an abject failure.

joe

[TRF]

I think Javon Moran was one of the players in one of the Philly trades. I like him a lot, and think he's going to make the biggest trides this year. Great speed hits for average and has a good OBP to go along with it. no power, but he seems like he could be a very good leadoff hitter.

Until Bong washes out, I'll hold out on calling a trade for a middle reliever a HUGE bust. I also think the Reds should have kept Nelson. I like both the Lizard and German, though I think they are the same pitcher. Lizard needs some oomph, but has great control. Germano is the same, both need to learn when to NOT throw a strike ie expand the zone.

However, he did have the cajones to DFA Jimenez and Graves. I think he DFA'd Jimmy Haynes too. I also liked the way he handled Kearns last year. I notice there are no threads about his weight this spring.

To me, his 2005 Draft was outstanding. His first 4 picks all seem like legit prospects that could make the majors within the next 3 years. Some even sooner (LeCure).

DanO wasn't devoid of good qualities, but he just didn't have enough to make him a good GM.

[westofyou]

Looking back, did DanO "win" any of his moves?

Just the first one.

The con he sold to Carl that he could turn the franchise around.

[Chip R]

I heard that he won a game of Tetris once.

[Krusty]

O'Brien was definitely the anti-Bowden.

[paulrichjr]

Originally Posted by TRF

I think Javon Moran was one of the players in one of the Philly trades. I like him a lot, and think he's going to make the biggest trides this year. Great speed hits for average and has a good OBP to go along with it. no power, but he seems like he could be a very good leadoff hitter.

Until Bong washes out, I'll hold out on calling a trade for a middle reliever a HUGE bust. I also think the Reds should have kept Nelson. I like both the Lizard and German, though I think they are the same pitcher. Lizard needs some oomph, but has great control. Germano is the same, both need to learn when to NOT throw a strike ie expand the zone.

However, he did have the cajones to DFA Jimenez and Graves. I think he DFA'd Jimmy Haynes too. I also liked the way he handled Kearns last year. I notice there are no threads about his weight this spring.

To me, his 2005 Draft was outstanding. His first 4 picks all seem like legit prospects that could make the majors within the next 3 years. Some even sooner (LeCure).

DanO wasn't devoid of good qualities, but he just didn't have enough to make him a good GM.

I agree with the draft stuff. He did make a couple of good moves signing guys like Randa. Some of the guys that he drafted could be showing up in a couple of years and could certainly make major impacts. One thing about DanO was that he stuck with what his plan was which was to get better through the draft. That was his long-term goal and he stuck with it. Was that good? No. Not if you want fans for the next 5 years. I just think he sold Carl on the need to develop using the farm and seemed to forget about 2004 and 2005.

[dougdirt]

I think the Cory Lidle Trade was a good one. Elizardo and Javon Moran for a guy with a 5.32 era. Ramirez and Moran are both still young (both are 23 I believe). Ramirez was in the top 10 in the international league ERA last year. Moran hit .353 in Sarasota and .301 in Chattanooga last year.

The Randa signing was good, as was the trade of him.

Rich Aurilia signing was a good one. It wasnt hit fault Miley gave him a job over FeLo, but after he came back from his injury, he performed well, especially at the plate.

His 2005 draft appears to be very good, although it may be a little early to tell. There are quite a few guys to keep your eyes on from that class though....and you cant say that about many Reds drafts since 98.

All that said, I think Obrien had a lot of help in both making certain deals(Milton) and not making some deals (Casey and Wilson) from Carl.

[TRF]

The Randa signing was awful. Freel could have handled 3B until EE arrived, but flipping him for Chick and Germano was ok.

Don't get me started on RA. blech. blech squared.

[TRF]

Hey EX BRAVEDAD, How is Bubba doing in SD? are they assigning him to AAA?

[dougdirt]

TRF, the guy hit .343 with RISP last season, .282 overall. How is that an awful signing?

[westofyou]

Originally Posted by dougdirt

TRF, the guy hit .343 with RISP last season, .282 overall. How is that an awful signing?

Use the search function, that argument as been around more than Paris Hilton.

[marcshoe]

Originally Posted by dougdirt

Rich Aurilia signing was a good one. It wasnt hit fault Miley gave him a job over FeLo, but after he came back from his injury, he performed well, especially at the plate.

No one is blaming Aurilia for the signing; they're blaming O'Brien. And he does share the responsibility for Aurilia's playing over FeLo.

[dougdirt]

WOY, I am sure it has been around a lot, becuase its a good arguement. for $600,000 you got .282, 14 and 68 RBI.