Possiblities for new bullpen pitchers?

Chris Michalak - 2.96 ERA at Louisville
Tom Shearn - 2.85 ERA
Scott Chiason - 2.73 ERA
Mike Venafro - 3.00 ERA
Phil Dumatrait - 3.28 ERA

I haven't check if all are active in Triple A right now, but those are some of the top pitchers.

I say DFA Weathers, Mercker, Hammond, Yan, and send Burns back to AAA ... bring up these guys. It's worth a shot, they can't do much worse, and remember Coffey came out of the same situation not being a big name hot prospect and has come up and done a good job, same with Ramirez ... time for some new blood.

[RedLegSuperStar]

Originally Posted by GOREDSGO32

I say DFA Weathers, Mercker, Hammond, Yan, and send Burns back to AAA ... bring up these guys. It's worth a shot, they can't do much worse, and remember Coffey came out of the same situation not being a big name hot prospect and has come up and done a good job, same with Ramirez ... time for some new blood.

You want to DFA Weathers, Mercker, Hammonds, and Yan.. But send Burns (13.1 Innings 8.86 ERA) to AAA?

I'm sure with Weathers, Mercker, Hammonds, and Yan.. you could get some value in a trade come the deadline, But to not want to DFA a guy who struggles at the ML level. Also how do you fill the voids you leave in the roster once you DFA 4 players?

[IrishDavidKY]

Great idea if your trying to blow up the barn. Terrible idea if you just trying to kill the mouse!

Kentucky Philosophy 101

[Patrick Bateman]

Originally Posted by RedLegSuperStar

You want to DFA Weathers, Mercker, Hammonds, and Yan.. But send Burns (13.1 Innings 8.86 ERA) to AAA?

I'm sure with Weathers, Mercker, Hammonds, and Yan.. you could get some value in a trade come the deadline, But to not want to DFA a guy who struggles at the ML level. Also how do you fill the voids you leave in the roster once you DFA 4 players?

Burns has options, the others don't. There is no reason to simply get get rid of Burns since he still is fairly young and could improve in the future. At worst he's depth to have in the minors.

[Redhook]

Originally Posted by Austin Kearns

Burns has options, the others don't. There is no reason to simply get get rid of Burns since he still is fairly young and could improve in the future. At worst he's depth to have in the minors.

I agree, there is no reason to get rid of Burns quite yet even though he has performed miserbly up here so far. His AAA numbers are phenomenal....

W  L  ERA  G  GS  CG  SHO  SV  IP   H  R  ER  HR  HB  BB  SO  WHIP  HLD  GF 
2  0  1.27 17   2  0    0    0  28.1 23 4   4    1   1  5  27  0.99  3  1

So he has potential to be a good major league pitcher. Will it ever happen? Who knows. He may turn out to be the Brandon Larson of pitchers, but we shouldn't give up on him quite yet.

[kheidg-]

I'd hang on to Weathers, Mercker and Hammond for the time being. However I would call up Shearn for Yan and Dumatrait for Burns. If you must get rid of Hammond make it Shackelford who gets the call.

Put Burns in Triple A because he has like a 1.27 ERA, and the Bats are in title contention, you ever think of that?

[Redhook]

Originally Posted by GOREDSGO32

Put Burns in Triple A because he has like a 1.27 ERA, and the Bats are in title contention, you ever think of that?

While I agree that Burns should be in AAA, the importance of Louisville winning any title is about as important as the Pirates and Cubs duking it out for 5th place in the Central this year. Louisville's sole purpose is to provide us with caliber players whenever we need them, even though they're few and far between right now.

[jimbo]

I know a lot here want Hammond gone, but I still think he is a keeper. He pitched a nice two innings today and kept the Indians down until Coffey came in the 9th for the save.

Redhook seriously, shut up .. I live in Louisville and if there was a MLB team here we would outdraw Cincy a lot of the time. Hell the Bats were over capacity at 11,000 .. which is only a few thousand less than what the Reds draw at some points in time this year. Saying that is disrespectful, and I'm glad Reds management doesn't have that attitude. That kind of attitude is what made the Redbirds leave St. Louis affiliation, because they made our Triple A team absolutely barren. Not to mention the University of Louisville (my team) has basically made UC its you-know-what in every sport in the past few years and over their histories.

Burns is not getting paid ANYTHING, releasing him when he could help at the minor league level is a joke and the response of someone who doesn't know baseball. You'll just be putting someone in his spot anyway with the same salary that may or may not be as good, and with a 1.27 ERA, very much likely NOT. If you released every player who won't be a star in the major leagues you would have like 4 players in all of your minor leagues. If he's not doing anything, send him back down here to keep the team rolling and keep morale high by contributing to the Bats newfound success.

[jimbo]

Originally Posted by GOREDSGO32

Redhook seriously, shut up .. I live in Louisville and if there was a MLB team here we would outdraw Cincy a lot of the time. Hell the Bats were over capacity at 11,000 .. which is only a few thousand less than what the Reds draw at some points in time this year.

Jack up the ticket prices to where Reds tickets are and I bet you won't see those kind of attendance numbers in Louisville. The big reason why so many minor league teams are successful with attendance is because it is still affordable for most fans.

I kind of agree with Redhook, titles and championships in the minors are great for the locals and the players but their main purpose is to develop players more so than winning. If Burns is never going to be able to help the Reds at the major league level, he should be sent away so he doesn't take the place of someone who may.

[Redhook]

Originally Posted by GOREDSGO32

Redhook seriously, shut up .. Burns is not getting paid ANYTHING, releasing him when he could help at the minor league level is a joke and the response of someone who doesn't know baseball.

First of all, thanks for telling me to shut up. Real classy.

Second, I never said the Reds should release Burns. Look at my post, #5, and you'll read that I think we should keep him. A little research on your part would help before you try to insult other RedZone members and go off on your AAA tangents.

[Reds4Life]

Originally Posted by GOREDSGO32

Redhook seriously, shut up.

We dont need this type of stuff, if you disagree with someone, fine. You aren't going to tell members to shut up though.

I wouldn't advise doing it again.

Can't we all just get along? Now, go to your rooms...both of you!

As far as Yan goes, the guy can bring it to the plate. With that kind of velocity, you try and see if he can FIND the plate. If so, he's very difficult to hit. Remember how wild Scott Williamson was? A total headcase. Maybe if Ruhle had a chance to work with him, Williamson might have been a totally different pitcher, success-wise.

You be disrespectful to me, I think you should get it back.

"importance of Louisville winning any title is about as important as the Pirates and Cubs duking it out for 5th place in the Central this year."

That uncomment is called for. Tell that to all the fans here that buy season tickets that the season is meaningless and the guys that play every day, not just to get to the major leagues but to win.

Maybe a lot is the ticket prices, but the fact that its major league baseball too should be reason enuogh to offset that. Louisville is probably close to, if not THE best minor league baseball supported city out there. Dayton is also another. When minor league baseball came back here in the early 80's, the team averaged almost 30,000 a GAME. And yes thats in minor leagues. I think that is still a record. The Reds organzation I think knows how lucky they are to have that kind of fan support in the minor leagues, even if you don't.