CBS Sportsline Reds Preview

[reds44]

http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/teams/preview/CIN

Team Info
2006 record: 80-82 (3rd in NL Central)
Manager: Jerry Narron, 3rd year as manager (180-208)
Stadium: Great American Ball Park ( 42,059; grass)

LINEUP
No. Player Comment
1. R. Freel, RF Three straight years in the vicinity of .273 and 36 steals
2. A. Dunn, LF Working hard to avoid .234 avg. and 194 strikeouts of '06
3. B. Phillips, 2B We'll find out if he's ready to bat third in the order
4. K. Griffey Jr., CF At 37, a new position and 37 HRs short of 600
5. E. Encarnacion, 3B Now that he's the starter, can he take it to the next level?
6. S. Hatteberg, 1B Jeff Conine should see time against LHPs
7. D. Ross, C Third among NL catchers with 21 HRs in '06
8. A. Gonzalez, SS Disappointing year in Boston but still has the glove

PITCHING
Rotation Comment
1. A. Harang (R) First Reds hurler to start consecutive season openers since Pete Harnisch (2000-01)
2. B. Arroyo (R) Led the major leagues with 240 2/3 innings pitched last season
3. K. Lohse (R) 23-36 with 5.34 ERA the past three years
4. M. Belisle (R) Fantastic spring but two DL stints last season
5. E. Milton (L) Homer-prone and rough spring
Closer Comment
D. Hermanson (R) Allows Weathers and Stanton to perform more comfortable setup roles

TOP PROSPECTS
1. Homer Bailey, RHP
Top pitching prospect was sent to the minors but that was always the plan
2. Joey Votto, 1B
Huge bat blocked by just Hatteberg
3. Jay Bruce, OF
Potential star and strong defensively
4. Drew Stubbs, OF
'06 first-rounder could start moving up the ranks
5. Josh Hamilton, CF
Reds gambled on troubled former No. 1 overall pick; could help in the outfield if he keeps his drug addiction under control

Scott Miller's Take

Telltale indicator as to how things are going in Cincinnati this summer: If acquisition-a-minute general manager Wayne Krivsky is wheeling and dealing like he was last year, then you know things aren't going as smoothly as planned. Krivsky has remade practically his entire roster, and not a moment too soon, either. His box score line from 2006 reads: 36 players acquired. Whew.

Strengths
Krivsky is attempting to turn the emphasis back to pitching and defense, and he has partly succeeded. Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo, in this city, are a significant 1-2 in the rotation. Arroyo led the majors with 240 2/3 innings pitched last season, most by a Reds pitcher since Jose Rijo's 257 1/3 in 1993. Arroyo and Harang, meanwhile, became the first pair of Reds pitchers to work 230 or more innings since 1998, when Danny Jackson and Tom Browning did it. That's a big reason why the Reds stayed in contention so long last summer -- and it's what must happen again in '07 if the Reds are going to stick around into September.

Weaknesses
To address the poor defense from '06 -- the Reds ranked 15th in the NL with a .979 fielding percentage -- Krivsky signed shortstop Alex Gonzalez. The significance? Gonzalez committed only seven errors in 475 total chances last season for the Red Sox. The thinking was to keep Brandon Phillips entrenched at second base and let him develop; the Reds think he can be a Gold Glover there someday.

Difference Makers
Eric Milton and Kyle Lohse. A couple of old Minnesota Twins will be under the gun to back up Arroyo and Harang in the rotation. If they do, it could be a fun summer in Cincinnati. If they don't, even Ryan Freel and Ken Griffey Jr. swapping positions -- Griffey in right field! -- won't have much of an impact.

Player Spotlight

Josh Hamilton, CF
The Reds are taking a chance on him. If he keeps his drug addiction under control and stays clean, he can help in the outfield.

What's New

The Reds named Dick Pole as their new pitching coach to lead the staff of talented and young pitchers. This will be Pole's 19th year as a major league coach.

[Redlegs]

Fair assesment, I think. At least he gave the Reds the benefit of the doubt by saying this summer could be fun if Lohse and Milton come through. That's more than that chump from SI did.

The more I read the "experts" the more I come to know there are no "experts". GO REDLEGS!

[Always Red]

Originally Posted by Redlegs

Fair assesment, I think. At least he gave the Reds the benefit of the doubt by saying this summer could be fun if Lohse and Milton come through. That's more than that chump from SI did.

The more I read the "experts" the more I come to know there are no "experts". GO REDLEGS!

I totally agree. This year could go either way, IMO. This team can post anywhere from 72-85 wins, depending on how things shake out.

There are a lot of ? marks; but then again, I think the depth of the entire team in general is better than it has been in years.

Losing Deno hurt badly, IMO, because most folks don't believe that Junior or Freel are going to be able to play 150 games (Freel never has, and the last time Junior did was 1999). Hamilton will be clearly in the spotlight. How he responds to the pressure, both on and off the field, will be vital to this team's success.

The best thing about Hamilton's drug problem was that it was not a reaction to stress (ie:success- which can be very stressful, as in the case of Strawberry or Gooden), but from pain, when he became hooked on Vicodin after injury (ala Brett Farve).

I think it's gonna be a great ride, a very interesting season. I'm not sure about all of the moves WK makes, but he has a penchant for finding diamonds in the rough for a very cheap cost (and also, to be fair, for overpaying for veteran talent). He's definitely a step up from DOB, IMO.

[Redlegs]

Originally Posted by Always Red

He's definitely a step up from DOB, IMO.

Agreed, although the verdict will be out on O'Brien until the minor league talent he drafted developes or fails to. I thought O'Brien was brought in by an ownership group that wasn't committed to winning and asked to replinish a minor league system in which the cupboards had become very bare throught the Marge Schott regime followed by Leather Pants as GM. Bowden didn't care much about the minors either, IMO.

[Always Red]

Originally Posted by Redlegs

Agreed, although the verdict will be out on O'Brien until the minor league talent he drafted developes or fails to. I thought O'Brien was brought in by an ownership group that wasn't committed to winning and asked to replinish a minor league system in which the cupboards had become very bare throught the Marge Schott regime followed by Leather Pants as GM. Bowden didn't care much about the minors either, IMO.

All that is true, and I do think that O'Brien did a very good job of drafting amateur talent. But that is just one part of the job. I don't think he did a very good job of scouting his own major league team.

And to continue to be fair to O'B (and why not? it's Sunday morning, it's beautiful outside, and I'm in a great mood, as the baseball season begins tonight!) he and Krivsky both had different owners to work with. My feeling is that WK has a much, much longer leash than DOB had. There were too many cooks in the kitchen when OB was GM, and he had to contend with Allen as well as Uncle Carl. The two of them were more concerned with things other than winning baseball games; there were different agendas at work. WK does not have to deal with that.

[Redlegs]

At the end of the day, I'll take Krivsky all day long.