Kullman on the radio tonight

[CougarQuest]

Brad Kullman will be on Andy Fuhrman's show tonight (700 WLW), for those that are interested to hear Kullman's point of view and answer questions.

[KronoRed]

If he's on with Furman he won't be asked or talk about anything important.

[Marty and Joe]

I'd be listening if I was going to be around....I'd be particularly interested if someone asked him for an update on the Cornell situation.

[creek14]

Let him come to RedsZone and answer a few questions.

[REDREAD]

What time is furman's show tonight?

[CougarQuest]

I was hoping to hear:

Who is the PTBNL for Gabe White, or at least what type of player?

Who is the PTBNL we gave up to the Rockies?

What is the latest on Cornell?

Is this team going to go for the WS next year or are we in another 3 yr holding pattern? (although he won't give a straight answer)

What are the Reds plans for Graves, Casey, and KGJ? (although he won't give a straight answer)

What is the future of WMP with the Reds?

[westofyou]

Let him come to RedsZone and answer a few questions.

Let's invite him.

We could ask him to come to a 'town hall chat" and give him the option to seek press from the Reds end.

Make it easy, allow him to set any "guidelines" if he so chooses, if he only wants to answer a set number of questions the board should vote on them.

Get someone with some people skills to write the initial letter, state that we have a large well informed fan base cross section that is interested in exploring the Reds future, past the usual sound bites and rhetoric.

Kullman was accessable to neyer last year in an interview, he should be accessable to the fans of the franchise he works for.

[creek14]

Originally posted by CougarQuest
I was hoping to hear:

Who is the PTBNL for Gabe White, or at least what type of player?

Who is the PTBNL we gave up to the Rockies?

What is the latest on Cornell?

Is this team going to go for the WS next year or are we in another 3 yr holding pattern? (although he won't give a straight answer)

What are the Reds plans for Graves, Casey, and KGJ? (although he won't give a straight answer)

What is the future of WMP with the Reds?
I took the liberty of emailing those to the Furball. (without the "straight answer" comments.) :evilgrin:

[Redsland]

"So you and Maddox are both co-GMs, but who really wears the leather pants here?"

[CougarQuest]

Redread, Furball is on from 6-9pm

Thanks creek, I was just getting ready to do that.

WOY, I don't know if we want the Reds to know about this site. They might try to charge us money for using the teams name to discuss the Reds, or they might try to trade us for a STBNL (Site To Be Named Later). ;)

I went ahead and sent the questions also, and I did include the comments that he won't answer the question. I figured that if he got several of the same questions, he might actually ask them.

[Chip R]

Originally posted by westofyou
Get someone with some people skills to write the initial letter, I pick REDREAD. ;)

Actually, Kullman may be up for this. He was at the BP pizza feed earlier this season.

[Redsland]

Originally posted by CougarQuest
...or they might try to trade us for a STBNL (Site To Be Named Later)...[/B]
A whole site? I doubt it. They'd probably trade us for one of those little AOL minisites, or a couple of Yahoo member pages. Oh, and some cybercash, of course. ;)

[creek14]

I nominate RFS or M2 or Redsland or RedStorm to write the letter.

[Chip R]

Originally posted by creek14
I nominate RFS or M2 or Redsland or RedStorm to write the letter. Not Red Storm. Not unless Kullman likes letters the length of Russian novels. ;)

[LINEDRIVER]

....and to think that Brad was operating the radar gun at Cinergy Field just a few years ago. (actually,....he was the low bidder on the asst. GM job)

He has probably been taking practice questions from the Reds FO staff this afternoon.

He can use the standard fill in the blank answers from the two big books on John Allen's desk. "How To Break Up A Decent Ballclub" by Dick Wagner and the most recent "How To Fib Without Your Nose Growing" by John The Liar Allen.

[15fan]

Sure...go ahead & ask him to come here as himself.

He'll have to toe the party line & speak in generalities.

If I were in his shoes, I'd be more inclined to simply stop by from time to time with a faceless user ID who just happens to have some connections to the front office. He could be a little more liberal with the information he could share...

[creek14]

Originally posted by 15fan
If I were in his shoes, I'd be more inclined to simply stop by from time to time with a faceless user ID who just happens to have some connections to the front office.
I've heard that happens. Not him, but others.

[Redsland]

Originally posted by creek14
I nominate RFS or M2 or Redsland or RedStorm to write the letter.
Here's mine:

Dear Mr. Kullman;

The Cincinnati Reds are in the midst of an important transition, as you well know. Fans everywhere are eager to hear you speak about this organization’s vision, its goals, and its future.

It is my pleasure to be able to provide you with this opportunity. I am affiliated with a web site that is home to over one thousand Reds fans from as close as Cincinnati and Dayton, and as far away as Puerto Rico and Germany. These fans are among the most knowledgeable, passionate, and entertaining baseball people you will ever meet.

It would be our distinct pleasure if you would participate in a virtual town hall meeting with our members. You could participate from your home or office over the internet at any time of your choosing, and we’d be happy to abide by whatever restrictions you like. If, for example, you could only give us an hour of your time, we’d be thrilled to have it.

After this experience, I know you’ll be invigorated to see so many people who love the Cincinnati Reds as much as you do. You’ll understand why these fans have been left wanting by the sound bite approach to modern media coverage. And you’ll understand that we hunger to hear straight facts delivered by people who know what they’re talking about.

Please contact me at your earliest convenience so that we can discuss any technological or procedural concerns. I look very forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely yours;


Name
www.redszone.com

[Chip R]

Nice letter, Redsland. :thumbup: How could he refuse an invitation like that?

[RFS62]

Outstanding job, Redsland.

Far better than I could have done.


:beerme:

[CougarQuest]

It's on now. Kullman is taking questions from fans via phone calls, apparently also.

It's over at 7:30

[GAC]

Originally posted by creek14
Let him come to RedsZone and answer a few questions.

That's like inviting Osama Bin Laden to come to the White House for tea! :evilgrin:

[GAC]

Originally posted by westofyou
Let's invite him.

We could ask him to come to a 'town hall chat" and give him the option to seek press from the Reds end.

Make it easy, allow him to set any "guidelines" if he so chooses, if he only wants to answer a set number of questions the board should vote on them.

Get someone with some people skills to write the initial letter, state that we have a large well informed fan base cross section that is interested in exploring the Reds future, past the usual sound bites and rhetoric.

Kullman was accessable to neyer last year in an interview, he should be accessable to the fans of the franchise he works for.

That is an excellent idea though woy. If he has ever heard of Redszone, and knowing the membership role, it would really be a great "PR" move on his part with a certain segment of the fan base.

But certain guidelines would have to be set...to protect Brad! :evilgrin:

[LINEDRIVER]

Furman is asking some tough questions.

[CougarQuest]

Did Kullman actually say that the Reds went to get help to win the division this year? And his example was signing Wagner!

[LINEDRIVER]

Andy is an absolute shark. LOL

Brad sounds like he is going thru a polygraph test.

[cooperlamar]

He's being very combative and avoiding all questions. He will not commit to any number for the payroll for next season.

[Phhhl]

They just went to break, but he's going to reveal the Reds' "outline" for competing for the division title next year when they come back. This should be interesting :).

[CougarQuest]

Kullman hasn't said anything. 45 minutes and nothing. When asked about the budget, he asked Furball what the budget of WLW. "The ownership wants a winner". "We've had to make tough decisions".

Kullman said he is going to give us the plan for the future, after this commercial break.

[CougarQuest]

The plan:

maximize the value of every dollar.

[Reds4Life]

No real answer to any question, he's perfect GM material. :rolleyes:

[CougarQuest]

The decision of Barry Larkin is up to Allen and Lindner.

[Reds4Life]

And that's the problem Coug, Mr. Allen has his nose stuck in the baseball side of things, where it does not belong.

So, if Allen and Lindner are calling all the shots, why even hire a GM?

[Reds4Life]

Oh man, this guy named Doug just ripped the Reds a new one. :eek:

[Reds4Life]

Kullman seems rather combative and brash with many of the fans questions. Not a way to win over fans that already hate you. :rolleyes:

He more or less keeps repeating the financial flexability mantra over and over again. A wonderful interview of all questions, and no answers. :thumbdn:

[CougarQuest]

Kullman did nothing in that interview to make me desire him as a GM. He reminded me of a mini-Allen. Everything was money-speak.

It sounded to me, reading between his speaking without really answering the question, that the Reds don't want Larkin back and KGJ will be back next year.

Furman asked some good questions, but when Kullman didn't answer them directly, Furman didn't follow up the question/'answer' and get an answer to the meat of the question.

[malcontent]

The FO wordsmith that came up with "financial flexibility" as the buzzword to mitigate fan hostility deserves a place in the Bush cabinet.

Right next to the "weapons of mass destruction" genius.

[creek14]

When ole Brad was asked a tough question his voice got as high and squeeky as a 12 year old girl at a Backstreet Boys concert.

And how many times did he say "but we have a beautiful new park" when asked why fans should come out next season?

[buckeyenut]

Originally posted by cooperlamar
He's being very combative and avoiding all questions. He will not commit to any number for the payroll for next season. Not sure about the combative part, but I don't want him talking about payroll. I don't want him talking about budget. The Reds need to stop whining about money and build a better team, within whatever team they have. All the budget talk makes things worse.

[Krusty]

What did Kullman expect when he was going on the air? Did he think he was boarding the good ship, Lollipop?

[Chip R]

Originally posted by buckeyenut
Not sure about the combative part, but I don't want him talking about payroll. I don't want him talking about budget. The Reds need to stop whining about money and build a better team, within whatever team they have. All the budget talk makes things worse. That's all well and good but what is he supposed to say when someone asks him about it? "No comment"? I don't like hearing them whine about money either but we can't just stick our heads in the sand and pretend we're the Yankees. I agree that they should just try to build the best team they can within whatever financial constraints they have. It can be done. Look at all the teams in contention right now. The Expos are more competitive than we are and they were without Vlad for a couple of months. The Reds have consistently played the small market card so it is understandable when the local media ask about it.

[creek14]

Originally posted by Krusty
What did Kullman expect when he was going on the air? Did he think he was boarding the good ship, Lollipop?
Yeah coming on with Furman, he probably did. Furman tends to suck up to "celebrities". I was shocked at how he didn't let Kuhlman slide (too much).

[Roy Tucker]

Kullman should switch to decaf before he goes on the radio again.

I listened to about 20 minutes worth of his interview on my drive home. After all the good things about Kullman I had read about him in here, I was looking forward to hearing some open and frank answers about the Reds. Boy was I mistaken. Same old stuff, only not coming out of Allen's mouth.

My "favorite" was when asked abut next year's budget, Kullman asked Furman if his listening public asked about WLW's budget and if that was fair. I yelled at the radio "if the public built the WLW tower and studios from tax money, yes!".

I am trying very hard to be open minded about next year and the rebuilding of the team, but stone-walling like this make it difficult.

[Doc. Scott]

I knew there was a reason I never listen to WLW before or after the actual ballgames.

I actually went into this with some faint hope that Kullman would talk a little about how statistical analysis is the wave of the future in player evaluation, etc., but then I remembered the nature of the WLW/Sportstalk crowd. Their idea of "analysis" is looking at last year's batting average and RBI totals.

Then the more Kullman didn't attempt to address the people who kept talking about a "plan" like there actually is one besides "get players that are young and different and try to win more", the more like a trip to the dentist the whole interview became. I appreciate Brad's attempt to be accessible, but the Reds should decide on a budget figure and some qualitative mantras beyond "financial flexibility" (even though that's the right idea, it doesn't register with Joe Fan like it does the Dr. Fans we have here) before they allow their people onto any media outlets.

And I also think that if I were Kullman, I think I would have built up a healthy dose of frustration about this whole situation already.

[cincinnati chili]

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by 15fan
If I were in his shoes, I'd be more inclined to simply stop by from time to time with a faceless user ID who just happens to have some connections to the front office.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Creek:
I've heard that happens. Not him, but others.

----
Check out the great interview with Rangers' Asst. GM Grady Fuson on this fan website:

http://www.newbergreport.com/

[REDREAD]

Originally posted by CougarQuest
Kullman did nothing in that interview to make me desire him as a GM. He reminded me of a mini-Allen. Everything was money-speak.


I love it.. new nickname for Kulman.. Mini Allen..

Yep, he's brown nosing his way to that GM job. I bet he'll work as the cheapest GM in the league too.

I'm upping my odds to 80% that Kulman gets the job after a sham search to fulfill the minority requirement and make the Reds appear to be players for a "name" guy.

[westofyou]

Hey Redread, have you read Moneyball?

Aside from the Billy Beane glad handing there is ample information about running a baseball team on a limited budget, pretty interesting stuff.

Don't think that cost isn't the #1 concern of every organization not on a major waterway or owned by a media firm.

[REDREAD]

Originally posted by westofyou
Hey Redread, have you read Moneyball?



No, I haven't read it.. but the Reds certainly do not understand how to win on a low budget. Would Oakland have turned down the chance to get Penny and instead pin their hopes on Jimmy Anderson turning around?

Just because the Reds are cutting costs, doesn't mean they are making the right choices.

Everyone is expecting things to get better, simply because Bowden has been fired. Yet, the Kulman era has started out pretty underwhelming, IMO.

If I saw a glimmer of hope, like maybe signing those two picks (Delangelo and Cornell) with the cash they got back, maybe I'd be more optimistic about the future.

From this point of view, it looks like the same story.. continue to skimp on the draft, trade away the best players due to $$, fill the roster with retreads.

I'm at the point now where I don't want Casey or Graves traded.. there is no indication the saved money will be spent on the team. And their replacements are likely to be worse.

[westofyou]

Would Oakland have turned down the chance to get Penny and instead pin their hopes on Jimmy Anderson turning around?

First off Anderson was a number 5 pitcher (at best) so saying he's a replacement for the "rumored" deal for Brad Penny is really just stabs in the dark to create an issue.

As far as the Kullman era it's all of what 36 days old?

Meanwhile shedding contract obligations to middle relievers and backups have represented the majority of the moves on a team that is hamstrung with injuries, yet this is disturbing?

36 days......... and already the rest of the decade is over.

[Raisor]

Originally posted by REDREAD
No, I haven't read it..


Read it, trust me on this.

PSR

[creek14]

Originally posted by westofyou
As far as the Kullman era it's all of what 36 days old?

If you had heard him last night, it would seem more like 36 years to you. He could spew the company line like a pro.

I just kept thinking "snake oil, snake oil".

I hope he's married cause someone has to scrape the slim off of him every night.

Now you want to know how I really feel?

[westofyou]

hope he's married cause someone has to scrape the slim off of him every night.

He's married to former big leaguer Jim Perry's daughter.

11 years of Bowdens hyperbole and BS and even Larry Mondello from Leave it to Beaver looks good to me.

[15fan]

Isn't Kullman's title something like Interim Co-GM?

Folks with titles like that usually try to stay in the middle of the road and be as non-commital as possible. Just keep things going, and wait for things up above to settle down.

(I oughtta know...I've currently got "Interim" in front of my title at work...)

If you expected anything earthshattering from Kullman last night, I'd submit that you had some unrealistic expectations.

[creek14]

Originally posted by 15fan
Isn't Kullman's title something like Interim Co-GM?

Folks with titles like that usually try to stay in the middle of the road and be as non-commital as possible.
He wasn't non-commital. He was somewhat combative and condesending. It's like he graduated from the John Allen School of Public Speaking.

[CougarQuest]

Originally posted by creek14
He was somewhat combative and condesending.

I'd take out the word 'somewhat'.

[REDREAD]

Originally posted by westofyou
First off Anderson was a number 5 pitcher (at best) so saying he's a replacement for the "rumored" deal for Brad Penny is really just stabs in the dark to create an issue.


No, that's the wrong way to look at it..

The Reds needed another starting pitcher. They should've tried to get the best possible candidate, as opposed to thinking, "Hey, we only need a #5".. If they get Penny, he becomes their #1 or #2 and everyone slides down a slot, and the team improves.

The cost difference was roughly a million dollars (had Anderson stayed on the team all year). And Penny would've been an asset that could've been traded for value later.

[westofyou]

The cost difference was roughly a million dollars (had Anderson stayed on the team all year). And Penny would've been an asset that could've been traded for value later.

The cost diffrence was not just cash it was talent... what were the Reds giving up?

[REDREAD]

Originally posted by Raisor
Read it, trust me on this.

PSR

I'm sure it's a great book..

But from what I've heard on the board about it, the Reds aren't exactly emulating the model..

In fact, other than shedding salary, the Reds have done little at all since Bowden left. The Mercker trade was a good one. The Boone trade might be good (if Clausen recovers and lives up to expectations).. The Guillen trade was a push.. didn't really get great talent, but we probably shouldn't expect much. Ditto for Stinett.
The other trades/give aways, we were fleeced.

[REDREAD]

Originally posted by westofyou
The cost diffrence was not just cash it was talent... what were the Reds giving up?

Supposedly, two of Hudson, Howington, and Mateo..

Of course, that's only a rumor, but that's all we have to go by.

Let me add, there's probably not a prosect in the minors on opening day that should've been held back in that trade.. our farm is that low, and we needed starting pitching that badly.
Florida was looking to give him away, and we passed.