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View Full Version : Homer Bailey agrees to a contract; $2.3M bonus



guernsey
07-18-2004, 07:53 AM
From the Enquirer:



NO. 1 PICK AGREES: First-round draft pick Homer Bailey has agreed to terms with the Reds.

Bailey, a 6-foot-4, 185-pound right-handed pitcher from LaGrange, Texas, was the seventh overall pick in the June draft.

"It took a little longer than I thought, but I'm very happy," Bailey said Saturday evening. "I'm looking forward to getting started."

Bailey was 14-0 with a 0.67 ERA with 187 strikeouts in 85 2/3 innings in the regular season. He was the USA Today High School Player of the Year and had received a college scholarship offer from Texas.

He will come to Cincinnati Monday to sign the deal.

Phil in BG
07-18-2004, 07:59 AM
Very good news. Thanks Guernsey.

RedsBaron
07-18-2004, 08:09 AM
:thumbup: good news. Thanks for the info.

Buckeye33
07-18-2004, 08:32 AM
Good to hear.

Now send him to the GCL league and let him pitch about 40 innings and then sit him and have him ready for Dayton next year.

UKFlounder
07-18-2004, 08:44 AM
Cool! That's great to hear.

Chip R
07-18-2004, 08:49 AM
Very good news. Thanks Guernsey.
Bad news for the folks who were thinking/hoping the Reds wouldn't sign him so they could jump on DanO, Allen and Lindner.

VI_RedsFan
07-18-2004, 09:24 AM
Finally. Thanks guernsey, that is great news.

missionhockey21
07-18-2004, 09:31 AM
Better news than even a trade IMO. :thumbup:

(Well depending on the trade ;))

Krusty
07-18-2004, 10:00 AM
Let the rebuilding begin!

MikeS21
07-18-2004, 10:07 AM
Now, shall we start taking odds on how long before Bailey has his Tommy John or Labrum Repair surgery? :evil:

guernsey
07-18-2004, 10:08 AM
Also from the Enquirer:



GRULER UPDATE: Chris Gruler will make one more start for the Gulf Coast Reds, then move up to rookie-level Billings.

Gruler, the Reds' No. 1 draft pick in 2002, is coming back from arthroscopic shoulder surgery April 29, 2003.

He has been successful in the GCL - 2-1 with a 2.18 ERA in five games. What's troubling is Gruler has struck out only six and walked 12 in 20 2/3 innings.

"He made a statement the other day that his command of his changeup is better than ever," Naehring said. "We'd like to see him build up arm strength. But he's ready to move up a level."

The Reds want to see Gruler's velocity get back in the 90s; he's throwing only in the mid-80s.


Reads like Bailey will take Gruler's spot in the GCL rotation.

Matt700wlw
07-18-2004, 10:30 AM
Bad news for the folks who were thinking/hoping the Reds wouldn't sign him so they could jump on DanO, Allen and Lindner.

Yeah, dammit..what am I supposed to do now?? ;) :mhcky21:

Hubba
07-18-2004, 11:33 AM
Bad news for the folks who were thinking/hoping the Reds wouldn't sign him so they could jump on DanO, Allen and Lindner. :MandJ: :MandJ: :MandJ: :MandJ: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
TRUE TRUE TRUE

Redmachine2003
07-18-2004, 11:35 AM
Great news! Now if the Reds can sign the kid from Canada it will be a nice draft.

Oxilon
07-18-2004, 12:45 PM
Good news. :thumbup:

RosieRed
07-18-2004, 01:13 PM
Very good news! :thumbup:

I tell ya, I've heard his HS stats a number of times, yet they still make me a little woozy.

LvJ
07-18-2004, 01:41 PM
What a fantastic day for news...

Larson to the DL [maybe. Atleast hes hurt and cant play]. Clausen to start Thursday. And Bailey agrees to a contract! :D

BlfdVaFan
07-18-2004, 07:31 PM
What a fantastic day for news...

Larson to the DL [maybe. Atleast hes hurt and cant play]. Clausen to start Thursday. And Bailey agrees to a contract! :D

I do not like Brandon Larson the player. I do not know Brandon Larson the person.
It really sickens me to read how some people on this board welcome people getting injured. It is never a fantastic day when someone gets hurt and I hope that nobody would ever rejoice to see you injured LvJ.

creek14
07-18-2004, 07:38 PM
Bad news for the folks who were thinking/hoping the Reds wouldn't sign him so they could jump on DanO, Allen and Lindner.
Yeah cause Heaven knows there isn't anything else they have done/do/will do to warrant jumping on them about

guernsey
07-18-2004, 08:12 PM
Yeah cause Heaven knows there isn't anything else they have done/do/will do to warrant jumping on them about

Yep, until the Reds spend $100M on payroll, they're fair game.

creek14
07-18-2004, 08:20 PM
Yep, until the Reds spend $100M on payroll, they're fair game.
For the life of me, I will never understand why you get snippy whenever someone doesn't kiss the FO butt. You love them, I don't. Move on. It's not the end of the world.

Oh and find a thread where I said they need to spend 100 million.

guernsey
07-18-2004, 08:33 PM
When it comes to being snippy, read your own post, honey.

As for my love of the FO, find one post where I profess to love them. I just don't see the point in writing 5,000+ posts bashing them.

On the topic of moving on, perhaps you should.

savafan
07-18-2004, 09:12 PM
When it comes to being snippy, read your own post, honey.

As for my love of the FO, find one post where I profess to love them. I just don't see the point in writing 5,000+ posts bashing them.

On the topic of moving on, perhaps you should.

Could be because they've done about 5,000 things that deserve bashing and maybe 3 worthy of praise. But don't let the facts get in the way of a good rant. :mhcky21:

Marty and Joe
07-18-2004, 09:29 PM
Great news on this signing. 9 of the first 10 drafted by the Reds this year will now be signed, correct?

KronoRed
07-18-2004, 09:40 PM
Come on people no fighting in a positive thread :)

savafan
07-18-2004, 09:43 PM
Come on people no fighting in a positive thread :)

How dare you call this positive! The audacity of KronoRed! I'm appalled. That money could have been better used on bringing Jeff Shaw out of retirement! C'mon Krono, even you have to believe that! :mhcky21:

Cedric
07-18-2004, 09:47 PM
I honestly don't feel the bashing of DanO is warranted. He's made a few decisions I find a little odd, but overall he's been pretty good for this team. I agree with Chip on this one, the bashing of DanO on this situation was beyond absurd.

KronoRed
07-18-2004, 09:49 PM
How dare you call this positive! The audacity of KronoRed! I'm appalled. That money could have been better used on bringing Jeff Shaw out of retirement! C'mon Krono, even you have to believe that! :mhcky21:


**bashes sava with a chair**

Better? ;)

savafan
07-18-2004, 09:50 PM
**bashes sava with a chair**

Better? ;)

Much. Thanks! :thumbup:

M2
07-19-2004, 10:25 AM
It'll be interesting to see what kind of bonus he got. There was only a $50,000 difference between picks #5 and #9.

And Gruler's only throwing mid-80s? He's still got a long way back if that's the case. Until he can work in the 90s again, he's not a prospect.

Puffy
07-19-2004, 10:32 AM
And Gruler's only throwing mid-80s? He's still got a long way back if that's the case. Until he can work in the 90s again, he's not a prospect.

Absolutely correct M2 - it Gruler can't get it back up to 93-95 (he was touching 97 in HS and in rookie ball) then he loses all prospect status. Lets hope he can get it back, cause only throwing 80s right now shows that he is not fully recovered yet, and that he is afraid to air it out (which probably has to do with the not fully recovered).

MikeS21
07-19-2004, 11:19 AM
It's still pretty early for Gruler to be throwing 90 mph fastballs. That might not come until next year. While it would be nice for Gruler to regain his low to mid 90's fastball, I REALLY hope that knee buckling curveball that Gruler throws comes back.

But back to Homer Bailey. From what I have read, for a high school pitcher, this kid is an absolute stud - that he has all the tools to be a legitimate #1 starter. While I really had hoped the Reds would have landed a college pitcher, Bailey sounds to be exactly what we need - a bonafide #1 starter. It will be interesting to keep an eye on his K/9 and WHIP stats as he advances through the minors. While I don't want to fall into the trap of anointing Bailey as a "sure thing," at the same time, wouldn't it be nice if the Reds had the 20 or 21 year old whiz kid pitcher that has dominated the minors and steals all the headlines.

Think about it. Could a rotation headed by Bailey, Claussen, and Gruler be the Reds' answer to the Cubs' Wood, Prior, and Zambrano?

Oxilon
07-19-2004, 11:53 AM
Think about it. Could a rotation headed by Bailey, Claussen, and Gruler be the Reds' answer to the Cubs' Wood, Prior, and Zambrano?

Could be, but by the time that Gruler, Claussen, and Bailey are all in the Reds rotation (if ever), Wood, Prior, and Zambrano will all be entering their prime (meanwhile our pitchers would barely have any experience) and might not even be Cubs.

M2
07-19-2004, 12:04 PM
Think about it. Could a rotation headed by Bailey, Claussen, and Gruler be the Reds' answer to the Cubs' Wood, Prior, and Zambrano?

It could also be the next Rob Bell, Ty Howington and Ricardo Aramboles. Everyone's got young pitchers in their system, yet fans always seem to think their team is the one holding the magic ticket.

For the record, Claussen's struggled in AAA, Bailey's yet to throw a professional pitch and Gruler's undergone a surgery which tends to permanently rob a pitcher of his velocity. They are so not Wood, Prior and Zambrano at this juncture that the comparison lacks any and all meaning.

Redmachine2003
07-19-2004, 12:09 PM
Next year is the big year for Gruler. They say it takes two years for the shoulder to come back and 1 year for Tommy John.

jmcclain19
07-19-2004, 12:18 PM
It could also be the next Rob Bell, Ty Howington and Ricardo Aramboles. Everyone's got young pitchers in their system, yet fans always seem to think their team is the one holding the magic ticket.

For the record, Claussen's struggled in AAA, Bailey's yet to throw a professional pitch and Gruler's undergone a surgery which tends to permanently rob a pitcher of his velocity. They are so not Wood, Prior and Zambrano at this juncture that the comparison lacks any and all meaning.

For Grins


Career Minor League Numbers
Wood - 5 years - 296IP, 364K, 218BB, 178H, 123R, 3.74ERA, 1.34WHIP
Claussen - 4 years - 530IP, 553K, 172BB, 458H, 186ER, 3.16ERA, 1.19WHIP

Doc. Scott
07-19-2004, 12:52 PM
Clarify for me the surgery Gruler had. It was the labrum, right? Not TJ? How severe was the tear?

Puffy
07-19-2004, 12:59 PM
Clarify for me the surgery Gruler had. It was the labrum, right? Not TJ? How severe was the tear?

It was labrum, although I am not sure how severe the tear was - but with that type of surgery I think that the fact they had to operate by definition makes it a pretty severe tear.

And he is now about one year removed from the surgery, and it appears to be a two year recovery time - but the lack of velocity (not even touching 90 yet, which is 6 to 8 MPH less than he had) still scares me. I think he should be regularly back up to 90 and above (which would be a 4-5 MPH decrease). All this seems to say to me that he will never get the full velocity back and might be forced to have to live off a 92-93 MPH instead of the 96-97 he was expected to have.

As was already mentioned, the hammer curve was his bread and butter, I just think it would have been even more effective with the fastball that he could blow by people if they weren't always looking for it.

jmcclain19
07-19-2004, 01:03 PM
With Gruler, what should have Reds fans jumping for joy is that he's still getting guys out w/o the blazing fastball.

When your throwing in the mid 80s, you can't just rear back and throw, you have to make good pitches.

Chris has done well w/o velocity this season. That little nugget will sit in his brain, making him more dangerous down the road should he ever get that fastball back up in the mid 90's.

M2
07-19-2004, 01:30 PM
With Gruler, what should have Reds fans jumping for joy is that he's still getting guys out w/o the blazing fastball.

When your throwing in the mid 80s, you can't just rear back and throw, you have to make good pitches.

Chris has done well w/o velocity this season. That little nugget will sit in his brain, making him more dangerous down the road should he ever get that fastball back up in the mid 90's.

I'm glad he's back, but I see no reason to jump for joy. Gruler's a 20-year-old pitching lucky (he's allowing far too many baserunners for my tastes) in rookie ball and he isn't showing much in the way of stuff. It doesn't really matter what lessons he learns right now if the stuff doesn't return.

Probably the most realistic expectation is that he recovers to have Acevedo-class stuff, which makes him a marginal prospect. But this guy was a #3 overall pick. You want someone you select that high to profile as an ace. Until we see how much he gets back (and I suspect we're looking at 2006 before we get a true answer on that) Gruler's nothing more than a player for whom we've got our fingers crossed. All we can do is hope for the best, but unfortunately we can't assume it.

I'm more encouraged by Rafael Gonzalez at this moment.

LvJ
07-19-2004, 01:32 PM
For Grins :pray:


Anyways, I suggest Gruler learn to throw a knuckleball. WITH HIS LEFT HAND! ;)

traderumor
07-19-2004, 01:38 PM
:pray:


Anyways, I suggest Gruler learn to throw a knuckleball. WITH HIS LEFT HAND! ;)Hmmm, now you got me thinking, I can't recall a left handed knuckler. Anyone?

M2
07-19-2004, 01:42 PM
Hmmm, now you got me thinking, I can't recall a left handed knuckler. Anyone?

Wilbur Wood

traderumor
07-19-2004, 01:45 PM
How could I forget Wilbur? Geesh, I've been playing a 1968 Strat replay for three years, grew up in the 70s, had probably twenty "doubles" of his baseball card in my tire spokes...

Speaking of knucklers, isn't that what Hoyt Wilhelm threw? If so, that means that 1968 White Sox team could bring a lefty/righty knuckler combination at you. Sounds like something Bowden would have tried.

guernsey
07-20-2004, 07:30 AM
From the DDN:



If he performs on the mound as well as he performs behind a podium, the Reds on Monday signed a polished diamond for a $2.3 million bonus.

RedsBaron
07-20-2004, 08:50 AM
Wilbur Wood
I read in this morning's paper that Wilbur Wood started and lost both games of a doubleheader on this date in 1973. He lost the first game 12-2, which made me wonder why the White Sox had him start the second game. He was a terrific pitcher for a few seasons. Didn't a knee injury derail his career?

RedsBaron
07-20-2004, 08:52 AM
How could I forget Wilbur? Geesh, I've been playing a 1968 Strat replay for three years, grew up in the 70s, had probably twenty "doubles" of his baseball card in my tire spokes...

Speaking of knucklers, isn't that what Hoyt Wilhelm threw? If so, that means that 1968 White Sox team could bring a lefty/righty knuckler combination at you. Sounds like something Bowden would have tried.
You're correct. Wood and Wilhelm were teammates. I'm not sure it makes much difference to a hitter whether a knuckleballer pitches right or lefthanded though.

Krusty
07-20-2004, 09:22 AM
If anything, Gruler can become a better pitcher down the road. He might not have the blazing fastball but he will learn to rely on his other pitches to be successful.

M2
07-20-2004, 10:23 AM
If anything, Gruler can become a better pitcher down the road. He might not have the blazing fastball but he will learn to rely on his other pitches to be successful.

I assume he'll become a better pitcher with experience no matter what. Yet if he doesn't have ace stuff, he's not going to be an ace.