Okay I am making my call right now....

[SanDiegoRed]

The Reds will win the central...Call me crazy but I like what I am hearing about this team, especially with a new GM and owner in place. The rest of the division is a mess and with the Reds lineup and a greatly improved pitching staff, I am seeing a fun season ahead for Reds fans. Its been a long time folks, we are due.

[M2]

The Reds will win the central...Call me crazy but I like what I am hearing about this team, especially with a new GM and owner in place. The rest of the division is a mess and with the Reds lineup and a greatly improved pitching staff, I am seeing a fun season ahead for Reds fans. Its been a long time folks, we are due.

Can the new GM and owner pitch?

[Joseph]

Pitching didn't get worse, but I wouldn't call them greatly improved.

I would love for your prediction to be right though.

[creek14]

Call me crazy
You are crazy.

;)

[Tommyjohn25]

I dig the optimism coming from you, I wish I could share in it. But hey, ya never know, and hope springs eternal on opening day!

[RBA]

World Series here we come!!! :) :D ;) :beerme: :help: :birthday: :party: :jump: :lol: :roll: :KoolAid: :drink: :notworthy

[TOBTTReds]

:rolleyes:

[Falls City Beer]

I think what's missing in this inebriation over the new owners and the Dunn signing is that the Reds aren't a damn bit better talent-wise than last year.

I'm no longer giving the new crew a year to figure it out--they've got an infrastructure of negotiators in the front office/scouting, they've got 29 teams to deal with, they've got talent with which to deal. Get busy.

Everyone else can give these guys a free pass if the Reds are 20 games out in mid-July with no pitching having been acquired. That's your business. Personally, I hold them responsible for not having a near-ace caliber pitcher on the staff by opening day.

[M2]

Everyone else can give these guys a free pass if the Reds are 20 games out in mid-July with no pitching having been acquired. That's your business. Personally, I hold them responsible for not having a near-ace caliber pitcher on the staff by opening day.

Who's trading near-ace caliber pitchers at this time of year?

I'm all for getting one, but you might as well demand they make it snow in Sarasota too.

The team has been making good progress. DanO got canned immediately. Krivsky's signed Dunn to a LTC and he's been cutting out the rot from the front office with gusto.

Things aren't going to change overnight. I don't need to tell you how far away the Reds are from being good. Had Castellini and Krivsky arrived in November, I'd agree with you that the club should have achieved some major turnover. IMO, there's a big difference between a free pass and recognition that the team's going to have to wait for the market to open up before it pounces.

[Caveat Emperor]

I think what's missing in this inebriation over the new owners and the Dunn signing is that the Reds aren't a damn bit better talent-wise than last year.

I'm no longer giving the new crew a year to figure it out--they've got an infrastructure of negotiators in the front office/scouting, they've got 29 teams to deal with, they've got talent with which to deal. Get busy.

Everyone else can give these guys a free pass if the Reds are 20 games out in mid-July with no pitching having been acquired. That's your business. Personally, I hold them responsible for not having a near-ace caliber pitcher on the staff by opening day.

Get busy with what?

If there was value to be had for Austin Kearns or Wily Mo Pena, we'd be speaking of them in the past tense by now.

Part of the dilemma that Krivsky has inherited is that he is running a team with no tangible assets other the aforementioned Adam Dunn. Other players are movable (Freel, Lopez, Pena, Kearns), but the return value would send most of the regulars on this board (myself included) into a giant "YAWN"-fest and send most of the casual fends looking for a torch and pitchfork with "Firesale!" as their rallying cry. It's hard to build a castle when the only supplies around are dung and straw.

If player acquisitions THIS season are your measuring stick, then I'm afraid the Krivsky administration is going to (likely) leave you wanting. The best any of us can hope for is that either Kearns or Pena heats up in the first half and can be flipped at the break for high-prospect arms from a contending club. That's the best case scenario for this season: last (or next-to-last) place, but with a couple AA/AAA (either acquired or returning from injury) arms that can get you excited about 2007 or 2008.

Champs? Only if the Brewers, Cardinals, Astros and Cubs team flights all have a mid-air collision somewhere over Kansas City.

[tbball10]

im not gonna say we make the playoffs, but if our linup produces like it can, we could have a good season, if we could just get something from our starters.

[Falls City Beer]

Who's trading near-ace caliber pitchers at this time of year?

I'm all for getting one, but you might as well demand they make it snow in Sarasota too.

The team has been making good progress. DanO got canned immediately. Krivsky's signed Dunn to a LTC and he's been cutting out the rot from the front office with gusto.

Things aren't going to change overnight. I don't need to tell you how far away the Reds are from being good. Had Castellini and Krivsky arrived in November, I'd agree with you that the club should have achieved some major turnover. IMO, there's a big difference between a free pass and recognition that the team's going to have to wait for the market to open up before it pounces.

I bet Beane'd take offers for Zito; I bet Chicago would be open to trading Contreras; I feel quite certain Jimbo would deal Livan. And there's Clement of course.

They're out there. They're always out there. Every day of the year. You just have to have the guts to make it work.

From where I sit, Krivsky's done nothing inventive or unique: he's come in and replaced the guys who might challenge his opinions (surprise!), kept around the flunkeys, and signed their only long-contract-worthy player to a three year contract. While I can't argue with the canning of DanO or the signing of Dunn, they seem like more a matter of course than of invention or design.

While the market shifts and changes, need (particularly for this team) doesn't. If the Reds FO aren't directly attacking the pitching market, then they need to be indirectly moving out the crap or bringing in the other chips to make deals down the line. We had waiting for two years. I know what that got us.

[M2]

I bet Beane'd take offers for Zito; I bet Chicago would be open to trading Contreras; I feel quite certain Jimbo would deal Livan. And there's Clement of course.

They're out there. They're always out there. Every day of the year. You just have to have the guts to make it work.

From where I sit, Krivsky's done nothing inventive or unique: he's come in and replaced the guys who might challenge his opinions (surprise!), kept around the flunkeys, and signed their only long-contract-worthy player to a three year contract. While I can't argue with the canning of DanO or the signing of Dunn, they seem like more a matter of course than of invention or design.

While the market shifts and changes, need (particularly for this team) doesn't. If the Reds FO aren't directly attacking the pitching market, then they need to be indirectly moving out the crap or bringing in the other chips to make deals down the line. We had waiting for two years. I know what that got us.

He's replaced guys who didn't get the job done. That he might have different opinions from theirs only works in Krivsky's favor. A big chunk of the flunky brigade is gone or has been pushed to the margins. It's been a pretty decent housecleaning. The job isn't finished, though the good news is that Krivsky's shown no indication that he's anywhere near done on that front.

After more than two years of not getting Dunn signed, I'm not sure how you can claim that Krivsky working out that deal within a week doesn't qualify as inventive AND unique. It's a great contract for the team signed by a player that most folks assumed planned to walk away at his first opportunity.

As for who's available, I doubt a single pitcher you listed above is on the market at the moment. No way are any of those teams moving arms like those until they get a better handle on what their 2006 needs will be. Oh, you could probably move Dunn for Contreras or Livan or Clement, but I'm guessing you'd prefer the Reds not go that route.

[Falls City Beer]

He's replaced guys who didn't get the job done. That he might have different opinions from theirs only works in Krivsky's favor. A big chunk of the flunky brigade is gone or has been pushed to the margins. It's been a pretty decent housecleaning. The job isn't finished, though the good news is that Krivsky's shown no indication that he's anywhere near done on that front.

After more than two years of not getting Dunn signed, I'm not sure how you can claim that Krivsky working out that deal within a week doesn't qualify as inventive AND unique. It's a great contract for the team signed by a player that most folks assumed planned to walk away at his first opportunity.

As for who's available, I doubt a single pitcher you listed above is on the market at the moment. No way are any of those teams moving arms like those until they get a better handle on what their 2006 needs will be. Oh, you could probably move Dunn for Contreras or Livan or Clement, but I'm guessing you'd prefer the Reds not go that route.

I bet Lopez or Encarnacion ropes you any of those pitchers. And where do I sign up for that?

And I didn't assume Dunn would walk away. I didn't assume he'd stay, but I didn't assume he was itching to get out, either. It all comes back to money, anyway. DanO didn't appreciate what they had in Dunn; Krivsky did; huzzah for him. I imagine 75% of all GMs would have done exactly what Krivsky did in signing Dunn. We're giving Krivsky bonus points for not being a Nimrod--but grade inflation will do that.

[Henry Clay]

From where I sit, Krivsky's done nothing inventive or unique: he's come in and replaced the guys who might challenge his opinions (surprise!), kept around the flunkeys, and signed their only long-contract-worthy player to a three year contract. While I can't argue with the canning of DanO or the signing of Dunn, they seem like more a matter of course than of invention or design.

While the market shifts and changes, need (particularly for this team) doesn't. If the Reds FO aren't directly attacking the pitching market, then they need to be indirectly moving out the crap or bringing in the other chips to make deals down the line. We had waiting for two years. I know what that got us.

I agree that Krivsky hasn't done a tremendous amount in his short tenure, but it has been a very, very short tenure at the end of the offseason. He is in a tough situation to make any impact changes. With that said, he deserves credit for the Dunn signing (not a change, but a good move).

I second M2 on the point about teams not being willing to trade top tier pitchers at this stage of the offseason. If Beane trades Zito at this late date, what other top tier pitcher is he going to get to anchor his rotation? I guess Contreras may be a little more likely to be traded because the White Sox have a wealth of pitching, but he hasn't been traded yet, and 29 other teams need starting pitching. I can't imagine Ken Williams is frustrated that he can't shed a top flight pitcher -- the guy has pulled the trigger all offseason whenever he wanted to do so. As for Clement being available, . . . okay. I imagine David Wells could be had, as well. I can't fault Krivsky for not jumping to acquire either guy in his first two weeks on the job. Clement is a huge question mark, and Wells is just huge (and wants to go to the West Coast).

For all we know Krivsky may actually be a smart man and have a plan. His tenure with the Twins would suggest that is the case. He may be waiting until ST gets under way and teams start cutting players and deciding among talent for rosters. If Boston or Chicago settles on a 5 man rotation that excludes an otherwise decent starter, Krivsky could get a better bargain by calling that team on its obvious surplus. The same goes for other teams.

In sum, I'd give Krivsky and Castellini a break -- call it a free pass or whatever -- at least until they have had a reasonable period to create change. And by "reasonable," I'm not just talking about a length of time, but a period of time when solid players are available and other teams haven't already tried to set their rosters/rotations. This is not a good time to try to rework the roster, even though I agree major changes needed to be made this past offseason.

As for the optimism that started this thread, I love it. I hope everyone who smiled at the post and shook their heads (including myself) winds up looking back at season's end to give you kudos for being right. It would make for a much happier summer.

[Falls City Beer]

For all we know Krivsky may actually be a smart man and have a plan. His tenure with the Twins would suggest that is the case.



I got $20 million in Joe "Don't Call Me Jimmy Haynes" Mays's pocket that says this may not be the case.

[M2]

I bet Lopez or Encarnacion ropes you any of those pitchers. And where do I sign up for that?

And I didn't assume Dunn would walk away. I didn't assume he'd stay, but I didn't assume he was itching to get out, either. It all comes back to money, anyway. DanO didn't appreciate what they had in Dunn; Krivsky did; huzzah for him. I imagine 75% of all GMs would have done exactly what Krivsky did in signing Dunn. We're giving Krivsky bonus points for not being a Nimrod--but grade inflation will do that.

A) Beane's not making that deal. He's got 3B and SS already covered by young players.

B) Trading Lopez or Encarnacion for a pitcher in his walk year and/or a pitcher in his 30s strikes me as a generally bad idea. Maybe among the guys you listed I'd do it for Zito (though Castellini would have to pledge he'd pay big to keep the guy), but, like I mentioned, the A's have no need to make that deal. I'd rather keep ahold of the guys I can control for the rest of the decade and only deal them for young pitchers I could control for a similar amount of time.

C) Krivsky's not getting bonus points for nimrod aversion. He's getting credit for making a good move. I'm not assuming that any particular percentage would or wouldn't have inked Dunn. I know that 100% of Wayne Krivsky did it. The guy delivered immediately on what should have been his top priority. That's not bonus points, that's just points. The only bonus involved would center on it being such a good contract for the franchise.

[pedro]

I think the most telling thing about Krivsky will be what he does at mid season this year with any sows ears that might look like silk purses. DanO wasn't able to capitalize on those opportunities. Let's hope Krivsky is.

[Falls City Beer]

B) Trading Lopez or Encarnacion for a pitcher in his walk year and/or a pitcher in his 30s strikes me as a generally bad idea.



Oh, I don't know, I kind of like the St. Louis model.

[M2]

Oh, I don't know, I kind of like the St. Louis model.

I like it too and the deals you're suggesting don't fit it. St. Louis trades youth for premium talent that's in contract distress or on the brink of free agency -- Mark McGwire, Jim Edmonds, Scott Rolen, Mark Mulder.

I suppose you could arge Mulder's no better than a Contreras, Hernandez or Clement, but he is significantly younger and the Birds had two years of cost-fixed control over him. Mulder's also the one deal from the above four that Walt Jocketty might like to have back.

If you want to emulate the St. Louis you need to set your sites higher. IMO, the way for the Reds to pluck that kind of arm is to wait for a team to hit give-up or rebuild mode (traditionally reached at midseason or in the offseason, respectively) and then come in with Homer Bailey and a set of Ginsu knives.

[lollipopcurve]

[QUOTE]The best any of us can hope for is that either Kearns or Pena heats up in the first half and can be flipped at the break for high-prospect arms from a contending club. That's the best case scenario for this season: last (or next-to-last) place, but with a couple AA/AAA (either acquired or returning from injury) arms that can get you excited about 2007 or 2008.[/QUOTE

I agree with this assessment.

[westofyou]

I'm no longer giving the new crew a year to figure it out--

Dude, you didn't even give them a week.

[lollipopcurve]

Trading Lopez or Encarnacion for a pitcher in his walk year and/or a pitcher in his 30s strikes me as a generally bad idea. Maybe among the guys you listed I'd do it for Zito (though Castellini would have to pledge he'd pay big to keep the guy), but, like I mentioned, the A's have no need to make that deal. I'd rather keep ahold of the guys I can control for the rest of the decade and only deal them for young pitchers I could control for a similar amount of time.

Agree 100%. The offense-for-pitching deal should come from the outfield. Trading EdE or Felipe just creates another gaping hole. Let Kearns or Pena (or even Griffey) up their trade value. Freel, if healthy, could bring a decent arm, too. Seems pretty simple to me.

[KronoRed]

Pitching still stinks, it's sad but it's a fact..there is no 99 one year wonder waiting on this staff.

[Henry Clay]

I got $20 million in Joe "Don't Call Me Jimmy Haynes" Mays's pocket that says this may not be the case.

I hope you are wrong about this. The Mays signing appears to be a bad contract among a bunch of good contracts signed at the same time. I'm not going to make apologies for the Mays contract, but I do think it represents an outlier in an otherwise solid plan to build and acquire young talent, and sign them before they got too expensive through arbitration and free agency. For the most part, the Twins have developed and acquired solid talent. The Mays contract isn't a great one, but it is the product of injuries following a solid year by a young pitcher. I think most organizations have the occasional bad contract or move ("Mr. Beane, there is a Mr. Durazo looking for you"). I'm not going to condemn Krivsky for that move or the lack of a turnaround in a couple of weeks. Moreover, I like the Twins and what they have done. The folks in Minnesota would agree. They have been able to watch competitive baseball for the past 5 years. We haven't.

[captainmorgan07]

i may not go as far to say well win the central but we will finish second get the wild card in the final weeks and make the playoffs jerry narron will suprise us all and win manager of the year and my sleeper pick for mvp Adam Dunn

[RedLegSuperStar]

The Reds will win the central...Call me crazy but I like what I am hearing about this team, especially with a new GM and owner in place. The rest of the division is a mess and with the Reds lineup and a greatly improved pitching staff, I am seeing a fun season ahead for Reds fans. Its been a long time folks, we are due.


Oh No! As much as I would want to see that.. It wont happen this year unless the other 5 teams forfiet the year. Reds can't compete with St. Louis pitching/ offense, Cubs potential pitching/speed/defense, the Brew Crew got a hole lot better with there offseason moves and there up and coming youngsters, Houston is Houston and they are the defending NL Champs.. Luck is on there side, and that leaves the Pirates.. Ok, we probably are better than the Pirates.

But just because we got a new owner and new gm doesn't mean even a winning season, especially since we havn't gotten much better on paper. Sorry bro, but that may of been a far fetched "call"

[RedLegSuperStar]

The Reds will win the central...Call me crazy but I like what I am hearing about this team, especially with a new GM and owner in place. The rest of the division is a mess and with the Reds lineup and a greatly improved pitching staff, I am seeing a fun season ahead for Reds fans. Its been a long time folks, we are due.


PS: your new name is CRAZY

[Falls City Beer]

The best any of us can hope for is that either Kearns or Pena heats up in the first half and can be flipped at the break for high-prospect arms from a contending club. That's the best case scenario for this season: last (or next-to-last) place, but with a couple AA/AAA (either acquired or returning from injury) arms that can get you excited about 2007 or 2008.

I agree with this assessment.


That's a terrible plan--that's complete hand-sitting. Unless it's accompanied by acquiring MLB talent as well.

Believe it or not, this team has talent to trumpet or trump-up, however you wish to term it. Sitting around and waiting to pounce on AA and AAA players is a sucker's game.

The only successful model of baseball is win today--tomorrow will figure itself out. This three-year plan, turn around the battleship in the bathtub is for binder-heads. Win. The future will take care of itself.

[IslandRed]

The only successful model of baseball is win today--tomorrow will figure itself out.

Either you don't believe in the "success cycle," or you believe we're at a far different place on it than most of us do, or you believe pretending we're in a different place than we are makes it so. Not sure which.

"Bleep the future, today is all that matters" is not a bad plan if the one player is going to put you in the World Series. But that's not where we are, and that's not how other good small- to mid-market teams got where they are. Your expectations would be right on key if what we needed was a pitcher. But we don't need a pitcher, we need a pitching staff, which is a far different problem. At this point, I can't think of anything more counterproductive than to trade a good young player for a pitcher that walks after 2006.

St. Louis model? Good idea. But the St. Louis model requires that we be a franchise where players want to hang around. We aren't, yet.

[Mario-Rijo]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoRed
The Reds will win the central...Call me crazy but I like what I am hearing about this team, especially with a new GM and owner in place. The rest of the division is a mess and with the Reds lineup and a greatly improved pitching staff, I am seeing a fun season ahead for Reds fans. Its been a long time folks, we are due.


:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: ............stop it I can't breath!

[SanDiegoRed]

Ok well I want scoreboard when the Reds win the central.....Remember who called it first!

[Gainesville Red]

The only expectations I have are bad ones. It seems like when I get my hopes up, and then my feelings get hurt I get bitter, and that's not a good way to have fun. And I think baseball's supposed to be fun.

[Mario-Rijo]

Ok well I want scoreboard when the Reds win the central.....Remember who called it first!

I will be more than happy at that point to give you plenty of credit, if you could at least give me a more concrete reason than your gut says so. I mean nothing you stated in that 1st post makes me lean your direction on this and frankly I am on the fence as to whether we will find a way to get over .500 or we will be the worst team in this division (unless of course we add an impact player or 2 along the way). But one thing I don't have any delusions about is what we definitely won't do and that is win this division. Unless Krivsky is a serious genius and flat out steals 4-5 impact players (in particular areas). Look it's nothing personal SDR but I just don't see it, but I do admire your optimism.

[TRF]

Mulder's also the one deal from the above four that Walt Jocketty might like to have back.

Man I thought that was a horrible trade for the Cardinals at the time. They were in "win now" mode so hard they failed to realize that their rotation could have had Haren and Reyes as 1-2. dumb dumb dumb.

[PMand JM]

Ok well I want scoreboard when the Reds win the central.....Remember who called it first!

I second that:D I haven't been this optimistic since the three game sweep of the Mets last year. Besides- We don't have Graves out there giving us heart attacks everytime he takes the mound.:bang:

[Caveat Emperor]

That's a terrible plan--that's complete hand-sitting. Unless it's accompanied by acquiring MLB talent as well.

Believe it or not, this team has talent to trumpet or trump-up, however you wish to term it. Sitting around and waiting to pounce on AA and AAA players is a sucker's game.

The only successful model of baseball is win today--tomorrow will figure itself out. This three-year plan, turn around the battleship in the bathtub is for binder-heads. Win. The future will take care of itself.

The two numbers the Reds need to be thinking about are 65 and 6.

65 is they likely baseline payroll that this ballclub is going to come to spring training with on a yearly basis. That's the payroll for this season, and that (based on previous years and other ballclubs of similar market size) is going to likely be the number going forward. Even if payroll goes up to the 70-75 range, it's important to remember that whatever number you replace 65 with is more of a "hard" figure for the Reds than for some of the bigger clubs. Castellini has yet to show an M.O. as an owner, but if I were a betting man, I'd bet the ballclub will continue to have financial limitations going forward.

6 is the number of years that a team controls it's own prospects before they become expensive free agents, subject to the competitive bidding process and other market forces. It's the number of years that the Reds can control a good young pitcher before he starts fielding offers from big markets on the coasts and it costs more of the team's total pie (that first number) to keep him around. Costing more of the pie means the team has to cut costs somewhere else to keep that player. Costing more of the pie increases the risks associated with the player suffering injury and sending the team down a spiral due to costs exceeding performance.

The long-term success of the Reds depends on the team stocking it's minor league with players that occupy a small portion of the 65 for as many of the 6 years as possible. They need a pipeline of young, inexpensive talent that can either be utilized in the field as replacements for aging or underperforming players (see: everyone not named Dunn, Lopez or Harang) or as commodities to be dangled for other parts that the farm system hasn't been successful at developing. Right now, that pipeline is broken -- clogged with arms that died udner the knife and any number of the 5 tools that never amounted to anything resembling a complete ballplayer.

Saying "Winning today" is the greatest concern of the team is just delusional. Pitching is simply too expensive and the Reds have too little of it. Further, while the Reds have assets at the ML level, they have nothing to replace them with after a trade -- that's the farm system rearing it's ugly head again. You trade Lopez, and you've got what as your SS? A run-producing black hole. You trade Dunn and who is his replacement? Scott Hatteberg? Comparitively, a run-producing black hole. Encarnacion? Sure, bring on Rich Aurillia every day.

This team collapsed and burned thinking that guys like Steve Parris, Pete Harnisch, Joey Hamilton, Jimmy Haynes and Paul Wilson were the answer. The answer is young, projectable talent. If the season ends with the team in possession of good young pitching talent (ML, AAA or AA), then that's the first step on the road to recovery for this franchise.

Winning doesn't solve problems - Talent solves problems. When this team gets some talent on the mound, we'll talk about winning.

[klw]

First, I don't think the original poster said what year the Reds will win the Central.
Secondly, as a Reds fan, my heart tells me the Reds can make the playoffs and my head can rationalize that if called upon. Usually though my head knows that the Reds will struggle and fall short of the Cardinals, etc. But Spring Training and April are for the heart and the hope that Spring brings. I rely on the development of Pena, EE, Kearns, Lopez, and Dunn. Pitchers will rebound, everyone will stay healthy, and Jr will carry the team. Dunn will hit 40+ and his sac flies will explode. Double Plays will drop and the team will no longer be unable to score when the bases are empty, no one is out, and two runs will put the other team away. Harang and Claussen will continue their emergence, Williams will be a solid edition, the veteran bullpen will be calming and steady. It is all possible and teams have won with less. This is the time of year to believe. October can have my head but Spring has my heart and faith. Play Ball!

[Highlifeman21]

The Reds will win the central...Call me crazy but


Ok crazy...

Love the enthusiasm, love it! .... but the realism leaves a lil bit to be desired. I'm sure a poll (hint hint) would show that all of the Redsnation faithful would love for us to win, but don't expect us to be any better than a wild card team AT BEST with this pitching rotation and collection of relievers collecting social security.

Unfortunately after reading some great posts on here from members that have found press clippings and press releases and all information Reds, it seems that WK is just itchin to leave his mark on this team, and someone is on their way out of town named Adam, Austin, Edwin, Homer, Wily, or Ken. I mean I'm all for making trades to improve a team, and if that involves a fan favorite so be it, but I wanna make sure WK's not making a trade just to make a trade. I'm sayin give this team to end of May, and if it's clear we are still missing pitching, then go out and get pitching if we're foolishly trying to win this year, but if not, get the young guys some at bats, give everyone another season under their belt to find themselves and go from there.

My prediction, Reds finish around .500, probably just under, with between 75 and 80 wins, and that will put them no better than 3rd in the division.

[RedLegSuperStar]

I second that:D I haven't been this optimistic since the three game sweep of the Mets last year. Besides- We don't have Graves out there giving us heart attacks everytime he takes the mound.:bang:


Oh crap, you know your right.. We don't have Graves. Still doesn't matter because we don't have closer. What we do have is 3-5 players sharing that role (Weathers, Mercker, Hammonds, Coffee, and/or Wagner). That may make for 3-5 More wins.

[Matt700wlw]

My bold prediction....the Reds will be in the hunt until the end.

I don't know if they'll make the postseason, but it will be a fun summer.


:pray:

[westofyou]

http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/tristar_pictures/rudy/sean_astin/rudy4.jpg