Dumatrait/Coutlangus could be on the way to Cincy soon

[OnBaseMachine]

LOOKING FOR RELIEF: The Reds took a five-run lead into the eighth inning Friday night against the Detroit Tigers.

That didn't keep Narron from using Todd Coffey, his top setup man, to pitch the eighth.

That says fairly plainly that Narron doesn't trust his middle men.

Given that four of eight pitchers in the bullpen went into Saturday with an ERA over 6.75, you have to ask: Don't the Reds have anyone to turn to in the minors?

"We've got some guys," general manager Wayne Krivsky said. "But I'm not going to name names. I'm afraid I'll leave someone out."

The Reds don't have any relievers throwing well at Triple-A. (Ryan Wagner, the most likely suspect, is 0-2 with a 7.58 ERA.)

Director of player development Johnny Almaraz mentioned two possibilities at Double-A: left-handers Phil Dumatrait and John Coutlangus. Dumatrait, 23, is 3-2 with a 3.09 ERA as a starter. He throws 93-98 mph with a good curveball. Coutlangus, 26, throws in the 88-91 range. But his cut fastball makes him effective against lefties and righties. He's 1-1 with a 2.05 ERA.

Krivsky was in Chattanooga this weekend.

He realizes that the end of the 'pen cannot be Coffey and David Weathers forever.

"If we don't have someone in the system, we'll go out and find somebody," Krivsky said.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060521/COL09/605210316/1071/SPT04

[OnBaseMachine]

You have to think with Krivsky in Chattanooga last night watching Dumatrait and Coutlangus pitch that they could be up with the big club before long. I like Dumatrait more as a starter, but I wouldn't mind seeing him work out of the bullpen this year and then eased into the rotation in September, or even next season. FWIW, Dumatrait doesn't throw 93-98 mph as Fay wrote, I believe he's more in the 90-93 mph range.

One thing that Dumatrait and Coutlangus excel at is keeping the ball in the yard. They have combined to allow just two home runs all season in 62 innings pitched.

Coutlangus: 23 innings, 14 hits, 0 HR, 10 bb, 23 k, 1.04 WHIP, 1.96 ERA

Dumatrait: 39 innings, 27 hits, 2 HR, 14 BB, 38 K, 1.05 WHIP, 2.77 ERA

[Tommyjohn25]

Well...at least it's nice that Krivsky has made it known that he's aware of the problem and plans on addressing it asap. That in itself is a very welcome change from past regimes IMO.

[icehole3]

Bye Bye Ricky White

[CTA513]

I figured one of the guys they are looking at is Brad Salmon.
He was bumped up to AAA a week or so ago and has pitched in 2 games.
So far in AAA: 5 IP, 3 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, 8 K

[kheidg-]

Yea, 93-98 seemed like a pretty wide range

[kaldaniels]

What are the negatives on Phil...holding down a 98 mph throwing lefty with a ERA at 3 doesn't seem to make sense...what's the delay???

[flyer85]

What are the negatives on Phil...holding down a 98 mph throwing lefty with a ERA at 3 doesn't seem to make sense...what's the delay???the 2006 BA Prospect handbook had Dumatrait as having a 88-91 mph fastball.

[traderumor]

I'm pretty sure that he would have a few more folks on his bandwagon if he was dropping curves in while pumping in number one's at a rate of 93-98. Fay really is not a good sportswriter (yes I know that is understating the case).

[BRM]

"If we don't have someone in the system, we'll go out and find somebody," Krivsky said.

I like this statement.

[paulrichjr]

I like this statement.

What would DanO say? Can you imagine?

[dougdirt]

What would DanO say? Can you imagine?
Probably the same thing....it would just take him 3 paragraphs to say it.

[RedsManRick]

What would DanO say? Can you imagine?

Something about scouting, development, and patience.

[jmcclain19]

What would DanO say? Can you imagine?

http://news.kypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051110/SPT05/511100315/-1/BACK01

"First of all, from our point of view, we probably would prioritize starting pitching above a closer. Second of all, there are a lot of closers currently on the free agent market, and as a result that's causing a lot of clubs to be in a wait-and-see mode depending upon where certain individuals end up and who might be available as a result. Thirdly, in our case, we may potentially have some internal candidates who may ultimately end up being capable of doing the job, such as a Todd Coffey, who with a rediscovered split-finger might be able to handle the role. We're at that point in time where people are assessing our ballclub and where our inventory lies and where there might be a fit."


On some sick level, I miss Dan O'Brien

[camisadelgolf]

Maybe the discrepency in Dumatrait's velocity is related to the Tommy John surgery he had a couple years ago. When he was topping out at 88-91 MPH, he might not have been at full strength yet. Just a theory.

[Superdude]

Fay's probably got 1,000 Reds fans thinking we've got Liriano waiting in the wings! :D

[dougdirt]

Word has it that Cast and Wayne were down taking in the Lookouts game tonight. Looks like Joey Votto picked a good night to hit the living crap out of the baseball.