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View Full Version : Few relief thoughts in the air



David Cubbedge
05-28-2006, 09:11 PM
First of all I have seen it listed somewhere that the Reds are interested in Jermaine Van Buren. It is a very small tidbit from a source that is very credible. But all they say is that the Reds are interested in him. He plays for the BoSox right now and was traded from the Cubs last season. Here is what they had to say about him when he was traded.


Quote:

CHICAGO -- Jermaine Van Buren, who set an Iowa Cubs record with 25 saves for the Triple-A team, was dealt Thursday to the Boston Red Sox for a player to be named later.

Van Buren saw Major League action for the first time this season, going 0-2 with a 3.00 ERA in six games. He made his Major League debut Aug. 31 after being selected from Iowa the day before.
The right-hander was 2-3 with a 1.98 ERA and 25 saves in 52 appearances at Iowa. He was named the Iowa Cubs' Pitcher of the Year and was named to the Triple-A All-Star team.
Van Buren revived his career with the Cubs. He was drafted out of high school in 1998 by the Colorado Rockies, and went 7-2 with a 2.22 ERA in 12 games for their rookie league team. But he struggled after that and ended up in the Independent League in 2003. Cubs scout Gary Hughes ran into Van Buren in an airport, the two talked, and the right-hander eventually signed with the big league team in January 2004. He became a closer by default. West Tenn pitching coach Alan Dunn called on Van Buren for a game because the team had run out of pitchers, and the right-hander came through. He saved 21 games in 2004 for the Double-A team.



This guy is 25 years old and looks like he has done very well in his minor league experiences. The Reds may be in better shape with a young arm that can get it done and the BoSox may not have much room for him right now. Its a small sample size as to what he can do in the bigs but here is his player profile.

http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/NASApp/...ayer_id=435278

OK now on to the next one:

With the Cubs having a horrible record thus far; one Daily Herald writer named Bruce Miles sees Hendry as needing to make a firesale. So who does he think the Reds want?



Quote:

Reliever Scott Williamson. The Cincinnati Reds believe they’re in the playoff hunt, and they’ve had closer problems recently with David Weathers. Williamson pitched for the Reds, and he’d love to close again.
The Cubs’ setup men, by and large, have done a good job, but they’re about as useful right now as a hood ornament on a jalopy, so moving Williamson won’t be a problem. The ship has sailed on the Cubs getting Adam Dunn or Austin Kearns, but Williamson would bring something.



http://www.dailyherald.com/sports/cubs.asp?id=193151

Looks like Krivsky may be looking for relief help. By these two simple accounts they both mention relief help coming over. Although they are just "interests" and speculation from a writer they are worth talking about and it may be showing us what Krivsky is lookingto do next.