Another nice change by the Cast administration

[REDREAD]

I meant to comment on this a couple days ago, but I forgot.

I think it's great that we have all these September callups. True, they aren't likely to even win one additional game for us. But back when Allen ran the show, the club didn't want to call anyone up in September so they could save a few bucks by not paying them ML salary for September.

I think I've made it clear that I'm no fan of Olmedo, but it's nice of the Reds to reward him and some of the other guys with a Sept callup. A nice change from the days of trying to squeeze every cent out of the club.

[Highlifeman21]

I meant to comment on this a couple days ago, but I forgot.

I think it's great that we have all these September callups. True, they aren't likely to even win one additional game for us. But back when Allen ran the show, the club didn't want to call anyone up in September so they could save a few bucks by not paying them ML salary for September.

I think I've made it clear that I'm no fan of Olmedo, but it's nice of the Reds to reward him and some of the other guys with a Sept callup. A nice change from the days of trying to squeeze every cent out of the club.

Someone needs to carry Juan Castro's bags on roadtrips....

[flyer85]

if the team was out of contention there would likely have been few callups.

[westofyou]

if the team was out of contention there would likely have been few callups.

Wait... they're in contention?

I must have missed that... but I only read the game threads myself. :evil:

[REDREAD]

if the team was out of contention there would likely have been few callups.

Perhaps, but I'm going to give Cast the benefit of the doubt here, and hope he's not nearly as cheap as the previous administration. Heck, we were in pseudo-contention a couple times under Lindner/Allen and they didn't do a darn thing to help us. Other years, I recall us having zero Sept callups.

[Barbarossa]

Grande was talking to Allen during last night's game. Allen said that the front office had a staff of 36 when Cast took over but now has a staff in excess of 100. Cast sure must have a lot of relatives.:rolleyes:

[westofyou]

Grande was talking to Allen during last night's game. Allen said that the front office had a staff of 36 when Cast took over but now has a staff in excess of 100. Cast sure must have a lot of relatives.:rolleyes:

When Howsam took over the Reds they had like 6 folks in the Reds office and old furniture everywhere, soon they had way more employees and a bunch of new equipment.

Numbers indicate that this team has now rebounded out of a small minded approach to running a multimillion dollar brand.

It's about time.

[Ltlabner]

Grande was talking to Allen during last night's game. Allen said that the front office had a staff of 36 when Cast took over but now has a staff in excess of 100. Cast sure must have a lot of relatives.:rolleyes:

Maybe I am missing something. If I am I applogize. But are you saying that it's a bad thing for the FO staff to increase?

36 people. Think about that. 36 people to cover all of the tasks that have to be acomplished in a MLB front office. Payroll, travel, accounting, scouting, promotions, marketing/sales, executive, facilities, etc etc. Even if they only had 8 departments as I have listed, that means they'd have 4 people in each department. 4.

A commitment to have the proper staffing level so all functions are completed with excellence is one of the many importnant steps towards turning this thing around.

[CrackerJack]

Grande was talking to Allen during last night's game. Allen said that the front office had a staff of 36 when Cast took over but now has a staff in excess of 100. Cast sure must have a lot of relatives.:rolleyes:

Allen is drowning in beans and hating life surely. ;)

[REDREAD]

Grande was talking to Allen during last night's game. Allen said that the front office had a staff of 36 when Cast took over but now has a staff in excess of 100. Cast sure must have a lot of relatives.:rolleyes:


All those hirings were probably done over the protest of Allen :laugh:

Allen: "Mr Cast, the way to run a ballclub is to cut all expenses to the bone (especially the farm system), and just raise ticket prices each year to offset attendence losses" :laugh:

[JEA]

What I've never understood is the belief that John Allen wants to pinch pennies everywhere possible. Why would he? It's not his money. He doesn't own a single piece of the club's ownership. He has nothing to gain by nickle and diming the club on expenses.

I think he takes a lot of unfair criticism for simply doing what the Lindner administration demanded. Why does Carl get off so easy and Allen continues to get blamed? You haven't heard anything about Allen pinching pennies this year. Why? Because Castellini is the opposite of Lindner. BC doesn't operate that way. He'll spend the money to make the money. He actually has some vision, unlike his two predecessors.

Then again, maybe John Allen got a nice banana basket for every buck he saved McScrooge back when he ran the team.

[dougflynn23]

What I've never understood is the belief that John Allen wants to pinch pennies everywhere possible. Why would he? It's not his money. He doesn't own a single piece of the club's ownership. He has nothing to gain by nickle and diming the club on expenses.

I think he takes a lot of unfair criticism for simply doing what the Lindner administration demanded. Why does Carl get off so easy and Allen continues to get blamed? You haven't heard anything about Allen pinching pennies this year. Why? Because Castellini is the opposite of Lindner. BC doesn't operate that way. He'll spend the money to make the money. He actually has some vision, unlike his two predecessors.

Then again, maybe John Allen got a nice banana basket for every buck he saved McScrooge back when he ran the team. :) John Allen got a long term contract and the respect of the Castellini family by doing what he was asked to by his former boss, a boss that the Castellini's hold in high regard. BTW....I know John Allen a bit...my company is involved with the DAV which John is very involved with, and believe me; he LOVES his current role much more than his old one.

[IslandRed]

A commitment to have the proper staffing level so all functions are completed with excellence is one of the many importnant steps towards turning this thing around.

I can't remember the source, but I read an article within the past year on how St. Louis is known for this. It's no surprise Castellini would see the benefits of having top-notch operations, and try to do the same here.

[Barbarossa]

Maybe I am missing something. If I am I applogize. But are you saying that it's a bad thing for the FO staff to increase?

36 people. Think about that. 36 people to cover all of the tasks that have to be acomplished in a MLB front office. Payroll, travel, accounting, scouting, promotions, marketing/sales, executive, facilities, etc etc. Even if they only had 8 departments as I have listed, that means they'd have 4 people in each department. 4.

A commitment to have the proper staffing level so all functions are completed with excellence is one of the many importnant steps towards turning this thing around.

No, I thought my comment might be amusing, evidently it wasn't. I think Cast almost tripling the front office staff is terrific and another of the long list of differences between he and Lindner. The program last night centered around all the other Red's employees we never see but who are vital to the success of a class Major League Franchise. Things are looking up and I'm so glad we have Mr Cast.:beerme:

[crazybob60]

Someone needs to carry Juan Castro's bags on roadtrips....


Did I miss something here or is this some kind of inside joke? Can someone please fill me in on this? I know that Castro like to sit next to a person in the dugout on the bench after they have hit a homer, but that is all I have heard about Castro unless he is fielding or hitting....someone please help me out and fill me in on this....heck, I might be writing this for naught.

[VR]

What I've never understood is the belief that John Allen wants to pinch pennies everywhere possible. Why would he? It's not his money. He doesn't own a single piece of the club's ownership. He has nothing to gain by nickle and diming the club on expenses.

I think he takes a lot of unfair criticism for simply doing what the Lindner administration demanded. Why does Carl get off so easy and Allen continues to get blamed? You haven't heard anything about Allen pinching pennies this year. Why? Because Castellini is the opposite of Lindner. BC doesn't operate that way. He'll spend the money to make the money. He actually has some vision, unlike his two predecessors.

Then again, maybe John Allen got a nice banana basket for every buck he saved McScrooge back when he ran the team.


The John Allen's of the world get paid to make money. Either by fishing or cutting bait. Clearly Castellini is a fisherman, while Carl couldn't stand for losing money. Be assured that John Allen received a crazy bonus for making the cuts that he did.

[gm]

What I've never understood is the belief that John Allen wants to pinch pennies everywhere possible. Why would he? It's not his money. He doesn't own a single piece of the club's ownership. He has nothing to gain by nickle and diming the club on expenses.

I think he takes a lot of unfair criticism for simply doing what the Lindner administration demanded. Why does Carl get off so easy and Allen continues to get blamed? You haven't heard anything about Allen pinching pennies this year. Why? Because Castellini is the opposite of Lindner. BC doesn't operate that way. He'll spend the money to make the money. He actually has some vision, unlike his two predecessors.

Then there was the story that Lindner asked "the limiteds" for some extra jack but they refused, because they didn't trust that JimBo would spend it wisely. Yessir, the habit of beating old dead horses dies hard.

[MartyFan]

:) John Allen got a long term contract and the respect of the Castellini family by doing what he was asked to by his former boss, a boss that the Castellini's hold in high regard. BTW....I know John Allen a bit...my company is involved with the DAV which John is very involved with, and believe me; he LOVES his current role much more than his old one.

I don't find this hard to believe at all.

Allen as I recall never wanted to be involved in "baseball" decisions.

[RedsManRick]

50 staff members making an average of 50k plus another 25k in benefits cost the organization 3.75MM -- ie. Paul Wilson. Skimming on any front office, scouting, etc. costs to squeeze another penny out of player payroll is just foolish.

[Aronchis]

50 staff members making an average of 50k plus another 25k in benefits cost the organization 3.75MM -- ie. Paul Wilson. Skimming on any front office, scouting, etc. costs to squeeze another penny out of player payroll is just foolish.

Because the Limiteds weren't for long. After Marge's burst into flames, the deal of selling the team become reality. But for whatever reason, they waited to 2005 unlike 2003 which I intially expected.

Carl Lindner simply did what they wanted and Lindner wasn't going to fight for revolution when his interests lied elsewhere. He still has a piece as well.

In otherwords, after running on downtime during the last 5 years, the Reds are finally running a Major Leagues Op again.

[Doc. Scott]

What I've never understood is the belief that John Allen wants to pinch pennies everywhere possible. Why would he? It's not his money. He doesn't own a single piece of the club's ownership. He has nothing to gain by nickle and diming the club on expenses.

I think he takes a lot of unfair criticism for simply doing what the Lindner administration demanded. Why does Carl get off so easy and Allen continues to get blamed? You haven't heard anything about Allen pinching pennies this year. Why? Because Castellini is the opposite of Lindner. BC doesn't operate that way. He'll spend the money to make the money. He actually has some vision, unlike his two predecessors.

Then again, maybe John Allen got a nice banana basket for every buck he saved McScrooge back when he ran the team.

With all respect to dougflynn's comments, JEA, good luck ascending Bunker Hill against REDREAD and his "Allen is the Anti-Christ" argument. You'll need it.

I've always thought more along your lines myself.

[WMR]

Because the Limiteds weren't for long. After Marge's burst into flames, the deal of selling the team become reality. But for whatever reason, they waited to 2005 unlike 2003 which I intially expected.

Carl Lindner simply did what they wanted and Lindner wasn't going to fight for revolution when his interests lied elsewhere. He still has a piece as well.

In otherwords, after running on downtime during the last 5 years, the Reds are finally running a Major Leagues Op again.

Wow. And really, what extra would it have cost the old man to run the Reds in a respectable fashion the past five years????

20 million extra?

60 million?

Man oh man, I think Carl Linder has done what will be his everlasting memory a huge disservice by the way he handled his "stewardship" of the Reds. :thumbdown

[WMR]

The only reason he MADE Obie spend the extra money on Milton was b/c he knew he'd only have to take 1/3 of the K out of his take.

[crazybob60]

How much longer do we have Milton signed for? Isn't it through next season or is he FA eligible after this season? The sooner the better in my opinion.

[Always Red]

How much longer do we have Milton signed for? Isn't it through next season or is he FA eligible after this season? The sooner the better in my opinion.

Through next season.

I think Uncle Milty's pitched much better this year than last. When he goes, we're just going to have to replace him with someone else that goes 11-11 with a 5.00 ERA, at probably a higher cost.

If we're resorting to a Rockies minor leaguer to pitch during the pennant race, then Eric Milton is not our problem...

[Johnny Footstool]

Wait... they're in contention?


As much as a sub-.500 ball club can be.


Through next season.

I think Uncle Milty's pitched much better this year than last. When he goes, we're just going to have to replace him with someone else that goes 11-11 with a 5.00 ERA, at probably a higher cost.

If we're resorting to a Rockies minor leaguer to pitch during the pennant race, then Eric Milton is not our problem...

At a higher cost? Highly doubtful. If anything, Eric Milton's contract will make the front office even more gunshy about spending money on pitching.

[MaineRed]

With all respect to dougflynn's comments, JEA, good luck ascending Bunker Hill against REDREAD and his "Allen is the Anti-Christ" argument. You'll need it.

I've always thought more along your lines myself.

Ditto!

[Always Red]

At a higher cost? Highly doubtful. If anything, Eric Milton's contract will make the front office even more gunshy about spending money on pitching.

Well, what's the alternative? Develop your own pitching, of course. The cupboards a little bare right now, the best candidates are in AA or lower, so, the Reds will need to find pitching somewhere else, at least for the next 2-3 years.

I'll be the first to admit that Milty is grossly overpaid for what he has produced, but that's not his fault. It could have been much worse- it could have been Carl Pavano. That's what the market pays guys these days, and salaries are not going down.

Me? I'd resign Milty, to a lesser deal, if he'd take it. Pay him #4 money, whatever that is at the end of next year. He probably would rather go to a bigger park that fits his fly balls better, but so would every other pitcher. I realize most here want to jettison Milton, but I think he's a decent major league starting pitcher, and we could do much worse. Most of the angst on here about Milty is over his salary. I think salaries are what they are, and when you go to evaluate performance, you just have to leave the salary issue out of it.

[REDREAD]

What I've never understood is the belief that John Allen wants to pinch pennies everywhere possible. Why would he? It's not his money. He doesn't own a single piece of the club's ownership. He has nothing to gain by nickle and diming the club on expenses.

I think he takes a lot of unfair criticism for simply doing what the Lindner administration demanded. Why does Carl get off so easy and Allen continues to get blamed? You haven't heard anything about Allen pinching pennies this year. Why? Because Castellini is the opposite of Lindner. BC doesn't operate that way. He'll spend the money to make the money. He actually has some vision, unlike his two predecessors.

Then again, maybe John Allen got a nice banana basket for every buck he saved McScrooge back when he ran the team.

It's highly likely that Allen's pay was tied to how much profit he brought in.
For whatever reason, Allen did pinch pennies and severely hurt the team longterm. The firesale of 2003 was pathetic. We traded almost half the team and only have Harang to show for it. If Allen hadn't put such a high premium on getting cash in those trades, maybe today we'd have the 5th starter and bullpen arms we need to contend (if we had traded for talent instead of cash). Also, Allen skimped on funding the draft so much that he made Marge look like Santa in that department. TWO years of not having cash to sign a #1 pick (Sowers and Esponisa). That is an embarassment. After Howington flopped, Allen refused to fund the farm system anymore. Maybe it was because Carl didn't care about the future, or maybe Allen wanted Bowden to fail, or maybe it was just to save money. But it was downright wrong.

Allen promised us that the GAB would provide revenue to help us compete, but then made NO ATTEMPT whatsoever to try to field a winning team. He figured that resigning Graves, Casey, and Haynes would be enough to sell tickets in 2003. Sadly, he was right. The fans bought a lot of tickets that year, and then Allen screwed them by dumping everyone he could off the roster. IMO, that's a large reason why attendence is so lackluster in every year since. Allen and Lindner have alienated a lot of the fan base with their con games. What they did to the taxpayers was downright criminal.

I do agree that Lindner shares the blame though. Everything Allen did was under Lindner's blessing. All this BS about the limiteds being the problem is just that.. BS. Carl proved it by signing Milton without even telling the limiteds.

Allen and Lindner set this team way back.

[REDREAD]

Then there was the story that Lindner asked "the limiteds" for some extra jack but they refused, because they didn't trust that JimBo would spend it wisely. Yessir, the habit of beating old dead horses dies hard.

But that's isn't true. That's something Furman made up (I heard him say it on the air, it was obvious he made it up).
Carl authorized the signing of Milton and all those other FAs without approval of the Limiteds. The Limiteds found out about Milton at the same time we did and were surprised.

The only time I recall a Limited partner intervening was the time one of them intervened to bring back Larkin one more year (I think it was Reik). And ultimately, that was Carl's call.

[REDREAD]

Carl Lindner simply did what they wanted and Lindner wasn't going to fight for revolution when his interests lied elsewhere. He still has a piece as well.
.


Carl did what he wanted.. He wanted to milk every cent he could out of this organization. He thought he could make it up to us in his last year by signing Milton and Randa. Everything that happened under his reign of terror was approved by him.

[REDREAD]

Wow. And really, what extra would it have cost the old man to run the Reds in a respectable fashion the past five years????

20 million extra?

60 million?

Man oh man, I think Carl Linder has done what will be his everlasting memory a huge disservice by the way he handled his "stewardship" of the Reds. :thumbdown

Exactly, the old man Lindner has more money that he can possibly spend in what's left of his life. Didn't stop him from raping the city and the franchise though.

He more than doubled his money in 5 years, all while crying that he was losing money every year. It was disgraceful what he did. I hope he remembers getting booed on opening day when he's on his deathbed.

[REDREAD]

With all respect to dougflynn's comments, JEA, good luck ascending Bunker Hill against REDREAD and his "Allen is the Anti-Christ" argument. You'll need it.

I've always thought more along your lines myself.


What exactly has Allen done worthy of praise?

Here's what I can think of: When he first arrived, he didn't lose his soul yet. Bringing back Redsfest was good. Retiring numbers was good. He had a couple promotions.

But the evil he did far outweighs the small amount of good he did (Which was largely recycling ideas that used to be done).

Allen singlehandedly set this team back about 20 years, by alienating a good portion of the fan base.

[Johnny Footstool]

Well, what's the alternative? Develop your own pitching, of course. The cupboards a little bare right now, the best candidates are in AA or lower, so, the Reds will need to find pitching somewhere else, at least for the next 2-3 years.

I'll be the first to admit that Milty is grossly overpaid for what he has produced, but that's not his fault. It could have been much worse- it could have been Carl Pavano. That's what the market pays guys these days, and salaries are not going down.

Me? I'd resign Milty, to a lesser deal, if he'd take it. Pay him #4 money, whatever that is at the end of next year. He probably would rather go to a bigger park that fits his fly balls better, but so would every other pitcher. I realize most here want to jettison Milton, but I think he's a decent major league starting pitcher, and we could do much worse. Most of the angst on here about Milty is over his salary. I think salaries are what they are, and when you go to evaluate performance, you just have to leave the salary issue out of it.

The alternative, sadly, is dumpster-diving, which is what the Reds have been doing for years and Krivsky has been doing since July. I expect more of the same this off-season.

[Always Red]

Didn't stop him from raping the city and the franchise though.

He more than doubled his money in 5 years, all while crying that he was losing money every year. It was disgraceful what he did. I hope he remembers getting booed on opening day when he's on his deathbed.


I don't agree with what Carl Lindner did when he ran the Reds either, but I know the value of the team went up the way it did because of the new stadium, which was brought in on budget. Linder's actually the guy who showed Mike Brown how to get what he wanted and not be the bad guy by moving his team, by holding a city hostage. The benefits of that decision by the populace to approve a tax increase meant the Reds got a new park, too, and the value of the Reds did double.

Lindner knew nothing about running a baseball business, and brought someone in to run it who also knew next to nothing. The result was that he ran the Reds the same way he ran all of his other businesses, which of course is no way to run a baseball business.

Carl Lindner has done wonderful things for the city of Cincinnati throughout his lifetime. Take a walk through the UC campus and that is obvious. This city is better off for him having lived here. He fumbled the Reds, for sure, but that was not the sum of his entire life.

[JEA]

It's highly likely that Allen's pay was tied to how much profit he brought in.
For whatever reason, Allen did pinch pennies and severely hurt the team longterm. The firesale of 2003 was pathetic. We traded almost half the team and only have Harang to show for it. If Allen hadn't put such a high premium on getting cash in those trades, maybe today we'd have the 5th starter and bullpen arms we need to contend (if we had traded for talent instead of cash). Also, Allen skimped on funding the draft so much that he made Marge look like Santa in that department. TWO years of not having cash to sign a #1 pick (Sowers and Esponisa). That is an embarassment. After Howington flopped, Allen refused to fund the farm system anymore. Maybe it was because Carl didn't care about the future, or maybe Allen wanted Bowden to fail, or maybe it was just to save money. But it was downright wrong.

Allen promised us that the GAB would provide revenue to help us compete, but then made NO ATTEMPT whatsoever to try to field a winning team. He figured that resigning Graves, Casey, and Haynes would be enough to sell tickets in 2003. Sadly, he was right. The fans bought a lot of tickets that year, and then Allen screwed them by dumping everyone he could off the roster. IMO, that's a large reason why attendence is so lackluster in every year since. Allen and Lindner have alienated a lot of the fan base with their con games. What they did to the taxpayers was downright criminal.

I do agree that Lindner shares the blame though. Everything Allen did was under Lindner's blessing. All this BS about the limiteds being the problem is just that.. BS. Carl proved it by signing Milton without even telling the limiteds.

Allen and Lindner set this team way back.

Every point you made shows why it would be advantageous for Lindner, not Allen, to operate that way. Again, you speak as though John's making these decisions to save himself money. It was Lindner's team. They were Lindner's decisions. And Allen was the guy who got to take the blame for Lindner's way of doing business.

Perhaps there's a back-story about Allen or personal vendetta I'm not familiar with, though.


I do agree that Lindner shares the blame though.

Shares the blame? It was his team. All the blame is his.


I hope he remembers getting booed on opening day when he's on his deathbed.

I'm not happy about what the guy did to the team either, but that's just a sick, sick way of looking at it. Jeesh.

[westofyou]

Allen singlehandedly set this team back about 20 years, by alienating a good portion of the fan base.

And yet you give Marge Schott a pass everyday, go figure.

[MaineRed]

He fumbled the Reds, for sure, but that was not the sum of his entire life.

What are you saying, the disgusting thoughts of the man on his death bed aren't warranted?

John Allen did what he was told and sang the company line. What was he supposed to do REDREAD, tell the public that the GAB was a joke was wouldn't help the Reds at all?

Its just like your sig line. When has a person in Allen's position ever come out and spoken the truth about a current struggling GM? What did you want Allen to say?

You've been around the block long enough to know that you take those kind of comments with a grain of salt, even if you despise the person who said it. But that is the whole point. If someone you liked said the same thing, you'd be the one bringing up the grain of salt. But since you hate John Allen, you use it against him.

If any other CEO was asked about O'Brien under those circumstance you would of got a similar answer. How often has a guy been given a vote of confidence only to be fired 3 days later. Was the person who gave the vote of confidence clueless 3 days before firing the person they were clueless about?

Nobody is ever going to come out and say, "O'Brien had a pretty bad year and he'll need to shape up if he wants to stay around."

And you know it. Fine, Allen said it. But it hardly PROVES he is clueless.

[johngalt]

Allen singlehandedly set this team back about 20 years, by alienating a good portion of the fan base.

That's the main problem with your argument - Allen did nothing singlehandedly. He was following Lindner's orders and carrying them out on a daily basis. Lindner didn't want to deal with any public fallout or possible problems, so he turned Allen into his spokesman and representative.

Just because Allen was the face of management didn't mean he was making the managerial decisions.

[Highlifeman21]

Did I miss something here or is this some kind of inside joke? Can someone please fill me in on this? I know that Castro like to sit next to a person in the dugout on the bench after they have hit a homer, but that is all I have heard about Castro unless he is fielding or hitting....someone please help me out and fill me in on this....heck, I might be writing this for naught.


I was just commenting that carrying Castro's bags is about the only positive contribution Olmedo can bring this ballclub.

[Team Clark]

What exactly has Allen done worthy of praise?

Here's what I can think of: When he first arrived, he didn't lose his soul yet. Bringing back Redsfest was good. Retiring numbers was good. He had a couple promotions.

But the evil he did far outweighs the small amount of good he did (Which was largely recycling ideas that used to be done).

Allen singlehandedly set this team back about 20 years, by alienating a good portion of the fan base.

Those are just the things the "fans" know about. It's amazing that he still has a job. I am trusting that will be rectified this off-season.

[WMR]

Those are just the things the "fans" know about. It's amazing that he still has a job. I am trusting that will be rectified this off-season.

It was *really* funny hearing George kiss his butt when he was in the booth during the FSN "Meet the Employees-broadcast."