Coffey extended through '08

[Danny Serafini]

Well, this should certainly spark an interesting debate. Per team press notes Coffey and the team have agreed to terms on a one year extension, no dollars were mentioned. Coffey likely would've been arb eligible after this season. Also, Burton was transferred from Louisville to Chattanooga, for what it's worth.

[Unassisted]

It could be argued that it was in the club's best interest to do the deal while his stock is down. Assuming of course, that it goes back up.

[AmarilloRed]

I am conflicted about this. It is a good move if Coffey is not overused by Narron.He most likely would have been more expensive in arbitration. I would be interested to see the teams reasons for demoting Burton.

[Caveat Emperor]

It could be argued that it was in the club's best interest to do the deal while his stock is down. Assuming of course, that it goes back up.

Could also be a precursor to a conversation that goes something like this:

"Todd, we consider you an important part of the future of this franchise -- and we're making a financial commitment to you that says that. Now, head down to Louisville and figure out whats wrong."

FWIW, I like relievers that miss bats. Todd Coffey, when hes right, misses bats. Always good to keep around.

[Doro]

this is good for the Reds. Stuff wise hes probably the best reliever we have.

[jmac]

Wasnt Burton rehabbing?
If so why demote him?

[bucksfan2]

this is good for the Reds. Stuff wise hes probably the best reliever we have.

Is that necessarily a good thing? I think this was an ok extention because they would have spent more on the open market for someone like Coffey. This team just needs some stability at the end of the pen so everyone can fall into a roll where they can be successful.

[RedsManRick]

Could also be a precursor to a conversation that goes something like this:

"Todd, we consider you an important part of the future of this franchise -- and we're making a financial commitment to you that says that. Now, head down to Louisville and figure out whats wrong."

FWIW, I like relievers that miss bats. Todd Coffey, when hes right, misses bats. Always good to keep around.

Good call CE. They know he needs some time and don't want to kill his confidence and undercut themselves. This doesn't really affect their commitment any, gets an arb case out of the way, and let's him focus on being a good major league pitcher, not worrying if he'll be one at all.

[Always Red]

I like it; Coffey has good stuff, a live arm, and a lack of confidence right now, it seems.

Wow, Burton to AA? Maybe he's on his way back to Oakland, or maybe they want to see if he can close? (Isn't Salmon closing for Louisville?)

[savafan]

Wasnt Burton rehabbing?
If so why demote him?

I don't think it can be looked at as a demotion, seeing as how the Reds have to keep him on the roster or lose him, right? There has to be some reasoning behind this.

[CTA513]

Maybe they bumped Burton down to AA so they could promote someone to AAA while Burton is rehabing?

[dougdirt]

Burton is in AA because Louisville is on its way to Canada for a road trip and Its nice and warm in Chattanooga, per the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

[KronoRed]

Good move.

[REDREAD]

They were going to bring Coffey back next year regardless. First year arb players like coffey aren't expensive anyway. I see no downside in this.

It's nice Wayne is taking care of it now, as opposed to waiting until the 11th hour, like previous administrations did. A small gold star for Wayne for this.

I wonder if they are also demoting Burton so that he can face a lower level of competition as he works on consistently throwing strikes. That seems to be his big problem.

[pedro]

This continues Krivsky's apparent strategy of "fixing" as many costs as possible prior to the coming off season. IMO, it's a good strategy because with a presumed tight budget and obvious needs Krivsky is going to have to spend his time & money this off season pursuing FA's and perhaps making some trades, rather than negotiating with players already under the Reds control.

[11BarryLarkin11]

Personally, I'm encouraged by what Coffey has done thus far. If you take a look at his stats, then I think he's actually been fairly impressive and a bit unlucky.

IP: 12.1

H: 17

BB: 3

K: 14

HR: 2

ERA: 6.57

WHIP: 1.62

BB/9: 2.2

K/9: 10.2

GB/FB: 2.88 (23 GB and 8 FB)

BABIP: .455

It would seem to me that Coffey has been unlucky and the victim of a small sample size. If you strike out 14 hitters in 12.1 innings, then there's really no way you should have given up 17 hits. That's just bad hit luck, especially when you have such heavy, heavy groundball tendencies. I think his peripheral stats stack up with ANY reliever in baseball. He's got a 4.67 K/BB ratio and a 2.88 GB/FB ratio. If he keeps pitching like he has been, then he's going to have a very successful season.

I've actually been rather encouraged by Todd Coffey thus far. When his hit luck evens out, then he'll be very effective. Given all that, keeping him in the fold is a very good idea.

[bucksfan2]

Personally, I'm encouraged by what Coffey has done thus far. If you take a look at his stats, then I think he's actually been fairly impressive and a bit unlucky.


Unfortunatly luck is part of baseball. Yesterday Coffey pitched he served up two groundball double plays but one was not turned becuase the ump shielded Gonzo from making the play. Thats unlucky but it is a part of the game. I think Coffey has pitched well at times but seems to get himself into trouble too often.

[5DOLLAR-BLEACHERBUM]

They were going to bring Coffey back next year regardless. First year arb players like coffey aren't expensive anyway. I see no downside in this.

It's nice Wayne is taking care of it now, as opposed to waiting until the 11th hour, like previous administrations did. A small gold star for Wayne for this.

I wonder if they are also demoting Burton so that he can face a lower level of competition as he works on consistently throwing strikes. That seems to be his big problem.
2 walks in 6 innings pitched in AAA isn't great but I would see no reason why lower competition would make a difference in helping with throwing strikes.

[mroby85]

wow, unbelievabel.

[CaiGuy]

Coffey is the best reliever on the team, and he is very young. Why wouldn't you try to keep him around?

He might not be the most consistant pitcher now, but he could get better as time goes on.

[redsmetz]

I am conflicted about this. It is a good move if Coffey is not overused by Narron.He most likely would have been more expensive in arbitration. I would be interested to see the teams reasons for demoting Burton.

Technically Burton is on a rehab assignment, so it's not really a demotion. A couple of ideas come to mind. It could be to let him work at a level he's familiar with and move back up to Louisville before coming back up. It also could be they like Chattanooga's schedule better (maybe warmer climes). It could be they need to make room on the Louisville roster, etc. But he's still a ML player on rehab.

[redsmetz]

Personally, I'm encouraged by what Coffey has done thus far. If you take a look at his stats, then I think he's actually been fairly impressive and a bit unlucky.
[snip stats]

It would seem to me that Coffey has been unlucky and the victim of a small sample size. If you strike out 14 hitters in 12.1 innings, then there's really no way you should have given up 17 hits. That's just bad hit luck, especially when you have such heavy, heavy groundball tendencies. I think his peripheral stats stack up with ANY reliever in baseball. He's got a 4.67 K/BB ratio and a 2.88 GB/FB ratio. If he keeps pitching like he has been, then he's going to have a very successful season.

I've actually been rather encouraged by Todd Coffey thus far. When his hit luck evens out, then he'll be very effective. Given all that, keeping him in the fold is a very good idea.

I know the game I saw him pitch in, he was absolutely squeezed by the umpire. He was hitting corners and not getting calls. Now that's one game, but that's what I saw. It was the game he gave up some and Cormier melted down (Cormier's only bad outing too BTW).

[Ron Madden]

Good move.

[Strikes Out Looking]

The bonus of the deal is Coffeybro will be around here a bit longer!

[PuffyPig]

Unfortunatly luck is part of baseball.

That's true, but it tends to average out over time.

Coffey has pitched much better than his ERA indicates. If he has normal BABIP luck (which every pitcher should expect), he'd have an ERA about half his current rate.

[Roy Tucker]

Technically Burton is on a rehab assignment, so it's not really a demotion. A couple of ideas come to mind. It could be to let him work at a level he's familiar with and move back up to Louisville before coming back up. It also could be they like Chattanooga's schedule better (maybe warmer climes). It could be they need to make room on the Louisville roster, etc. But he's still a ML player on rehab.

Maybe they're trying to send him down so low that Oakland will forget the Reds have him.

[Kc61]

I heard Marty or Thom say the other day that Coffey is putting everything right down the heart of the plate. Sometimes a pitcher is afraid to walk guys and that results in a great many more hits allowed.

If you look at Danny Graves' numbers over the years, he was more effective in seasons when he walked some guys. When he stopped walking people he got hit hard (at least that's my recollection).

In Coffey's case, maybe his breaking pitches aren't moving that well and are staying over the plate. I don't know. But he seems very hittable this year.

[hebroncougar]

I heard Marty or Thom say the other day that Coffey is putting everything right down the heart of the plate. Sometimes a pitcher is afraid to walk guys and that results in a great many more hits allowed.

If you look at Danny Graves' numbers over the years, he was more effective in seasons when he walked some guys. When he stopped walking people he got hit hard (at least that's my recollection).

In Coffey's case, maybe his breaking pitches aren't moving that well and are staying over the plate. I don't know. But he seems very hittable this year.

Then a lot of batters must be leaning over the heart of the plate to get hit by pitches. FWIW I think this is a good move. Maybe the confidence of getting a new contract will spill over on the field for the guy.

[Coffeybro]

The bonus of the deal is Coffeybro will be around here a bit longer!
Yeah I'll be around a couple more seasons:thumbup: I've known about this since Sunday night was just sworn to secracy.

[Kc61]

Then a lot of batters must be leaning over the heart of the plate to get hit by pitches. FWIW I think this is a good move. Maybe the confidence of getting a new contract will spill over on the field for the guy.


Fair point, but he has also given up 17 hits in 12.1 innings. Whether hitters are making good contact or Todd is unlucky these days, we will find out.

[hebroncougar]

Fair point, but he has also given up 17 hits in 12.1 innings. Whether hitters are making good contact or Todd is unlucky these days, we will find out.

I said it in jest........forgot the :p:

[KYRed]

I like the move. Todd may not be the closer of the future, but when you consider the age and stuff of current Reds relievers and others throughout the league, he would certainly seem to have a place here. And that's probably a severe understatement, even considering recent short term struggles.

[dougdirt]

Yeah I'll be around a couple more seasons:thumbup: I've known about this since Sunday night was just sworn to secracy.

Oh, we see where your loyalty lies! ;)

[traderumor]

At the risk of stating the obvious, Coffey is as good as his control. He is sorta like Harang--both have good control from a balls and strikes perspective, but that also gets them in trouble when they get wild in the zone. In other words, rather than hitting knees and corners, they start missing spots ever so slightly and end up in the middle of the plate. It is still a command issue, but they get into more trouble because hitters know they have good control and go up there looking to get a mistake pitch early. If Coffey could only harness those other two inches, he'd be lights out. Hopefully, its possible, but his little bit of funky motion makes it unlikely. That is also the secret to Kyle Lohse's success, as I guess it is any other guy with the intangible "stuff." They hit their spots, they dominate. If they're just a little bit off, its BP.

[Caveat Emperor]

Yeah I'll be around a couple more seasons:thumbup: I've known about this since Sunday night was just sworn to secracy.

Suffice it to say, Todd'll be buying the next time you two go out. I saw him walking to the Cheesecake Factory in Kenwood the other night. Make sure you soak him: insist on Ruby's. :evil:

[Matt700wlw]

Hopefully this leads to him being able to consistantly get guys out, in the late innings, while holding the lead.

That's a lot, I know :)

[I(heart)Freel]

Worth noting that Krivsky is in Chattanooga right now scouting the AA club, after spending several days in Louisville.

In addition to the crummy roadtrip AAA is on, maybe he wants some time to personally see where Burton is.

[Coffeybro]

Suffice it to say, Todd'll be buying the next time you two go out. I saw him walking to the Cheesecake Factory in Kenwood the other night. Make sure you soak him: insist on Ruby's.
Well we will see. Things are going extremely well at my company. We have had 13 straight company record breaking months and I own 1% of it. :thumbup:

[Jr's Boy]

Cowboy said Coffey needs to use the splitter alot more often.

[oneupper]

Coffey is a good pitcher. This is good.

[Mainspark]

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Reliever Todd Coffey and the Cincinnati Reds agreed Friday to a $925,000, one-year contract extension through the 2008 season.
Coffey (1-1) has a 6.57 ERA in an NL-leading 14 appearances.
The right-hander led the Reds’ bullpen in 2006 with career-highs of 81 games and 78 innings. He had the most appearances by a Reds pitcher since Stan Belinda’s 84 in 1997.
In addition to his base salary next year, he could earn $600,000 in performance bonuses. He is making $407,500 this year.

[Degenerate39]

I don't like Coffey so I don't like this move.

[Ron Madden]

I don't like Coffey so I don't like this move.

I like Todd Coffey so I really like this move.

[Degenerate39]

I like Todd Coffey so I really like this move.

To each his own

[OnBaseMachine]

I like Todd Coffey so I really like this move.

I agree. Todd Coffey is a better pitcher than what his stats indicate at this moment. He's got good stuff, it's just a matter of consistency. Once he figures it (and I have faith he will), he'll be one of the better relievers in the NL IMO.

[mth123]

Coffey is a good pitcher. This is good.

Sums it up pretty well I'd say.

[cacollinsmba]

I don't like Coffey so I don't like this move.

I agree. So far this season, he's Byung-Hyun Coffey.

[traderumor]

Baseball axiom 13,456

Relievers are volatile from year to year


I agree. So far this season, he's Byung-Hyun Coffey.