Reds Ready to Deal.....LuRussa to the Reds???

[pokeyfan]

The hot corner

-- Scouts say the Reds are alerting other clubs that everybody on their roster is available except Aaron Harang, Homer Bailey, Josh Hamilton, Alex Gonzalez and Brandon Phillips.
-- Scouts say the Reds are alerting other clubs that everybody on their roster is available except , , , and .


-- According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, there are rumors that Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty and manager Tony La Russa could end up in Cincinnati as a package deal. Reds owner Bob Castellini used to be part of the Cardinals ownership group.

There is a discussion about this on the old red guard, but since i'm not priveleged enough to post there yet, let's open this for discussion here.

I HATE Tony LaRussa, but if can come here and emulate the success that he's had in Oakland and St. Louis, then i guess i can swallow my pride for a few years. I guess we need someone to replace Bob Huggins as the town drunk anyways.

As far as trades i would like to add EdwinE to the list of untouchables....i don't think we need a total roster makeover. We need a closer, and a leadoff hitter with a good obp. If we can get rid of Dunn's and Lohse's salary on top of Milton's and either/and Hatteberg and Conine's, we would have some nice $$$ to go shopping with in the offseason.

[reds44]

Scouts say the Reds are alerting other clubs that everybody on their roster is available except Aaron Harang, Homer Bailey, Josh Hamilton, Alex Gonzalez and Brandon Phillips

Alex Gonzalez is untouchable? huh? Is that a misprint that should be Edwin Encarnacion?

[UC_Ken]

I guess we need someone to replace Bob Huggins as the town drunk anyways.

No need, Ryan Freel has already taken the mantle.

[forfreelin04]

I keep hearing about Jocketty and Larussa, but why do they want to leave St. Louis in the first place. Did they not just win a WS?

[jimbo]

Personally, I don't think you should consider anyone as "untradeable." If a trade improves your organization then you do it, regardless of who is involved.

[pokeyfan]

I keep hearing about Jocketty and Larussa, but why do they want to leave St. Louis in the first place. Did they not just win a WS?

Something to do with the owner favoring a young up-and-comer guy in the organization....i forget the guys name, but he is an ivy school grad, and his baseball philosophy and Jocketty's philosophy do not match and there is some anomosity between them......at least that's what some dude from the St. Louis post dispatch was saying on one of the XM baseball shows that i listen to.

[UC_Ken]

Harang would be the closest thing to untradeable but if Minnesota called and offered Santana or San Diego offered Peavy Harang would be on the next plane out of town.

No one is untradeable.

[steig]

LaRussa to the Reds, Marty would would not be happy with that move and neither would I. I can't stand LaRussa but for a championship caliber team I will get over it.

[pokeyfan]

Wonder if LaRussa's first move would be to suspend Harang if he became our manager? ;)

[TheWalls]

I have it on good authority that the LaRussa/Jocketty rumor is planted to improve their bargaining position. They have no intention of leaving and the Cards have no intention of lettingthem go.

[big boy]

I HATE Tony LaRussa, but if can come here and emulate the success that he's had in Oakland and St. Louis, then i guess i can swallow my pride for a few years.

Not to take too much away from LaRussa but the team he had in Oakland was so good, he just had to get out of the way. Consider that he had two of the best players in the game (Canseco and Henderson), Macguire, and the best closer of all time. In St. Louis, he got to the series twice but there weren't any great teams in the National League and he had the best hitter in the game.

He has an impressive resume but he would need a bit more to take the Reds to such heights.

[luvdozer]

Wonder if LaRussa's first move would be to suspend Harang if he became our manager? ;)

I cant imagine why Jocketty or LaRussa would want to leave St Louis. Good revenue, weak division, top 5 baseball town. Even if ownership didnt want either one of them (can't understand that either - normally winning a world series warrants a good performance evaluation) why would either one want to come to small market cincinnati?

I find it hard to believe that my beloved reds will be the most attractive available opening for a future hall of fame manager in the 2007-2008 off-season.

And frankly im glad - i despise that hypocritical drunk LaRussa.

[mroby85]

wow is this for real? that would be awesome.

does that mean they're going to trade players for management?

[markymark69]

I have it on good authority that the LaRussa/Jocketty rumor is planted to improve their bargaining position. They have no intention of leaving and the Cards have no intention of lettingthem go.


I can buy that. I believe Girardi is No. 1 on the list and I think Krivsky is safe for now.

At some point you have to develop some stability in the front office, for a couple of reasons IMO. (1) You would have to start over with scouts and other positions along that line and (2) it would be hard to hire a quality person if an organization continues to give a GM only 2-3 years to fix a problem that was over a decade in the making (i.e. Jim Bowden/Marge Schott/Carl Lindner era).

[BLEEDS]

LaRussa to the Reds?!? NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS.

Dude makes more money than 60% of your players - we're CHEAP!!

Also, the fact that they're a HATED DIVISION RIVAL might play a part in it as well.

Besides, LaRussa is about the MOST OVERRATED COACH IN THE HISTORY OF MLB. Nobody gets the LEAST out of the MOST talent than LaRussa. That Oakland team of his should have won 3-4 Titles. The ONLY one they won was because of an EARTHQUAKE that allowed him to pitch Dave Stewart 3 times.

That Roster he had in St. Louis should be NOWHERE NEAR .500 as they were last year, when they LUCKED OUT and won the World Series. Heck, WE WERE ONLY THREE GAMES behind them in the Win column in 2006. Gimme a Break!

LaRussa sucks, is a Drunk, and would cost WAY too much. The City of Cincinnati would rather move the team to Covington and rename them the Covington Communists than let the ex-Card (and ex-A's) skipper manage their Beloved RedLegs.

Other than that, he'd be a solid choice.

PEACE

-BLEEDS

[kaldaniels]

LaRussa to the Reds?!? NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS.

Dude makes more money than 60% of your players - we're CHEAP!!

Also, the fact that they're a HATED DIVISION RIVAL might play a part in it as well.

Besides, LaRussa is about the MOST OVERRATED COACH IN THE HISTORY OF MLB. Nobody gets the LEAST out of the MOST talent than LaRussa. That Oakland team of his should have won 3-4 Titles. The ONLY one they won was because of an EARTHQUAKE that allowed him to pitch Dave Stewart 3 times.

That Roster he had in St. Louis should be NOWHERE NEAR .500 as they were last year, when they LUCKED OUT and won the World Series. Heck, WE WERE ONLY THREE GAMES behind them in the Win column in 2006. Gimme a Break!

LaRussa sucks, is a Drunk, and would cost WAY too much. The City of Cincinnati would rather move the team to Covington and rename them the Covington Communists than let the ex-Card (and ex-A's) skipper manage their Beloved RedLegs.

Other than that, he'd be a solid choice.

PEACE

-BLEEDS

I don't want LaRussa...but I don't know that you can label Bob as "cheap". I actually think he will suprise us with future payrolls.

[chuck1234]

Heads up:

Freel, Hatteberg, and maybe Weathers are going to be Yankees by the end of the day.

[jimbo]

Heads up:

Freel, Hatteberg, and maybe Weathers are going to be Yankees by the end of the day.

Source?

[reds44]

Heads up:

Freel, Hatteberg, and maybe Weathers are going to be Yankees by the end of the day.
We'll see how that goes.

[Krash]

Oh wow, another internet trade rumor that won't happen...

[BLEEDS]

I don't want LaRussa...but I don't know that you can label Bob as "cheap". I actually think he will suprise us with future payrolls.

IF he WASN'T Cheap, he'd have done at MINIMUM TWO of THREE things this past off-season:

1) Spent $10M on a 20-25 HR, .280 Avg, Right-handed FA OF-er.

2) Spent $10M on a #3/#4 SP who specializes in getting groundball outs, has a career ERA under 4.5, and a WHIP under 1.4.

3) Spent $5M on a PROVEN CLOSER or SETUP man, to bolster the bullpen.


INSTEAD, he opted for:

1) CHEAP!! - Jeff Conine and Josh Hamilton, who's about to be Rookie of the Year/Comeback player of the Century - Got Lucky Here!

2) CHEAP!! - Decided to keep Kyle Lohse and sign him for $4.2M. He of the 4-10 Record, 4.77 ERA and (remarkably) 1.39 WHIP - I'd say we got what we paid for - CRAP!!

3) CHEAP!! - Spent $1-$2.5M each on about 8 guys, NONE of which panned out other than Stormy Weathers. Currently we have 8 Rookies blowing saves left and right while our CHEAP Veterans take turns on the DL.


IF we had added $15-$20M this year, we could have EASILY fielded a team, who at least ON PAPER could have challenged in the MEDIOCRE (at best) NL Central.

Instead we do what we've done for the last 5 years, sign HAS-BEENS, NEVER BEENS, and otherwise everyone's leftover table scraps, and hope someone turns from a pile of poo to a Diamond. We got LUCKY with one, and the rest are WASTED.

SO, lemme Guess, we're going to take the Cubs Philosophy/Slogan - NEXT YEAR we'll spend the money to win. Uh-Huh. Sorry if I'm a bit Skeptical.

PEACE

-BLEEDS

[DTCromer]

Alex Gonzalez is untouchable? huh? Is that a misprint that should be Edwin Encarnacion?

I agree with WK. He should be untouchable. AG @ that his salary SHOULD be untouchable.

[kaldaniels]

IF he WASN'T Cheap, he'd have done at MINIMUM TWO of THREE things this past off-season:

1) Spent $10M on a 20-25 HR, .280 Avg, Right-handed FA OF-er.

2) Spent $10M on a #3/#4 SP who specializes in getting groundball outs, has a career ERA under 4.5, and a WHIP under 1.4.

3) Spent $5M on a PROVEN CLOSER or SETUP man, to bolster the bullpen.


INSTEAD, he opted for:

1) CHEAP!! - Jeff Conine and Josh Hamilton, who's about to be Rookie of the Year/Comeback player of the Century - Got Lucky Here!

2) CHEAP!! - Decided to keep Kyle Lohse and sign him for $4.2M. He of the 4-10 Record, 4.77 ERA and (remarkably) 1.39 WHIP - I'd say we got what we paid for - CRAP!!

3) CHEAP!! - Spent $1-$2.5M each on about 8 guys, NONE of which panned out other than Stormy Weathers. Currently we have 8 Rookies blowing saves left and right while our CHEAP Veterans take turns on the DL.


IF we had added $15-$20M this year, we could have EASILY fielded a team, who at least ON PAPER could have challenged in the MEDIOCRE (at best) NL Central.

Instead we do what we've done for the last 5 years, sign HAS-BEENS, NEVER BEENS, and otherwise everyone's leftover table scraps, and hope someone turns from a pile of poo to a Diamond. We got LUCKY with one, and the rest are WASTED.

SO, lemme Guess, we're going to take the Cubs Philosophy/Slogan - NEXT YEAR we'll spend the money to win. Uh-Huh. Sorry if I'm a bit Skeptical.

PEACE

-BLEEDS

Like I said...too soon to tell with BobCast if you ask me. If you think otherwise...cool. Lot of anger in your post I must say...I get thats what following to Reds does to some people. :D

However...I realize the point you are attempting to make. But...how about when Bob reupped Dunn, when he locked up Harang and Arroyo, and actually put good money into Alex G...who has performed. I for one didn't see many high dollar options out there this past off season. Maybe you did. Fine.

You mention spending $10 million for a sub 4.50 pitcher. For what...one year??? How about naming a name on that one.

I agree...the dollars spend on the pen were mismangaged...but as a sum...dollars were spent.

All I'm saying..."cheap" is not how I would describe Bob at this point. I believe that is unfair.

[Degenerate39]

I'd hate to see what would happen to Harang if Lu Russa was the manager.

[ED44]

I agree with WK. He should be untouchable. AG @ that his salary SHOULD be untouchable.

I agree with you there. We have NO ONE ready in the minors to take his place, unless we got one back for him in return.

[gilpdawg]

Alex Gonzalez is untouchable? huh? Is that a misprint that should be Edwin Encarnacion?
Well, Gonzo is pretty much in one of the only ballparks where he'd be a 25 homer guy, so, whatever.

[gilpdawg]

I keep hearing about Jocketty and Larussa, but why do they want to leave St. Louis in the first place. Did they not just win a WS?

New challenge?

[gilpdawg]

Marty would would not be happy with that move
All the more reason to do it.

[Doro]

When cows fly

[Chi-Town Red]

if Dave Duncan is part of the package, do it

[nmculbreth]

I'm far from a Tony LaRussa fan but I could learn to like him if he came here and was able to have the same kind of success that he's had in Oakland and St. Louis. With that being said I'm not sure that the Jocketty / LaRussa combination is the best fit for this franchise.

Over the years Jocketty has been most successful using his minor league prospects to trade for established quantities and then turning around and signing those players to long term contracts. I know that the Mulder deal has backfired but generally speaking he's put a consistent winner on the field while giving up nothing of great consequence to acquire guys like McGwire, Renteria, Rolen and Edmonds. Obviously the most important part of this plan is the financial resources to retain the players that he's able to trade for and to be honest I don't see this ownership group giving him the financial resources he'd need to execute that game plan here.

Obviously without Jocketty as the the GM, LaRussa isn't coming here. Whether or not that is a good thing is up for debate, but I'd certainly be willing to tolerate LaRussa if Dave Duncan was a part of the deal.

[hebroncougar]

Larussa will end up in Chicago, after they fire Guillen, that's if he leaves St. Louis. You can bet on that.

[HalMorrisRules]

Ive heard it mentioned a couple of times on the radio that LaRussa is not happy with the supposed plans for St Louis to try and go young and cheap for a few years. Supposedly he wants to win again sooner rather than later.

As for as Alex Gonzalez being untradeable, I dont think it would be because he is considered such a premium player but I think it is solely based upon this one fact: We dont have anyone in the minors to play SS if he is gone. Anyone want Royce back?

[demas863]

Wonder if LaRussa's first move would be to suspend Harang if he became our manager? ;)

No. His first move would be to bring Duncan over and that would be tremendous.

[Maldez]

A manager and a GM being coming over to another team in a "deal"? This is lunacy. Why not throw in a couple of ball boys and the organist.

[BigREDSfaninKY]

1) Josh Hamilton, who's about to be Rookie of the Year

Sorry, but Hamilton is not even in consideration (or the top 2) when it comes to ROY.

See Hunter Pence and Ryan Braun. Those 2 are your candidates for ROY.

[joshnky]

Sorry, but Hamilton is not even in consideration (or the top 2) when it comes to ROY.

See Hunter Pence and Ryan Braun. Those 2 are your candidates for ROY.

I totally agree. Hamilton is a great story but Hunter Pence is having an outstanding season.

[Redsfan08]

No to Larussa yes to Brenly

[TheWalls]

Larussa will end up in Chicago, after they fire Guillen, that's if he leaves St. Louis. You can bet on that.

LaRussa dynamited the bridge on the way out of Chicago when he managed there before.

Put me in the camp of fans who NEVER want Tony managing their team. Dave Stewart was a steroid abusing creep, as were Canseco(s), McGwire, et al. in Oakland. Rickey Henderson was just a tool, roids or not. The Reds beating that team of cheaters in '90 was as sweet as the Reds beating the Yankees in '76.

I'm convinced LaRussa knew about and condoned the performance enhancing drug problem (he'll never have the stones to admit it) and brought it with him to St. Louis in the person of Mark McGuire. Just like I expect he knew about and condoned the drinking problem that cost Josh Hancock his irresponsible life. (Plenty of blame for everybody.)

I hope history is quite unkind to Tony and pray he never works for the Reds.

[JLB5]

LaRussa dynamited the bridge on the way out of Chicago when he managed there before.

Put me in the camp of fans who NEVER want Tony managing their team. Dave Stewart was a steroid abusing creep, as were Canseco(s), McGwire, et al. in Oakland. Rickey Henderson was just a tool, roids or not. The Reds beating that team of cheaters in '90 was as sweet as the Reds beating the Yankees in '76.

I'm convinced LaRussa knew about and condoned the performance enhancing drug problem (he'll never have the stones to admit it) and brought it with him to St. Louis in the person of Mark McGuire. Just like I expect he knew about and condoned the drinking problem that cost Josh Hancock his irresponsible life. (Plenty of blame for everybody.)

I hope history is quite unkind to Tony and pray he never works for the Reds.


Amen. Keep LaRussa, but bring on Dave Duncan if he becomes available. ;)

[George Anderson]

A manager and a GM being coming over to another team in a "deal"? This is lunacy. Why not throw in a couple of ball boys and the organist.

If the organist and ball boys have been as successful at their jobs as Jocketty and LaRussa Inc. have been at their jobs, then by all means throw them in the deal!!! This isnt rocket science, find people who have been successful at their jobs and bring them in!!!