Oswalt to announce today......

[jhu1321]

...... according to Jon Heyman it is not the Rangers or Red Sox. Who does that leave? Doh. Cardinals........ :thumbdown:

[texasdave]

Mystery Team.

[RedsfaninMT]

Unreal it has taken this long. My bet is on the Cards, with a bargain contract.

[10xWSChamps]

FWIW, my gut instinct is that it's not the Cardinals. If it is though, that would be an insane rotation:

1/1 Wainwright and Carpenter
1b. Oswalt
2. Garcia
3. Lohse

[WildcatFan]

My money's on the Red Sox. As is my rabbit's foot, four leaf clover, lucky penny, and magic four of clubs.

[brad1176]

It looks like all of the teams that Roy was interested in playing for have said no for a number of reasons. Detroit had offered him 12 million I believe, and Roy turned it down. Maybe he's decided Detroit is his best choice now?

[Stray]

I wouldn't worry about him if he landed on the Cards anyway. Wainwright, Carp, and Garcia will give us a lotta probs, but I doubt Oswalt would. He's not nearly the player he was when he used to dominate us.

[Jefferson24]

I wouldn't worry about him if he landed on the Cards anyway. Wainwright, Carp, and Garcia will give us a lotta probs, but I doubt Oswalt would. He's not nearly the player he was when he used to dominate us.

But anything that makes them better hurts us. I do think they are a better team with him than without him.

[jhu1321]

Cardinals GM saying it's not them. Mystery team? Retirement?

[izzy's dad]

I would almost prefer it was the Cardinals. We have hit Oswalt pretty well over the last couple of years, he really isn't the guy he was when he was a Cy Young caliber pitcher. His salary would eat into their payroll, and possibly prevent them from making any kind of serious trade deadline move. Roy Oswalt just isn't scary anymore. When Berkman, Holliday, Beltran, and Oswalt (assuming he signs with St. Louis) are all out due to injury the Cardinals will all be less "scary."

[Jefferson24]

When Berkman, Holliday, Beltran, and Oswalt (assuming he signs with St. Louis) are all out due to injury the Cardinals will all be less "scary."

I would love to see that, as would the rest of the Central, let's hope it happens.

[Stray]

But anything that makes them better hurts us. I do think they are a better team with him than without him.

It depends though. If he's the aging Roy Oswalt with a bad back I don't think he makes them better, if he's Roy Oswalt from 2 years ago then he does.

I could be wrong, but I thought I remembered reading a while back that the Cardinals wouldn't even guarantee him a spot in the rotation, which is what he was wanting. Plus, like another poster said, we've hit him around in recent games. There's a lot to worry about with the Cards, them getting Oswalt just wouldn't be one of those things for me.

[Stray]

ESPN just said he's not signing with anyone. He'll continue to work out and check his options later in the season.

It would appear Oswalt thinks he's better than any of his suitors do.

[Jefferson24]

So basically he is going to wait until someones #1 or #2 starter goes down with injury and then see if they are desperate enough to pay him what he wants.

[Moosie52]

Extended vacation!

[code]

His choice today kind of pissed me off. I hope no one picks him up now.

[Jr's Boy]

Extended vacation!

From what I read,''sources''have said that his back is far from %100 healed.And we all know how age and back problems can effect a ball player.Hello Scott Rolen.Seems it would be compounded with a pitcher.I hope Roy's ego don't get in the way,and he takes what he can get.

[[deleted]]

Honestly, if you're a Reds fan hoping to land Oswalt, this is probably the best way this could have played out. If Arroyo continues his slide into 'so-bad-it-hurts' territory or Bailey flops, it might be a lot easier to sign Oswalt around the mid-point than look to the trade market. He'll have a lot of suitors, sure, and he could hold out for a higher deal / more years when he has all that leverage at the deadline, but better than the Cards having him all season.


From what I read,''sources''have said that his back is far from %100 healed.And we all know how age and back problems can effect a ball player.Hello Scott Rolen.Seems it would be compounded with a pitcher.I hope Roy's ego don't get in the way,and he takes what he can get.

why

why would you neglect a space bar that much

clearly you have no problems doing it between words

do we need to talk about this

[lidspinner]

I agree that this is the best chance for the Reds to get Roy on our mound....if Bronson or Bailey or Leake or whoever take a turn for the worse or get hurt then this is our perfect shot at staying over the top.....will we have the coin to make that run is the question......

I am not sold on Homer doing any better, I can gain 25 pounds in a winter and be in worse shape....this bean pole was a pound or two from looking like a crack addict, its not like he was ripped to begin with....he could have ate Chipotle everyday all winter and gained 25 pounds and still look healthy, so lets not jump on the homer train yet and sew what he can do in ST.....

I am also not sold on Mike Leake, I know i will probably get hung by my username from the address bar but Leake tends to be a "greg Maddux" like pitcher in the last 2 years of Gregs career....whereas, when he is hitting his spots he will be good, when he is not hitting his spots he will be below average....when guys rely on location as opposed to power then I tend to think the younger you are the worse you are, when you rely on power, age is not your friend...Leake relies on hitting corners and keeping the ball low, if he fails at this then teams will tee off on him like he is Bronsons little brother...

Throw in Chapman, I am not sold on him being able to throw strikes for more than a few innings.....then again, maybe once he gets a few innings deep he settles down and hits the zone better, I dont know, but thats the problem, we dont know......If Chapman is going to be a starter in this league then he cannot be walking people in the 1st inning and 2nd innings...teams started to get a read on him last year and made him throw strikes....I watched a video of a scout talking about AC last year and he said the batter is more than likely going to strike out or hit a lazy grounder, so if thats the case why not go into the batters box and make him throw at least 2 strikes before you swing.....once Chapman got behind he threw almost only fastballs and guys were starting to figure him out.....Chap needs to learn the out pitches and throw them for strikes....he has relied to heavily on fastballs and sliders....he needs that change up to be a great 3-5 guy in our rotation....

there is 3 big question marks for our staff and I havent even began talking about Bronson....so now we have 4 spots that could be in our favor, but also could take a turn for the worse and hurt us in a big way....with those questions looming over our staff I still think we are in better shape than 2/3 of the National League.....but having a guy like Roy sitting back waiting on someone to fail so he can have a job might be in our best interest....he will be fresh and he tends to pitch better late in the year so he might be just what we need to put us over the hump or keep us at top if someone fails to do their job.....

I know that is a ton of if's, but really it only takes 1 bad "if" to put a hurting on our pitching staff....lets not forget, Chapman has not proven anything to anyone so I am not really counting on him going 7 innings every 5th day just yet....

[brad1176]

he has relied to heavily on fastballs and sliders....he needs that change up to be a great 3-5 guy in our rotation....

I think the fastball and slider are his only pitches, can anyone confirm that?

[bigredmechanism]

I think the fastball and slider are his only pitches, can anyone confirm that?

Yes, I have only seen those two.

PitchFX called a couple of FB as changeups last season, but anyone who watched AC pitch knew he just had lost velocity on his FB for a day or two. (This was in late May, right before they shut him down.)

[brad1176]

Yes, I have only seen those two.

PitchFX called a couple of FB as changeups last season, but anyone who watched AC pitch knew he just had lost velocity on his FB for a day or two. (This was in late May, right before they shut him down.)

Ok, thanks. I thought this was the case, but wasn't 100% sure.

AC has to find a third pitch that he can throw for a strike, some form of an offspeed pitch, in order to be a successful starter. Typically two pitch guys end up in the bullpen.

[bigredmechanism]

Ok, thanks. I thought this was the case, but wasn't 100% sure.

AC has to find a third pitch that he can throw for a strike, some form of an offspeed pitch, in order to be a successful starter. Typically two pitch guys end up in the bullpen.

If he had a changeup that could get down under 85 with good movement I would be much more confident with him starting.

[texasdave]

If he had a changeup that could get down under 85 with good movement I would be much more confident with him starting.

Then he should spend a little time with Arroyo and watch him throw his fastball. 85 or less with good movement sounds about right. :)

[brm7675]

I hope we never see Chapman in a Reds uniform this season. I would love that our starting rotation is so strong and healthy that we don't need Oswalt and Chapman can spend the entire season in AAA learning how to be a starter...now that would be cool...

[Captain13]

Yes, I have only seen those two.

PitchFX called a couple of FB as changeups last season, but anyone who watched AC pitch knew he just had lost velocity on his FB for a day or two. (This was in late May, right before they shut him down.)

I watched him in Louisville and he was working on a Change and a Curve. The change was in the high 80's and the curve was a slow curve. Neither pitch was effective; hence, he only used to pitches in Cincy.

[10xWSChamps]

Sounds like the Cards talked to him but just weren't going to pay him what he wanted.

Actually it sounds like no one is offering him what he wants!

I'd bet they'll kick the tires again if he's still there mid season and we have a need though. The Cardinals are always good about strengthening the team mid season.