Sorry it's late, everyone. Technical difficulties and all that
Here is the Reds Hot Stove League show report for 11-17-09. Marty and Thom were the hosts tonight. Thom began the show by announcing the AL Cy Young award winner, Zach Greinke. They both believed he was very deserving of the award. Marty thought that it was a slam dunk that he would win it.
Marty said he was at a Reds corporate luncheon on Monday and they unveiled a depth chart that had Chris Heisey as the de facto starting left fielder. Marty found that very interesting. He said he’s hit all year and is having a great AFL season. Thom said that when the MLB network was doing the AFL all star game, one of the TV announcers said that he was the best player in the AFL. Marty said Willy T. is #3 behind Stubbs and Dickerson. (Still too high.) Marty said that the Hernandez re-signing was big. Thom agreed and said he was the best player on the Reds for the first two months of the season. (As Chad would say, “Child, please.”) Marty said keeping him healthy is a priority. Marty said Janish is #1 on the depth chart at SS. Thom asked about Cozart and said he’s having a big AFL season. Marty said he couldn’t remember if he was on the depth chart.
The first caller said that the end of the season last year was so exciting and made her look forward to 2010. She said that she’s concerned that trading guys like Brandon could derail the momentum from the end of 2009. Marty said that Walt told him that Brandon will not be traded and he didn’t know where that information came from in the article that was written. Thom said John Fay wrote that article and based it on a certain payroll. Thom said that no matter how much they love the high priced players like Brandon, they would trade him to FLA in a heartbeat for Hanley Ramirez. Marty said that he doesn’t think Brandon or Ramirez will be traded. (Like FLA would trade Ramirez for someone making more money than he is.)
After commercial, the next caller said that he wanted to talk about the pitching and said that the pitching didn’t necessarily fall short because of talent. He wondered how Volquez and Cueto were coming along. Thom said that Volquez won’t be back until later in the season if then. Thom said Cueto finished the year strong after coming off the DL and it looked like he got his confidence back. Thom said he thought Homer was the best pitcher in the NL in the last month and a half and Bronson was the best after the All Star break. Marty agreed with those statements. Thom said that if Harang can come back strong, the rotation looks interesting. Marty said Matt Maloney was pretty good at the end. Thom said he likes Maloney but a lot of people don’t. Marty said he’s optimistic about the team because of the pitching and guys like Bruce who batted .320 after coming off the DL. Marty said we know what Rolen can do and he thinks he had a whole lot to do with the way they played over the last 6 weeks. He said Rolen brings a level of professionalism that few others in the game do both on and off the field.
The next caller asked how close Valaika or Cozart were to the majors. Marty said Janish is the de facto #1 SS but someone could be brought in to challenge him. He added that his only question mark is his bat and perhaps the Razor Ramon signing takes some of the pressure off of getting a SS with a bat. Marty said that Hanigan was an absolute failure at driving runs in. He didn’t think the Reds could go with both Hanigan and Janish as the everyday catcher and shortstop. Thom said that if Razor Ramon bats 7th he’d have Rolen or Bruce hitting in front of him and that’s much better than last year. (If Razor Ramon hits 7th, who’s hitting 8th? Because we know CF leads off and the SS bats 2nd for Big Dust. I certainly hope they don’t continue to have Brandon hitting 4th. A lineup like that is not giving your team the best chance to win.)
The next caller asked about the depth chart and where Gomes was on it. Marty said he was on the depth chart in LF and Francisco was there too as well at 3rd. Marty said Dickerson was on there both in CF another OF spot.
The next caller asked about Brandon not winning the Gold Glove at 2nd. Thom said he wasn’t surprised since the managers and coaches vote on it and the unbalanced schedule gives them little opportunity to watch players outside their own division. Marty said that a lot of the time the award goes to the best hitter at that position although Orlando Hudson wasn’t plus he was injured for part of the season and Marty thinks Brandon’s the best 2B in the league.
After commercial, the next caller asked if the payroll is going to be cut, would Bronson or Harang be traded. Thom said it’s possible anyone could be traded but Bronson was the Reds best pitcher last year and if the Reds are going to contend, they are going to need him. Thom said that Harang’s salary and ineffectiveness may be difficult to move him. Marty said that it’s possible anyone could be traded but they don’t have any inside information.
The next caller doesn’t think Dusty is a good fit for this young team and the Reds should have hired someone like Jim Leyland. Marty said that if you criticize Dusty for the first 4 months of the season, you have to praise him for the last 2. Thom said the last 40 games were played with youngsters with the exception of Rolen. Thom said he can’t remember the last time Leyland managed younger guys.
The next caller asked if Harang is healthy and ready to pitch this spring, is he the Opening Day starter. (Good question) Thom said Marty asked him that during commercial. Marty asked the caller what he thought. The caller said he can handle the pressure and has pitched well on Opening Day in the past.
Thom said Harang’s done it 5 years in a row and would be tied for 2nd in consecutive Opening Day starts with Jose Rijo if he starts in 2010. However, Bronson’s been the best pitcher for the past 2 years and is deserving of the Opening Day start. Marty said ever since he shut out the Mets on July 10 he was the best starter in the NL. Thom said he’d have a bit of an axe to grind against StL because of their complaining about the pine tar on his hat in his last start against them.
After commercial, the next caller asked if Owings would be back next year. Thom said that’s a tough call. He added that there may be some guys who are more productive. Marty said that the knock on him coming out of the bullpen was that it took too long for him to warm up.
The next caller asked about catchers having the rep of calling a great game even though they look in the dugout before every pitch. Marty said that on the Reds, they look in the dugout only when runners are on base so they can see if there’s a sign for a pitchout or something. Marty said that Dusty has said that he doesn’t call pitches from the dugout. The caller asked why players go around with the inside of their pants pockets out. Marty said that he believes it’s supposed to be “cool” (A regular Algonquin Round Table here).
The next caller asked if they see the Reds eventually signing Votto to a multi-year deal. Thom said that he really has to prove he can play a full season without any health and emotional problems. Marty said he spoke to Walt at the luncheon and he said he just talked to Votto and he just got back from a trip to Rome and he feels great. Marty said in September, there wasn’t a better hitter in the game.
The next caller asked if the Reds are trying to save money, why don’t they try to trade Cordero. Marty said that there was speculation that some team wanted him and it was rumored to be Philly. Walt said that wasn’t true. Marty said it’d be tough to trade him probably because he makes $15M a year. ($12M actually). Thom hypothesized that if the Reds were in the hunt next year and another team wanted us to trade Cordero to them, would it be a good idea.
After commercial, the next caller asked if the Reds were comfortable with Janish at SS and are they OK with guys like Sutton and Rosales as the backups or are they looking at other SS like Vizquel or Counsell or Belliard or Uribe. Thom said he didn’t know but it depends on how comfortable they feel with Janish and the offense at the other positions. He said those are some interesting names for a backup role but would the payroll allow that to happen.
The next caller asked about the Dayton Dragons and the 9 losing seasons they have had here and is the current regime responsible for that. (I think he meant the losing seasons in Cincinnati.) Marty said that the minor leagues are there to develop players for the big leagues and the current front office isn’t necessarily responsible for the minor league players. Thom said the minor league system hasn’t been this good for a long time. Marty said it’s as good as he’s seen it.
The last caller was supposed to ask about Prince Fielder but there was some SNAFU and he didn’t get through. Marty asked Thom if he’s heard anything about him. Thom said that they did give Ryan Braun a big deal but he hasn’t heard anything else. Both said they would rather give Fielder a long term deal than Braun.
Marty said in Fay’s column the other day that Frazier or Heisey would be ideal #2 hitters provided they make the club(But they aren’t shortstops). Thom said he’s excited to see the young guys play.
Thus endeth the Reds Hot Stove League show report for 11-17-09. So let it be written. So let it be done.
Originally Posted by Raisor
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