Hurricane Dolly
.jpg)
2008 Browns training camp
West Side out of state tourney
Jay Bruce coming back to Reds soon
COMMENT: How do you think Jay Bruce will do in the Major Leagues?
Thursday, May 22, 2008
LOS ANGELES — It is like an old movie poster: "Coming Soon, Jay Bruce."
Cincinnati Reds general manager Walt Jocketty saw Bruce play Sunday in Louisville, "Saw him ground out twice and hit a home run over the right field fence."
Extras
So he knows, first hand, how well the 21-year-old outfielder is doing — ripping Triple-A pitching to shreds.
"If he keeps playing like this, we're going to have to get him up here some time soon," said Jocketty. "What we don't want to do is bring him up and not have him play."
There are cynics who believe Bruce is being held back so the Reds can save a year of arbitration. If he is called up before a certain date this year, the clock on arbitration starts immediately.
If they wait until that date, arbitration won't start until next year.
The dates? May 25? June 1? June 15?
"I honestly don't know that date," said Jocketty. "I've heard sometime in June but it doesn't play into anything."
Bruce is hitting .369 with 10 homers and 37 RBIs in 45 games. He also has 41 strikeouts.
Jocketty was in Dayton for the first time this week and saw parts of four baseball games that day. He saw some of a Dayton Dragons game, a University of Dayton game, a University of Cincinnati game and part of a Xavier University game.
Comments
By Travis
May 25, 2008 3:44 PM | Link to this
Let the kid play. Baker is a joke. I hear all this minors is different then the pros. So does that mean the guy hitting 250 in the minors has a better chance. No the guy killing the majors means he is the BEST call up and and the stats posted by all the Reds are numbers to be sent to the minors. Do you think Patterson can do what Bruce is in the minors?
By pilfer
May 23, 2008 5:30 PM | Link to this
i just wish the kid would get called up. wallowing in 1st in fantasyleague with 8 having already spent time on the DL… 5 in the first 2 weeks!..I am hoping he is A spark to vault me into SECOND to last.
By pilfer
May 23, 2008 5:30 PM | Link to this
i just wish the kid would get called up. wallowing in 1st in fantasyleague with 8 having already spent time on the DL… 5 in the first 2 weeks!..I am hoping he is A spark to vault me into SECOND to last.
By Cincinatti Reds Revival
May 23, 2008 2:27 PM | Link to this
How you can hold this kid back is unbelivable to me. Being a life long Reds fan it just adds to my ever growing frustration with the team. Are we holding him back because we have Corey “Never Have Been, Never Will BE” Patterson ?? Ryan Freel?? Cmon, enough is enough Bruce is hitting the cover off of the ball and should be rewarded. Have we forgot this is not the “Big Red Machine”. We need help and his remarkable hitting skills would be a welcomed additon to our inconsistent offense. BRING HIM UP
By Brian
May 23, 2008 12:46 PM | Link to this
He’d be fine. Like everyone else he’ll struggle at times but adjust and figure it out.
The issue isn’t being ready. He is. The issue isn’t opening a spot. CF is open. The issue as I see it is having another left handed power bat in an already unbalanced lineup.
The pieces of this team don’t fit and it’s going to take our new GM time to work that out. Let’s hope he keeps the best of the pieces we have and gets rid of the duplicates to get what we don’t have.
By Tyler
May 23, 2008 12:15 PM | Link to this
He is 20 years old first off to everyone reading this and he is a friend of mine, he has far more talent than most people think and for all of you ripping on him don’t. Jay will provide but it doesnt have to be right away. His Birthday is in August and let the kid develop a little more, the reds still aren’t going to jump into first place with him. Cincinatti has way more problems than bringing him up such as bringing up homer, think what grienke did in KC his first years
By G-man
May 23, 2008 9:29 AM | Link to this
He can’t be any worse considering the way Corey Patterson, Adam Dunn, and Jr. have played so far this year. Might as well give him a chance in a few weeks, especially after Jr. finally hits #600. After #600 there would be no reason to plug an old struggling right fielder who can’t run anymore or drive in runs in the starting lineup every day. Give the young guys some experience because we aren’t going to win anything with the “veterans” we have now.
By doug
May 23, 2008 8:48 AM | Link to this
hey preacher man….fairy tales are for kids. ‘god’ isnt blessing the reds anymore than santa claus would, sorry to break that to you.
as for bruce, another 3 weeks wont kill his development if it means an extra year of flexibility for the reds. remember, even the yankees paid jeter and rivera 700K as long as they could.
as for tulo, he was a joke the beginning of last year too, then turned it on big time. he’ll have a solid second half once his quad is in one piece
By HuberTucky
May 22, 2008 9:59 PM | Link to this
If the Reds don’t bring Bruce up to the Show, they may as well trade him for another pitcher. What is the point of letting him languish when he’s already proven himself at every level. So there is no reason to expect he won’t do well here. Anything else is negative thinking. However, I agree with boxter who said the Reds seem to possess a special magic in screwing up perfectly good talent. It’s scary sometimes. Bruce would HAVE to be a better addition to the OF than some people.
By Jordan K
May 22, 2008 8:48 PM | Link to this
how could you say the mlb hasnt caught up with Tulo? The guys a joke this year. As far as Bruce goes, what are you waiting for? He cant do any better in AAA
By Mike in Troy
May 22, 2008 5:22 PM | Link to this
Anything better than Patterson will be a plus, however, I expect Freel to be traded to make room for Bruce; Patterson is Baker’s guy.
By preacher,franklin,ohio
May 22, 2008 4:00 PM | Link to this
time will tell wait and see geter done for jesus god bless the reds love in chirst preacher, franklin,ohio.
By preacher,franklin,ohio
May 22, 2008 3:59 PM | Link to this
time will tell wait and see geter done for jesus god bless the reds love in chirst preacher, franklin,ohio.
By preacher,franklin,ohio
May 22, 2008 3:59 PM | Link to this
time will tell wait and see geter done for jesus god bless the reds love in chirst preacher, franklin,ohio.
By Mark Kanges
May 22, 2008 2:50 PM | Link to this
Hi,
I’ll tell you the problem. It’s Dusty Baker. Your roster looks like the 2005 Cubs. Bako. Patterson. Hairston. Mercker was a 2004 Cub. Dusty is loyal to a fault.
Does Dusty think Hairston Jr or Patterson are a better option than Jay Bruce? Bruce is in the minors because of either the arbitration issue, or because of Dusty’s protecting “his guys”
When will they sign Jose Macias and send Janish down? Alibi Dusty will convince you its a good move.
By bill
May 22, 2008 2:10 PM | Link to this
If I ran my business like they run theirs, I’d be in last place, too. The object is to win! To win, you play your best people. Like Hal McCoy has asked many times, “Do they want to win”. Statistics don’t lie.
By jeremiah
May 22, 2008 1:52 PM | Link to this
Its hard to tell, but its definitely time to get him up. He could be the next chipper or he could be the next branden larson…but he can’t be much worse than patteron so whats the holdup?!
By jeremiah
May 22, 2008 1:51 PM | Link to this
Its hard to tell, but its definitely time to get him up. He could be the next chipper or he could be the next branden larson…but he can’t be much worse than patteron so whats the holdup?!
By Jim
May 22, 2008 1:50 PM | Link to this
Be careful what you wish for. Remember Homer Bayley was supposed to be the next big star. All we heard was bring him up,bring him up. They did. He wasn’t.
By BnOPanther
May 22, 2008 1:48 PM | Link to this
I see no reason to keep him at AAA. It’s time he comes to the Majors. He killed it in Dayton, killed it in Chatanooga and is killing it in Louisville. Why not give a shot to kill it in Cincy.
By daedalus
May 22, 2008 1:41 PM | Link to this
on mon we will be able to buy our tix for bruce’s tues mlb debut…if it doesn’t happen, i might not buy another ticket for the rest of the season. it’ll just prove the reds are not serious about winning. yeah, i’m that fed up. corey career obp under .300 patterson on an mlb team? when a team starts to lose their diehards, you know its brass is screwing up. (of course, i won’t be able to stay away all season, even if they’re in the basement. but i will buy fewer tix.)
By boxter
May 22, 2008 1:11 PM | Link to this
He will hit at first then tail off. Once he starts listening to the Reds hitting coach, everything he is doing at AAA will be forgotten and he will start struggling like the others. Maybe he can get Griffey Jr. to show him how to hit singles while getting paid 9 million dollars. Bring up Homer also. I like to sit in the bleachers and with him pitching, I should get some homerun balls.
By John
May 22, 2008 1:07 PM | Link to this
He is 21 years old. Ordinary 21 year olds don’t hit like that at any level. Ever heard of MLE’s, check out some of the projections. Braun, Tulo, Soto, etc. all came in to the league riding hot streaks like Bruces’, but the league caught up to them right? … not!
By Todd Osborne
May 22, 2008 1:04 PM | Link to this
Jay Bruce is an exc eptionally talented baseball player and a great person. Jay will do just fine at the MLB level. We can’t expect an overnight miracle, but we should be blessed to see him mature and get even better. He is the real deal! Good Luck Jay!
By Walt
May 22, 2008 12:43 PM | Link to this
Something has to happen to the Reds roster. Hopefully, Jay Bruce becomes an integral piece of a new puzzle. Sure hope he doesn’t “bust” like the much balleyhooed Homer Bailey did when the Reds brought him up last year. Bailey is just a good AAA pitcher. Something’s just “not right” with the Reds and their long term poor performance. Former Reds players/pitchers do outstanding jobs on other teams — why is that?
By Tottenhaman
May 22, 2008 12:37 PM | Link to this
He will be unstoppable for a month until all the Major league scouting reports find out he can’t hit “X” and then he’ll fade into the distance like Pedro Cerano ;)
By Jerry
May 22, 2008 12:36 PM | Link to this
Let’s all REMEMBER..he’s 22yrs old or so, the difference between AAA and the Major Leagues are NIGHT AND DAY..ask any body who’s been there, done THAT!! When the kid has been in Cincy, got a few hits to start and then is….2 for his next 20+, be careful what ya wish for, cause you just MIGHT GET IT!!! He needs all the AAA experience he can get, day to day grind, decent pitching to see..the pitching in AAA is medium at best, or…they’d all be in MLB…I want the kid here too, but.,!!!!
By danny
May 22, 2008 12:13 PM | Link to this
He will hit like Chipper Jones 312 28 110 with 20SB and bat 3rd for Cincinnati until 2020.