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Hall of Fame baseball writer Hal McCoy has retired from the Dayton Daily News after covering the Cincinnati Reds for 37 years. Hal's blog, though, will continue to be a must-read for Reds fans. He'll share his thoughts on the team this season and will file updates from Great American Ball Park. You also can catch Hal in print every Sunday in his popular Ask Hal columnHome > Blogs > The Real McCoy | Cincinnati Reds baseball news > Archives > 2009 > January > 04
Sunday, January 4, 2009
More needs to be done
It is now 2009 and it is only six weeks before the Cincinnati Reds begin their final year of spring training in Sarasota before relocating in Goodyear, Ariz., which some people believe is part of a witness protection program.
So far, with what the Reds have done, there is no reason to believe they’ll climb out of fifth place - they still are not better than the Brewers, Cubs, Cardinals and Astros.
They’ve made three minor moves, mere tinkering, with the additions of catcher Ramon Hernandez, relief pitcher Arthur Rhodes and center fielder/leadoff hitter Willy Taveras.
There hasn’t been a single cry of “Break up the Reds” from Milwaukee, Chicago, St. Louis or Houston.
The addition of Hernandez adds some punch to the catching position, offensively, but there are concerns about him defensively. It concerns me that Hernandez had 10 passed balls, second most in the American League last year, and nine errors, tied for second most in the AL.
I’m not so sure rookie Ryan Hanigan isn’t a better option. In addition to hitting .271, Hanigan threw out 8 of 23 base stealers, made only one error and caught the only two complete games Reds pitchers threw last year - all over 31 games and the team was 14-11 in games he started.
Rhodes, 39, is an OK addition as long as he was acquired only to face lefthanded batters in crucial situations and not to pitch an inning or two innings at a time.
After he was traded to the Marlins by Seattle in mid-season, he went 2-0 with a 0.68 ERA in 25 appearances over only 9 2/3 innings. The Marlins used him correctly.
For his career, lefthanders have hit .221 against him and righthanders .245. But lately, the gap is wider. Lefthanders hit only .165 against him last year and righthanders over .300. You don’t want him pitching to Albert Pujols.
I’m not giddy over Willy, either. While his 68 stolen bases in 75 tries is nice, his .251 average, his .308 on-base average and his 36 walks in 533 plate appearances are not so nice for a leadoff hitter.
His career batting average is .283 with a .331 onbase average - numbers he’ll need to help the Reds.
The Reds still need help - and lots of it. They still need a left fielder with some nitro in his bat.
There are reports that the Reds were interesed in Andruw Jones during the winter meetings. And now it has come out that the Dodgers and Jones came to an agreement that will make Jones more palatable to other teams.
Jones has agreed to shed big money from his contract if the Dodgers will trade him or release him - cutting his 2009 contract from $12 million to $5 million.
Now that the Reds have signed Taveras, here’s hoping they don’t go after A.J. The guy is injury-prone and played only 75 games for the Dodgers last year, hitting .158 with three homers and 14 RBIs. Those numbers make Corey Patterson look like a superstar.
He has been overweight the past couple of years and he is playing winter ball right now and several scouts say he looks no better now than he did with the Dodgers last season. And Jones is a center fielder, not a left fielder. If he could play left field, why wouldn’t the Dodgers keep him instead of talking with Adam Dunn?
Do you think the Reds could use Jones or should they look elsewhere? I say look elsewhere and anywhere.
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