Weathers offered arbitration

By Hal McCoy | Tuesday, December 2, 2008, 10:22 AM

RHP David Weathers is the only player of eight Cincinnati Reds free agents to whom the team offered salary arbitration.

Weathers has until Sunday at midnight to accept or decline. If he accepts, he remains with the Reds and his salary will be determined by arbitration, a three-person panel setting his pay scale for 2009.

If Weathers says no, he becomes a free agent, but because the Reds offered arbitration they will receive draft picks from the team with which he signs.

The Reds declined to offer arbitration to free agents Paul Bako, Josh Fogg, Jerry Hairston Jr., Mike Lincoln, Kent Mercker, Corey Patterson and Javier Valentin.

PItcher Matt Belisle, third baseman Edwin Encarnacion and pitcher Gary Majewski are eligible for arbitration, but are not free agents. The Reds can negotiate and sign any of the three. If they don’t sign, the players can take their case to arbitration to determine their 2009 salaries - the Reds can sign them any time up until the arbitration hearing.

Weathers, 39, was 4-6 with a 3.25 ERA for 72 appearances, the 10th time in his 18-year career that he made 63 or more appearances.

The Reds were 38-34 in game in which he appeared and he posted a 2.45 ERA in his last 36 appearances as the team’s set-up man.

(See previous post for a State of the Reds blog)

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Deafening silence in Cincinnati

By Hal McCoy | Monday, December 1, 2008, 10:06 PM

The silence out of Cincinnati is deafening - and it has nothing to do with the Cincinnati Bengals.

It is the Cincinnati Reds.

So far, nothing.

Oh, there was one defection. Lefthanded relief pitcher Jeremy Affeldt couldn’t wait to bail out. About 30 seconds after teams could sign free agents, Affeldt became the first free agent to sign with a new team - two years for $8 million with the Giants.

Can’t blame him, for two reasons. One, he no longer has to watch pop flies land in the bullpen for home runs. Two, who else is going to pay $8 million to a middle relief guy who as 1-1 with a 3.33 ERA in 74 games. Lots of games, nice ERA - but EIGHT MILLION DOLLARS?

Maybe the Reds are waiting for the Baseball Winter Meetings next week in Las Vegas at the Bellagio. Maybe Bob Castellini can hit it big enough at the craps table to sign both C.C. Sabathia and Manny Ramirez.

Not likely. Sabathia and Ramirez aren’t likely to come to Cincinnati even if the Reds had the money.

So what’s a team like the Reds to do?

There aren’t enough good free agents out there to make a difference, at least ones the Reds can afford or can lure to Great American Ball Park.

That means they must make trades. With what? They need a power-hitting righthanded bat for left field or center field. They need some veteran catching.

The problem is that everybody who talks to the Reds wants the good, young players - Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, Edinson Volquez, Johnny Cueto. The Reds shouldn’t do that. Finally, they DO have some minor-league prospects, but how much can that bring?

One tradeable commodity might be pitcher Homer Bailey. Clearly, he needs a different venue. But scouts have watched him the last two years and they know something is amiss. What could the Reds get for him.

The Reds are at the point where they need to stick him into the rotation and leave him there for a full season. Make or break time. If they don’t want to do that, time to dump him for whatever they can get.

As here’s an idea being kicked around in Cincinnati - how about moving third baseman Edwin Encarnacion to left field. He has power. He is right handed. And that would eliminate all those errors at third base.

That, though, would mean they would have to find another third baseman. Some believe Jeff Keppinger could play there. Doubt it. Not regularly. From the few games he played there, too many balls zipped down the line between him and the third-base bag.

The other necessity is a leadoff hitter. Tough to find.

What’s the line on Las Vegas: “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” The Reds better hope that isn’t true.

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Economy won’t hinder Reds’ payroll

By Hal McCoy | Thursday, November 13, 2008, 03:05 PM

The dismal national and world economy won’t have an immediate impact on the payroll of the 2009 Cincinnati Reds, but it most likely will have an affect on free agency.

Owner Bob Castellini is committed to a payroll in the mid-$80 million range, a slight uptick from last season’s $73 million, says general manager Walt Jocketty.

“We know it is a very tough economy and it will affect revenue for every club,” he said.

While many fans believe the Reds have a lot of wiggle room on their payroll after the trades last season of Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn, approximately $30 million what, they don’t realize is that a significant portion of that must go for contractual raises for second baseman Brandon Phillips plus pitchers Aaron Harang, Bronson Arroyo and Francisco Cordero.

That alone limits what the Reds can do on the free agent market, but Jocketty also says, “It is not really a good free agent crop this year. There are a couple of top-level guys, then it falls off quite a bit. There are a couple of players we might pursue, but their prices could knock us off.”

The Reds have nine free agents on the market and Jocketty said the club has made offers to a few.

“We’re interested in a handful,” he said. “We’ve talked to (pitcher) Mike Lincoln and (infielder/outfielder) Jerry Hairston Jr. Some of the other have indicated they want to try the free agent market.

One of those is pitcher David Weathers, who Jocketty is interested in bringing back, but late last season Weathers said, “No more hometown discounts. I’m going to see what’s out there.”

In addition to Lincoln, Hairston and Weathers, Reds who field for free agency are pitcher Jeremy Affeldt, catcher Paul Bako, pitcher Josh Fogg, pitcher Kent Mercker, outfielder Corey Patterson and catcher Javier Valentin.

Jocketty said the team is not interested in bringing back either Bako or Patterson and Mercker most likely will retire.

“It look as if the best way for us to go is through trades and from our system,” said Jocketty.

Jocketty is talking with several teams about trades, one of which is Colorado. Names that have surfaced include outfielder/leadoff hitter Will Taveras, catcher Yorvit Torrealba and third baseman Garrett Atkins.

All three fit into needs as the Reds search for a righthanded power hitter (Atkins — .286, 21 homers, 99 RBIs), a catcher (Torrealba — .246 in 70 games, most in a back-up role) and an outfielder/leadoff hitter (Taveras, who led the league with 68 stolen bases, but hit only .251 with a .308 on-base average).

The Rockies are searching for starting pitchers, but are not interested in Homer Bailey.

“We’ll do what we can to improve our team by any means — free agents we can afford, trades or within the system,” said Jocketty.

REDS FREE AGENTS:

Y - Players the Reds are interested in re-signing.

N - Players the Reds are not interested in re-signing.

Y-Jeremy Affeldt, LHP.

N-Paul Bako, C.

N-Josh Fogg, RHP.

Y-Jerry Hairston, Jr., INF-OF.

Y-Mike Lincoln, RHP.

N-Kent Mercker, LHP.

N-Corey Patterson, OF.

N-Javier Valentin, C.

Y-David Weathers, RHP.

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Bonifay, Squires, Quirk join Reds staff

By Hal McCoy | Thursday, November 13, 2008, 11:42 AM

The Cincinnati Reds are set to announce, probably late this afternoon, the addition of three top-notch front office people.

General manager Walt Jocketty confirmed this morning to The Dayton Daily News that he has hired Cam Bonifay, Mike Squires and Jamie Quirk.

They are additions and there are no substractions.

Bonifay and Squires will become special assistants to the general manager and Quirk will be a pro scout with additional duties as directed by Jocketty.

“What excites me is that we are, more and more, adding quality pelople to our staff,” said Jocketty.

Bonifay, a former general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates, was hired by Jocketty in 2006 for the St. Louis Cardinals. Before that Bonifay worked fivle years for the Tampa Bay Rays, “Helping to put together that young team that played in the World Series,” said Jocketty. “He is an excellent baseball person.”

Quirk comes from the Colorado Rockies and Jocketty said, “He played for me when I was in Oakland and I’ve followed his career. He is a good baseball man. He’ll be a pro scout, but we’ll have him at spring training and we’ll also have him doing some field work.”

Squires was a long-time associate with Jocketty during his days with the Cardinals and is highly respected in the industry.

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Gold Glover Phillips no longer angry

By Hal McCoy | Wednesday, November 5, 2008, 04:14 PM

Brandon Phillips admits that shortstop is his first love and switching to second base was torture and traumatic, but as he said, “I talked to (former infielder) Delino DeShields and he told me, ‘If you can dance, you can play second base.’”

Phillips can dance. And as he said, “I dance with the stars at second base. That’s what I call it, ‘Dancing on the Diamond.‘“The 27-year-old Cincinnati Reds infielder danced his way to a Rawlings Gold Glove this year, emblematic of being the best defensive second baseman in the National League.

Manager Dusty Baker said he was shocked when he talked to Phillips and Phillips couldn’t believe he won the Gold Glove, “And I couldn’t believe he couldn’t believe it.”

Managers and coaches do the voting and Baker said, “Nearly every day a manager or coach comes up to me and asks about Brandon and tells me what a pleasure it is watching that guy.

“Brandon Phillips works hard,” Baker added. “He practices making catches over his head and I’ve never seen a player practice that.”

Phillips should have won the award last year, had better numbers than Arizona’s Orlando Hudson, but Hudson won.

“To tell you the truth, it hurt me last year when I didn’t win,” he said. “I was really pissed. Now that I’ve finally won one — well, it’s great the people are finally recognizing my defense.”

Phillips was a 30/30 offensive player last year (30 homers, 30 stolen bases), but only a 24/23 player this year, losing 27 points off his batting average (.288 to .261).

“To me, winning the Gold Glove is more important and more satisfying than the 30/30,” he said. “Defense is my passion and I take pride in it. I’m all about defense. Defense wins games and this is the best thing to happen to me.”

Phillips said winning the Gold Glove is one of many surprises that have popped up in his career, “But winning this is a blessing. I worked hard to get this award and I’m blessed to finally be recognized.”

Baker said he knows Phillips won’t stop working.

“The first one is the toughest,” he said. “But I see four or five more in his future. A great defensive player can pick up the offense. It prevents offense from the other team when you make a great play and turn a double play.

“His range and his athleticism and his arm are special,” Baker added. “He is so good he could almost be a tumbler.”

Or Dance With the Stars.

Phillips got this year what he deserved last year - and actually he deserved it both years.

The man with the flashy glove and the flashy smile won his first Gold Glove, emblematic of being the defensive second baseman in the National League.

Phillips led all NL second basemen with a fielding percentage of .990 this season, making only seven errros in 706 chances.

And he didn’t do it by making only the routine plays. Phillis roamed far to his left, far to his right and deep into the outfield to make many superlative plays and ghostly throws.

He is the first Reds player to lead the league in fielding percentage at second base in consecutive seasons since Bret Boone did it in three straight years from 1995-97.

In addition he is the first Reds player to win a Rawlings Gold Glove Award since Pokey Reese earned the honors in 2000, also as a second baseman.

Phillips received the Bill James Handbook’s Fielding Bible Award as the best defensive second basemen in the Major Leagues. His career-high 78-game errorless streak from April 10 through July 8 was the second-longest by a second baseman in the Major Leagues last season (Pittsburgh’s Freddy Sanchez, 82 games).

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Cancun becomes Can’t-cun

By Hal McCoy | Thursday, October 30, 2008, 12:12 PM

Never, never, never take a trip with me — not on a bet, not on your life, not ever, ever, ever.

Just returned from Cancun and the worst vacation of my life. The highlights: It rained every day but one, so Nadine and I were on the beach once. I contracted food poisoning the third day and spent one entire day getting right with The Almighty because I was sure I was in the last days of my life on earth.

It started when we landed in Cancun and they told departing passengers to “declare” any prescriptions they were bringing in. Nadine was the only passenger on our flight to say she had prescription drugs, so we were stopped and her luggage was searched. Everybody else — most carrying pX drugs, walked through.

The hotel sent a van for us, and as we left the airport the policia, or the federales, stopped our van. They took our driver back to their car to scan his papers. Then one of the officers walked around the van peering in the windows at us. Satisfied that we were not unsavory, they let us go.

Our hotel was excellent, except it was $20 via cab to the nearest civilization that had restaurants and shops. Everybody took U.S. dollars, but gave change in pesos — which was 12 pesos to one dollar. I nearly choked at the first restaurant when I saw my meal was $875 on the menu. But that was pesos — about $40 U.S.

Nadine had a club sandwich at the hotel and had a Cracker Jack-type prize between the bread — a piece of plastic.

The food was below average and I’m sure the chicken mole I ate one night was the culprit that knocked me off my feet — diarrhea, fever, cold sweats, chills, dizziness that had me bouncing off the walls as I tried to walk to the bathroom.

One plus: They sold Cuban cigars (fairly cheap) out of backpacks on the beach. And they were legit, not phonies. For $50, I got five pyramids from a guy on the beach. For the same cigars, they wanted $27 FOR ONE at a shop downtown.

They told us to be at the Cancun airport three hours in advance to go home. We were there. It took us 15 minutes to check in. We figured we still had to go through customs. Wrong. You go through customs on your first stop in the States, for us it was Charlotte.

So we had to kill almost three hours at the airport. When we got to Charlotte, we had 1:20 to make our connecting flight. Customs, of course, was jammed. Took us 1:10 to get through and we sprinted to the gate and were the last to get on our Dayton flight.

Alas, as we pulled from the gate and headed for the runway, a young passenger up front had a panic attack or a seizure. He was screaming. They took us back to the gate and we sat for an hour. US Airways did give us a cup of water and one cookie and didn’t charge us, as they usually do for coffee ($1), soft drinks ($2) and adult beverages ($7).

Amazingly, after an hour, they announced that there had been a medical emergency on board, but all was OK now and they were putting him back on board. After another 20 minutes to add fuel, we left. The guy began screaming again.

But he stopped and apparently the drugs kicked in and he fell asleep until the end of our Trip From Hell.

Did get to see bits and snatches of the World Series, broadcast in Spanish.

And what did the 2008 World Series prove?

ONE — The season needs shortened. How about 148 games and some Sunday and holiday doubleheaders?

TWO — A neutral site for the World Series, such as a warm climate in California or Florida or in a domed stadium.

Watching Game 5, played in a downpour, convinced me. Baseball is not meant to be played under cloudbursts and in cold, cold weather. The only gloves that should be worn at a baseball game are the ones players use to catch baseballs. Gloves to keep hands warm are not for baseball games.

Sorry Tampa Bay didn’t win, but happy for the much-deprived Phillies fans.

One questions: Why did Joe Maddon start Grant Balfour when Game 5 resumed? Why didn’t he go with David Price right way? From what I saw, Maddon was outmanaged throughout the Series by baseball lifer Charlie Manuel.

More later.

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Can the Reds be the 2009 Phillies?

By Hal McCoy | Thursday, October 16, 2008, 12:05 AM

There are defining moments in every baseball game, usually a defining moment.

As for the Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers Wednesday night in the NLCS, it was the first batter of the game.

LA pitcher Chad Billingsley slipped two quick strikes past Jimmy Rollins. Then Rollins worked the count to 3-and-2 and on the eighth pitch of his at-bat he popped one into the right field seats.

It was Rollins who hit a leadoff home run in the final game of the NLDS when the Phillies eliminated the Milwaukee Brewers - and as Yogi Berra would say, “It was deja vu all over again.”

I turned to my dog, Barkley (Nadine was getting us ready for a trip to Cancun) and I said, “That’s it. Game over. Series over.”

And I was right.

Billingsley quickly crumbled and the Dodgers were bird seed in the left hand of Phillies starter Cole Hamels, a 24-year-old powder keg who was 2-0 with a 1.23 ERA in his two starts in the NLCS.

So the Phillies are in the World Series for the first time since 1993.

After the game, in the Phillies celebratory clubhouse, general manager Pat Gillick said something that showed complete class.

After the 2005 season, Ed Wade was fired as GM of the Phillies and three years later, Gillick stood in the clubhouse and on national television said, “A lot of the credit for this team must go to Ed Wade, who put most of it together.”

Is that class, or is that class?

It was Wade who was in charge when the Phillies signed players like Rollins and Hamels and Ryan Howard (three hits Wednesday) and Chase Utley and Shane Victorino.

For Gillick to aim credit at a GM fired three years ago showed not only a basket full of class, but supreme confidence in his own status.

OK, can the Cincinnati Reds be the 2009 version of the Phillies? Why not?

Can Edison Volquez be Cole Hamels? Why not?

Can Brandon Phillips be Chase Utley? Why not?

Can Joey Votto be Ryan Howard. Why not?

Can Jay Bruce be Shane Victorino. Why not?

Can Francisco Cordero be Brad Lidge? Why not?

Can Alex Gonzalez be Jimmy Rollins? Why not?

The Reds had their own Pat Burrell in Adam Dunn, but traded him. And the Phillies probably will lose Burrell, too. So both the Reds and Phillies will need a power-hitting righthanded bat in the lineup.

What the Reds don’t have is a catcher like Carlos Ruiz. Can Ryan Hanigan be that guy? Maybe. But most likely the Reds need a strong catcher.

Tell me. Am I being silly here. I mean I look at the Phillies and I look at the Reds and say, “Is there really that much difference?”

The Reds were 4-5 in their nine games last season against Philadelphia.

Maybe the Reds, absent from the NLCS since 1995, can get there in 2009.

Or am I dreaming?

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