DeWayne Wise called up, Freel to the DL

by Geki on May 29, 2007 4:25 PM EDT

Why not Joey Votto? Hopper can play center, and both Conine and Votto can be emergency outfielders if necessary. Makes more sense than calling up Wise. - JD

I haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate Wayne Krivsky.

Seriously though, this team has gone from quite possibly the best bench in the league to what is pretty much unquestionably the worst in a very short period of time. Chad Moeller, Dewayne Wise, Juan Castro, Javier Valentin, and either Conine or Hatteberg, all while we've got Norris Hopper starting in CF. Injuries or not, that's downright embarrassing.

Wise doesn't deserve another chance. He's never come close to being a competent hitter in the majors and he's not going to this time, either. And I'd rather see Valentin starting in CF than Hopper if it's a righty on the mound.

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hamilton and freel out

how do you suggest this be handled?

2-0 count: one pitch, one zone

by rojosoto on May 29, 2007 4:28 PM EDT reply actions

By building a competent bench to start the year?

by Geki on May 29, 2007 4:31 PM EDT up reply actions

But to elaborate further...

I'd rather see almost any outfielder (or non-outfielder) in the organization brought up over Wise. You know what his OPS+ was last year for us? 4. It's a whopping 51 for his major league career. He's been about as bad for his career as Quinton McCracken was for us last year. I'm not sure if you remember that, but it wasn't a fun experience.

by Geki on May 29, 2007 4:36 PM EDT up reply actions

spring training outfield/bench

Dunn, Freel, Griffey, Denorfia, Hamilton.
Conine with a history of playing a corner spot.

Three of these guys are MIA at the same time, I'm not sure what else to expect. Do I wish there were better options than Hopper and Wise? Sure. How many teams can lose the 1st 2nd and 3rd centerfielder on their depth chart and still have a good option in CF?

2-0 count: one pitch, one zone

by rojosoto on May 29, 2007 4:38 PM EDT up reply actions

Yup. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do..

The Reds are 6-20 since we danced around the Maypole at 13-13. If Jerry is not fired before Houston I will kill my Red Reporter self in Tuesday's game thread.

by Alan @ Red Reporter on May 29, 2007 4:36 PM EDT up reply actions

Al, baby - listen please... hold on

give yourself a day's stay of self execution( maybe 2). This latest move by Krivsky may be a not so subtle attempt to make Coach Narron look even worse and thereby having Castellini demand that Narron be dismissed. If this is not the cas, then go ahead, what the hell - but remember no one single sacrifice can save us from Wayne.

Farewell coach Narron and Bucky too!

by Madville on May 29, 2007 4:47 PM EDT up reply actions

If Wayne

is dumb enought to bring up Dewayne Wise for a week, then I must now assume that he is too stupid to see how bad a manager Jerry is. Like the fruitcake at a Secret Santa party, he's our prize for the long haul.

Fuit quod es, eris quod sum

by Man Mountain on May 29, 2007 4:56 PM EDT up reply actions

i get it now

DeWayne Krivsky just likes the name!

Blessed be Baseball

by Daedalus on May 29, 2007 4:59 PM EDT up reply actions

That doesn't make much sense to me, JD.

Why put Votto in LF and move Dunn to 1st when we could just keep Dunn in LF and start Votto at 1st, keeping both at their primary positions?

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see Votto up, but I don't really get the position switching there.

by Geki on May 29, 2007 4:39 PM EDT reply actions

that

is a good point. I think I was going somewhere with that and then lost my train of thought.

We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. --Oscar Wilde

by JD Arney on May 29, 2007 4:42 PM EDT up reply actions

Changed it around a little

We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. --Oscar Wilde

by JD Arney on May 29, 2007 4:43 PM EDT up reply actions

Votto

Votto's not a bad idea. That gives you bench with Hatteberg and Conine instead of Hatteberg or Conine. I'd leave Votto at first base, though.

2-0 count: one pitch, one zone

by rojosoto on May 29, 2007 4:44 PM EDT reply actions

that stupid arbitration clock

I can just about promise the guys like votto and bailey and dumatrait won't come around until whatever day it is that their arbitration clock hits 2008.

by bobestes on May 29, 2007 4:50 PM EDT reply actions

Multiple choice

Which one would you rather have replacing Freel?:

A) DeWayne Wise
B) Quinton McCrappen
C) Todd Hollandsworthless
D) I'm committing suicide, like Alan

I could also offer E) Barry Bonds, but I think you'd have to sell your soul to get that choice.

"That which is repeated will happen a third time."

by Paul Householder on May 29, 2007 4:52 PM EDT reply actions

Does anyone in the Press

take Wayne to task for shit like this? I remember part of the rationale on Conine was that he could play the outfield in a pinch.

Wayne meet Pinch; Pinch, Wayne.

Fuit quod es, eris quod sum

by Man Mountain on May 29, 2007 4:53 PM EDT reply actions

but not CF

do you want to see an OF of Dunn-Griffey-Conine?

2-0 count: one pitch, one zone

by rojosoto on May 29, 2007 4:56 PM EDT up reply actions

Offensively

Hell and Yes.

Defensively, I'm not sure it's all that tremendous a drop off. Let Hopper play everyday, and if he gets hurt in the first inning of some game, then, well, suck it up and go with a slow-ass outfield for 8 innings. It might cost the Reds a game, but I see no reason for Wayne et al to start worrying about that now.

Fuit quod es, eris quod sum

by Man Mountain on May 29, 2007 5:02 PM EDT up reply actions

Anyone else worried

about Hopper being left in the outfield with Griffey? Running around like crazy, not calling balls. Griffey's been doing so well this season, and I just get fearful that the Freel-killer's gonna start eyeing his hamstrings.

by Brendanukkah on May 29, 2007 5:06 PM EDT up reply actions

I was wondering the same thing

when I saw the un-wise news, some of the optimism i had earlier in the day sort of disappeared. it seems like every time krivsky does something good (like sending saarloos down), he counters it with something stupid. heck, even chris dickerson would have been better than wise. but why bother with another outfielder for less than a week? with dunn, griffey, and hopper, and conine in an emergency, the team could get by for a week without another outfielder, so votto most definitely should have gotten the call.

votto is going to be called up this year anyway, so it wouldn't be a waste of an option to have him up five or six days. in my opinion, he should be up here now for good. reds could use another strong bat. while i like hatte and conine, votto is the future. that would be some bench with hatte and conine on it.

i keep forgetting we have toothache on the bench - or i'm blocking it from my mind...

Blessed be Baseball

by Daedalus on May 29, 2007 4:58 PM EDT reply actions

Welcome back, Daedalus!

Care to join me for a drink?

The Reds are 6-20 since we danced around the Maypole at 13-13. If Jerry is not fired before Houston I will kill my Red Reporter self in Tuesday's game thread.

by Alan @ Red Reporter on May 29, 2007 5:07 PM EDT up reply actions

Did Not Know.

The Reds actually drafted DeWayne Wise in 1997. 5th round. First time I was concious of him was when he surfaced with the Braves during the summer of '04 aka "The Summer of Lies"

Fuit quod es, eris quod sum

by Man Mountain on May 29, 2007 5:12 PM EDT reply actions

Fay asked Krivsky about Votto...

...as soon as Freel got hurt. Krivsky said this is basically a short-term emergency backup, and that Votto was better off hitting every day in the minors than warming the bench for a week in the big leagues.

All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named "Bubba"?

by BubbaFan on May 29, 2007 5:14 PM EDT reply actions

Outside the box

Yeah, but in JD's plan, Votto is starting and Hatte and Conine are riding the pine.

2-0 count: one pitch, one zone

by rojosoto on May 29, 2007 5:15 PM EDT up reply actions

In that case...

...it's not a move you make because other players are on the DL. If he wanted to do that, he'd have done it without waiting for Freel get injured.

All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named "Bubba"?

by BubbaFan on May 29, 2007 5:19 PM EDT up reply actions

This really goes

to the problem of having a guy like Freel as your supersub. We discussed this in a diary preseason. He lulls you into silly decisions like a AARP 1st base platoon and 3 catchers. He's far too reckless to count on for an entire season.

I watched the A's play last night. Not to get all Tigrmetric here, but it's nice to watch teams that react to injuries by letting athletic, younger guys play. Teams that are willing to experiment with positions, not just run to the waiver wire for vets.

My larger point: What the hell do you have to lose? Are the Reds building toward championship years in '08 and '09 or are they counting arb-clock pennies. Castellini has trumpeted the former.

Fuit quod es, eris quod sum

by Man Mountain on May 29, 2007 5:30 PM EDT up reply actions

the clock

Are the Reds building toward championship years in '08 and '09 or are they counting arb-clock pennies.

I don't see those as mutually exclusive.

I think the deadline is June 1, so they'd be dumb not wait a few more days, if they are going to call up Bailey or Votto.

You have to play the clock game if you want to win and you aren't the Yankees.

All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named "Bubba"?

by BubbaFan on May 29, 2007 5:34 PM EDT up reply actions

They do go hand in hand ideally

But I think the idea for '08 and '09 has to do with the last shot with Dunn and Griffey and wheelhouse Harang. Let's get these guys together now.

If I thought that Votto and Bailey would be up after June 1st, then I would shut up (not really). I hope that's the plan, but I have started to think that the organization just kicks the can down the road and calls it patience.

I'm sure you're being more level-headed about this, but when someone suggested that Wayne would bring up Wise yesterday I laughed out loud. And here it is. You just can't parody this team anymore.

Fuit quod es, eris quod sum

by Man Mountain on May 29, 2007 5:45 PM EDT up reply actions

I knew it would be Wise

I even posted it in my blog yesterday. This is an emergency replacement move. That being the case, they want:

Someone with options left
Someone for whom the clock and player development don't matter, since it's only a week, and most of it will be spent sitting on the bench.

Ideally, it would have been a righty, but I looked at the minor league rosters, and there really isn't a righty-hitting outfielder who'd be of any use.

All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named "Bubba"?

by BubbaFan on May 29, 2007 5:49 PM EDT up reply actions

Wise doesn't have options

We have DFA-d the dude 47 times.

Find me on MySpace- http://www.myspace.com/mixfmkyle

by MixFMKyle on May 30, 2007 7:41 AM EDT up reply actions

options

I thought I read during spring training that Wise still had options left, but I could be mixing him up with someone else.

And he could still be DFA'd, even if he has options. The gay porn star was DFA'd, even though he has options. Basically, there's no other way to get them off the 40-man roster.

All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named "Bubba"?

by BubbaFan on May 30, 2007 10:53 AM EDT up reply actions

Maybe Votto is the wrong callup here

His defense sucks. He's not very good at 1B and he's even worse in the OF.

by bobestes on May 29, 2007 5:35 PM EDT up reply actions

His defense is bad

But he's young yet. I think he will improve. Melky Cabrera was gawd-awful on defense the first time he was called up. Misplayed a popup into an inside-the-park home run. It threw him into such a funk that he couldn't even handle AAA any more, and was sent to AA.

But he bounced back the next year when he was called up again. His defense was still a little shaky, but much better than it had been the year before. At first, they put in a LIDR for him, but by the end of the year, he was the LIDR. And his glove is even better this year. (Don't ask about hitting.) He's become pretty solid on D.

Anyway, I see your point. The Reds are scoring just fine. They don't really need another hitter (and if they do get one, it should be a righty). They need defense. And pitching.

All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named "Bubba"?

by BubbaFan on May 29, 2007 5:45 PM EDT up reply actions

Then bring him up

And, by God, play him.

Fuit quod es, eris quod sum

by Man Mountain on May 29, 2007 5:19 PM EDT up reply actions

Roddick is already out

at the French, too. Shit.

I wonder if he could put up anything higher than a .289 OBP.

Fuit quod es, eris quod sum

by Man Mountain on May 29, 2007 5:15 PM EDT reply actions

Narron

could live with Roddick's low OBP, but not his unforced errors.

by ken on May 29, 2007 6:37 PM EDT up reply actions

Roddick...

Would always have hot girls in the stands...

You have mastered Moon Master, you are the Moon Master!

by chandrathan on May 29, 2007 6:39 PM EDT up reply actions

yeah

He is way too young though!!! Sweaterpants loves guys 40 years old...We will prolly see Ricky Henderson soon!!! Yikes

"Well Marty, he strikes out on the same pitches but a little differently now."-Bob Boone when asked why Dunn was hitting lead-off

by Zach K on May 29, 2007 7:34 PM EDT up reply actions

I guaran-fucking-tee that

Rickey Henderson is a better player right now than DeWayne Wise. No doubt in my mind.

by Geki on May 29, 2007 7:41 PM EDT up reply actions

Damn Skippy Rickey is.

And Rickey can deal a mean gme of 7 card stud in the clubhouse to keep the veterans occupied.

"I just want to take a moment to say that I am the greatest of all time. Thank you." - me, 15 minutes before Nolan Freaking Ryan threw his 123rd no-hitter

by Rickey Henderson on May 30, 2007 11:00 AM EDT up reply actions

no Big deal.

I am glad it is Wise. that is the role of your starting AAA CF, and, hay, who knows? he hits 2 walk-offs this week and all is forgiven huh?
However, for the week he is with the big club, I would give Rickey a look-see at AAA, if nothing else it might help get Homer a sportscenter highlight.

GO REDS!

by ewquinn on May 30, 2007 2:10 PM EDT reply actions