Red Reposter - 5/8/09

by Charlie Scrabbles on May 8, 2009 12:57 PM EDT in News

So the big news today is that Dusty Baker has a new starting left fielder. Laynce Nix will officially take over for the struggling Chris Dickerson as the left-handed half of the platoon.
Update on Alex Gonzalez' injury: He plans to start swinging a bat today and be in the lineup this weekend. But Dusty says he likely wont be back until the series in San Diego (next Friday). For those of you keeping track, if Gonzo is indeed inactive until Friday, that would mean he would miss 10 days. The minimum DL stint is 15 days.
RedlegNation has their latest podcast of RedlegNationRadio.
OMGreds argues that Ramon Hernandez has been one of the most important reasons for the Reds success so far this year. Ramon has hit .280/.326/.420 (almost identical to his projections) and he's gunned down 38% of would-be basestealers.
Craig Calcaterra asks the question that no one wants to ask: how do we know for sure that Jr is clean?
For those of you who had Bob Melvin in the office "Who's the First Manager to Get Canned?" pool, congratulations.
Dan Turkenkopf at THT takes a look at waste pitches. Here is part 2.
SI's Ted Keith ranks the Reds at 14th again this week.

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Thaynk goodnyss.

That Nix is staytrting.

And Adam Dunn's spirit, ranging for revenge / With Ate by his side come hot from hell, / Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice / Cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war...

by Paul Householder on May 8, 2009 1:07 PM EDT reply actions

See below.

Needless to say, this didn't work and everybody died.

by SullivanSmith on May 8, 2009 1:26 PM EDT up reply actions

Thaynk You Duysty

by fourrunhomer on May 8, 2009 1:51 PM EDT up reply actions

I think you got a little carried away at the end there.

Needless to say, this didn't work and everybody died.

by SullivanSmith on May 8, 2009 1:25 PM EDT reply actions

ryply'd

"I never should have given up the animation rights."

by BobbyO on May 8, 2009 1:43 PM EDT up reply actions

Y?

And Adam Dunn's spirit, ranging for revenge / With Ate by his side come hot from hell, / Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice / Cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war...

by Paul Householder on May 8, 2009 3:04 PM EDT up reply actions

gyo laynce

by bengalred on May 8, 2009 1:40 PM EDT reply actions

wow

this y thiyng is out of controyl

Isn't there a slanket somewhere you should be filling with your farts?

by nycredsfan on May 8, 2009 1:58 PM EDT reply actions

I'll break from the trend and not make a Nix joke here.

What the hell is going on with this handling of the Alex Gonzalez injury? We have a series against the first place Cards starting tonight, used a AA-caliber lineup last night, and used our backup SS to pitch 2 nights ago.

Wouldn’t it seem VERY VERY necessary to get an extra body up here for this series?? Two hour drive people, I think it can be done! And lest we forget, this is Alex Gonzalez we’re talking about here. The man has 13 hits in 74 ABs, Paul Janish is a better fit offensively and defensively right now.

But since we need that veteran presence back in the lineup we’ll not DL A-Gon in the hope that we can get his mighty .176BA back in the lineup five days sooner. Awesome.

by chesirecat on May 8, 2009 2:04 PM EDT reply actions 2 recs

well, when you put it like that

It is pretty ridiculous. Why not bring up Sutton, Castillo, Richar, Gomes, Bankston, ANYBODY at this point who could pinch hit/run, or be a defensive replacement.

It’s beyond stupid. I hope this doesn’t bite us in the ass

Isn't there a slanket somewhere you should be filling with your farts?

by nycredsfan on May 8, 2009 2:07 PM EDT up reply actions

yeah really freaking stupid

I fail to see why they are so scared to put him on the DL. We just lost another starting IF a few weeks ago. :[

by cokane on May 8, 2009 2:12 PM EDT up reply actions

Don't forget that Votto and Phillips had (and may still have) the flu

But worse than that, flu is contagious, so other players might start having to sit with the sniffles too. Yesterday our bench consisted of Dickerson and McDonald and that’s it. We couldn’t even use Owings to PH since he was pitching. That’s not how I want to face the Cards. Unless Phillips and Votto have spent the day in the visitors locker room sneezing on as many doorknobs as they can find.

by Brendanukkah on May 8, 2009 2:46 PM EDT up reply actions

Also keep in mind...

That Dusty is managing, so he needs as many roster spots as he can find, since he has recently demonstrated the propensity to do stupid things like pinch hit for a pitcher and have the pinch hitter bunt, or put in a pitcher to get the final out in a half-inning without realizing that the pitcher’s spot is up first in the next half-inning.

I am not sure that any of the recent brilliant moves rise to the level of stupidity demonstrated last year when he had people bat out of order, but I feel like he needs an extra roster spot to compete on a level playing field.

And Adam Dunn's spirit, ranging for revenge / With Ate by his side come hot from hell, / Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice / Cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war...

by Paul Householder on May 8, 2009 3:04 PM EDT up reply actions

Seemed kind of silly to me too.

But then again, we haven’t had a Designated Roster Mismanagement Spot for a while. I was starting to wax nostalgic about carrying three catchers, Quinton McCrappen, Adolf Hitler, etc. Seems like old times!

The best thing, of course, would be to put Gonzalez in tonight as a pinch runner then figure out five days later that you have to DL him because he can’t even do that, and the injury is more serious than first indicated on the Injury Stick (poke, poke).

And Adam Dunn's spirit, ranging for revenge / With Ate by his side come hot from hell, / Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice / Cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war...

by Paul Householder on May 8, 2009 2:59 PM EDT up reply actions

LOL

I nominate this post for funniest use of the poking stick. First the dusty pic now the poking stick, man the oldies are really getting to me today

Dusty Baker said it was the first [triple play] he’d seen in person. When he was with the Dodgers, they hit into one, but he was in the bathroom.- C Trent

by The Crushinator on May 8, 2009 3:16 PM EDT up reply actions

rec'd

for righteous ranting.

Let me write out a formal proof for you.

by Gray on May 8, 2009 3:12 PM EDT up reply actions

Ix-nay on the Eye-way?

"Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will bury you!"

by "Red" Moskau on May 8, 2009 3:13 PM EDT up reply actions

Affirming the Righteous Rant

Let me also add that Janish was sent to the mound on Wednesday while Jared Burton was “saved” for last night’s game. Did he throw last night? Of course not. But Masset was used for the 3rd time in 4 days. Not saying that I would have preferred Jared in the game last night, but why couldn’t Jared mop up Wednesday’s game instead of jeopardizing our only healthy, legitimate SS?

Bullpen workload in the last 7 days:
Herrera: 4 IP, 87 pitches, 2 appearances
Lincoln: 4 IP, 63 pitches, 2 appearances
Cordero: 3 IP, 46 pitches, 3 appearances (and warmed up 3 or 4 times in the 14 inning game)
Masset: 2.2 IP, 38 pitches, 3 appearances
Weathers: 2.2 IP, 33 pitches, 3 appearances
Burton: 2.2 IP, 32 pitches, 2 appearances
Rhodes: 2 IP, 39 pitches, 3 appearances
Janish: 1 IP, 35 pitches, 1 appearance

It seems Sutton is fully recovered from mono with 3 full performances since returning from mono. What’s the harm in bringing him up for 10 days to spot Janish? I just don’t get it.

Should Uncle Walt get some of the blame here?

"Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will bury you!"

by "Red" Moskau on May 8, 2009 3:29 PM EDT up reply actions

Yes.

Case in point: Still no roster moves today, Gimpzalez still hurt, Votto and BP still sick. Same lineup as last night. As much as we rip on Dusty here, and deservedly so, DO YOUR FUCKING JOB WALT. GIVE DUSTY SOMETHING TO WORK WITH.

"We, as for me all seasons you are affected peculiarly in the edge of my seat and are happy concerning the fact that the Adam Dunn fan has been mixed up exactly." - Reynard-san

by BK on May 8, 2009 4:00 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah, I actually kind of feel for Dusty here...

Assuming that he’s not somehow pushing for Gonzalez to stay off the DL, there’s not much he can do with the guys he has available. He’s at least picked the best lineup he could, given these absurd constraints.

Let me write out a formal proof for you.

by Gray on May 8, 2009 5:00 PM EDT up reply actions

well i feel like if dusty went to Walt and was like

lookit you fuck i need another player put Gonzo on the goddamn dl and be a real fuckin gm. He would get some action.

Bloop

by justin007000 on May 8, 2009 10:23 PM EDT up reply actions

yeah, this is almost stupid enough to make me assume the Reds know what they're doing

but probably not. The fact is, if you look at the 40-man, there aren’t a whole lot of hitters in AAA on it. Nobody’s gonna say Francisco or Alonso are ready. The two catchers are your standard catching chaff. I don’t even think Sutton is all that impressive, but he’s the only real option. There’s nobody on the 40-man WORTH bringing up, to be honest, and that’s the real problem. This would’ve been a great chance to bring Gomes in to play 1b, or some other Murton-esque player to flip between AAA and MLB, but he ain’t on the 40-man. Just short-sighted roster management, really.

Ali Boombaye

by Cy Schourek on May 8, 2009 4:51 PM EDT up reply actions

it isn't even like Gozno

is so good the days of a 24 man rooster justifies the 5 extra days of fucking gonzo. Fucking DL the sonuvabitch, let him take a few days of, heal, and send him to AAA for a couple of weeks to continue to knock the rust off of his strike zone judgment.

Bloop

by justin007000 on May 8, 2009 4:40 PM EDT up reply actions

Yep.

Since we are even thin at first base, and since Yonder Alonso is on the 40-man, why not DL Seabass and call up Alonso to sub for Votto for a night or two?

And Adam Dunn's spirit, ranging for revenge / With Ate by his side come hot from hell, / Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice / Cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war...

by Paul Householder on May 8, 2009 5:00 PM EDT up reply actions

...

He’s in single A.

Let me write out a formal proof for you.

by Gray on May 8, 2009 5:01 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah, but he's a former college player.

And he would be better than having a useless black hole like we have until the San Diego series. He and Francisco are the only infielders on the 40-man.

I don’t know if such a 2-3 day callup would start his service clock running, but he is already on the 40-man, so I don’t think it matters in terms of “options”.

And Adam Dunn's spirit, ranging for revenge / With Ate by his side come hot from hell, / Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice / Cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war...

by Paul Householder on May 8, 2009 5:05 PM EDT up reply actions

And I'm not trying to be racist.

And Adam Dunn's spirit, ranging for revenge / With Ate by his side come hot from hell, / Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice / Cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war...

by Paul Householder on May 8, 2009 5:05 PM EDT up reply actions

Well, sure...

I just don’t think that’s done. There probably is also the problem of the service clock, but I think bumping a guy up from A to the majors is dangerous, whether he’s played college ball or not. Now, maybe he should be in AA anyway, but that’s a different issue.

And you’ve overlooked Drew Sutton, who is finally off the DL in AAA.

Let me write out a formal proof for you.

by Gray on May 8, 2009 5:11 PM EDT up reply actions

asst GM Bob Miller had another one of his chats today

i think it is one of the best ideas. this is a front-office in-the-know kinda guy and he’s chatting with the fans on a regular basis. i love it.

go look that up in your Funk and Wagnalls

by Charlie Scrabbles on May 8, 2009 4:27 PM EDT reply actions

Wish he would have said more about Gonzalez...

but I agree with you; it’s nice to see.

Let me write out a formal proof for you.

by Gray on May 8, 2009 4:34 PM EDT up reply actions

yeah it would be nice if he were more forthright and honest

saying “Nix is playing very well” is a pretty frustrating answer, but i really shouldnt complain. i mean, if Wayner were still in charge this kinda stuff would never happen.

go look that up in your Funk and Wagnalls

by Charlie Scrabbles on May 8, 2009 4:42 PM EDT up reply actions

Plus, many of those decisions are Dusty's and

the GM and his staff don’t need to publicly contradict the manager

by timb116 on May 8, 2009 4:48 PM EDT up reply actions

Hey thats the name of my band!!!

We got a new song up on the myspace, check it out yo! http://www.myspace.com/theforthrights

Dusty Baker said it was the first [triple play] he’d seen in person. When he was with the Dodgers, they hit into one, but he was in the bathroom.- C Trent

by The Crushinator on May 8, 2009 4:48 PM EDT up reply actions

After the fourth right, you're going back the way you started

by Brendanukkah on May 8, 2009 4:55 PM EDT up reply actions

that is true

it feels like that sometimes

Dusty Baker said it was the first [triple play] he’d seen in person. When he was with the Dodgers, they hit into one, but he was in the bathroom.- C Trent

by The Crushinator on May 8, 2009 5:30 PM EDT up reply actions

Yes, that’s tonight’s lineup.

"Nobody's going to die just because they can't find their little yellow basket."

by Fat Vegas Alan on May 8, 2009 4:49 PM EDT reply actions

Harang just patted Cueto on the back

como se dice “I’m really sorry about this, but now you know how I feel?”

Ali Boombaye

by Cy Schourek on May 8, 2009 4:52 PM EDT up reply actions

"Ha HA!"

by Brendanukkah on May 8, 2009 4:56 PM EDT up reply actions

This weather could pass...

so they could actually have to play the game with that lineup.

Let me write out a formal proof for you.

by Gray on May 8, 2009 5:12 PM EDT reply actions

Hey, I think I see Jonny Gomes' car approaching Florence!

Go, Jonny! Go!

"Nobody's going to die just because they can't find their little yellow basket."

by Fat Vegas Alan on May 8, 2009 5:16 PM EDT up reply actions

Maybe you could collect a few RRs and run down to GABP.

So you can pull the tarp off the field while it’s still raining cats and dogs.

And Adam Dunn's spirit, ranging for revenge / With Ate by his side come hot from hell, / Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice / Cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war...

by Paul Householder on May 8, 2009 5:18 PM EDT up reply actions

Maybe Janish would help.

Let me write out a formal proof for you.

by Gray on May 8, 2009 5:19 PM EDT up reply actions

Lineup update from Fya

Playing with 22:

Gonzalez’s injury could very well put him on the disabled list. He hasn’t swung a bat since the injury. He’ll swing lightly tomorrow, if that doesn’t go well, he’ll likely be DLed.

The Reds talked about going ahead and making the move before tonight’s game.

"Well, we’re weighing our options, what our choices are of infielders," Baker said. "That’s what it boils down to."

…

"You don’t like being short," Baker said. "But you don’t what to put him on the DL, then he’s well in a week. That’s where the dilemma comes in."

So the Reds will play severely shorthanded for at least one more game.

"I don’t know about severely," Baker said. "But we’re short-handed. Brandon’s getting better. He’s better than Joey. Brandon looked like he was available to pinch-hit. He’ll probably be available to play tomorrow."

…

As for Gonzalez, a decision will likely be made tomorrow or Sunday.

"He’s a little better," Baker said. "The real test is when he swings again. We don’t want to swing too early and aggravate that thing while it’s in the process of healing.

"We’ll probably have to make a determination some time later this weekend when we see him swing. We’ll test it a little bit tomorrow. These things you don’t know exactly when to test it. You don’t want to aggravate it."

"Sometimes only time can heal it. At least, if we end up putting him on the DL, it won’t be the full 15 days, as long as we don’t put him in a game. I’m doing everything I can not to put him a game."