On the Winter Meetings and Frustration

He just can’t hang with all the young guys.

He has to realize that YOU HAVE TO OVERPAY for pitching. Especially when you’re us.

Come on, Walt. Get us a fucking pitcher.

He was a big trader with the Cards. Left the farm system in shambles, and had little international recruiting.

With the Reds, there have been few trades. Instead, he’s relying on the farm. And the Reds are recruiting internationally, though it’s hard to say how much of that is Walt’s doing.

And I feel ya.

But in your last paragraph you state:

“…last year was squandered in large part due to … risk-aversion.”

This is true mostly in the sense that ‘red ink’ = ‘risk.’

I know we want Walt to be creative and take some chances but we should remember that Bob allowed him to do that and spend money doing it when he signed Chapman. And unfortunately it’s still too early to start figuring the true ROI with that one. So anything that Walt is working on now is likely just rinky-dink tinkering and deals of that sort aren’t (correct me if I’m wrong here) usually reveled in early winter. They come along (to the fans, anyway) after the dust has settled from the WInter Meetings and as we’ll head into Spring Training.

We need a pitcher (or two) and we’ll get a pitcher (or two) but the Reds didn’t just sign a new TV deal with Fox so Bob’s not writing checks to CJ Wilson and Albert Pujols this week. He’s just not.

The clock is ticking ever louder. The Reds must take bold and decisive action. I just hope we have the right man in office to push the button.

Jocketty told our fearless beat writers today that they have a number of deals that they could do if they are willing to part with the players the other team is asking for. To wit:

Pujols out of NL Central
The Rule 5 Draft just concluded without the Reds making a selection in the Major League phase. They both took and lost a player in the Triple-A phase.

But the buzz this morning is the stunner that Albert Pujols is leaving the Cardinals for the Angels with a 10-year, $250 million contract with a full no-trade clause.

Of course, the move has ramifications for the Reds. "The Great Pujols," as former Reds manager Jerry Narron often called him, is now out of the National League Central.

"I think it’s a positive," said Reds GM Walt Jocketty, who drafted and developed Pujols when he was with the Cardinals. "When they lose a guy of that stature, it’s pretty amazing."

As for the Reds, they are leaving town without a trade or signing done. But it sounded like if he would agree to part with the player or players the other team wants, a deal could happen.

"I think so. You never know how a club will react," Jocketty said. "A couple of things we could do. We have to decide if it’s the right direction to go in."

For now, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. One thing he has shown in the last couple years is an understanding of market trends, and the willingness to be patient and let the best deal come to him. He did it with Ramon, he did it with UT infielders (Edgar wasn’t a bad signing, even if he sucked), and it looks like he’s doing it again this year with the closer market. There are more closers out there right now than teams that need one. My guess is you see a good player sign a cheap deal.

Let’s see if he ends up with a good pitcher before we get too upset. The only thing that really sucked is it made this week really boring. Whatevs.

I wonder if that was Walt who said that. Damn whippersnappers.

there was already talk of Santana being traded to free up some cash. Could be even greater possibility now. He’s pretty expensive and only has two years of team control left, but would be a solid #2

RT @BNightengale: The Miami #Marlins actually outbid the #Angels for Pujols,offering 10-year, $275 million deal, sources confirm.

DKnobler
Reds continue to pursue a starting pitcher, but no real progress yet. Top targets: Jair Jurrjens, and the guys from Rays.

Since the trade deadline 2010, a year and a half a go, he’s basically gotten a minute of Jim Edmonds and dealt Gomes so that Dusty could maybe play Yonder Alonso a little bit.

But it’s also too early in the sense that the farmhands Walt hasn’t been willing to trade are all graduating, with Grandal and others on the way.

Am I forgetting something, or does that mean the most recent trade the Reds made was the one that brough the wonderful Jim Edmonds into our lives?

They’ve got proof that he’s really 35, so they jumped at signing him knowing that the moment he starts to play old and sucky they can expose him and void his contract…all while getting a decent year or two out of him for $25mil per.

I still say move Yonder to 1st, sign Beltran for LF, and trade Votto for Ricky Romero, Yunel Escobar, and Kyle Drabek.

bang done.

Astros: .311/.402/.569, 42 HR, 112 RBI in 655 AB
Brewers: 329/.424/.616, 42 HR, 140 RBI in 636 AB
Cubs: .302/.405/.616, 53 HR, 135 RBI in 632 AB
Pirates: .365/.451/.681, 48 HR, 145 RBI in 633 AB
Reds: .350/.430/.641, 46 HR, 143 RBI in 652 AB

As for Brandon Phillips, Jocketty finally met with his agents but the latest offer appears to have been rejected.

"I went alright I guess," Jocketty said of the meeting. "I don’t know if they weren’t completely happy. They didn’t agree to it."

“I don’t know if they weren’t completely happy.” What does that even mean?

lost Alex Buchholz. Drafted Travis Mattair a shortstop from the Phillies org
feel free to look it up, it’s not pretty.

pager and Palm Tunsten E2 before catching his flight back to Lunken.

I remembered the password

Walt’s inactivity helped me focus!