CTrent: Jocko and Homer jabber about the deal
Jocketty mostly says some GM-speak and then there's this:
Jocketty then asked Bailey if he had anything to say, and the response was pure Homer: “Nope, I’m good.”
Homer does go on to praise the organization and the coaching staff, and offers this response as to why he decided to stay in Cincinnati:
“One of the first things I did was call Bryan after he was announced as manager. One of the things I asked him was, ‘Where are we going? What are we trying to do here?’ If it’s something where we’re sneaking in in third place with a very talented team, I don’t want to be a part of that. I want to be winning divisions and going deep in the playoffs and competitive every year. Talking to him, that’s the goal of the organization. I think that says a lot.”
Erardi: Does signing Homer mean the Reds can't sign Latos?
Slyde's pal John Erardi opines on what Homer's deal means for Latos. At this point, no one knows. No one thought that the Reds could outbid the league for the services of Aroldis Chapman. No one thought the Reds had the cash to keep Joey Votto in a Reds uniform for the remainder of his career. No one thought after the Votto contract was signed that Brandon Phillips would get an extension. With a new TV deal on the horizon, bad bullpen contracts coming off the books, and cheap young pitching under team control, you can bet Walt and Bob are going to do everything they can to keep Latos around past the 2015 season.
CTrent: Mat Latos throws without pain
Speaking of Mat Latos, he is feeling better five days removed from his knee procedure, throwing for about 10 minutes from 45 feet without any discomfort. He wasn't scheduled to throw until day 7, so this is good news.
MLB Network to air 9 Reds Spring Training games
In just 6 short days, you will be able to see your favorite team on the boob tube, as MLBN will air the Reds vs. Indians at 5pm on Feb. 26. I think Fox Sports Ohio is airing one game, so that makes 10 total games available on TV this spring. This news has me feeling very RAHR RAHR.
Brandon Phillips told the media yesterday that he is "just here to play." This BP vs. the Media storyline is not one I'm looking forward to this season.
Baseball America releases their Top 100 Prospects
Bob Steve shows up at #19 on the list, the 6th overall pitcher, and Billy Hamilton checks in at #43. This is the 25th year that Baseball America has released at Top 100 list, and they celebrated the occasion with a retrospective of their best and worst selections of the past 25 years. I had no idea Todd Van Poppel was considered a top prospect at one time, checking in at #1 in '91 and #2 in '92.