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The Cincinnati chapter of the BBWAA handed out their Reds awards on Friday
Brandon Phillips was named team MVP with Bronson Arroyo being named Most Outstanding Pitcher. Chris Heisey won the Minor League Player of the Year with Juan Francisco and Travis Wood winning awards for best hitter and pitcher, respectively. Now unlike Slyde, I love Brandon Phillips. Few players in baseball have the kind of talent he does, with a unique blend of power, speed, and defensive ability. So what if he can't get on base? He does everything else so well! All that said, Joey Votto got jobbed. Hard. The Fay has some 'splainin to do. -
At Redsfest, Jocketty was asked to explain his rationale for the Scott Rolen trade
""Why did you trade two young pitchers for Scott Rolen?" (a) young fan asked Jocketty. "Well, did you see what Scott Rolen did for us last season?" Jocketty responded, knowing the Reds went 27-13 when Rolen was in the lineup after the July 31 trade with the Blue Jays. "I know he got hurt," the child replied. Tough crowd. Keep in mind that Rolen was beaned in the head, suffered a concussion and had to spend time on the disabled list. "Scott Rolen will play a big part defensively, [as will] his leadership on the field and in the clubhouse," Jocketty said. "I've traded a lot of promising pitchers that didn't turn out to promising pitchers when they got to the big leagues. We don't know, but we felt it was more important to have leadership. When you have a young team like we have, you need veteran leaders. It's all part of the big picture."
Leadership. The Reds are certainly going to be needing that Leadership when they are drowning at the bottom of the division next July. -
Sheldon says the Reds are looking at free agent Jamey Carroll
"We haven't discussed him at length," Jocketty said of Carroll. "He's gutty and a tough player, a gamer-type of guy that's hard-nosed."
He's also a soon-to-be-36-year-old utility infielder who OPS'd under .700 last season and does absolutely nothing that Adam Rosales and Drew Sutton cannot do. The Reds have not signed him yet, and Jocketty says they haven't even "discussed him at length", but the fact that his name is even being brought up has me furious. Seriously, FTH?!? He said he thinks Carroll could play shortstop, a position he has not played at all in the past two seasons. Can someone explain to me how this guy is anything Sutton or Rosales isn't? The good news is they are looking at Noah Lowry. So there's that. -
The Reds have asked the Rangers about OF Nelson Cruz
This seems odd, as Cruz doesn't seem all that different than Jonny Gomes. And if we're looking for an extra OF, Jeff Fiorentino could be had for nothing. I'm sure we'll hear plenty of head-scratchers like this this week at the Winter Meetings, which commence today in Indianapolis. Though the Reds do not look to make much noise, you can be sure that we here at Red Reporter will hear every peep. News breaks pretty fast around the internets, so if you see that the Reds have finally sealed that deal for Hanley Ramirez and we haven't heard it yet, go ahead and put it in a FanShot. We'll make sure it finds it's way to the front page.
Todd Frazier isn't worried about not having a position
He knows if he hits, he'll have a job. He embraces his Jack-of-All-Trades game: "That’s always been big part of it for me, knowing I can play those positions, knowing if something happens, I can play there and get to the big leagues," he said. Frazier was shortstop from Little League (he led Toms River, N.J., to a Little League World Series title in fact) until his first two years in the minors. He hasn’t played there since 2008. "I missed it," he said. "But what are you going to do?"
Also in this article, Enerio Del Rosario has been working with Mario Soto lately. I approve of this.
Cliff Eastham at the Bleacher Reports continues his grade cards for the Reds
He gives Jay Bruce a C-, which convinces me that his grade scale and/or rubric are/is completely arbitrary. Remember last week he gave Willy Taveras a D. Here's a bit of what he says about Bruce:
"After settling down, he showed no further signs of greatness last season. In 2009 his power revealed itself on the major league level. He had 15 home runs before Memorial Day and looked like he was set for a 40/HR year. His average bottomed and we see now a true .240 hitter with excellent power."
BuccoFans.com is running down options for the Pirates in the upcoming Rule 5 draft
They take a look at corner outfielders and mention Danny Dorn. Here's what they have to say about him:
"He has great power, with a homer every 21 at-bats. He would be an interesting platoon option with a player who excels against left handers, or a strong bat off the bench. He kind of reminds me of the left handed version of Steve Pearce. A Pearce/Dorn platoon could work out at first base or right field if the Pirates don't sign a free agent, and don't give the first base job to Jeff Clement."
BuccoFans.com is running down options for the Pirates in the upcoming Rule 5 draft
They take a look at corner outfielders and mention Danny Dorn. Here's what they have to say about him:
"He has great power, with a homer every 21 at-bats. He would be an interesting platoon option with a player who excels against left handers, or a strong bat off the bench. He kind of reminds me of the left handed version of Steve Pearce. A Pearce/Dorn platoon could work out at first base or right field if the Pirates don't sign a free agent, and don't give the first base job to Jeff Clement."
The Hall of Very Good: Jon Adkins signs Minor League deal with Reds
Welcome back Jon. It's good to see good people getting good shots with a...baseball team.
A big "Hi, Hello, and Welcome" to new head trainer Paul Lessard
He replaces Mark Mann who decided to quit to write a book or something.