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Homer Bailey talked about potential Homer Bailey trades in the most Homer Bailey way imaginable. The Reds' right-hander went on MLB Network Radio this morning, and Mark Sheldon from Reds.com highlighted some of what Bailey had to say. Bailey was asked about how he approaches trade rumors and contract negotiations, and as you'd expect, he informed Jim Duquette and Mike Ferrin that he doesn't pay them any real mind. I find Bailey's attitude to the whole process refreshing, actually. He seems like he's reached a point in his career where he knows he's good and getting better, he knows he's healthy, and he knows he's going to be worth a ton of money by the time he's 35 and considering retiring to his ranch. Why worry about the other stuff, right?
Eno Sarris turned up some Three Doors Down and jammed out to some Bronson Arroyo peripherals. Arroyo's a weird cat, and throws pitches only weird cats would throw, and as a result, his numbers have consistently ended up looking weird. And catty. Sarris attempted to look at Arroyo's pitch repertoire, which is nearly impossible to accurately quantify given the litany of arm angles and speed changes, but he did manage to make a few conclusions. Arroyo has stranded runners at a pretty solid rate, he doesn't walk many batters, and he's had a defense behind him that has been pretty consistently amazing in a BABIP-allowed sense. And, he's just weird. And catty.
Stuart Wallace checked in on Grady Sizemore since the Reds have reportedly checked on the former All Star, too. Beyond the Box Score provides some consistently great stat-heavy analysis, and Wallace's take on Sizemore falls right in line. If the Reds want to ink Sizemore to a minor league deal and see if he can literally walk from his car in the parking lot to the locker room in Goodyear, I don't see any harm in it. There are certainly different background circumstances, but this seems to me akin to the flier taken on Josh Hamilton a few years ago only with substantially lower risk. Give it a whirl, Walt.
Billy Hamilton is going to be a Cincinnati Red a lot, and soon. Billy Hamilton is going to steal bases as a Cincinnati Red a lot, and soon. Fans of Billy Hamilton and the Cincinnati Reds are probably going to see analysis of base stealing value and how it's an art a lot, and soon. Fortunately, Jason Lukehart from Let's Go Tribe provided some pre-2014 fodder for your base stealing mind with his breakdown of Michael Bourn's first year in Cleveland. Bourn is a frequent, not perfect, yet reasonable top-end comparison to Hamilton, so he's been someone whose stats I've scoured before, but I'd never quite taken a look at them from a league-to-league transition before. Interesting stuff, for certain.
Former Fearless Leader Slyde and his buddy John Erardi put their superbrains together and collaborated on a piece about Joey Votto's potential Hall of Fame candidacy. We here at Red Reporter all understand and appreciate how maniacally amazing Joe Dan has been in his career as a Red, and despite his very vocal and very accountable critics, he's done nothing so far that could seriously dent his future Hall of Fame chances. Sure, it'd be nice if he'd find a way to stop missing a Summer month every other season, and it would be super cool if he manages to age gracefully, but if he merely manages to be who he is and age accordingly, he's got a great shot. That, of course, is up to the BBWAA, though, and as long as Ken Gurnick is around, there's no telling who the hell will manage to be enshrined.
Former Reds reliever Bill Bray is apparently back at William & Mary getting his degree, which is awesome. He's also rehabbing from "shoulder issues" that derailed his 2013, and he's hoping to be back healthy enough to pitch again at some point this summer. Props to him for toughing out another injury, for keeping busy while out (and Williamsburg is an awesome place in which to do that), and for following most all of us Red Reporters on Twitter. Here's to him getting consistently healthy enough to pitch again for a long time. Hi Bill!
