Nobody asked me for an audio recap of this week in Redsland, but I put one together anyway. It's pretty much just an opportunity for me to practice and try some stuff out. So, if you're in the mood to sit through about two minutes of Reds news you already knew while I struggle to come to terms with the sound of my own voice, then by all means click here.

Red Hot Mama Reviews Reds News for February 11, 2006. (1.34 MB, 1:55)

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No sooner has General Manager Wayne Krivsky fired his interim predecessor, but he's wowed us with two huge signings: Timoniel Perez and Michael Gosling.

Perez is a 28-year old outfielder who has played for the Mets and White Sox. He signed a minor-league contract with no invitation to spring training.

Gosling is a 25-year old LHP whom the Reds picked up off waivers from the Daimondbacks. The Reds DFA'd Luke Hudson to make room for Gosling on the 40-man roster, and rumor has it that Gosling will be in the thick of the competition for our highly contested fifth spot in the rotation.

Oh yeah! Can you tell how excited I am?? Woo-hoo!

Aw, you see right through me.

It's nothing against Perez and Gosling. These are perfectly adequate moves. It's just that my expectations are unrealistically high. After the way Castellini swooped in and changed the face of the team so abruptly, I guess I was hoping his man make similarly spectacular moves. Maybe land Clemens like Chad at RLN (and the Reds Choose-Your-Own-Adventure) suggests.

In the meantime, I'll work on getting genuinely excited. After all, the Power Pack went on sale today.

I didn't really read the entirety of this Q&A with Jim Bowden in floridatoday.com, but the first sentence makes it all worthwhile:

Wearing a windbreaker and offering a fist bump instead of a handshake, Washington Nationals general manager Jim Bowden looked anything but formal earlier this week at Space Coast Stadium in Viera.

A windbreaker and a fist bump. That's awesome. Does he also call everyone “G dawg”?

The second sentence ain't bad either:

Bowden, once the youngest GM in the history of Major League Baseball, doesn't always fit the image of buttoned-down executive.

C'mon, statheads! Where were all you guys calling for the youth movement when Bowden got the axe?

Wayne Krivsky, your Cincinnati Reds General Manager, took a page from Mr. Castellini's book today and axed someone his first full day on the job. According to Marc, Brad Kullman, Reds Director of Major League Operations, was fired this evening. Much like Dan O'Brien at his termination, Kullman didn't remotely say the kind of stuff I'd say if it were me:

“He could have stuck me down the hall and told me, 'You can be the computer guy. If you don’t like it, quit,'” said Kullman. “He didn’t do that to me, and I definitely appreciate that.”
…
“I respect that part of the game and understand it,” he said. “But it doesn’t make it any easier.”

I don't know. At first the executive carnage was kind of exciting in a depraved sort of way, but now it's just getting gruesome. Marc said that Kullman was “pretty emotional,” which is, of course, code for “crying.” Krivsky was also very “emotional” during his introductory press conference yesterday.

Have we had enough yet? Can we perhaps turn our attention to stopping the flow of tears in and around Cincinnati now?

I had this e-mail from the Reds awaiting me when I got home from work:

Cincinnati Reds chief executive officer Bob Castellini today announced Wayne Krivsky as the club's general manager. Krivsky signed a two-year contract through the 2007 season with two one-year mutual options.

Castellini will introduce Krivsky, who has 30 years of front office experience, at a 6 p.m. ET press conference tonight in the field level interview room at Great American Ball Park.

Krivsky joins the Reds from the Minnesota Twins organization, where he had been the special assistant or assistant GM to Terry Ryan since 1994.

Just hours before, my boss had read that Beattie was a shoe-in for the position, probably from the increasingly-desperate-to-get-the-scoop Hal McCoy, and came by to tell me that he used to play pick-up basketball with Beattie in college. I was so excited.

Oh well. I guess a candidate that's a better evaluator of talent is worth giving up my in for.

This is exciting. I wonder what Krivsky will be able to get done before spring training. So many possibilities.