Yearly Archives: 2006

December 15, 2006

Episode 37: My Health and the Team’s Health

I have a really good excuse why the podcast is three days late this week, and once you sit through that, the Crack Technical Staff and I actually talk about baseball!

Topics this week:

Episode 37: My Health and the Team's Health (18.8 MB, 27:24)

Red Hot Mama Podcast: RSS Feed iTunes podcast subscription link

December 14, 2006

Fare Thee Well, Marc

The single-most quoted person on Red Hot Mama, Marc Lancaster of the Cincinnati Post, is leaving his post for the greener pastures of Tampa Bay:

I've interviewed for a job covering the Devil Rays for the Tampa Tribune, been offered that job and accepted it. I don't know exactly when I'll be leaving, because there's still some red tape to sort through at the corporate level. Until all that gets settled, I'm still here, blogging away.

Marc has been an invaluable source of information for us in the Reds' blogsphere. Without his immediate reporting of stuff you'd normally have to wait for the morning edition for, we'd be a significantly less promptly informed fan-base.

And though Marc never gave me a single scoop, often didn't respond to my e-mails, and didn't come down from the press box when I tried to chat him up in Sarasota last spring, I always felt like we had a special bond. For, you see, he linked to the Reds Jersey Quiz, the only time I ever recall seeing him link to another Reds' blog. And for that, he will always have a place in my heart.

Congratulations, and good luck, Marc!

December 14, 2006

Mr. Livingston, I Presume

It seems like just yesterday that Wayne Krivsky traded Jason LaRue to Kansas City, thereby freeing up a roster spot and clearing out some room behind the plate. But no sooner had David Ross and Javier Valentín stretched out in their suddenly uncrowded position, but Kriv-dawg squeezed Chad Moeller in there with them.

So it probably doesn't surprise you that, after cutting loose Brandon Claussen, a soft-tossing lefty who failed to meet expectations last year, to clear a spot on the 40-man, he's immediately picked up another soft-tossing lefty in Bobby Livingston off waivers from the Seattle Mariners.

The story with Livingston is that he was claimed off waivers by Tampa Bay just this week, and MLB nullified the deal for no reason they saw fit to share. Marc says it best:

The Reds have claimed left-hander Bobby Livingston off waivers from the Seattle Mariners. No big deal there, except the Devil Rays claimed Livingston off waivers from the Mariners earlier this week and flipped him to the Phillies for cash.

How did this happen? Well, MLB nullified the previous waiver claim and trade, with no reason given. Apparently the powers that be felt the Phillies were circumventing the waiver process, which is prioritized by record, by cutting a prearraged deal with the Rays and sending Tampa cash for its part.

I'm glad to see Kriv-dawg putting some attention on the pitching aspect of the team for a minute, but I don't see how this really helps matters.

December 13, 2006

Krivsky’s Got Some ‘Splainin’ to Do

General Manager Wayne Krivsky has done some strange things.

Since I haven't followed the sport that long and since I'm the kind of person who will give the benefit of the doubt well past the point any reasonable doubt has left the scene, I've regarded most of Kriv-dawg's actions with a baffled shake of the head and a muttered comment about how he must know what he's doing.

But the unexplainable nature of Krivsky's moves has been compounded lately with some bad blood. A reports in the DDN about the departure of scout Larry Barton, Jr. paints Krivsky as unwilling to accept input from his team:

But when Krivsky said he was trading another outfielder, Kearns, and a 25-year-old All-Star shortstop (Lopez) for an old shortstop (Clayton) and a couple of pitchers, “I told him I didn't like the deal and asked who was going to play shortstop next year, and he told me, 'I'm not worried about next year.' “

Of course, the appropriate question was not “who's going to play shortstop next year” but “who's going to play shortstop this year” but let's not split hairs. The point is that Barton was storming out in a huff, and not the Aubrey kind.

Today we get news that the Director of Player Development, Johnny Almaraz, is leaving much the same way:

“I’m not included in any of the discussions and, in fact, when I walked into the suite during the winter meetings Wayne and his people would lower their voices to a whisper or take their discussions into the bedroom,” Almaraz said.

Of course, the official statements don't breathe a word of any conflict, and by themselves, these incidents aren't really that important. People quit jobs in righteous indignation all the time. It's a daydream that keeps me going some days.

But add in rumblings from Will Carroll on Baseball Prospectus that Krivsky isn't “making any friends,” and quotes from Krivsky like, “You just can’t go with two catchers – you’d better have depth there,” and you just start to wonder whether maybe this guy isn't what's best for the team after all.

I'm not ready to call for Krivsky's head just yet. His moves, crazy as are, have sort of a mad genius feel to them, like maybe he has a master plan that absolutely requires a roster full of second basemen and entirely bereft of right fielders, and if only we could see his perspective, we would all understand his vision. And admittedly, he has made a handful of good deals and a multitude of deals that didn't actually hurt anyone.

But the time for riding those handful of good deals is done. Hear this now, because things have changed here at Red Hot Mama. I am no longer content to just sit back and watch in morbid fascination as Krivsky emasculates the line-up. If he has an over-arching plan for this team, he needs to share it so that we can understand what the heck he's thinking when he:

  • Trades Jason LaRue for nothing and immediately replaces him with Chad Moeller.
  • DFA's Brandon Claussen with no apparent intent to bring him back to the minor league team.
  • Makes signing Juan Castro to a 2-year deal his top priority.

Krivsky has to let the rest of the world in on his priorities for this team, because right now it doesn't look like he has any. Maybe his moves are genius, or maybe he's just throwing darts at a spreadsheet of free-agent names and signing whomever he hits. You make 100 transactions that way, and maybe you get a Bronson Arroyo, a David Ross, a Brandon Phillips, and a Scott Hatteberg, if you're lucky.

But luck doesn't hold out forever, Kriv-dawg. It's time to share the method behind the madness, so people don't have to go on just thinking you're doing strange things.

December 13, 2006

Plate Music

“Plate Music” is what I call the song that players choose to have played over the PA system as they step up to the plate. Presumably it is a song that the player feels says something about him, helps get him pumped up, or intimidates the opposing pitcher.

Arroyo’s plate music is “45” by Shinedown.