I’ve been hard on Cincinnati Reds’ General Manager Walt Jocketty for his lack of doing anything other than sitting on his thumbs during the 2011 season. Perhaps the best example of this was how he did nothing with soon-to-leave catcher Ramon Hernandez before the trade deadline.

Everyone knew Devin Mesoraco was the catcher of the future, and Ryan Hanigan would be a more-than-capable backup. This left Hernandez, a free agent at the end of the year, the odd man out. So of course, Jocketty twiddled his thumbs and let the deadline pass, apparently happy with the Reds’ mediocre march to 3rd place.

Well, Hernandez, as expected, is no longer a Red. He signed a two-year deal with the Colorado Rockies today. I wish him well. He did better than I ever expected him to when the Reds traded Ryan Freel for him 3 years ago.

Jocketty’s failure wasn’t a complete loss. Thanks to the new collective bargaining agreement, the loss of Hernandez will get the Reds a supplemental first round draft pick in the 2012 draft. And once that player’s ready for the majors in 3-4 years, I’m sure he’ll come in very handy for the stretch run of 2011.