XOXO KIT Heartthrob; Welcome Aboard, PTBNLs
By
Amanda
Posted at 9:45 am
Great news! General Manager Wayne Krivsky has fixed the Reds! Everything is going to be OK now. As of yesterday, he traded injured almost-major-league outfielder Chris Denorfia to Oakland for two players to be named later and cash.
Chris Denorfia was, after all, what was holding the team back. That Minor League Player of the Year award was just hanging over everyone's head.
And what's better is what he got in return. Two players to be named later and cash. You know they've got to be hot commodities if it only takes two of them to be worth one injured Chris Denorfia. To put that in perspective, it would take, like 6 Gary Majewskis to be worth that. Plus cash!
Reportedly, Billy Beane had been asking after Denorfia since spring training, so clearly, he really wanted him. It's such a relief that Krivsky is dealing with Oakland this time around instead of, say, Washington. Because if there's one person in this sport with less of a reputation for getting the better of the people he trades with, it's Beane.
Some might argue that it's just a coincidence that this deal is going down now, but I think that the timing is the very best part of this move. When faced with a manager who can't manage, an offense that can't score, and a bullpen with more runs than a bout of salmonella, it takes a brave man to make the bold move of trading a hopeful young franchise player who was recovering from surgery.
So kudos to you, Kriv-dawg. I'm sure the Reds will start winning any day now.
Hmmm… well I assume you are being somewhat sarcastic. Denorfia has never been labeled a potential franchise player, and coming off Tommy John surgery it is doubtful he would have broken into the everyday lineup next season or even the season after. We have young outfielders such as Jay Bruce in the pipeline, and this Hamilton thing seems to be working out nicely.
Also, I am not going to go as far as to say Jerry Narron can’t manage. He is not the one making costly errors, and making mistake pitches, and failing to lay down bunts, etc. I do think he could handle the pen better, and by that I mean he should be going to Stanton and Santos more than anyone else. I never bought into this saarloos thing. Here in Cincinnati we think a sinker ball pitcher automatically means success.. but to throw this guy into the 8th inning right out of the gate makes no sense. Stanton is the guy with the playoff and world series experience yet Narron treats him the same as Coutlangus.
Right now the team is slumping. There are going to be stretches like that in a long marathon season. All we can do is hope they rebound and get on a roll and string some Ws together. Yes, Krivsky should try to shore up the pen asap and he’s been trying to do it. Coffey took a step backwards this year. Weathers has always been up and down but decent by the end when you crunch the numbers. A closer, no, and any team going into the season with Weathers as closer is in big trouble and yes that might be Narron’s fault, it might be Krivsky’s fault, but ultimately some player on the roster needs to step up and grab that spot. Right now Santos looks awfully good and hits 93 94 on the gun. I’d make him the closer. They need to name a closer and go from there. Its too chaotic. The bullpen is affecting the entire team by blowing leads and demoralizing us.
I think something is about to happen.
Krivsky was in Louisville Monday thru Wednesday, and on Friday, John Fay said he talked to Krivsky (who was in Chattanooga at the time) and asked him if he’d seen any guys in Louisville who can help the bullpen.
According to Fay, Krivsky’s response was, “Yeah, a lot of guys. You’ll know who when we make a move.”
Not “if” we make a move, “when” we make a move.
If you put a gun to my head and forced me to make a guess, I’d probably guess Brad Salmon will be in a Reds uni soon.
As far as Narron goes: In some respects he’s the best manager the Reds have had since Davey Johnson…but his in-game decisions aren’t among them.
HMZ
Maybe the minor leaguers we get will be decent. The [url=http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070427&content_id=1933650&vkey=news_cin&fext=.jsp&c_id=cin]story[/url] at MLB.com quotes Krivsky as saying the two players we are getting are “almost major league ready.” He also says he didn’t want to trade Deno, but Oakland really wanted him, and made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.
Knowing Oakland, it’s probably a couple of young pitchers. They have so much pitching talent that they can afford to throw away the likes of Jared Burton. Some are speculating that one of the players is Brad Halsey (from the Yankees system). He’s pretty disgruntled with Oakland right now. But I don’t think he could be called “almost major league ready.”
Whoa. Fay reports that Cormier has been DFA’d!
HMZ is correct: Salmon is being called up.
And one of the PTBNL has been announced:
[quote]The Cincinnati Reds today acquired RHP Marcus McBeth as part of yesterday’s deal that sent OF Chris Denorfia to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for 2 players to be named later and cash considerations.
McBeth, 26, is scheduled to report to the Reds’ Class AAA affiliate in Louisville tomorrow. He is the 48th player acquired by executive vice president and general manager Wayne Krivsky since he was hired on February 8, 2006.
McBeth had been the closer at Class AAA Sacramento all season (8g, 1-0-5, 1.80, 10ip, 7h, 3r, 2er, 2hr, 1hbp, 3bb, 6k, .200oba). Last year, he combined to finish 3-3 with a 3.07 ERA in 59 appearances at Class A Stockton, Class AA Midland and Sacramento and ranked fifth among all minor leaguers with 32 saves.
Following last season, McBeth pitched in 11 games for Phoenix of the prestigious Arizona Fall League (1-0-2, 4.50) and was named AFL Pitcher of the Week on October 30.[/quote]
Yeah, that’s what I’m talkin’ about!
Although I may look like a psuchic now, Salmon coming up was a no-brainer if you read Narron’s comments earlier in the week bemoaning the lack of a guy in the pen who throws hard. Salmon was the only guy in the Bats’ bullpen hitting 95 MPH on the gun.
Still, I wonder…out of all the blogs that got more votes than Red Hot Mama in that Sports Illustrated poll on Reds-related blogs, how many of ’em correctly called this move in advance?
Now as for the trade…where’s The Wierd Sisters when you need ’em? Oh, there they are. OK, all together now, ladies:
<Wierd Sisters Voices ON>
“All Hail to thee, McBeth, who shall be King (of the Hill) hereafter.”
<Wierd Sisters Voices OFF>
Marcus McBeth. Fourth round pick of the A’s in 2001…as an outfielder. Couldn’t hit breaking stuff, and decided to try pitching instead (see Coutlangus, Jon – in fact he was a college teammate of Coutlangus. Need a pitcher? Just draft the center fielder from South Carolina and wait a few years. So now we can send Hopper back down, we have two emergency outfielders in the bullpen). He’s got a slider, a plus change, and a fastball that tops out at about 93.
There’s also cash and another player coming yet in this deal? Looks like this might be one of Kriv-Dawg’s good ones.
We called it… we are ROCK STARS!