January 20, 2007
Little Ray Ray Canada-Bound
By
Amanda
Posted at 11:59 pm
As BubbaFan already adeptly pointed out, Ray Olmedo has been picked up off waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays after being DFA'd to make room for Jeff Keppinger.
Bah.
Little Ray Ray, a speedy little guy, who has repeatedly shown great flexibility (remember when they had him taking fly balls in the outfield in 2005?) and more than adequacy as a backup (certainly better than some of the jokes they've trotted out there as starters), will hopefully get his chance in Toronto. It's fitting, since that's the organization where Ryan Freel festered in the minors for so long before finally getting his chance with the Reds.
Welcome to the AL East, kid. Watch out for that nasty turf in the Skydome.
I always wanted to stay in one of those hotel rooms that overlook the field in Toronto. I hate to think about what they must cost, though.
Without doing any real specific research, the [url=http://travel.yahoo.com/p-hotel-365224-action-describe-renaissance_toronto_hotel_at_skydome-i]Renaissance Toronto Hotel[/url] starts at $135 a night, which isn’t Motel 6, but isn’t horrible either. Of course, I don’t know if this price holds for the field view rooms on home game nights.
Still, worth checking out if you’re in the neighborhood.
That’s not bad (especially if it’s in Canadian dollars :-). Though I’m sure the field view rooms are more. Probably not too bad, though, because the beat reporters stay in them. They may have expense accounts, but I doubt they have Four Seasons-caliber expense accounts.
Looking at the spring training schedule, the Reds play the Jays four times. You’ll probably get to see Olmedo with his new team when you go down to Florida.
There is a game with Toronto in the week we’re there, but it’s an away game and currently our one scheduled day to hit the beach instead of the stadium.
I may just have to wait to see little Ray Ray until the Reds face the Jays in the WS. 😛
You could always stay an extra week. 🙂
I think that Olmedo is likely to end up in AAA. I know he’s out of options, but if nobody before the Blue Jays in the waiver-wire pecking order had a claim in on him this time around, it’s not hard to see him clearing waivers next time, and winding up in Syracuse.
Which means I’ll still at least get to see him in Buffalo, when the Chiefs come here to play the Bisons, and I’ll be sure to give him your regards, RHM. As for when the Bats come here – I’ll give your regards to Love Shack, Heartthrob, and non-roster invitee DeWayne Wise.
Now may I respectfully recommend that you get to work on coming up with a snappy nickname for Norris Hopper! 🙂
HMZ
Still peeved that The Tribe let Jeremy Guthrie go last week…
Does that mean you think Denorfia won’t make the opening day roster? A lot of Reds fans seem to be hoping he’ll be the starting CFer.
BF: If you’re seriously thinking of going to Toronto for a game, know this: The Rogers Centre in Toronto (formerly known as SkyDome, and now called the Rogers Centre because they spell funny in Canada, eh?) is not an inexpensive place to go see a major league game. It costs $7.50 for a Philly Steak & Cheese sandwich, $6 for a hotdog, and $8 for a ridiculously small cup of beer.
Oh, and don’t even think about driving to the ballpark. Not only is the traffic the kind of stuff that nightmares are made of, it’s also $15-$25 for parking. Walk or use public transportation.
The seats down the first and third base lines don’t face home plate either, so expect to come back to your hotel room with a really stiff neck.
🙁
Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me. It’s Canada. It costs, like, $15 for lunch at McDonald’s.
But how’s the view from those hotel rooms overlooking the field?
Though I guess you need a passport to get into Canada these days. I think that’s one reason Ottawa is moving to Allentown or wherever. It’s too much of a hassle getting callups over the border.
Well, no, I don’t think Denorfia will make the Opening Day roster. I think the outfielders on the 25-man roster to start the season will be Dunn, Freel, Griffey, Crosby, and somebody else Krivsky will pick up during ST.
I think Freel will start in CF, with Griffey in right.
Haven’t been in the hoyel rooms overlooking the field, so I can’t comment on the view. I will comment on the Philly steak-and-cheese though: I’d rather go to Arby’s.
I can see Denorfia not making the opening day roster. I’m confident it would be a mistake, but I get the feeling that Narron doesn’t like Denorfia for no justifiable reason. He’s just a bad manager like that.
Reds Mailbag deals with the outfielder question today. He seems to think right field (or maybe CF) is wide open, and any of the OFers currently on the roster could end up as the starter.
I don’t think it’s quite that wide open. The way I see it, Freel, Dunn, and Griffey are locks. So is Conine, but he’s not really an OFer. At least, he shouldn’t be – not any more. The Reds have him listed as an IFer, and I think that’s what he’ll mostly be. Hamilton, Dickerson, and Wise are probably long shots. Which leaves Crosby, Hopper, and Denorfia…probably two out of those three will make the 25-man roster. And which two will depend on how they do in spring training. Of course, I’m rooting for Bubba, but he was signed to a split contract. So they could stash him in the minors if they wanted to. I think Denorfia and Hopper both still have options left, so they could be sent down and called up all season.
As for which one ends up the starter…maybe none. The two who make the roster could end up sharing the position (maybe with Conine thrown in once in awhile, too).
I will be at spring training when the Reds play Toronto. I will try to get a pic of Ray in his new uniform for you!
Also, just heard that Ramon Ortiz is back! Free haircuts in the clubhouse again. We spent $3 million on him! Harang certainly deserves a lot more than he is going to get!
You mean the Reds don’t get free haircuts in the clubhouse if the pitcher doesn’t do it?
According to [url=http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=170302]this[/url], he signed with the Twins.
You don’t think this is Batgirl’s blog, do you??
WLW reported the Ortiz transaction. I always believe Seg.
From the TRANSACTIONS page on MLB.com :
Minnesota Twins
Agreed to terms with RHP Ramon Ortiz on a one-year contract.
[url=http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/transactions/index.jsp]http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/transactions/index.jsp[/url]
Let’s be glad the Twins, and not the Reds, made this mistake. The Reds need a solid addition to the rotation a lot more than they need a clubhouse barber who serves up dingers like McDonald’s serves up Big Macs.
HMZ