November 24, 2006
Oooh, Pretty
By
Amanda
Posted at 10:12 am
Reds.com has updated their banner and background. There's much less black now and the background has stripes of different shades of red. It looks like wrapping paper.
Hopefully that's not the best present the organization's going to give us this off-season.
Alfonso Soriano is going to have some presents for you this year. Just wait.
You mean “presents” of the variety that Bronson Arroyo gave you last year? 😀
Indeed
Keep sending the likes of Glendon Rousch to the mound, and I think I’ll be OK with that.
Soriano is great and all, but when are you guys going to take care of your pitching situation? Is there any money left?
The Cubs will add these names before it’s over:
Gil Meche
Jake Westbrook
and maybe Greg Maddux
Someone’s going to overpay for Meche; might as well be the Cubs. But isn’t Westbrook still under contract with the Indians? What are you sending for him?
RE Maddux, I’m OK with that, too. Javy’s still on the team.
Everywhere I read, Jim Hendry is pursuing Westbrook or Cliff Lee.
Lucky. I wish there were rumors about what *my* GM is doing.
I read a rumor the Reds are interested in Craig Wilson. He’d split time with Hatte over at 1B, and he can play some RF too and also be emergency number 3 catcher. he has a ton of power and whiffs alot — a perfect fit for our club.
Just checked and Craig Wilson has good historic numbers at GABP: .278 AVG, .345 OBP, .570 SLG. Against lefties in his career he is .296 AVG, .395 OBP, .543 SLG… so he is a good platton candidate and a good power guy to have around in case Griffey goes down again. I predict we sign him and one more reliever and that will be that. We should re-sign Lohse also.
I like Craig Wilson. I don’t think the Yankees gave him a fair shot. Heck, Pittsburgh really didn’t, either. For some reason, the Pirates management just didn’t like him. (Perhaps because he frequently complained about his playing time. Or lack thereof.)
He came up as a catcher, and could still be an emergency catcher. His range in the outfield isn’t great. He’s a decent first baseman, though.
As a hitter, he mashes lefties. He’s also very streaky. He’ll go 20 ABs without a hit, then suddenly go on tear. And yes, he does strike out a lot.
Craig Wilson would be a great pick-up. Perfect platoon mate for Hatteberg and he can play a little OF if needed. He actually has a higher career OPS than Mr. Soriano, and while his distinct downward trend is disturbing, he doesn’t even turn 30 for a few more days and the Pirates have jerked him around quite a bit. I think .270/.360/.530 would be entirely plausible for him in something like 250-300 ABs, which is good enough for me. He doesn’t fit Krivsky’s modus operandi so I’m not entirely sure I buy the rumor, but it would be a smart move.
Geki, when did you start saying things like “distinct downward trend” and “modus operandi”? You sound like a grown-up! 😉
I’ve always liked Wilson, myself. I think it’s a shame the way the Pirates treated him. I sure wouldn’t mind seeing Thor on the Reds, but I just don’t see it happening. He’s not renouned for his defense, he’s not known for “playing the game right,” and he’s way too good a hitter for Krivsky’s tastes. Plus, he’s not old enough.
Well, Craig did “play the game right” in NY. He was benched because he didn’t hit all that well. Maybe it was the transition from NL to AL, but more likely it was just his well-known streakiness. And maybe the pressure of NY.
Paul O’Neill once said that being a young player on the Yankees is like being a contestant on [i]American Idol[/i]. There’s tremendous pressure to perform: one bad night, and you’re gone. That pressure to hit often wreaks havoc with OBP. (Poor Andy Phillips went something like three weeks without getting a single walk. Finally Torre told him he needed to be more patient at the plate…and he walked twice that very day.)
Anyway, the Yanks actually asked Craig to train his replacement…Gary Sheffield. Sheff even used Craig’s glove, because he didn’t have enough time to break in his own. So Craig Wilson didn’t get to play in the postseason, but his glove did. He never complained, though.
Hmmm, well Kriv-dawg did sign Phillips and Ross, both had surprising pop. A GM should adapt to their home ballpark. When you call GABP home, it is a good idea to stockpile power hitters, because many games turn into derbies. You can preach pitching and defense all you want, but the ball still flies out of GABP more than anywhere else now that they have the humidifer in Colorado.
I had Craig Wilson on my fantasy team in 2004 because he still qualified as catcher. he hit 29 home runs, and most of it was in the first half. The theory was that he wore down in the 2nd half because he wasn’t used to playing everyday. He was definitely streaky, but when he was hot he was hitting a ton. I could see him becoming a fan fovorite in the ‘Nati.
Craig Wilson’s name was floated by one of the guys in ASBCR recently as well. He would seem to be a good fit in many respects – righthanded hitter with some power, who can play 1B and both corner outfield positions.
Some quick Hard Facts (hey, that’s my job, it’s what I do) on Craig Wilson:
Of his 98 career homers, 11 have been against the Reds (only the Cardinals, with 13, have served more dingers to Wilson). And out of those 98 dingers, 17 tied a game, 29 put his team in the lead, and three were walk-off homers.
One more thing – 26 of them were on the first pitch. Craig Wilson is a notorious first-ball hitter. He’s put up .423/.440/.805 for his career when swinging at the first pitch. So if the Reds do get Wilson, don’t blink when he comes to the plate or you might miss the whole show. Especially in extra innings – his career numbers are .323/.400/.710 – and against the teams he especially kills (Colorado, the Giants, and the Cardinals).
HMZ