Fill In The Blank

[CincyRedsFan30]

Narron is pretty awful. I wouldn't be upset if Krivsky dumped him.

I'm not sure we need three starters AND three relievers just to "compete" though. That seems like a bit much.

[Slyder]

Just to compete I can live with Ramirez being on the 25 man roster hes showing he can on occasion get someone out unlike others. I think just to compete we need 1 more starter (or Wilson or Milton come back and replace the Round Mound of Rolls) and a couple relievers (definately a legit arm to closer.

I wonder how Chris Booker would have faired, if given a legitimate chance. He couldnt have done any worse than Hammond and David Wells' stunt double.

[redsfan28]

A new manager, three new starters, three new bullpen arms, a better bench or somebody on the bench figuring out how to hit, massive amounts of steroids.

Narron is pretty awful. I wouldn't be upset if Krivsky dumped him.

Well Wally, guess that idea wasn't that ridiculous after all!

[Wally Mo Pena]

yup you got me. You found two of the most argued with posters on the internet to agree with you on an outrageous claim. That's really something to be proud of. three starters and three relievers too, just to compete, while we're leading in the wildcard, riiiiiighhhht.

[redsfan28]

You know absolutely nothing about baseball, do you? The fact that this team is still in contention is blind stupid luck. This team is flawed, plain and simple, and 90% of it is due to poor managing.

Let's take a look at the tenure of one Jerry Narron, shall we:

2001 Season

2001 Batting Stats:

.275 BA, 246 HR, 1093 K,544 walks,131 GIDP, 97 SB,

2001 Pitching Stats:

73-89, 5.71 ERA, 1670 hits allowed, 222 HR allowed

2001 Fielding Stats:

.976 fielding percentage, 114 errors committed

2002 Season

2002 Batting Stats:

.269 BA, 230 HR, 1055 K, 554 walks, 129 GIDP, 62 SB

2002 Pitching Stats:

72-90, 5.15 ERA, 1528 hits allowed, 194 HR allowed

2002 Fielding Stats:

.979 fielding percentage, 104 errors

You know what this tells me??? NARRON IS GARBAGE. Plus the fact that he wasn't Krivsky's hire, so I think Kriv should have the chance to hire his own guy.

[Wally Mo Pena]

so two years on a bad rangers team means he's a bad manager? then lou pinella is a terrible manager! have you seen the stats for those devil ray teams he managed, man they were terrible. I hope that guy never goes near a diamond again cause he makes everyone suck so badly.

have you seen who was on that team? does anyone go around talking about how great the '27 yankees manager was? no, wanna know why? because it was the players that made them great. Newsflash, players impact the game more than managers, so pointing to a teams statistics, for two years, and saying that it's the manager's fault is, again, ridiculous.

then you say things like the reds are flawed (which they are) and follow it up by saying that that the flaws are 90% bad managing. Well see that doesn't make any sense. If it's bad managing, then the team isn't flawed (which it is) it just has a bad manager. Those are contradicting statements. If the team is flawed then it will lose games. If a flawed team wins many games, then it's reasonable to say the manager is doing a fine job, which he is.

anyway, thanks for letting me in on the fact that i don't know anything about baseball, that helped me see your side of the issue really clearly. Generally when i'm talking about an issue in baseball i try to stick to the issue and let my arguments prove my points for me, how silly of me! i never would have guessed that the secret to why narron should be fired actually has nothing to do with the reds or managing, it's that i don't know anything about baseball. It all makes sense now!

[redsfan28]

Narron hasn't done a thing to HELP this team win. Again, he's Bob Boone, part 2. Why are you on his jock so hard?

Its obvious you think that Narron is the greatest manager in MLB, so there's no point in arguing with you. I just don't get it.

This team is going down the toilet, fast. Their great start has kept them in it, but St. Louis is 1 game ahead and hitting their stride and Houston's only 2.5 back. The Reds have Pittsburgh (which they SHOULD take two of three from unless Narron screws up the lineup again) and then a very solid Detroit team that could very well beat us 3 straight (the Reds suck at interleague play).

Maybe I was too harsh in saying that he should be immediately fired, but you were too harsh in saying that the team would revolt if Narron was fired. Players play for whoever the manager is because they are PAID to. Loyalty doesn't exist in sports anymore.

[Wally Mo Pena]

i don't know what that means, but i'm pretty sure i'm not doing it. I just think that he has done things to help this team win. He's made mistakes, sure, but this year compared to last is like night and day to me, and i'm willing to give the guy some credit.

I'll always hope that he continues to get better, and i'll gripe about it when i think he makes bad decisions, but at 8 games over on may 16th, 3rd in runs, 7th in ERA (all after a really tough sweep from the hottest team in baseball) is a lot better than most people would have expected for this team.

in fact, here's what you predicted on march 24:

My prediction: Wins: 80 to 82, good for 4th place in 
the NL Central behind Houston, St. Louis, and Milwaukee.

you also went on to say:

You can't fire "Baseball Guy" (Narron).  At least, not 
until after the season where you can have a go at either Joe 
Torre or Lou Piniella.

i'm not saying the season is over, or that your prediction is going to be wrong, but right now they are outperforming what you thought before the season, and even then you said hold onto narron until after the season.

So it seems more like you're just upset about 3 tough losses over the weekend, and want to vent on someone. Fine, i didn't like those losses either, but to me they don't add up to firing the manager.

[redsfan28]

Its not the 3 losses, its the fact that they were very winnable games against a team that couldn't do anything against our pitching except for the first game of the series. They should have never gone to extra innings against the Nationals either (despite them winning). They are losing very winnable games, which reaks of poor management.

The reason they're better than last season is the fact that we have a competant ownership group and a competant GM. If this skid continues into this week (which I could very well see), then someone needs to be held accountable.

[HafDawg2003]

The Reds need a bonafied starter (Although Elizardo has thrown 3 Quality Starts in 4 outings and Dave Williams pitched an absolute gem on Saturday), a proven bullpen guy or two (hey, enough of this matchup stuff, solve it by getting a guy who gets people out, regardless of what side of the plate they bat on), and a little consistency on offense, including a bit more production from the catcher spot in the order.

Now, can Milton come back and pitch well? Maybe. Paul Wilson to the pen? Well, to me, whether you are starting or relieving, if you can only hit 83 on the gun like Wilson has shown after this injury, you won't have too much success once hitters start to slow down and hit you (See: Chris Hammond and his on-again-off-again success).

Trade for Dontrelle Willis? You're talking about giving up Ez Edwin, who could blossom into an even bigger stud. My problem is, if you are going to trade with the Marlins, I want both. Who?

Dontrelle AND Miguel Cabrera

Is that possible to get them? Depends on how much we, along with the Marlins, value each. Obviously, in this trade, you could send Edwin because Cabrera can play thrid base. But do we have enough firepower to get them? And is it worth trading the farm system? Dontrelle has struggled in the month of May, going 0-3 with a 12.89 ERA in 3 starts. Another alarming fact is that opponents are hitting .417 off him. However, these loses were against Atlanta, St. Louis and Philadelphia, all teams that are hot right now, albeit Atlanta not quite as hot. Dontrelle gets a chance at retribution tonight against those Braves who embarassed him for 7 ER in 2.2 IP back on May 11.

Look at Dontrelle's numbers in April, and for his career and it tells a much different story. So heres a question... is the man hurt? Obviously a pre-trade physical would tell the tale hopefully. Maybe its just a brief streak of inconsistency. Who knows?

Miggy, however, doesn't seem to know the definition of inconsistent. Cabrera is hitting a stellar .341 with 6 HR and 30 RBI. Keep in mind, this is in a lineup with practically no protection around him. I'd imagine the price will be high for him, as well.

So what would the asking price be for those two? Obviously Edwin Encarnacion. Homer Bailey would almost be a given as well. I, personally, am OK with giving Homer because Dontrelle is only a few years older than Homer, plus he is more of a sure thing, no matter what Baseball Guy or the talking heads say. What else would we have to give? Jay Bruce, the Reds First Round Pick of last years draft? Travis Wood or Travis Chick, Wood being of that very same draft by Obie or Chick who came in the Joe Randa trade from SD?

Maybe it's impossible to get both. Do you still make the trade? The GM inside me is pouting because it's impossible to break down a possible trade when you have no idea what the value and asking price for a player is. Only, well maybe (assuming they have spoken), WayKriv knows.

But I'll tell you one thing... it must be high. Why? Because based on his limited but impressive track record, Krivsky is not one to wait on a deal thats fair and could improve this ballclub. My money is on the Reds acquiring an arm other than Dontrelle.

But whats nice is... not once in this entire post have I felt the need to mention Dontrelle's mammoth 10 Million plus salary he could command soon. His current salary number is $4,350,000.

In the end, I trust the judgement on Wayne Krivsky. I blasted the Wily Mo trade, I'll admit total wrong on that. I DID see the potential talent in Brandon Phillips. Wayne hasn't signed Larkin to a 3 year, 28 million deal or Eric Milton to the same. He is unblemished. Based on his track record in Minnesota, he also wont be afraid to make moves to improve the ballclub in the present.

Until he gives me reason, I'll borrow a phrase Bengals fans use...

In Wayne We Trust.

Update:
I found this on the Marlins web site, off the mailbag. It was interesting coming from someone who is close to the team.

What could the Marlins receive in return for a package of Miguel Cabrera and Willis if they are available in the market for other teams? Would a trade of Willis to the Athletics for Rich Harden, and Cabrera to the Mets for David Wright make sense?
-- Daniel P., Cooper City, Fla.

The trade speculation for Cabrera and Willis will be something tossed around the rest of the season, and certainly until the July 31 trade deadline. I don't see either one of them being moved -- at least not until the offseason.

Team owner Jeffrey Loria has said on numerous occasions that the Marlins are trying to build a team. Cabrera and Willis, despite the lefty's struggles, are two pretty strong building blocks. Both are not eligible for free agency until after the 2009 season. Now, will the Marlins listen to offers that make sense? Absolutely. But my guess, just like the A.J. Burnett situation last July, is no team will put together the package of players significant enough to move either one of them.

The Marlins are in a position of leverage with these two. They don't risk losing either one through free agency, and they are not shopping either one. For argument sake, say Willis is moved, the Marlins certainly would want a front-line starting pitcher in return. The organization doesn't like to part with pitching without getting some back.

[Wally Mo Pena]

dontrelle is looking more and more like he's lost his mechanics. If he can't get it back, the marlins may have lost their window to pick from the best prospects in the game.

while i think cabrerra is great, i don't think the reds really need him. we'd be doing more harm than good trading our best pitching prospects for more offense.

i'd be interested to see how livan hernandez does for the next month. He's been one of the games most consistantly good pitchers for the last few years, and his rough start may have hurt his trade value considerably. if he bounces back and puts up a 3.50 ERA over his next 30 IP that may be a sign that he's returning to his usual form, but it would only reduce his ERA to 5.30 or so, which doesn't look great.

So then Wayne "buy low" Krivsky swoops in, offers a middle prospect like hall or someone, and we score another harang. williams gets the boot to the pen and we go arroyo, harang, hernandez, milton, claussen in some order. Could be really strong, but it's all based on whether livan pulls it together.

[Geki Ace]

Josh Hall isn't a "middle prospect". BJ Szymanski is a middle prospect.

And I don't know why we'd want Livan. His ERA, K/9, and WHIP have all been dropping progressively over the past three years, and it looks like he's gonna turn it into four straight this year. Simply put, guys with 1.50 WHIPs aren't gonna be particularly good for a team, especially when we'd have to give up something good to get him.

[Wally Mo Pena]

thanks for clearing up that middle prospect thing, it was really irresponsible for me to go throwing around such a specific term like "middle" like that, in reference to a hypothetical deal in a speculated circumstance.

as far as livan goes, i thought i made it clear that my suggestion was contingent on not giving up someone good and on a return to his form of the previous few seasons.

[CincyRedsFan30]

There's no way I'd give up Bailey as part of a Dontrelle deal. Dontrelle's delivery worries me and Bailey is the best pitcher in our system in a long time.

I would never include him as a part of a deal for Dontrelle. Basically, I'm not interested in getting Dontrelle, since we'd have to give up too much for him based on the potential risks involved with getting him.

[redsfan28]

Here's what I would offer for Dontrelle and Cabrera:

Kearns, EdE, Phillips, Travis Chick, and Justin Germano.

If that doesn't work, then screw em.