Club not getting what it paid for

[Slyder]

O'Brien took a lot of gambles this offseason to try and hurry up the process and win now. Now we are looking at the results of this... This offseason was an interesting one for all reds fans.

Joe Randa, this was by far the easiest decision O'Brien had to make this offseason. I dont think many saw EdE as being a viable option this year, Juan Castro was gone, (assumed) Freel start at 2b and Lopez at short, and the Kearns experiment not working as quickly as hoped made this move a simple one for anyone. Give Randa one year and he gives you a solid bat and a solid glove (most complete 3b since Boone was traded and best 3b period since Sabo. Yes Im biased :-P)

Rich Aurilia- signed after the seriousness of Machado's Injury, gave us a guy to play "just in case" of injury. That I didnt mind, but when I saw them parade him out there hoping for him to return to SF days when we have better players on the bench is when I turned on this move.

Ben Weber- He was cheap and if he could regain form be a very good reliever and possible closer option to boot out Graves. I liked this move cause it showed we were at least trying.

Eric Milton- I was just shocked we went out and gave a pitcher 8 mil per year... I was shocked and hated who we signed I would have perfered to paid Wade Miller and a bunch of others more looking at the numbers heading into this year. Now we are stuck with the 8 million dollar batting practice machine.

David Weathers- I was split with this one because we already had a problem with guys who were out of options and this seemed to just compound problems. Hes pitched better than what I thought but he seems to have kept some of the young guys at AAA when normally they would been given a chance at the majors.

Ramon Ortiz- Has great stuff but why trade for someone the Angels were about to release? The gamble based on stuff was alright but the process made no sense whatsoever, if Dustin Moseley does anything ever in the majors the Angels got a steal from O'Brien and could be one we look back and say "WTF was OB doing"... wait we already are.

Kent Mercker- One of the few pitching moves I liked, a solid lefty out of the pen. A bit much but based on his results in the past instead of "potential" it was a very solid move.

Resignings:
D' Angelo Jimenez- STUPID with a capital S-T-U-P-I-D you needed to make room for the guy that sparked the offense last year and you give DJ 2.87 mil? That money should have probably gone to giving Dunn a LTC this past offseason.

Paul Wilson- Guy is 32 going on 50 with his arm trouble, 1 year (2nd or 3rd yrs w/ team option) incentive based I would been alright but you give him 3.8 mil straight up your begging to get burned and thats what happened.

[Slyder]

Then, all I would hear would be. The Reds didn't spend money AGAIN. Why should I even try to follow the team when they just pocket the money. He took a risk, it seems to have failed, and what good would getting rid of Milton do now?

As long as the Reds were winning I dont think many people would care what they were spending. I loved listening to games last year because they were sounding/looking like a team that had a good core with Dunn, Kearns, Wily Mo, Harang, Lopez, Freel that gave teams fits and led the central for most of the first half before injuries caught up with them. I had hoped that OB and co wouldnt go off the deep end but continue to be smart with the money they were given... unfortunately that didnt happen.

I thought the Reds with strictly the Randa signing along with the Mercker and Weber had throughly improved the team where it needed to be and would be more than competitive. I wanted the team to be smart and if the money would be there then go after a big name. One guy I wanted the Reds to get was Ricky Bottalico he would have cost about a mil tops and would been a very solid righty out of the pen in setup or middle relief instead OB decides that Cincy needs a bit more of a Vegas touch and takes Weathers, Milton, and Ortiz.

[CincyRedsFan30]

It really does come back to spending the money wisely, and not for the sake of spending. If only O'Brien had the skills to sign pitchers like Chris Carpenter, and to trade for Jason Marquis-like pitchers.

[Wally Mo Pena]

Really though, for 8 million, what else would you get. Obviously, hind sight is 20-20 and you wouldn't sign Gopher, but what other splash player is out there to create interest? He could have gone the route I suggested for a bunch of value signings, but that wouldn't create interest.

Most of the people on this board are real reds/baseball fans, so splash players aren't important here. Maybe that **** flies with people who don't really care that much and just like the names, but all the real fans know that you don't sign someone just to sign someone.

And if you do, why would you feel bad benching that person if they didn't work out?

If the reds couldn't get what they were looking for in the off season, they should have held the money for midseason pickups. If they weren't in contention at midseason, then at least they saved the money and could sign draft picks or save it for next season. if they were in contention they could have picked up better quality players.

Sure hidsight is 2/20, but i think the reds should have done if they weren't having luck signing a good pitcher:

traded for a high quality SP by trading an OF + a prospect if needed
reseigned paul wilson (unless they knew how bad he was hurt)
saved the money for midseason

Gone into the season
Wilson
Harang
pitcher traded for
Hudson
Claussen

and added from there. Every team has to deal with injuries, i don't think it's fair to say they shouldn't have signed paul wilson because he had to have surgery, unless they knew it was likely.

[Sea Ray]

Then, all I would hear would be. The Reds didn't spend money AGAIN. Why should I even try to follow the team when they just pocket the money. He took a risk, it seems to have failed, and what good would getting rid of Milton do now?

Yes, he took a risk, he failed, he now deserves to get fired...so goes the life of a GM.

You can't get rid of Milton now. That's why it was so risky. That being said, I don't think Milton will continue to have a 7 ERA for three years. I think he will be a servicable pitcher here in Cincinnati but he'll always be judged on the money he's taking out of this franchise.

But this isn't the only reason O'Brien deserves to get canned. There's Ortiz, Reitsma, Wilson, Weber...

[Steak]

I am stunned at how bad Eric Milton is. I really am. He wasn't that bad with the Twins. You can make a case he was better than Brad Radke back then. He really has lost it altogether. I thought Eric was a great signing. I know the Yankees were dying to get him.