A crowded house

[volzok]

Looks like eight pitchers vying for three roster spots
ANALYSIS BY JOHN FAY | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

SARASOTA, Fla. - Reds manager Jerry Narron's math was a little off.

"We've got one or two spots for about five," Narron said.

Narron was talking about the bullpen. Narron knows some things we don't, but it certainly looks like eight pitchers are vying for three spots. Here's how we arrived at those numbers:

The Reds figure to have seven bullpen spots since they are leaning toward carrying 12 pitchers.

Four will almost certainly go to right-handers David Weathers and Rick White and left-handers Kent Mercker and Chris Hammond. Weathers and Mercker are locks. White and Hammond are on major-league contracts, so the Reds have to pay White ($600,000) and Hammond ($800,000) even if they don't keep them.

That leaves three spots for the younger pitchers. Matt Belisle, Mike Burns, Todd Coffey, Jake Robbins, Brian Shackelford, Allan Simpson, Jason Standridge and Ryan Wagner are all shooting for those spots.

"Someone who pitched well for us last year isn't going to make it," Narron said.

All eight have pitched fairly well so far this spring. Six of the eight have an ERA under 3.00. Wagner (5.40) and Standridge (9.00) have been good in all but one outing.

Outings from now on will have more to do with who goes north and who doesn't.

"Yes, they will," Narron said. "Of the guys right there with a chance to make it, they've all thrown the ball well."

The pitchers can't help but notice the numbers.

"I knew there were spots available when I signed," Burns said. "There are a lot of guys here battling for them. Good competition makes for a better team."

Said Wagner, "I don't even worry about it. I can't worry about anything but doing my job - putting up zeros on the scoreboard."

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[redsrbetter]

I honestly think it is going to be Belisle, Coffey, and Sahckelford. Or at least I would hope so. You could swap Sack for Simpson depending who ends up with the better spring though. I think Wagner simply has to see Louisville for a while.

[Wally Mo Pena]

i think coffey's a lock. He's dedicated himself, went to the instructional league, coming off a good end to the season, and he's got a 5.5/1 g/f ratio so far, which should work with GABP. and i think narron likes him.

if the reds are smart, they'll take someone with them who can strike people out, because there are times when that's the only thing that will help. Right now that looks like simpson and robbins, and while i'm a simpson fan, it's hard not to notice robbins. He's got 6k, 1bb and 4H in 5 innings, and narron has to like the lack of walks. simpson has 5k in 5IP, but also has 3BB and 2HBP, which goes along with his history of control problems. So i give that one to robbins.

that leaves one spot for belisle, shack, and burns and i think it will be down to the wire to see who pitches the best. with hammond and mercker, i don't think shack being left handed helps him. Not that it hurts him, but he'll have to outpitch the others straight up. From what he's said, i think narron will be looking at walks and HRs, if they all continue to put up pretty close ERAs.

[Geki Ace]

Wags can strike people out. Not some lameass who nobody has ever heard of like Robbins who is preying on B- and C-squad players.

And yeah, I've been telling you guys Coffey was a lock all along.

[Wally Mo Pena]

why're you always so hostile? just curious.

[Wally Mo Pena]

also, you were right geki, i hadn't checked robbins numbers, and career wise he's not a strikeout guy, so cutting simpson now makes even less sense to me. For the record though, wagner's 7.6 k/9 isn't much to write home about. 6.6 is league average. he was dominant in college, but that's a long way from the big leagues.

[Geki Ace]

Wags is pretty easy to figure out. If he's healthy and not tired, he'll give you around a strikeout per inning. If not, he'll probably give you a walk per inning. People seem really down on him after last year, but he was extremely good the first two months before something like 30 appearances in that time started to wear on him in June, peaking with a horrible outing at Coors Field that Miley just wouldn't take him out of. I think Wags should be put in the closer role to start the year, no questions asked. Give him the job and let's see what he's really got. If he can't handle it, then we can lump him with the rest of our draft busts, send him down to AAA, and let him rot. I bet he'd handle it pretty well.

And if you think that me pointing out everyone's errors in an arrogant way because I know that I'm right about such things is hostile, then I guess I'm just a hostile person.

[volzok]

I agree with you Geki. Give Wags the job and let him run with it. If May rolls around and hes in the top of the league in BS, then send him down. I think the Reds need to give him that to help boost his confidence. That may be all he needs.

Also, I dont mind how you disagree with people, Geki. I dont think its too hostile and I think it adds character to the board. It would be boring if everyone had the same opinion.

[Wally Mo Pena]

And if you think that me pointing out everyone's errors in an arrogant way because I know that I'm right about such things is hostile, then I guess I'm just a hostile person.

but saying "i told you guys coffey was a lock" wasn't pointing out errors, since we agreed ealier on the thread, it was just being cocky and trying to point out that you said it first or something. what's the point of that? you want to point out "errors" (which sometimes are errors and sometimes are just your opinions) and also put people down for agreeing with you? it's a no win situation for the rest of us.

[Geki Ace]

Yeah, but it's always a win for me, just the way I like it.

And anything that goes against my opinion is going to end up as an error, since my opinion is pretty much always right. Deal with it.

[volzok]

'Shack' just wants the ball
Reliever focuses on his own pitching, not on that of others
BY JOHN FAY | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

DUNEDIN, Fla. - Brian Shackelford had to be thinking he was sitting pretty after last season.

Shackelford, a 29-year-old left-hander, pitched well for the Reds after his call-up June 26, going 4-1 with a 2.43 ERA. His numbers across the board were good: 21 hits, 17 strikeouts and nine walks in 291/3 innings.

But Shackelford's job security took a hit when the Reds signed veteran lefty Chris Hammond.

Shackelford is one of the most happy-go-lucky guys in the Reds' clubhouse, so he's hardly complaining about his lot in life.

"You can't look at it like that," he said. "I don't get caught up in who's here and who's not."

Shackelford has had a good spring, allowing one run on five hits over six innings, walking one and striking out three. He also has impressed Reds manager Jerry Narron with his willingness to take the ball in any situation.

"He did a good job for us," Narron said. "The thing you worried about with Shack was, could you trust him to throw enough strikes? The worst thing for a guy who is going to face one batter is to come in and walk him.

"He definitely came in and threw strikes."

Shackelford's success in the majors was somewhat surprising - even to him. He was 1-6 with a 5.23 ERA at Triple-A Louisville when he got the call-up.

"When I first got up there, I was in a mop-up role to eat up innings," Shackelford said. "But after I got comfortable and had some success, they trusted me more with the lefty specialist role."

Shackelford made his big-league debut at age 28, but there's a reason for that. He signed as an outfielder and didn't become a pitcher full time until 2003.

The Reds got Shackelford from the Kansas City Royals in a March 2003 trade. He went 8-1 with a 3.58 ERA for Louisville in 2004, but he wasn't given much of a shot to make the Reds because they had signed left-hander Kent Mercker in the offseason.

Shackelford brings the gamer attitude of a position player to pitching.

"Shack wants the ball," Narron said. "That's what you want to see."

Said Shackelford: "I've always been that way. When I was a hitter, I wanted to be up there with the game on the line."

Last year was an educational process for Shackelford and the Reds' other less-experienced relievers. Shackelford, Todd Coffey, Matt Belisle and Jason Standridge were pitching in a big-league bullpen for the first time.

Having Mercker and David Weathers around helped them.

"First of all, they know the hitters," Shackelford said. "They're always three innings ahead, so they tell you what to expect. They really helped us.

"I was talking to young guys with other clubs who didn't have veteran guys. It really makes a difference."

Adding Hammond to that mix could cost Shackelford a big-league job. But he's not preoccupied with that.

"All I do is go out and pitch," Shackelford said. "Competition is good. I don't worry about what's not in my control."