Bob's pissed at the Media

[Redsfan1507]

Castellini is making a mistake here. Crying in the media about the media bemoaning the Reds lack of winter moves harming his ability to sell more season tickets than he wanted to.

It's a no-win situation that can only sharpen the medias axe, and alienate fans. It's like Ludwick blaming fans for not being enthusiastic while the hitless Reds stumbled through losses to bad teams in route to qualifying for the last playoff spot- a one game play in game. It's like Brandon Phillips' jealous sniping of Votto's contract. It all looks like irresponsible greed.

The media reported the Reds made no moves, because they didnt make any moves. Reds fans are knowledgeable and not without financial constraints of their own. Bob should have spent more time explaining his business reasons and optimism with current resources, and less time making excuses that reflect on people outside the organization.

Better to let this turd dry up, before you start stepping in it and walking through the fans home.

 

[Redsfan1507]

Reds owner blames media for slower than expected season ticket sales - CBSSports.com

 

[JohnU]

The Reds aren't required to justify their moves, though it's in their best interest to convince fans that they are being competitive. If hiring a new manager, signing the best hitter of the 21st century to a lifetime deal and signing a popular pitcher to a $110 million contract isn't enough, then ... fuck the media.

I read on Redleg Nation all winter about the ineptitude of the front office for not signing Grady Sizemore, Brett Gardner and Emilio Bonifacio ... frankly, some of the so-called "experts" on that board are complete assholes. I mean, GRADY FUCKIN' SIZEMORE was going to bring us a W.S. title.

And if Castellini lets that sort of shit get to him, then he's an idiot. Reds "bloggers" are as knowledgeable about baseball as my cat is. They can read a few metrics and suddenly are sure the team will implode. Most of them aren't bright enough to know that Dusty Baker isn't the manager now, but ... hey, never mind ... they only know what they've been programmed to know.

I have been converted to an optimist because, honestly, somebody has to be.

But the owner fell for it. He whined last fall, he whined over the Phillips mess and now he's whining because of the "media."

And the idiots at Redleg Nation are just that. Just don't dare question their intelligence.

 

[redsfan03]

I think Cincinnati sports fans are just starved for a winner that wins IN THE PLAYOFFS. You look at the Reds and the Bengals - both were absolutely terrible in the early 2000s but have been on the upswing since. However, neither team has been able to make it over the first round of the playoffs hump and I think people are getting tired of the excuses. It's easy to be optimistic when you live in Boston or New York because you know at least one of your ridiculous amount of sports teams will be in the thick of it almost every year. It's harder to be optimistic in Cincinnati where only two professional teams seem to have consistently performed below expectations since 1990. We've also dealt with our share of clowns in Cincinnati - Ochostinko, B.O., Dusty, BP, etc. which hasn't helped either. I'd argue the brightest spot of recent Cincinnati sports has been UC, which for some odd reason the Cincinnati media always seems to crucify. If anyone should complain about the media, it's UC.

I think many Reds fans aren't expecting much this year because the team didn't do much during the offseason. I guess they think the addition of Price's coaching staff and the subtraction of Dusty's coaching staff won't make up for the losses of Choo and Arroyo. Who knows if that's a justified stance or not, we'll see. It's also a little confusing when the Reds front office cites budget as the biggest reason for not making moves and then throws $100 million at Homer Bailey. Where's this new money coming from? I didn't know you could plant money trees in the dead of winter...I think some people are beginning to lose faith in Jocketty. He came to Cincinnati with a good track record, but his results here have been decidedly mixed up to this point. I have to admit that I become less enamored with him every year that passes.

Props to you, john, for being optimistic though. God knows we could use more of that in Cincinnati, but I do understand where the overriding pessimism is coming from. I'll try to take a middle ground for now.

 

[JohnU]

My problem with the pessimism is from the bloggers who have almost zero inside information, only their own little warped viewpoint. Hell, you could make book on what is written here on the Hoop and come up with the same chances.

Here's the problem: Presuming the team will have problems because Walt didn't package up 5 guys and ship them off to Miami for a left fielder.

When all else fails, blame bad contracts. Bad contracts are a part of every single franchise, as are injuries, a shortage of key players in the minors and health risks. We keep pounding on that as if the Reds are the only team with those issues.

Farm systems aren't worth "ranking." You just need to sign a guy like Chapman and all the rest of your lefties in the system are suddenly irrelevant.

We bitch because Price hasn't said he will overturn the entire Dusty concept of using his pitchers. Hell, it's March ... what's he supposed to say? Seems like at least 3 of his pitchers aren't ready anyhow.

I will take a more critical look at what I see when I begin to see it. But the constant droning in the off-season by pinhead bloggers really did get old. The only other thing that was consistent was that these pinheads did the bobblehead when somebody suggested Votto shouldn't change his approach.

In other words, media madness as defined by sheep mentality.

Back to the point: Castellini should just shut up and make sure the beer is cold.

 

[JohnU]

I did want to say that not signing Choo for the money he was after was a better plan than signing Bailey for the money HE was after.

1. Hamilton is expected to be ready. Cheaper, faster, better on defense. A bit of a gamble, but not as much a gamble as a plus-30 outfielder who had to prove to me he really can get on base at that rate again.

2. Bailey is popular, experienced and clearly is a guy Price wanted to keep. Replacing Bailey was problematic, unlike the Choo-Hamilton scenario. There is nobody, except Chapman (or Parra) who could step into the rotation.

Price believes in his pitching and I have to believe he realized that Marshall and Broxton were trouble. That was why he didn't insist on shoving Chappy into the rotation.

In that respect, the front office's complaint about not having any money isn't ringing true here. The issue was not being able to sign Choo, which was a good idea anyway. But they did come up with the money for a guy they really wanted.

Again.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

This thread is being based on a Yankee blogger picking out some excerpts from a 30 minute interview with John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Mr. C goes the extra mile in explaining the franchise's financial situation and the growth during his tenure. It's more information than most clubs ever release. If you read the Axisa article, go back and use the link to John Fay's article which is more informative than a guy piggy backing on another writers story.

 

[Redsfan1507]

Exactly. My stance is that it's a good idea to trust only trustworthy people. Guys that get paid to write have to write something, and that doesn't exactly make them trustworthy. To be honest, writers have spilled into fantasy prognosticators, which are really just game geeks with a baseball format, who are just fans no more informed than guys who don't get paid to speak their opinion.

Slamming those guys for not selling tickets for you isn't very well thought out.

Hamilton and Choo are apples and oranges. Arroyo and Cingrani don't equate to the same contrast, but it's just an opinion which would have meant more wins at this stage. Especially when it was the front offices determination they could do better for less money than keeping Choo and Arroyo...

I think it's beating a dead horse to keep excusing Ludwick's injury though...I'd let that one play out as quietly as possible because it's likely to look like someone other than a writer or a fans fault he's here to begin with, and his age and prior history don't have the same effect on optimism as Cueto- who is younger, cheaper and has contended for a Cy Young in the last 2 years.

I think Bob was caught at a frustrated moment, or the writer just had a deadline and no other story.

It doesn't matter how many playoff opportunities were blown, it's only the next opportunity that means a damn now. I think the Reds should be in the hunt this year, until they prove they aren't. There aren't many impressive offenses in the NL, and there aren't many more impressive pitching staffs than the Reds. I'd say that helps.

 

[Hit-n-Run]

Most of what we're seeing this year was predetermined last year. Whether it works out...... That remains to be seen.

Choo was a one year rental with BH taking over after an additional year of seasoning.

Bronson wasn't going to be resigned and Cingrani was going to take his spot in the rotation.

Hard for the Reds to deviate from last years all in plan that committed the team financially for more than just the 2013 season.

IMO, it'll take a couple years to rebound to a WS contender, but they will be a playoff contender.

Ludwick signed for two years and a mutual option, if healthy he's manning LF most days. If he hits .260/
20 hr's/ 80 RBI, the Reds will probably pony up the $4.5M for 2015 with the likely replacement being Winker or Ervin a couple years away.

The two weakest offensive positions when compared to league average for the Reds was LF and C. Ludwick is supposed to be the upgrade in left and Pena and Meso behind the plate.

 

[Redsfan1507]

I agree with H&R, just adding that "weak" is a relative term. How much extra credit does a .240 hitter get for 60-90 stolen bases ? Depends on how many runs he scores- without checking facts against my opinion, I'd say the average .240 hitter might be lucky to score 60 runs, unless he hits 35 HR. Id say if BH gets 500 AB's his 120 hits might net him better than half that number in runs...without any homers...because who hits .240 with 90 doubles ? No one...but 20 real ones and 70 steals is the same thing. If Phillips just keeps .260/18 pace, Votto & Bruce keep par (I expect better than last year from both), I like BH's chances of scoring 80 runs, with some slumps and rest. It's still 20 fewer than Choo, but he's about $150M cheaper and 8 years younger, too...and he might cause 100 more fastballs to be thrown to the teeth of the Reds lineup, a plus in itself.

If BH can hit .270 he's going to be unmatched in the no power impact category- making a guy like Marte look blasé.

Frazier playing decent D hitting .240 with 15-20 HR doesn't bother me. Ludwick hitting the same worries me though. If he doesn't hit, he can't give back in D or steals or salary. For some unknown reason, there doesn't appear to be another Reds MLB ready OF that can do better. After Rolens 5th shoulder surgery, Frazier stepped in. Heisey isn't the answer, but if Ludwick plays like he did from about 2010-2011 and what we saw for the last half of 2012, and the wrap up last year, it's not good news for the Reds.