chico ruiz
Member
correct h-n-r, and i've been writing and talking about the declining state of the reds organization, for the last 5 years, till my fingers are arthritic and i'm blue in the face. i was kind of mocked and questioned about what this 'plan' was that i occasionally referred to? to me, there was no plan for 2015, 16, or 17, and you just explained it in stark mlb business terms. i tended toward criticizing the man in charge of the overall system. before the reds made their series of trades (some had an air of desperation - transacted in need rather than want) there was virtually nothing in the farm system to replace the impending attrition of players on the reds major league roster.
the reds chose this path, and their media lap dogs -almost in unison- blamed the state of the reds on unfair mlb economics for mid or small market teams. i read this utter nonsense about castellini being a wharton graduate, a winner, and resurrector of a produce distribution company and i can't help but want to loudly boo. good for him. he saved the millionaire family business in the late sixties. what does that have to do with mlb in the new millennium? i don't get it. are he and his underlings beyond reproach? is it even possible they could have made some bad decisions? why people / fans except this as a natural down cycle for a mid market team is beyond me. the extremely short-sighted choo trade is the perfect example of the exact wrong thing to do. the reds gave away gregorius and stubbs for one year and zero prospects. it read like a 90's yankee trade. ditto the trade for latos. the reds brass seriously fucked (not a strong enough word) up by not trading a jay bruce in 2013 for 3,4, maybe 5 prospects, or phillips pre 5/10. the reds brass seriously fucked (again, not a strong enough word) up by not trading 2 of the seven starting pitchers they had after 2012 for prospects. when you think about what the reds could have got back for bailey (the one they decided to sign long-term), cueto, latos, leake, chapman, or simon, in 12 or 13, it makes you wonder if they were thinking at all. why do i say this? because they had damn near nothing in the farm system. the farm system. i can't remember one reds media-type writing even one article on the travesty that was / is the reds farm system. the life blood of a mid market mlb team.
the reds don't have positional (i think i just coined a word) balance in their system. they are, as of now, pitching heavy in their legitimate prospect pool. they've put themselves in the position of having to trade some of that pitching for bats. i don't see a way around that, and my guess is neither does dick williams. if you want to look at mlb team's prospects, look at the mlb top ten at every position. there's a team that has one at every position, except ss, that may be familiar to you.
the reds chose this path, and their media lap dogs -almost in unison- blamed the state of the reds on unfair mlb economics for mid or small market teams. i read this utter nonsense about castellini being a wharton graduate, a winner, and resurrector of a produce distribution company and i can't help but want to loudly boo. good for him. he saved the millionaire family business in the late sixties. what does that have to do with mlb in the new millennium? i don't get it. are he and his underlings beyond reproach? is it even possible they could have made some bad decisions? why people / fans except this as a natural down cycle for a mid market team is beyond me. the extremely short-sighted choo trade is the perfect example of the exact wrong thing to do. the reds gave away gregorius and stubbs for one year and zero prospects. it read like a 90's yankee trade. ditto the trade for latos. the reds brass seriously fucked (not a strong enough word) up by not trading a jay bruce in 2013 for 3,4, maybe 5 prospects, or phillips pre 5/10. the reds brass seriously fucked (again, not a strong enough word) up by not trading 2 of the seven starting pitchers they had after 2012 for prospects. when you think about what the reds could have got back for bailey (the one they decided to sign long-term), cueto, latos, leake, chapman, or simon, in 12 or 13, it makes you wonder if they were thinking at all. why do i say this? because they had damn near nothing in the farm system. the farm system. i can't remember one reds media-type writing even one article on the travesty that was / is the reds farm system. the life blood of a mid market mlb team.
the reds don't have positional (i think i just coined a word) balance in their system. they are, as of now, pitching heavy in their legitimate prospect pool. they've put themselves in the position of having to trade some of that pitching for bats. i don't see a way around that, and my guess is neither does dick williams. if you want to look at mlb team's prospects, look at the mlb top ten at every position. there's a team that has one at every position, except ss, that may be familiar to you.