Paul Daugherty: Reds assembling softball team

Monday, February 11, 2008

Reds assembling softball team

After signing Kent Mercker and Craig Wilson to minor-league deals, the Reds evidently are interested in Kenny Lofton, who will be 106 on May 31. (Actually, 41, but who's counting.) That would give them 3 CFs, unless they figure Freel or Hopper is gone in a deal for. . .

Joe Blanton... kills me, the way many of us think around here. Lived here since '88, not many places I'd rather be (Virgin Islands, maybe, or Montreat) but we take no chances... daring to be good is not a civic strength... and the comments re trading prospects for a proven winner are evidence. Give Oakland Bailey/Cueto, Votto and a lesser name for Blanton and let's get about the business of daring to be good.

People laughed at me 2 months ago, when I wrote Xavier had a shot at the Final 4... fewer laugh now. Senior guards, selflessness, depth, versatility, rising star coach, singleness of purpose. Gonzaga has been a sexy F4 pick for years. The Zags aren't as good as X this year or overall in the last decade. Only weakness I see is in the post. Love doesnt do enough at either end. And of course, the draw they get.

UC will make the BE tournament, a preseason goal. Its sights should be set on an NIT bid. Simply outstanding work by Mick, who has exactly one big-time BE player and no post presence. Poor Adam, looks entirely at sea out there. And Biggie is a project.

Caught the last hour of the Pebble Beach Pro-Am... couldnt have cared less who won, other than to root against Vijay. But the Monterey Peninsula on hi-def... whoa.

Somehow, missed the incredible excitement and over the top thrills of the Pro Bowl...

38 Comments:

at 11:38 AM

Anonymous said...

I agree Paul. Unbelievable The Reds give away Josh Hamilton for nothing. And now they are interested in 41 year old Lofton. Way to go Baker who cares if he played for you years ago. This team has done nothing except sign a good closer. This team will not contend this year nor have a winning season. The brains that run the Reds are idiots plain and simple.

at 11:41 AM

Anonymous said...

I lived in Denver the last few years and everyone (including me) was killing the team for not trading prospects. Then, out of the blue, the young guys blossomed. They caught lightning in a bottle at the end of the season and we all saw where they ended up. It sure is sweet to go to the series with all the guys you’ve seen come up, rather than with a bunch of hired guns. I say give these guys a chance. I don’t think its fear of risk, its just doing it the old fashioned way…

at 11:57 AM

Anonymous said...

I have come to the conclusion after watching Adam H's dizzying array of missed layups and dumb fouls, that the only possible conclusion you can draw as to why he gets any playing time at all is that he has pictures of Mick in compromising positions. There can be no other rational reason for him to ever see the playing floor !!!!!

at 12:21 PM

BShooner said...

X is looking pretty tough. They've showed resolve in these last few games. I'm still worried about their overall size once tourney time comes. Also-I bet they get a quality seed, but have to play in Anaheim or Denver.

at 12:25 PM

Anonymous said...

Note on Lofton for those of us who even care about such stuff: He's got some juice left in the tank, but the guy can be a MAJOR cancer in the clubhouse if the Red's are not careful. Lack of clubhouse leadership and Dusty's benign "just keep my job" mentality are redflags for a Lofton signing.

Cincy kills me too, Paul, but me thinks you benefit mightily by the areas unwillingness to embrace change. Nice to see you talking sports, but your bored cynicism is a downer--kind of like the city itself. 29th DMA in the US and the Enqirer has one bored sports columnist???

at 1:16 PM

Allan said...

Paul - I agree with much of what you say.

So, how come Reds/Bengals continue to defy logic and not do the right thing?

Is it the Southern Ohio conservatism at work, or is it stubborn management who think they know better?

To Reds: Have some guts, and make a big trade. I could be dead by the time Bailey/Cueto/Votto blossom, and am sick of hearing about the future.

To Bengals: Start following the management strategy of successful teams like Patriots/Giants/Colts/Packers, or Carson could be washed up sooner rather than later.

at 1:18 PM

Anonymous said...

Lofton is still a productive player and would be good in a platoon situation. Here's the problem with trading Votto. Dunn is a free agent at the end of the season amd it's possible Votto--who isn't a great defensive first baseman--could replace Dunner if he doesn't re-sign. He could also be the long-term answer at first base. The problem in baseball is that you have to overpay significantly to get good pitching from another team. All Reds fans would like Blanton but the price tag seems a little steep.

at 1:59 PM

Anonymous said...

Mr. Daugherty is right with respect to the Reds, in my opinion, but he displays a fundamental ignorance of the college basketball game if he really believes Adam H is lost out on the court. In fact, the most recent game against Rutgers serves as a good example of why Adam H is as valuable to the team as Deonta. Adam had to sit most of the first and much of the second because of fouls (mostly imagined). When he was out, UC's offense and defense were totally out of sync. On offense, he sets the high screen and is able to get back in the paint fast enough to keep the defense off guard. This gives Deonta (and whoever is hot) time to get free looks. He also boxes out on the offensive end, something few college players do well. On defense, he is speedy enough to swing out to the key in the zone defense and guard faster forwards and shooting guards in a double team. But he is able to collapse back fast enough to defend the back door. I agree he misses WAY too many layups, but it's Adam H's presence that gives UC a chance in the Big East. Cronin would tell you the same.

Jack

at 2:49 PM

oldtimer said...

Good post, Jack. Couldn't said it better.

Cronin has actuslly come out and credited Adam H as his most fundamentally sound offensive player, understanding the offense and how to run plays properly, geting to the right place, and in particular setting the high screen better than anybody UC's had for a while. Vaughn gets most of his free looks off that screen. Plus he plays unselfish. Excellent team player. It's these kind of things that help a team overachieve.

Noticed McClain starting to make some progress setting some nasty picks in Saturday's game. He's got a good teacher. Remember the bone-rattlimg picks H. has set in the backcourt in a couple games this year? Kerrrrunchh! Woozy little guards wobble down the court afterwards...uhhhhh, what hit me???

Yeah, I agree, Doc, he really struggled Saturday. He looked a little lost out there, but Rutgers guy N'DDYIae..whatever..had fire in his belly. H. kept hustling and playing hard, and he brings a good attitude. I still think he might get over the hump and start scoring late this year. Mark my words. His problem is he's more of an inside face the basket forward who's playing center of necessity. He has no help inside on the boards, which means he has to work extra hard on defense. Which he does quite well. His offense suffers because of it.

Watch his blocking out technique next game, too. He always finds a body to rear end. Always. The Eastern European players come here so fundamentally sound. So what if he misses layups too much. He's still a big factor in this year's success story. In spite of the boobirds, he keeps hustling and playing hard and this team keeps rolling along. Great story.

at 3:04 PM

Paul Daugherty said...

OK, guys, so as I understand it, a player who misses layups, crucial FTs and often doesnt get back on defense is to be seen as a big reason UC is surprising people in the BE? And is "as valuable to UC as Deonta?'' Because he screens and blocks out? Really? He's fundamentally sound, yes. Isnt making a layup the most fundamental act a player can perform? As for him being a big reason they beat Rutgers, maybe you missed the 4 FTs he missed that could have lost them the game that, excuse me, Vaughn won.

at 3:50 PM

Anonymous said...

Let's not get excited over great block out technique. Kosta Koufos (OSU) is a very fundamentally sound player, but he has been shredded in the Big Ten because he is not nearly athletic or agressive enough against the big boys. If Adam can't raise his game when he's directly challenged by an opponent you have to put him on the bench. It's a different game in the US and takes some getting used to.

at 3:51 PM

Anonymous said...

Paul,

Have you looked at Blanton's home/road splits? He has an ERA over 5 on the road. His home ballpark, is quite spacious, and has a lot of foul territory. You site his low home run rate, it is easy to avoid home runs in Oakland. He also has a low k/rate, and relays heavily on his defense, especially his outfield defense. Griffey in right, and Dunn in left leave gapping holes in the outfield. Add that to the small amount of foul territory, and Blanton suddenly allows many more base runners. I think that will more than neutralize the league change.

I am against trading Blue Chip prospects for mid rotation pitchers. Maybe one of the four for Bedard or Harren, but not Blanton, Blanton is a 3AM girl at this point.

There is a chance Bailey/Cueto (especially Cueto) would put up better numbers in Oakland than Blanton would in Cincinnati. If Cincinnati could get Blanton for lower level Stubb's like prospects I would be all for it. I would predict an ERA around 4.5 or so, in about 200 innings, he would be about equal to Bronson Arroyo.

at 4:32 PM

Anonymous said...

Paul, if you can remember the year of 1988. The Reds had the "CROWN JEWELS" Kal Daniels,Tracy Jones and co. The team was reluctant in trading for a pitcher at the trade deadline. I remember sitting watching the Reds play the Giants, they had two pitcher the Reds wanted but the Giants wanted two of the "CROWN JEWELS" Bill Bergesh
(I hope I spell his name right) and he didn't make the move. Both pitcher went elsewhere and made their new teams playoff teams. Can you name one of those pitcher?

at 5:03 PM

Anonymous said...

Paul, in my last posting I aske a question about a pitcher. Well, I was off one year and the team. It was 1987 and the team was the Pirates. One of the pitchers was traded to the Giants at the deadline. Sorry!!

Bill in Lexington.

at 5:06 PM

Anonymous said...

Hey, I just had a thought. I'm 48 and I have a beer belly and play softball on a team and I'm damn good pitcher and hitter. Maybe I should give Krivsky a call

at 7:51 PM

Anonymous said...

Adam H. looks lost at sea? Of course he does. He's not a real BB player, just a tall guy in a uniform.

at 8:11 PM

Anonymous said...

Fellas, I believe you are talking about 1987 and the pitcher was Rick Reuschel, who went from the Pirates to the Giants. That absolutely killed the Reds for two and a half years.

Reuschel won 41 games in that span, and since the Reds and Giants were in the old NL West, he was a primary reason the Reds didn't win '88 and the Giants went to the World Series in 1989.

One of those examples of the deal you didn't make breaking your back. I can remember a lot of players really upset that Bergesch didn't do anything at the deadline in '87.

at 8:28 PM

Anonymous said...

can't agree re lofton. 41's old (for baseball, no offense fellas) but the reds are sorely lacking for get-in-your-face leadership in the clubhouse. veteran lofton's been a leader everywhere he's been and he's played in 11 octobers. plus, .367 obp last year at 40. reds could do worse for outfield insurance/spot leadoff duty.

11:38, on hamilton trade - for nothing? i was as big a hamilton backer as anyone but a top pitching prospect for an injury-prone 26 year old rook with a shaky past is hardly nothing...

at 9:29 PM

Anonymous said...

Paul, ref. the Blanton deal, here's a hypothetical:

Oakland calls up and says, "You can have Blanton straight up for Jay Bruce."

Do you make the trade?

Also, our rural county is one of the largest in the state and one of the least populated. My township, for example, has one (count 'em) snow plow. The other townships aren't in much better shape.

School gets called off easily out here because the roads aren't all that hot before the snow, and they are much worse after it.

Follow the money....it's cheaper to call off school and make it up in better weather in June than it is to buy road equipment on borrowed money. (That same extra equipment also would probably just sit there the bulk of the year.)

at 9:54 PM

Anonymous said...

I'm just glad UC has someone bigger than 6'6" this year.

at 10:54 PM

Anonymous said...

A leader everywhere he's been??? I dont think so. Lofton is a known Cancer in the clubhouse and the Red's are known to lack leadership. Sounds like a toxic mix to me...

at 1:24 AM

Anonymous said...

1987 references are funny, considering the wire to wire Reds world title came in 1990. Quick fix trades run both ways: remember who we traded to get Jose Rijo and who thought the Reds got the better deal at the time !

at 5:33 AM

Anonymous said...

Paul said:
"OK, guys, so as I understand it, a player who misses layups, crucial FTs and often doesnt get back on defense is to be seen as a big reason UC is surprising people in the BE?"

Yes. Yes he is. First, I totally disagree that Adam is often late getting back on defense. He is quick, especially for his size, but no 6'10" player is going to beat the rest of the team down the floor on a break. Adam H is always hustling, though.

Second, everyone misses FTs, and many miss them at crucial times. Adam H has hit some huge ones this year as well, and I think he's at around 75% for the year.

I've already agreed that he needs to work on layups, but remember, he had a couple of nice ones against Rutgers that were pretty well defended.

Basketball is a team sport. You really do need five guys out there all the time playing as hard as they can. And Adam H is definitely te reason they're surprising in the Big East this year. He's the one keeping the other parts moving like they should. He's like Terry Nelson was. Not much scoring, but seriously valuable for keeping the team running smoothly. Think about it like this. How well do you think they'd be doing this year with only McClain playing in the middle? Seriously, now, do you think they'd be anywhere near as good?

Jack

at 8:29 AM

Anonymous said...

certainly a leader. he's stepped in it a few times with some controversial comments and there are anecdotes of stupid rap-music-in-the-clubhouse stuff over the years, but there's a reason teams that make the postseason keep him in the mix year after year - lofton's made october starts 11 of 13 years since 95. you don't think the reds could benefit from that kind of experience?

at 8:36 AM

Paul Daugherty said...

Dear Jack:

Yes.

at 12:10 PM

Anonymous said...

Paul, Mick keeps going to Hyrcaniuk, so that means Jack is right.

Also, do you do the straight-up trade of Bruce for Blanton?

Why or why not?

at 12:33 PM

Anonymous said...

Regarding trading prospects:

Last year at this time, we were reading article after article about Homer Bailey and about how he was the "next one"--a combination of Maddux, Glavine and Seaver. A few years earlier, we read article after article about Austin Kearns and about he was the "Next one"--a combination of Mays, Aaron and Griffey. This year, it's Jay Bruce. Fact is, there are NO sure bets and if we can get something PROVEN for something UNKNOWN, for godssake DO IT.

at 12:49 PM

Paul Daugherty said...

1210...Mick plays him because he has to. And no, not Bruce for Blanton.

at 1:06 PM

Anonymous said...

Maybe I'm missing the point, Paul, but doesn't Mick play Adam because Adam is more valuable for what Adam adds than McClain is for what McClain adds?

at 1:18 PM

Anonymous said...

Doc, I believe you just contradicted yourself in more than one way.

1. You've indicated that prospect hoarding is refusing to trade an unproven for a proven. Then you turn around and say you wouldn't trade Bruce for Blanton.

2. You've indicated this team is rich in hitting and poor in pitching. Then you turn around and say you wouldn't do Bruce for Blanton.

3. You've indicated that pitching is so critical to this team that we should trade for pitching without much attention to cost. But, you won't do the Bruce for Blanton trade.

Those appear to be contradictions, sir.

at 5:07 PM

Anonymous said...

According to ESPN OTL today the Yankees are interested in Blanton, since Pettitte will not be ready for the start of spring if at all.......so with the way things work in baseball Yankees will likely receive Blanton rather than the reds

at 8:32 AM

Paul Daugherty said...

1:18... valid point. A few things:

By all accounts, Bruce is as close to a sure thing as exists in baseball... Griffey won't be here next year; Dunn might not be. Bruce's bat will be required... Reds have several hot prospect pitchers... other than Stubbs and maybe Dickerson, not as many potential bats... trading Bailey and possibly Roenicke for Blanton would not impact the long term as much as dealing Bruce would.

at 9:22 AM

Anonymous said...

GEt those young guys up...Votto, Keppinger, Cueto and get them in there. Let's see, Kenny Lofton, Kent Mercker, What, are you KIDDING ME????
I've seen trees in the Sequoia National Forest with less rings. Hold onto all the young outfielders....all of them....Jr. will be gone after this year, and we're always just "one injury away" from a tentative situation out there. Don't trade the future of this ballclub for retreads.

at 9:24 AM

Anonymous said...

I don't want Dusty Baker running the front office. I want Wayne Krivsky making the decisions. He's done a good job, overall, a very good job. I don't care who Kenny Lofton played for. I want the young guys in the Reds organization coming into their own in a Reds uniform - like O'Neill, Davis, Browning. I don't want to keep bringing in stopgaps. Dusty, if you like them so much, hire them to drive your car from city to city. I don't want people older than me playing outfield, and I am old.

at 10:07 AM

Anonymous said...

Jay Bruce, Joey Votto, et al., keep the young talent, build from within. We've gotten a closer, now check out our AAA pitching talent. Don't give away the future for one pitcher. I have to disagree with those who say "Do whatever it takes to get Joe Blanton".Whatever it takes is too high a price to pay...

at 11:19 AM

Anonymous said...

We have a tendency in this town to overvalue our "prospects." Paul Householder was a can't miss. Remember all the hype about Kal Daniels? We've had can't miss pitchers like Jack Armstrong. That's just a few examples. None of those guys are in the hall of fame, are they? I'm not saying that Blanton is anything near a Hall of Fame pitcher, but at least he's proven. The prospects can be the next Johnny Bench, but the track record is that they won't. Trade the kids for Blanton.

The love affair with Josh Hamilton is further proof of how some of us over value prospects. Josh had a nice season as a rookie. He looks like he can play. But he sure didn't do anything to relieve the belief that he's injury prone, did he? Then there's the hand wringing over trading away Austin Kearns. What's he done in what, five major league seasons? Anything? The guy had all the potential in the world, but it just hasn't panned out.

So don't just keep saving the prospects for the future, because they so rarely pan out. Go for it, now.

at 12:53 PM

Anonymous said...

Whoa... I'm surprised...

Doc, when I read your original post -- "daring to be good is not a civic strength" -- I was right there with you.

But how is trading 2 or 3 young guys who might be great (or might not) for 1 guy who is guaranteed to be... not bad... how is that DARING to do anything?

Making the Bailey/Cueto, Votto, etc. trade for Blanton is the very definition of risk-averse. It's taking a savings account over a stock.

The risk -- the DARE -- is to say "We're going with the young guys." If it pays off, it could pay off BIG.

Trading for Blanton is guaranteed mediocrity. Seriously... I'd say right around .500.

Going with Bailey, Cueto, Votto, and Bruce for the next 6-8-10 years is a recipe to maybe, possibly, be GREAT.

Let's be non-conservative for once and ride it out, and see what we've got.

Go young, Wayne! Stick w/ the kids!

at 11:44 AM

Anonymous said...

I think Lofton would be a Plus!
I had the pleasure of watching what he did in Cleveland last year!
He does have the juice in his tank and he is great for the dugout!
I for one would be thrilled to see Lofton playing for the Reds!

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Monday, February 11, 2008

Reds assembling softball team

38 Comments: