Is anyone else sick of watching Casey ground out to 2B?
UPDATE: I was only able to keep one ear on the game this afternoon, but it was a disappointing loss. Eric Milton’s control was terrible, and the defense was pretty poor, too. Not to mention the fact that the offense only mustered six hits.
Onward to Florida tomorrow evening for a tilt with the Marlins.
5 so far this year… Reds record 30 by Lombardi, next is Ernie and Parker (1985) with 26.
Full season pace of 69, record is 36
Yah. I actually agree with him. Except that for now I would move JR to 1B and leave Dunn in the OF with Pena and Kearns, just for injury reasons. I know Casey is the heart of the team, but his trade value is higher than JR or Kearns and we can’t trade Pena, he’s just too good. If we could get pitching depth or a plus second baseman for him I think it would be worth it.
Sorry for the long Post.
Buster is IMO not that astute.
Here’s his article
incinnati overload
Dave Miley is probably secretly wondering why his dilemma can’t involve pitchers. He could really use a surplus of pitchers; anybody could. The Reds need pitching. Instead, they’ve got four outfielders for three spots and Miley’s got to decide who plays and who sits, a daily puzzle.
Under most circumstances, this would be an easy solution. Cincinnati is a rebuilding mid-market team and typically, the oldest and most expensive guy would be traded. Except in this case, the oldest guy – Ken Griffey, Jr. – is really, really expensive (three years remaining on his deal, at $38 million), he’s tough to trade because of his recent injury history, and he’s going to the Hall of Fame. He’s going to play most of the time, even when he’s in the midst of a sluggish first month.
Under most circumstances, you could pick out one young guy among the other three and send him to the minors to play regularly. But in this case, all three young guys have all proven themselves and they’ve earned the right to play in the big leagues. Adam Dunn has 122 homers in the big leagues and he’s only 25 years old, with a career on-base percentage of .382.
Austin Kearns hit .315 in 107 games in 2002, and although he’s been limited by injuries, he’s not going to prove anything in Triple-A. If you don’t give him some playing time in the big leagues, his trade value – already diminished by his injury history and recent performance – will keep going down. And Wily Mo Pena, the other outfielder, probably has the brightest future with the Reds of anybody. He’s 23 years old, he’s got 38 homers in his last 370 at-bats in the big leagues, and although he doesn’t draw any walks, he appears to have the highest ceiling of the three young guys.
So Miley is doing what he can to give all four of them playing time. Dunn played first base on Wednesday, with Sean Casey getting a night off in the midst of what has been a slow start for him. With Pittsburgh lefty Oliver Perez starting, Griffey, Jr. sat, as well; Kearns started in right field, Pena in center, Ryan Freel in left. The Reds face right-hander Kip Wells Thursday and Griffey, Casey, Dunn and Pena figure to be the guys who play. Miley is doing the best he can to get at-bats for everybody.
But something’s got to give; somebody’s got to go. Until Griffey, Jr. shows he can stay healthy enough to stay on the field, the Reds won’t be able to move him without eating a lot of money. You throw his name out of the trade mix and prioritize.
If I’m the GM, Pena and Dunn are staying, under any circumstance. Pena will be a corner outfielder in future years, because he’s big and getting bigger and can’t last in center. I sign him to a Cleveland-like longterm contract right now. And Dunn will be my first baseman in years to come; you look at his body and the way he moves and soon enough, he will be a liability in the outfield.
If you trade Kearns now, you’ll get very little in return. You’ve got to believe he’s better than his numbers have shown, but based on his play the last three seasons, you’re not going to get the kind of pitching prospects you want. You’ve got to hang onto him just a little longer.
Casey is 30 years old and we know what he is: A career .300 hitter (.303, to be exact) who will hit you a lot of doubles and some homers. He’s making $7.8 million this year and $8.5 million in 2006. He’s a good guy with a great reputation, a good first baseman. He is the type of player who will have a lot of appeal to a contender.
If you believed the Reds could win the division this year, you would never trade Casey. But if you think you’re still two years, or at least one, from contending, you make your best trade with him soon; by the time you are a contender, Casey might be overpriced, anyway.
You move Dunn to first base. You play the young guys. Until then, you just try to find enough at-bats for everybody, as Miley is doing, and make adjustments according to the injury situation.
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