The Post has more on that plan we’ve been hearing so much about for Austin Kearns:
What Kearns is doing is sticking to the plan laid out for him by Reds management.
No. 1, the goal was to get at-bats every day, something that was nearly impossible in Cincinnati. So far, he’s looked good in a Bats uniform, batting .394 while smashing eight doubles, a home run and eight RBIs in 33 at-bats.
No. 2, the goal was for Kearns to drop some weight. He said he was expected to lose 10-15 pounds, and already, he’s making progress. He doesn’t know exactly how much weight he’s lost, but he said he feels better.
No. 3 – and this might have been only in his mind – the goal was to have fun playing baseball again.
There’s also this, which speaks well about Kearns:
“Austin came down with a very good attitude,” Sweet said. “I’ll be honest, I have seen a lot of guys come down before, and some of them come back so-so and some of them it takes a week to recover. ‘AK’ came back from the first day, he put his uniform on the way we want it put on, he wore his helmet during batting practice, the way we want it in the minor leagues. He knew every little off-rule we have that they don’t have in the big leagues. He adhered to every one of them. He walked in this clubhouse with a smile on his face.”
Also, Kearns says that he didn’t demand a trade, but he did inquire about it. Sounds like he asked to be traded, but didn’t demand it of O’Brien.
There seems to be no dispute that O’Brien lied to Kearns’ face about whether there is interest in Kearns out there.
I’m not sure how you can conclude that there’s “no dispute that O’Brien lied to Kearns’ face” when everything else in the initial report has been refuted. Just because there’s no explicit contradiction of O’Brien’s statement that “there’s no interest” doesn’t mean he really said it—remember, that statement came through Kearns, and everything else Kearns “said” in that first article has been refuted.
I, for one, am perfectly fine with AK being “passed over” for Romano. If you want AK to sit at the end of the bench, then call him up to the Reds; if you want him to play, leave him at Louisville. The point of players like Kelly and Romano is that they DON’T play everday, they’re chosen BECAUSE they’re backup outfielders. O’Brien knows AK’s not a backup OF, that’s why he’s in AAA.
On the general blog-hatred of O’Brien: overall, I much prefer O’Brien to Bowden. First off, I don’t know what evidence there is that O’Brien will get fleeced in a trade (since he’s hardly made any), whereas Bowden wouldn’t have (Broussard for Branyan, anyone?). Second, the whole point of the O’Brien regime is player development–Bowden had a decade to make that happen and never did, and you can’t just blame Marge. Now we read that he’s doing the same PR-schtick with the Nats’ top choice, moving him up after 10 days in high A ball (anyone think Wagner was rushed?). I never believed that Bowden was committed to scouting or was any good at it; my view is that the Reds minors are already in better shape than they were in the last 6-8 years of Bowden’s reign, with interesting arms at every single level.
We’re all desperate for the Reds to do something constructive with their outfield glut and Randa / Aurilia / etc, and we should judge O’Brien on that question. But I want the Reds to stick with player development–that’s their only hope for a competitive future in this marketplace.
As a fan, Bowden was a lot more fun, God knows. But the Reds were going nowhere with his approach; I, for one, will take O’Brien.
As Exactly idicated, why is everyone convinced that OB lied to Kearns’ face? As this story goes on, we learn that most of what we now know, follows more closely w/OB’s side of the story.
I think the jury is still out on how successful OB will be as a GM. So far, not so go. However, I’ve not seen enough evidence of deceit, that would lead me to conclude he’s a liar. It’s one thing to disagree w/the way he does his job, its whole different thing to question his integrity.
Yeah, but who said that OB said that? Austin Kearns. If someone else can independently attest to what was said in that conversation, I’ll listen to them. I don’t personally know Kearns or OB. All I’m saying is that I’m not just going to take one side or the other based on what I’ve read or heard.
Kearns said he asked about a trade. OB says Kearns didn’t, but rather expressed a desire to stay with the Reds. Two guys saying something diametrically opposed. Someone’s not telling the truth. I don’t know who.
I really don’t understand the complaints about Kearns remaining in AAA. If he came up now, there still wouldn’t be a spot for him in the OF. After they left Cleveland, he’d be back on the bench.
And Romano is looking pretty good these days, he could be a very good player on the Cincy bench.
I’ve not seen anything from Romano that would justify him taking up a spot on the roster. I just can’t fathom what the front office sees in that guy.
As for Kearns, He needs to get his game back on line. I don’t know what measure the organization is using to determine how and when he meets their goals for this. I hope they don’t leave him down in L’ville until September call ups. If they do, that will really break Kearn’s spirit.
Well, the way I see it, you’ve got a young guy who can play the outfield well, has good bat speed, and is fast. Players who have speed as their primary offensive tool develop their bat late, if ever, like Ryan Freel and Scott Podsednik. (That’s not to say that Romano is as good as either of those two.) He’s put up good numbers at AAA this season, and in a few big league games he has looked very improved.
I realize he screwed up when he got picked off a few weeks ago, but I don’t think that can be held against him permanantly. I think everyone is just taking out their dislike for O’Brien on Romano, when the reality is that Romano is looking like a decent pick-up by Danny-boy.
Romano is hitting .308 in AAA this season with an OPS of .804. I think that is worthy of a spot on the bench, especially when you consider that speed and defense are important assets for that role.