I know it was another GM at the time the deal was made, and I know the new GM is still getting settled in. But I felt like it needed to be noted that right now, before we enter into the 2006 season that the Sean Casey trade, which I thought was fabulous at the time, is currently looking like a bad deal to me.
The reasons that I thought the Casey deal was a very good deal were twofold:
1. Clear up the logjam at OF-1B and get all four of Griffey/Dunn/Kearns/Pena’s bats into the lineup, thus improving the offense.
2. To not only obtain a league average SP in the immediate deal, in Dave Williams, but to also free up a significant amount of cash (5M) to pursue a top of the order SP. This greatly improves our dismal starting rotation.
John Fay in the Enquirer the other day predicted that Hatteberg would be at 1B and Dunn in LF on opening day since a hard throwing right hander was starting against us that day. Is he suggesting that Pena and Hatteberg will be platooned against RHs with Dunn flopping between 1B and the OF? We wanted Pena in the lineup instead of Casey to improve the offense and save money. Hatteberg is a worse hitter than Casey. Not to mention that my man Roberto Petagine was available around the same time we got Hatteberg, and he would have been a better option. 🙂 So much for positive reason number one to like the Sean Casey deal.
Williams is here and so far is much what we expected. But the second part of reason number two, and the most important, has yet to come about. We saved 5M in payroll in the Casey/Williams swap. It was much publicized that the Reds had all of the arbitration eligible salaries already budgeted into the payroll, along with Casey, before this deal. So that 5M is still sitting around waiting to be spent on our new top of the order SP. Reds fans haven’t forgot that the Red’s are currently sitting on that money and haven’t reinvested it in pitching. Which in effect, makes the Casey trade a classic salary dump to reduce payroll, up until we make a deal for that SP. So much for positive reason number two to like the Sean Casey deal.
Thus far, what looked to be a very good trade at the time, is looking pretty bleak at the moment.
Here’s hoping that Krivsky and Narron make this deal look real good, real soon.
Later,
Tom
If Wily Mo is platooning with Hatteberg on a regular basis, Narron should be fired immediately. Incompetence is grounds for dismissal.
What pitcher (free agent-wise) was worth the 5 mil this off season? I’d rather the Reds pocket the money for now in hopes that they splurge when the available talent warrants it.
Maybe they could’ve gotten some bullpen help. But even that was expensive this winter (e.g. Howry at 3 yrs/12 mm), and the SPs were ridiculous.
you can’t say that the casey deal was bad because of moves that didn’t happen later. The casey trade did exaclty what it was supposed to, got us a cheap starting pitcher with upside, clear up the OF/1b, free up some salary.
if narron and krivsky do stupid things after that, it doesn’t mean the trade was bad. that’s like saying that if narron starts aaron harang at 1b, that it was a mistake to trade casey.
somewhere the moves after the trade have to be held accountable for success.
I think it’s too early to lament the Casey trade. Once spring training is over and this WB Classic is done the Reds will probably move one of the Outfield Four for a starting pitcher. And the money saved in the Casey deal will come in handy.
Tom:
It is absolutely unbelievable to me that you can say all of the junk you said, knowing that the owner and the gm are weeks old, and you are already assuming lip service and that you know so much about motives, and performances and the bell has not been rung. If you hold your horses until they have gotten out of the gate, I am sure that all you have said will mean so much.. You sound like an insurance type, where everything is white or black.
Dave Williams gave up 20 homers last year (and 15 in his first season). Does anyone here think that its going to get better than that? I wouldn’t be surprised by 30 this year. That isn’t going to help this team win any games. Add that to the expected lack of WMP in the starting lineup (plus the clubhouse malcontent status he may have when he gets back), and the insanity that is Tony Womack (who is getting a million dollars to be crappy) and you have the makings of bad things.
pinski, everything i’ve heard is that WMP is the starting LF. i wouldn’t read anymore into hatteberg playing now than i would into wise playing cf. It’s just the WBC.
As for williams, he had a 4.41 ERA in his age 26 season, and he had a 3.35 ERA in his minor league career. Harang had a 3.36 ERA in the minors and a 4.81 ERA at age 26 and a 3.83 ERA at 27. Claussen was 4.21 at 26 and 3.38 in the minors and everyone is expecting him to continue to get better.
my point is that it usually a few years for pitchers to learn how to play in the bigs, and that when they do they move toward their minor league numbers. I think it’s fair to say that williams could improve in the same way harang and cluassen have and will, and that equals upside.
No he isn’t a top of the rotation guy, but i think he can put up ERAs around 4 for the next three years, which is a lot more valuable than 1 year of an overpaid light hitting 1b.
as for the money saved, if the reds are in contention that money can go towards a rent-a-pitcher at the deadline, since it’s about half of a good starters salary.
5 mil wouldn’t have gotten an SP. that said they even tried for morris at 8 mil per and got shot down. The free agents this year werent’ worth what they were getting, and 5 mil wouldnt have made a difference on that.
Trading now and using the money works for me too, but my point was that 5 mil could be very useful at the deadline, but wasn’t much good in the FA market this year.