Today’s Enquirer is reporting that the Reds roster may soon be free of Tony Womack.
Talk among scouts is that Womack will be released when Ken Griffey Jr. comes off the disabled list April 28.
Finally some good news about the 2B logjam.
I must admit that Brandon Phillips has impressed me in his admittedly short time with the Reds. He is basically a younger cheaper version of Womack.
Later,
Tom
Can’t trade him, can’t play him. Under O’Brien, he’d be starting.
Phillips reminds me a little of Pokey Reese out there. Good fielder, decent hitter, can’t take a walk to save his life.
I hope there’s room for one more on his bandwagon.
i don’t know why the reds want three catchers more than an extra utility player, and i agree with DA, womack has done exactly what he’s supposed to whenever he’s been in the game. do we really need javy’s .550 OPS off the bench?
This just seems like more of Kriv purging DanO’s moves, and while i’m fine with that, i don’t think people should think that it has anything to do with Womack’s play. josh hancock would be our second best reliever right now, so these moves aren’t always based on what’s best for the team.
Lancaster said that there are teams interested in him, so we should be able to DFA and trade him for something, though no one of much value.
Hopefully rick white and chris hammond are the next of the old regime to hit the door. That would be a more productive move for the team.
Lest we mix up what we believe and what has actually occurred, I point out that in extremely limited playing time (20 plate appearances) Womack has hit .250/.400/.375 . He’s been good in the field, and most believe that he made the defensive plays that saved the 1-0 game in St. Louis.
Nice job of an accurate portrayal, DA. I could care less about Womack, But have been surprised at the things said about the guy in this area. His defensive play DID win the 1-0 game in St. Louis — and (not surprisingly) — little was made of it here. If EE or Freel or Lopez and probably anyone else on the roster makes that stop to save two runs from scoring, there’d be a ground swell.
I tried to explain the rationale for his acquisition in terms that were not at all hard to understand and was taken to task — big time.
If Brandon Phillips is a better choice, then I am all for it. Like I said regarding the bullpen, I don’t care who we bring in to improve the club, as long as the club improves.
Then again, it’s John Fay. Instead of “scouts”, Fay could very well have said “some commenting on Marc Lancaster’s blog believe . . .”
A big reason many were displeased with the Womack trade was his perceived role, not necessarily his merits as a player. Womack serves a limited bench role nicely (defensive replacement, pinch runner, occasional pinch hitter), although cheaper alternatives exist. But if you start him several games a week, his weaknesses as a hitter really start to hurt the team. And while his start to the season has been good, his recent history shows that there’s little chance of him keeping that kind of pace.
If Womack is unhappy with a limited bench role, it’s best if he’s let go.
So far I’m ok with Womack’s performance. The problem is that log jam at 2B. Phillips has played well too plus he’s much younger and less expensive.
We can probably chaulk this log jam up to, two GM’s passing each other, but it still put’s Womack in a jam for playing time.
It’s interesting to me how folks sometimes get what I like to call “immaculate perception”.
Womack has been the whipping boy around here since he was acquired because while he has played well, won one game with his glove and done every single thing asked of him so far — he is more than likely to ultimately revert to his career norms.
Brandon Phillips was sitting at home for ten days after the Indians released him. Since he has been acquired he’s seen substantial playing time. He has done well, everything asked of him.
Is it because he is younger and cheaper that people aren’t pointing to his career norms? Why would we expect him to improve upon them? There is probably a reason why the Indians gave up on him.
I hope the Reds are an improved club with Phillips — but the way he has been spoken about here when contrasted with Womack is mystifying.
As I said before, I don’t care who Krivsky brings in if he is improving the ballclub. Still in all, the shelf-life of this Womack-bashing has been amazing.
Bill, I’ll totally be the first to admit that my dislike for Womack is unreasonable.
But I still want to see his locker cleaned out.
Bill, I’ll totally be the first to admit that my dislike for Womack is unreasonable.
But I still want to see his locker cleaned out.
Comment by Brian B.  4/20/2006 @ 6:05 pm
I can respect your position, Brian, but then move on. This thread has gotten a longer shelf-life than it was warranted (as evvidenced by how some are clearly just trying to troll for reactions by posting nonsense now).
I hope Phillips continues just as he has. Just go back and read what folks essentially said when he was acquired and compare that to what folks like Tom is doing now to explain the clear logic and you get a great example of why folks say that hindsight is always 20-20.
Indeed.