The weather is looking terrible in Cincinnati right now. In a related story, my decision to stay home and watch on television is looking better all the time.
Anyway, Justin had some thoughts on the roster and there were a couple I agreed with one hundred percent. You should really go read the entire post, but there are a couple of highlights I wanted to note:
The consequence of this, however, is that Gomes didn’t make the team and may not agree to an assignment in Louisville. Yes, his terrible defense curtails his value, but Gomes might a better hitter than Bruce at this point in their respective careers. That sort of bat off the bench, or in a platoon in left, could be awfully valuable to a team that may struggle to put up runs. I hope he does take the assignment to AAA, because I’m sure he will get a chance to play this season.
Indeed. Even moreso, I agree with this one:
Bailey didn’t make the rotation, and was sent to Louisville rather than risk losing Nick Masset to waivers. I have to say, while I understand the move on some level, I think this sends a terrible message to Bailey. The kid clearly did everything he possibly could do, drew raves from everyone who saw him, including claims that he’d made more progress in the offseason than he had in the past two years. So what do they do? The same thing you would have done if he’d screwed off all offseason and had gotten lit up in spring training. Part of me hopes that Arroyo is, in fact, going to have to go on the DL, just so Bailey can get back to Cincinnati as soon as possible. It’s time for the guy to be on this roster, period. Keeping him down so that the Reds can keep the 7th man in the bullpen under their control leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
That’s a point I hadn’t considered. Bailey is being treated exactly as he would have been if he’d screwed around all winter and sucked this spring. Not a good message to send to the 22-year-old.
At least we still have Nick Masset!
Again, go read the entire post…and as to his last point, no, I don’t think it is legal.