I’m like Rosencrans; for some reason, I’m a sucker for discussing uniforms, uniform changes, likes and dislikes. That said, I really like the new batting practice caps that Rosencrans discusses here:

Yeah, that black panel on the side is annoying, but I like the cap. It looks like it will fit great, and I’ll probably have to pick one up eventually.

Okay, back to your regularly scheduled Adam Dunn discussion.

From the Advocate Messenger:

Some tidbits…

What about outfielder Adam Dunn (40 home runs, 92 runs-batted in in 2006)? Could he be the key?

Brennaman: “I am pretty close to giving up on Adam Dunn. I don’t know if he is capable of changing his approach to the plate, based on what the count is, and can be happy with shortening his swing, hitting the ball the other way and showing a measure of discipline. I am at the point where I don’t know if it can happen. He is a guy who drove in five runs in the month of September last year and didn’t even get to 100 runs batted-in.

“People constantly ask if the club is trying to trade him. I think this team waited one year too long to try and trade him. If they had traded him after 2005, they would have got something good. I don’t think there was a team in baseball that had any interest in him after last year.

“He is going to make $10 million this year. I get tired of people saying he hits 40 home runs and drives in 100 runs. Wonderful. This is a guy who should hit 50 plus home runs and should drive in 130 runs or more every single year. And he can’t do it because he leads the world in strikeouts. I think he was overweight last year. He walks to his position. He walks off the field. You see no energy whatsoever and that disappoints the heck out of me.”

Yep, Dunn is easy to scapegoat for September, but look at some other’s numbers from the second half of the season, he sure wasn’t alone in stinkin’ the place up.

Read here that the Reds scouted Shannon Stewart at a private workout in Miami. I’m glad to see that we are still keeping a lookout for some offensive help. Stewart, if healthy, could provide some offense, but if I remember correctly, he is lacking defensively, so I’m surprised a bit by the Reds interest in him.

I read somewhere (I think over on the RedsZone forums) that Marty Brennaman stated in a radio interview that Wayne Krivsky has had phone conversations with representatives for both Steve Trachsel and Dustin Hermanson. So it seems the Reds are still on the hunt for arms as well. Traschel could provide some steady innings and Hermanson, if healthy, could be a closer candidate.

I also picked up, from I believe the Cythiana caravan stop audio, that slick fielding catcher Miguel Perez will not be ready for the start of the season after undergoing a rib surgery of some sorts. I’m sure the Lookouts will miss his stick the first half of the season.

Baseball America has posted the Reds top ten prospects list for this season. The top spots are all just as you were probably expecting.

BASEBALL AMERICA’S
REDS TOP TEN PROSPECTS

1. Homer Bailey, rhp
2. Jay Bruce, of
3. Joey Votto, 1b
4. Johnny Cueto, rhp
5. Drew Stubbs, of
6. Travis Woods, lhp
7. Sean Watson, rhp
8. Milton Loo, ss
9. Paul Janish, ss
10. Chris Valaika, ss

Probably the thing that surprised me the most about the list was Milton Loo at number eight as the SS. It could be me, but I always thought he was listed as a 3B in the past. Sure enough, in the 11 games he started last season in the Rookie GCL, 2 were at SS and the other 9 were as the DH. I also found it very interesting that he was projected as the Reds SS in the 2010 major league lineup, especially after just 43 ABs last season. He’s a prospect I will be keeping a close eye on this coming summer.

Baseball Minutia takes a look at the Reds pitching in the late ’60’s…

Just great stuff….

Hal McCoy has a pretty good profile of Todd Coffey in the DDN. I love that kid.

Nineteen days until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training. Am I the only one who can’t wait?

UPDATE: I see that Reds.com has a feature on the team’s closer situation. Yes, I’m still terribly excited about the onset of spring training, but if I think about the bullpen too much, I throw up in my mouth a little bit.

From Baseball America:

Along with some other less noteworthy players, 2002 1st round draft pick, Chris Gruler was released by the Reds on January 17th.

Let’s hope that Homer Bailey reverses the trend of #1 draft pick busts.

From John Fay and the Enquirer:

Reds manager Jerry Narron’s sessions with Josh Hamilton have gone well enough that Narron is convinced that Hamilton will have an impact on the Reds this season.

“It might not happen early,” Narron said. “But, at some point, he’s going to play well for us.”

“At some point, he’s going to play well for us”….does that really mean anything? Would one hit in a PH appearance make this a true statement? Am I the only one that gets tired of hearing players, coaches, management, announcers make statements that don’t mean anything? It’s like they’ve all gone to the “Crash Davis School of Cliches”.

“What I’m going to do is get him as many at-bats as I can at spring training,” Narron said. “I told him to be ready to play every day. We’ll try to get him 80 to 100 at-bats.”

That’s all well and good, but assuming you don’t have SS games ever day, that means there are going to be other players that don’t get their fair share of ABs, so the Reds can protect their $50,000 investment. Someone’s not going to get the ABs they possibly deserve, if Narron holds to this plan.

Change of pace for you Bengal fans:

What did you think of Carson Palmer’s comments, and the continuing legal troubles facing various Bengals? Is anyone else getting as tired of this as Palmer seems to be?

From YahooSports.com:

According to the New York Times, MLB is close to handing DirecTV the exclusive rights to Extra Innings – which allows fans to watch many out-of-market games – for $100 million per year over seven years. InDemand, which distributes the package currently, has upped its offer, but, according to the Washington Times, its deal will pay about $30 million less per year.

The difference averages out to $1 million per franchise, per year – or, in these days of overheated player spending, chicken scratch. Even if it was five times that, it wouldn’t seem worth it to keep the product from so many fans.

The article goes on to raise to some interesting issues…but it comes down to “What is MLB thinking?”

UPDATE (by Chad): I think I agree with this take on the whole thing.

These new batting practice jerseys are all ugly, but I think the Reds came up with the fugliest.

From ESPN.com:

CINCINNATI — The Oakland Athletics traded pitcher Kirk Saarloos to the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday for minor-league reliever David Shafer.

Each team also received a player to be named.

The 27-year-old Saarloos went 7-7 with two saves and a 4.75 ERA last season for the AL West champions. After being Oakland’s No. 5 starter in 2005, he made 16 starts and 19 relief appearances last year.

Saarloos had a chance to rejoin the rotation full-time this year under new A’s manager Bob Geren. Last week, Saarloos and the Athletics avoided salary arbitration when they agreed on a one-year contract worth $1.2 million.

Shafer, a 24-year-old righty, had 26 saves and a 2.36 ERA for Double-A Chattanooga last year.

I know I sound like a broken record, but another deal I don’t like. Saarloos is already 27 (and has pitched 2 years in the bigs), gives up over a hit an inning and his K/9 is only 3.33. I’d guess you’re seeing the #5 starter.
Shafer is 24 (in March) and is coming off a great year last year at AA. He probably would have been a Red at some point this season. He has way more upside than Saarloos, IMO.

Krivsky’s seeming more and more like Jim Bowden, bring 100 guys to camp and see who makes the team out of ST.

Update: The Reds have also signed Mark Bellhorn to a minor league deal, according to Trent Rosecrans.

Baseball America has a list of prospects who just missed making their team’s top 30 lists in their yearly Prospect Handbook. This year’s list has two Reds prospects on it. Below is a quip from the writeup for each, access the link for the full scouting reports.

Adam Rosales was a surprise star in his pro debut, hitting .325 and reaching low Class A after signing as a 12th-rounder. But he suffered through a miserable 2006 as he was derailed by injuries.

Rosales was a big disappointment for me last season, but I was not aware that injuries played such a big factor. I will be watching him with renewed interest this coming season. I expect him to do well in A+ Sarasota if healthy.

Phillip Valiquette hasn’t made much progress during the past two seasons, but his arm is too good to give up on and the Reds are somewhat culpable for his struggles.

I was really surprised to see him listed. I figured he would be released before this season even started. It turns out that the Reds are not even sure he is going to show up for spring training. He basically sounds like your young great arm, who hasn’t showed an inkling of maturity yet. I don’t look for anything out of him, if he’s still around, he’ll probably be at A Dayton again this season.

I forgot to link this last week, but John Sickels has a very interesting “Crystal Ball” on everyone’s favorite third baseman (well, everyone except Jerry Narron), Edwin Encarnacion. It’s a prediction of what EdE’s career will turn out to be, and it’s always a fun feature over at Sickels’ blog.

Go check it out. Do you think Sickels is too pessimistic?

Dayn Perry Rates the GMs on the Fox Sports site. Well, our guy wasn’t last.

What follows are the “GM Rankings” for MLB’s current crop of top executives. The rankings are, of course, highly subjective, and they’re based mostly on each GM’s tenure with his current team (although, for those GMs who have toiled elsewhere we’ll give minor consideration to their entire bodies of work).

…
…

28. Wayne Krivsky, Reds
On the job since … February 2006
Playoff appearances: 0

Krivsky hasn’t been in Cincy for very long, but he’s already done damage. In particular, the 2006 trade that sent Austin Kearns, Felipe Lopez and Ryan Wagner to the Nationals in exchange for Bill Bray, Gary Majewski, Royce Clayton, Brandan Harris and Daryl Thompson was, from Cincy’s perspective, one of the worst trades of the decade. Like a lot of GMs whose teams toil in hitter-friendly parks, Krivsky acts out of desperation when trying to find pitching.

I guess Red’s fans aren’t the only ones who are less than impressed. Maybe, unbeknown to us, that his flurry of decent moves last year in the Feb. to April time frame was his modus operandi. Maybe he does his best work then and cruises the rest of the year. I wonder if he buys all his Christmas gifts the day before Christmas too.