Loading ...Okay, I just wanted to use shenanigans in a title.
Anyway, the roster has been set…kinda. Milton is on the DL (retroactive to 3/23), and Victor Santos is gone, or maybe not. For now, the roster contains only 24 guys:
Pitchers (11)
Bronson Arroyo
Matt Belisle
Jared Burton
Todd Coffey
Rheal Cormier
Jon Coutlangus
Aaron Harang
Kyle Lohse
Kirk Saarloos
Mike Stanton
David Weathers
Infielders (6)
Juan Castro
Jeff Conine
Edwin Encarnacion
Alex Gonzalez
Scott Hatteberg
Brandon Phillips
Outfielders (4)
Adam Dunn
Ryan Freel
Ken Griffey Jr.
Josh Hamilton
Catchers (3)
David Ross
Javier Valentin
Chad Moeller
So what does Wayne Krivsky have up his sleeve? Says Rosencrans:
Wayne said they’re down to 24 and there will be 25 tomorrow. It “could be Santos, it could be someone else. It could be somebody here, it could be someone not here.”
Oh, how I’d love to be in Krivsky’s office to hear all the machinations as they decide who that 25th guy is.
All in all, other than the absurdity of having three catchers, I think this is a pretty good roster. Certainly with the pitching staff, they’ve probably picked the best group out of those available.
We’ll keep you posted on the rumors and fact surrounding the 25th roster spot. My guess is the final spot is between Santos and Bobby Livingston (why they would keep 12 pitchers, especially with all the off-days early, is a mystery to me, but…). Or a trade. Or Clay Carroll could make a comeback. Who knows?
Given that the #5 starter won’t be needed for a while (and thus can be used in relief), I’m going to boldly guess that we’ll see Bubba Crosby in the OF.
-j
WOrd I get is that the 25th spot is reserved for Farney.
Speaking of Farney:
http://ryanfreel.blogspot.com
Why oh why do we have to suffer through another season of three catchers?! If not for that, the roster actually appears to have a fighting chance this year… Here’s to ‘07!
The reason for the third catcher is so the team’s best pinch-hitter–one of the best in the game, Valentin–can be used more in that role when needed instead of having to hold him back in case of an emergency or double-switch with the starting catcher.
It’s not about a third catcher; it’s about using a weapon that so happens to be a catcher.
So the Milton to the DL stint doesn’t get Livingston a sniff?
The point is this: the only reason for that third catcher is the extremely unlikely scenario in which Ross gets hurt during the late innings of a game when Valentin has already pinch hit. Very unlikely. Wasted roster spot otherwise.
What should happen in that situation is that Hatteberg or Freel catch for two innings, and then Krivsky can pick up a Chad Moeller off the slag-heap after the game.
It is ridiculous to waste an entire roster spot in anticipation of such an improbable happening.
And you mention the possibility of a double switch…oh no, what if they pinch-hit Valentin, then double-switch Ross out for Moeller…and then Moeller gets hurt???
You can’t plan for every possible scenario, but they should be focusing on the more likely ones. It is more likely that they could take that roster spot and make it useful (another outfielder, or someone else who could pinch-hit).
Jim, don’t be surprised if Livingston gets the call for that last roster spot. I’d guess he’s still in the mix.
Another point on Moeller: while I think it’s a dumb move, it isn’t going to hurt the Reds in the long run. Well, it may hurt the team a bit, but not enough to lose sleep over.
If they kept Moeller over Dunn, then we’d have a problem.
Chad, what’s ridiculous is saying Hatteberg or Freel are ise emergency catcher. Hatteberg hasn’t played the position since 2001, and Freel has never played it.
So, in the event such an “improbable case” did happen, the bench is royally screwed.
And they wouldn’t double-switch after Valentin pinch-hit. That’s just absurd–even by Narron’s standard.
The issue isn’t the third catcher; the issue is Valentin is a top-notch pinch-hitter and that has pretty large value.
So, in the event such an “improbable case” did happen, the bench is royally screwed.
For two innings. You’re willing to sacrifice a useful roster spot on the off-chance that you might need the guy for two innings, maybe, possibly.
Hatteberg played catcher for a long time in the major leagues. I would be surprised if he couldn’t handle it for two innings.
At any rate, the chances that such a situation would arise are so miniscule that I can’t believe you are even trying to make that argument. You want to waste a roster spot that could be put to better use. I can’t understand that.
It might be interesting to see how often, over the course of a MLB season, a team actually uses three catchers (in the catcher position) for a game. I’m willing to bet that it doesn’t happen very often…certainly not enough to justify keeping 3 catchers all season long.
There’s always a chance the Joel Pineiro Experiment will make an appearance.