Loading ...
Dusty Baker had a conference call today with the Reds beat media (via Rosecrans):
On recruiting free agents:
“I haven’t been recruiting. Two days ago, I was on a plane. I got a package yesterday. I’ve got to see who is a free agent.”
However, Dusty did say he’s talked to Mark Prior and Kerry Wood, but it wasn’t about coming to Cincinnati.
“I probably talked to 40 players who called to tell me congratulations. I talked to Mark, but we were talk about his family and well-being, since he lives in San Diego. I’ve talked to a number of guys who live in that area — Jacque Jones, Dave Stewart, Phil Nevin. I was talking to him about his house and family.
“I didn’t talk to Kerry directly, he sent me an email saying congratulations. I told him, ‘I’ll see you down the line.’ It was construed as if I was talking to someone about baseball. The fire and their well-being outweighed baseball.”
Here’s the quote from the original press conference (before anything was burning in San Diego, btw):
Baker said “a number of players…called me about coming to Cincinnati.”
“I can attract players to come here,” Baker said.
I have no idea how the media got the idea that players were calling Baker “about coming to Cincinnati.” He was definitely “misconstrued.”
A little off the track here, but CTR says that Dunn’s option must be picked up by Sunday…maybe this isn’t as much a “done deal” as we all assumed? Or maybe they’re trying to work out an extension?
Bill, I honestly think they are trying to work out an extension with him.
If they don’t pick up his option, it will be one of the dumbest things this organization has ever made (and I honestly don’t think Dunn is all that great of a player, and hope he is gone after next season for the money he will be getting paid after this season).
This pending extension is why I cringe anytime I hear the name “Phil Nevin.”
“I have trouble agreeing with myself some times.”
Last quote of the article. I’m going to let it stand by itself without further comment……
I will, however, mention that it didn’t take Wayne long to school Dusty on the “we don’t disclose information, everything is a state secret and we must safeguard our plans from the fans, for their own safety because they are dense when it comes to baseball” Reds strategy.
Oh, for the record: I’ve tried the “misconstrued” argument at home. I always end up sleeping on the couch. I just treat it like camping out.
preach, I am not sure its the smartest idea to set up a camp fire in the living room…. just sayin’
Preach:
Why pray tell, do you have a right to know what they are contemplating? You are a fan, and really do not need to know what the strategy for the Reds might be. If you were in business, you would not convey to your competitor what your sales, marketing and business strategy might be. It is not only foolish to do so, but can be illegal as well. I know you may not think it, but other teams monitor these blogs so they know what players are being considered, and other strategic plans might be. Again, you have no right, nor does the team have any obligation to let you and or me in on details until they are available in the public domain. The best way to get that information is to become a part owner, and then you will be in the “know” so that you know where your money and exposure might be.
Oh, I don’t know – maybe because they want Preach’s money, in the form of RedsFest tickets (got another email about that today), season tickets, merchandise, cable attention, etc. etc.
They shouldn’t expect anyone to buy their product if they’re not interested in telling anyone what it is.
Have to agree with Chris. We arent asking for a video feed into contract negotiation meetings. We simply want to know what the strategy is. The players a GM gets, his strategy, and how it is put into place and executed are the only ways we can grade him. We pay the money, we support the team. Every person that buys a ticket, merchandise, ect. is a part owner. Without us they simply do not exist. We arent asking for the whole pie but to keep us coming to the table you have to give us a piece.
Oh, Wayne Krivsky has a plan. His plan is not having a plan. That way, fans will assume he has no plan, but really, deep down, they won’t know he has no plan, which is his plan all along — convincing the fans that he has no plan. But he has one.
It’s baseball insider stuff. You wouldn’t understand.
I agree…I’m not even asking for specifics (Player A is on our radar, etc), I’m asking for an explanation of what the team’s philosophy is…Krivsky hasn’t done that and there is no coherent philosophy apparent.
Agreed. It’s not like some teams, where you can figure out the strategy from the moves.
Two examples:
* The Giants, under Sabean always do whatever they can to lose high draft picks, and they’re always signing veterans. A strategy is apparent, without a word from the front office.
* In contrast, Kevin Towers and Sandy Alderson in San Diego are regularly explaining their thinking and strategy to the fans (for example, last winter Kevin told season ticket-holders: “We know you liked Barfield, but we traded him because it’s much easier to find another 2b than it is to find a 3b. We think you’ll like Kouzmanoff, and there are a lot of free agent 2bs this winter who can hopefully replace Barfield.”
Towers said that stuff because fans were grumpy and because he understood that part of his job is promoting the team. It wasn’t that hard, and I think it paid off, at least to some degree.
Notice that Towers didn’t tell the fans what the strategy was BEFORE he made the trade.
Totally agree, Chris. Well said. The “state secret” approach is getting old fast, and it just isn’t necessary.
Gives me a really bad vibe too — like either Krivsky is too insecure to let his plan (if there is one) see the light of day and potentially be criticized… or he thinks we’re too dumb to get it.
No good leader hides from critics.
I’m not sure he hides — he goes on talk shows on WLW and answers *some* questions — but he only explains one little thing at a time and it all doesn’t add up to a plan. Maybe we’re dumb and we won’t understand. He should try us anyway.
I don’t really understand the complaints about how Krivsky won’t share his plan. In all the time I’ve been watching sports, I don’t recall a single time a team executive sat down with the media and outlined a timeline for specific transactions, strategies for molding a team’s personality, etc.
It’s clear the emphasis in Krivsky’s TWO YEARS at the helm has been on upgrading the Reds’ pitching and defense. Last offseason, the Reds signed the best defensive infielder on the free agent market (Gonzalez). On the bullpen, it hasn’t quite panned out the way we would have hoped, but acquiring Stanton, Guardado, Bray and Majewski send a pretty clear signal what Krivsky was trying to do. He stole Arroyo from Boston. Hamilton, Phillips, Burton, Cantu – all solid acquisitions that should indicate at least some level of competence.
Stop waiting for the GM of an MLB franchise to have a sit-down with you and start paying closer attention if you want to get a grasp of what the “plan” is – it’s not really that big a mystery.
Teams do it all the time. Look at the Indians, for the most recent and obvious example.
Since it\’s so obvious, please explain what Krivsky\’s plan is. You\’ve listed a bunch of okay-to-good moves, but that\’s hardly the same thing. Bray, Stanton, Cantu, Arroyo, Hamilton? What\’s the common thread there?
I already did. Upgrade the pitching and defense. If Alex Gonzalez had lived up to his reputation defensively this year, Mike Stanton and Gary Majewski had done the same and Bill Bray and Eddie Guardado hadn’t gotten hurt, we’d all be talking about how brilliant it was that Wayne Krivsky put such emphasis on strengthening the bullpen and acquiring a top-flight defensive SS. But how can we blame Krivsky for guys not doing their jobs and getting injured?
Krivsky might not be the smoothest media guy ever, I’d agree, but there’s more that goes into being a GM than knowing how to be a smooth talker is all I’m saying.
And the point on Hamilton, Arroyo, Burton, Cantu, Phillips is that each of those guys are legit big leaguers Krivsky stole from other teams – it seems to me these acquisitions should indicate maybe Krivsky’s not as worthless as many would have you believe.
Here is the thing…. Krivsky seems to want pitching, defense and wants to acquire as much talent as possible. How he plans to do that though, no one knows.
Recently the Pirates new GM came out and told people what their plan was, how they were going to imrpove on the major issues previous regimes had in place, adding scouts and coaches up and down the food chain….
The Indians, as Chris stated, also came out recently and stated their plan, how they want to get there, the system the have in place for scouting and projection purposed with their Diamondview system that is revolutionary….
Krivsky has said NOTHING. Heck, the owner tells us more than Krivsky does, and that guy makes no baseball decisions….
I dont think Krivsky is worthless, I just wish he would communicate a generalized plan to the public.
Krivsky has no sense of public relations. As someone has said, his usual response is like talking to the wall – ‘no comment’. That’s one way, but the truth is without us fans there would be no franchise here, big-small town that Cincinnati is. We’re not asking for ‘state secrets’, only some tid-bits of where our team is headed during the long ‘hot stove’ season. At least it appears that Dusty has some warmth and is willing and able to talk to the media and the fans.
Dusty is willing to talk…. I just wish he knew a lot more than he does….
\”Upgrade the pitching and defense\” is not a plan. That\’s a goal, and it was an obvious goal to anyone with a heartbeat. You don\’t get credit for looking at the Reds and saying their pitching and defense needs improvement.
And at that, the Reds\’ run prevention (aka pitching and defense) got worse from 2006 (7th in the NL – 801 Runs Allowed) to 2007 (853- 15th).
p.s.
espn.com just told me that Dunn’s option has been picked up. Now let’s just sign him long term and i’ll be happy
key weaknesses – right field, bullpen, 3-4-5 pitchers. Plan would be to seize whatever comes available on the market at a reasonable price. For instance, ARod is available, but the plan is not to sign him.
The Reds picked up the $1.85 million option for first baseman Scott Hatteberg and a $1.35 million option for catcher Javier Valentin.
They declined a 2008 option for reliever Eddie Guardado. The Reds are interested in bringing Guardado back next season for less money.
Krivsky said. “We want to give Dusty all the weapons we can to win with. I think we have depth at several positions.”
I’m not asking for all the details, but the general ideas of where we are heading. You do owe something to your customers after all. Truth in advertising and all. My point was that it appears that Dusty got ‘Krivskied’ and for whatever reason the backpeddaling begins. It’s not the close mouthed attitude that bothers me so much as being told we are open and then not being as such. It appears obvious from the earlier Dusty quote that he had spoken to players about coming to our beloved Reds, but now we have a contridiction. Why would that be? Methinks the GM is involved. If that is the case, now we have crossed the line from ‘close-mouthed’ to ‘deceptive’. Hopefully the organizations do read these blogs.
Oh Doug: I just used a fake fireplace and set up a small smokescreen…..our GM would be proud.
“Upgrade the pitching and defense is not a plan.”
How about “upgrade the pitching and defense to improve the club’s chances of winning a pennant in a league in which teams with superior pitching and defense usually win.”
Wordier, but it’s the same as “upgrade the pitching and defense” and I think it qualifies as a “plan”
Those stats are fine, but again, that’s hindsight and everyone’s a wizard with the benefit of hindsight. The fact is that Krivsky’s made a lot of moves that made a lot of sense, blaming him for players not living up to expectations and/or getting hurt is sour grapes to the nth degree.
Why’s everyone so pissed all the time?
“The Indians, as Chris stated, also came out recently and stated their plan, how they want to get there, the system the have in place for scouting and projection purposed with their Diamondview system that is revolutionary….”
Why would you want other teams to know how you value players?
They’re not giving out the results of their scouting system.
These teams never said what goes into the systems that they have to determine the value of a player, but that they have something other than ‘we like him’ to go on. Everyone has scouts, but what are the Reds doing outside of just taking a scouts word about someone? Do the Reds have any type of talent evaluation system outside of their scouts like a lot of other teams do?
My thing is, why are the Reds doing or attempting to do to become a better team from the front office perspective. Telling me one thing, when its obviously not true does no good. I keep going back to the Jon Coutlangus demotion earlier in the year. Krivsky was on with Lance McAllister and he said that Coutlangus was sent down because he was walking too many batters and allowing too many runners. Sure, that made sense, until you go back and look at the actual numbers and at the time of demotion Coutlangus hadn’t allowed a walk in his previous 7 games and had not allowed a runner either. Its not just one thing, its the attempt to decieve that drives me nuts with Krivsky. I don’t want him out there telling me who he is planning on targetting in free agency, becuase that obviously isn’t good business practice… but how about you just be honest with simple things?
As a counter-example of Krivsky’s style, here’s a quote from Frank Wren of the Braves (on the job for less than a month) regarding their CF options:
For instance: Would Wren seek one of those dandy center fielders available through free agency such as a Torii Hunter?
“I would say that going strong in the free-agent market would be our least likely alternative,” Wren said. “I say that just because, with the young players we have coming (in the farm system), it just wouldn’t make sense to go sign somebody for four, five, six years when we have what we think are better players on the horizon. With that being said, the free-agent market probably doesn’t make as much sense as a trade. The trade market is probably the most likely way we’ll fill center field.”
If Krivsky said the above quote, he would go trade for Rowand.
excuse me, I meant sign Rowand to a 6 year deal in FA.
Wayne has me confused…or maybe it’s Dusty…