From the Reds:

Cincinnati optioned right-hander Homer Bailey, winless in the Major Leagues this season, to Triple-A Louisville, designated catcher David Ross for assignment and called up catcher Ryan Hanigan from Louisville.

“A lot of changes,” manager Dusty Baker said before Sunday’s game with the Astros.

The move seemed to signal that Baker planned to take a closer look at players who can help the Reds succeed beyond this season.

The decision to designate Ross put more of the catching load on 36-year-old Paul Bako, though Baker decided to use the 27-year-old Hanigan right away. Hanigan caught Harang on Sunday, and his youth might suggest he’s the heir-apparent for the starting catcher’s job.

I have no problem with sending Bailey down (though I’d have used him in the bullpen and would have gotten rid of Fogg (traded him to ANYONE that would give us cents on the dollar or released him), but the DFA of David Ross makes absolutely no sense.

By all reports, there were teams interested in him not long ago and he’s still owed $3.5M for next year.

Why DFA him and keep Bako (who is older and a FA after the season)?

I also don’t like the idea of Hanigan being the supposed “heir apparent” when he’s never even been considered much of a prospect. Allow him to compete in ST? Absolutely, but don’t go into camp counting on him.

Yet, Dusty’s guy, Corey Patterson, has more lives than a cat and is still here.

This gives me little confidence in the new front office. We’ll be lucky to win ten more games.

Comment by Y-City Jim — 8/10/2008 @ 4:04 pm

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I also don’t believe that no one is interested in Ross. It’s not like catching is a premium.

Comment by Y-City Jim — 8/10/2008 @ 4:05 pm

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Baker is still in control from what I see here. God help us.

Comment by Y-City Jim — 8/10/2008 @ 4:06 pm

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When you’re a small market team like Cincinnati, you need extremely bright people running your organization to compensate for a lower budget. You can’t make many mistakes. The Reds seem way over their head on all fronts.

Comment by ChicagoRedsFan — 8/10/2008 @ 4:07 pm

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To be fair, Ross is not owed Corey-Patterson-money next year - that $3.5mil is a club option.

Still doesn’t change the fact that this is - to say the least - a weird decision to DFA him. Tough to justify.

Comment by DevilsAdvocate — 8/10/2008 @ 4:22 pm

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I suppose Dusty would say they wanted Bako to tutor Hanigan. Total BS, which Dusty has a masters degree in.

I bet they call Dickerson up but I bet they don’t DFA Patterson to make room. This is a Dusty Baker-controlled organization and it will inflict damage that will take years to overcome. The man generates a reality distortion field around all that are near him.

Comment by Y-City Jim — 8/10/2008 @ 4:26 pm

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I’m suspicious of the argument that Bako calls a notably better game than Ross, if for no other reason than because there’s no way to quantify that subjective judgment. Objectively, Ross isn’t that great on defense (though he does have a good arm), but then again, where does Valentín rank among these three catchers? In any category or by any measure? Other than Dusty feels like LLM can stand at first base when the other team is at bat…

At any rate, the only Reds’ starting pitcher who has performed at or above expectations is Voltron, and he’s been nosediving of late. All others have underperformed, some of them hideously so. What should we give credit to Bako for, exactly?

Comment by DevilsAdvocate — 8/10/2008 @ 4:32 pm

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In comparing Ross offensively to Valentine, he and LLM have an almost equal OPS against RHP while against LHP Ross is 200 point higher. Ross is quite capable of standing at 1B. He can probably play 3B as well as Valentin. This move tells me that Dusty Baker basically does like David Ross. Probably stems back to spring training when Ross’ back was hurt or something.

Comment by Y-City Jim — 8/10/2008 @ 4:39 pm

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Sorry if I missed this on another thread, but I would say two idiotic moves, I read that we just hired Bill Bavasi (destroyer of the Mariners) to a front office spot. That is just terrifying to me.

Comment by grf — 8/10/2008 @ 4:42 pm

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I figured it out!!! Ross is one those base cloggers because he draws a decent amount of walks. Can’t have that now, can we?

Comment by Y-City Jim — 8/10/2008 @ 4:47 pm

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Does the Red’s management care a hoot about the fans? I’ve been a Reds fan since 1966. And the team they have on the field now is an insult to us the fans. How can you allow the team you put on the field to be worse then the Pirates flunkies? Bring the youngun’s up. At least they get a hit now and then by accident. You could go up in the stands and pick 9 guys that wouldn’t lose by more then the present team. I’m done with them. If the Red’s fans had any backbone they’d totally boycott the team until mangagement makes some wholesale changes. We need a grassroots effort by the fans. A couple nights of an empty stadium would finally get management’s attention. How many are with me? Pass the word! Personally, I’m going to watch the Redsox. They at least care about the product they put on the field!

Comment by Mariettaboy1 — 8/10/2008 @ 5:51 pm

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We could have a pseudo-boycott of Tuesday night’s game here on Redleg Nation where no one would watch the game or post on the blog.

Comment by Y-City Jim — 8/10/2008 @ 6:04 pm

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yeah but would we really do it? i’m feeling pretty upset at this point about the team. Ross has bugged me in the past when he didn’t play to expectation, but the guy deserves a roster spot over a lot of others. Also, he’s only 3 years older than Ryan Hanigan.

I don’t think I would be so upset if the industry was more honest. Why are there any writers or newsmen or front office people who hold Dusty Baker (and the organization as a whole, I’m afraid to say) to some kind of accountability when this type of weird decision is made. I don’t feel like Dusty Baker has ever been pressed on a weird decision like this. Was Walt Jocketty forced to explain himself when he didn’t move any of our FA-bound players? No, instead we get repetitive, filler stories like this one about Dusty preaching “run run run” to our pitchers, while mired in an organizational crisis, not to mention a pretty ugly losing streak.

I’m afraid that we’ll never see accountability for stupid decisions like this and we’ll never hear them admit that we are a broken organization and are going to need a lot of work before we honestly compete, because we are dealing with a capitalist venture that incorporates the writers, publicists, front office, etc, and they are affraid of what that kind of accountability or honesty would do to ratings or attendance.

Sorry for the rant… I just don’t know what else to do. Somebody with some influence please actually challenge our leadership on this decision in a press/interview context!!! What would happen? I can’t imagine.

Comment by Kevin — 8/10/2008 @ 6:26 pm

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Baker is responsible for the Ross decision? What’s wrong you all? The manager doesn’t make roster decisions, the GM does.

That’s a money call by the GM. I realize people want to blame Baker for everything that ails the world, but the move today was the team saying they were not bringing back Ross next year, especially on a $3.5m salary. They have a young right-handed-hitting catcher tearing up AAA and they have six weeks to evaluate him and see if he can be a part of 2009 and beyond. That’s all this is . . . very simple.

Bako is a far superior playcaller and manager of the pitcher’s game, he’s lefthanded and he’s a lot cheaper. He’ll probably be back next year on the cheap, and as a backup, and why not? The pitchers love the guy and he does an excellent job behind the plate.

Meanwhile, they have been trying to trade Ross and his salary since spring training but no one wanted to take on the money. Now, with about $1m due him, which includes his buyout, they have a chance deal him within the next few days and get a player in return.

And now you all wants to jump on Jocketty? Is he suddenly a blithering idiot, too? Over David Ross? C’mon.

Comment by Mr. Redlegs — 8/10/2008 @ 6:34 pm

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Very good points, Kevin.

Comment by Chris — 8/10/2008 @ 6:42 pm

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The media acts like they are employees of the Reds organization.

Comment by Y-City Jim — 8/10/2008 @ 6:47 pm

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OK- This team is way short of right handed power, and we DFA Ross….. Huh?

This must be personal somehow. Ross got on someone’s bad side and they dropped him. Ross is inconsistent and can’t catch a ball thrown to home, but he’s got the best arm of the unit and he’s a righty who can go deep anytime. And someone would have been interested in a backup catcher with that skill set. Goofy.

Comment by preach — 8/10/2008 @ 7:10 pm

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>>”Does the Red’s management care a hoot about the fans? ”

Less than you might think. Ditto every other management team in MLB.

>>”Bring the youngun’s up.”

Bailey’s been up. How’d that work out? So have others. If they performed, they’d still be here.

>>” A couple nights of an empty stadium would finally get management’s attention.”

Yes, it would, and then management is supposed to do… what?

Comment by justcorbly — 8/10/2008 @ 7:43 pm

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The reason writers won’t ask certain questions is because they can’t. They don’t want to risk missing a story because the manager or GM is ticked off at them.

Fans know best. They demanded Homer Bailey. They said he’s got nothing to prove, he’s ready, he’s better than what we got. What happened…the team actually listened to the fans and Homer was rushed up too fast.

The reason there are so many FA’s left on a crappy team is that Jocketty said we either keep them and try to hit .500 for the first time(which at trade deadline time looked possible) or we dump them just to dump them. Obviously the return he was offered was garbage. Obviously Jocketty didn’t think the Reds would be able to find the depth in AAA for losing the 3-4 pitchers they’d have dumped. Or the already stretched thin position players…

Comment by Phill — 8/10/2008 @ 7:47 pm

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Sigh.

Look people. The Reds suck. They suck because they’re still reaping the whirlwind set in motion by incompetent bigots like Schott and the merely incompetent like Bowden.

Absent a $200 million budget and the best managerial staff in baseball, there is no quick fix. They can’t improve rapidly via trades because they have few players who might provide attractive trade bait. They can’t improve rapidly by dipping into the farm system because the vast manority of minor league players — everywhere and always — aren’t good enough.

Comment by justcorbly — 8/10/2008 @ 7:52 pm

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I think its an indicator of how bad this season has gone that we’re upset that David Ross was released. I had a similar reaction when I first heard the news, but something had to give (i.e. no fourth catcher). Ross is right-handed, Hanigan is right-handed, thus Ross is released. If Hanigan is a lefty, Bako is out.

If we could have gotten anything for Ross, he would have been moved at the non-waiver deadline. At least now we’re getting a good look at a potential replacement from within the organization.

Comment by andy — 8/10/2008 @ 8:20 pm

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Still blaming Marge for the state of the Reds? Bit of an old excuse, no?

And the Reds don’t owe Ross $3.5 million next year (unless they picked up his option at some point during the season and I missed it.)

Comment by GregD — 8/10/2008 @ 9:18 pm

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Okay I’ll try this again since some people are still locked in on a conspiracy by Baker, the media and perhaps some root weavils who just wanna bring down Ross, the dude:

* Jocketty decided to DFA Ross because he’d made the decision they would not pick up his option for 2009, which would have paid $3.5 million.

* At the non-waiver deadline, the Reds were talking to several teams about Ross but a scout told me the Reds wanted any trading partner to pick up Ross’s contract, meaning they would have to assume paying him this year, then be responsible for his $375,000 buyout or his $3.5 million option. No one was willing to do that.

* There’s still interest in Ross, and since he cleared waivers, which isn’t surprising because a team would have been forced to assume his contract. Now, the easiest way for the Reds to move Ross is by DFAing him, giving everyone 10 days to work a trade, release or reassignment.

* The Reds will be responsible for the remainder of Ross’s salary and buyout (roughly $1 mil) minus a pro-rated share of the MLB minimum, which is about $380,000.

* By DFAing Ross and making a deal, the Reds can likely get a player in return for eating the salary.

* This now gives them time to evaluate Hanigan longer and see if he’s part of the mix for 2009. If so, it changes some of their offseason work. The guy has earned the promotion.

Comment by Mr. Redlegs — 8/10/2008 @ 9:49 pm

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I think the frustration coming from everyone stems from the fact that we’ve lost confidence in the upper management of this organization. The A’s and Twins have been models on how to run smaller-market clubs, and now it looks like Pittsburgh has finally figured it out. How long must Reds fans wait?

There’s so much dead wood on this team that should have been discarded by now. The sabermetricians had it right in today’s Enquirer column by John Erardi: The Reds continue to labor under the fantasy that they are one or two players away.

And I have no confidence that management will be able to make enough wholesale changes in the offseason to make 2009 something to look forward to.

Comment by Columbus Matt — 8/10/2008 @ 9:52 pm

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I’m surprised at how overwhelmingly unsupportive you guys are of Ross being sent down. He sucks. Bako is the best catcher on the team. I’ve been saying all year that I hoped when Ross came back, either Ross or Valentin were sent down to make a roster spot for someone useful.

Now, this season is an utter and complete loss so it doesn’t matter so much.

Comment by Jared — 8/10/2008 @ 10:25 pm

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So who wants pie?

Comment by Jay Bruce for President — 8/10/2008 @ 10:27 pm

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Just a note: Bako is right-handed. There is pretty much no such thing as a left-handed catcher. However, Bako must have taught himself to hit left-handed at some point, which I guess makes him a valued commodity…though maybe I should put “hit” in quotation marks.

Comment by DevilsAdvocate — 8/10/2008 @ 10:33 pm

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And I agree with what I sense this discussion is coming around to, which is that the frustration level I and others have with this small move is inordinately high - it’s the straw that broke the camel’s back, perhaps.

At any rate, it’s definitely that time of year when Reds’ fans eat their own, quibbling over where to place the blame for another season of dashed hopes and broken dreams.

Comment by DevilsAdvocate — 8/10/2008 @ 10:34 pm

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I can’t muster up any outrage any more. This team is terrible. The organization steps on its crank as often as it does something right. I don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel.

Comment by Chris — 8/10/2008 @ 11:54 pm

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So who wants pie?

My favorite comment of the night.

Comment by Y-City Jim — 8/10/2008 @ 11:55 pm

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thanks Jim thought i would break the tension

and i have to disagree with 27
i throw right handed but bat lefthanded
i had to teach myself how to bat right handed.
some people automatically do things a certain way.

Comment by Jay Bruce for President — 8/11/2008 @ 12:33 am

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Did you know the only thing Bray does left-handed is throw a ball? He does everything else right-handed, including signing his name. Now that one is kookier than a right-handed batting left-hander.

Comment by Mr. Redlegs — 8/11/2008 @ 12:57 am

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I am probably in the minority here, but I don’t think it was a dumb move. By DFA him, the reds can get something in return for a player that would not be here anyways. Hanigan has been very good this year, and the Free Agent class for catchers is terrible. I have been wanting for a while to see if Hanigan can handle it, so the reds don’t overpay for a catcher in free agency. Now of the three catchers on the roster, I think Ross was the more valuable, meaning he is the only one anyone is interested in. Sure you could DFA the other two, but nobody would be interested. Maybe we can work out a deal and get a diamond in the rough prospect.

Now…Walt needs to clean out some more room for evaluations because we have some guys with potential and need a look (Dickerson). The reds have no chance of contention, and having young guys play now gives you a much better indicator than spring training. Walt needs to DFA Patterson, bring up Dickerson, Send Majewski to L’Ville and bring up one of the young guys there.

Hopefully in September we will see all the young guys getting a chance in order to see what direction our offseason is going to go.

Comment by brublejr — 8/11/2008 @ 6:08 am

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I actually agree this makes some sense.

But what frustrates me is here is a guy with a .381 OBP (in limited time), with some pop, who from I can tell is at least ok defensively, and he has essentially been the back-up all year. I know it really wouldn’t have made much a difference, but I wonder how the season would have gone had he been getting starter-ABs.

Comment by per14 — 8/11/2008 @ 8:52 am

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I think it might be slightly unfair to say Hanigan hasn’t been considered a prospect. The Reds did send him tho the Arizona Fall League the year before last which is typically made up of highly thought of prospects.

Comment by Mark in CC — 8/11/2008 @ 10:39 am

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It should be pointed out that, if the Reds designated Patterson and brought up Hanigan, who they believe might have a future role, there would be four catchers on the 25-man roster. That’s actually dumber than occasionally playing Patterson.

Otherwise, I think Mr. Redlegs got it right at #23.

Comment by Travis G. — 8/11/2008 @ 10:40 am

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Who else have they sent in recent years? I don’t remember…

Comment by Bill — 8/11/2008 @ 10:49 am

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Too many GMs on this site for me.

Comment by david — 8/11/2008 @ 11:10 am

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Could we do any worse than the guys the Reds have hired in the last 15 years?

Comment by Bill — 8/11/2008 @ 11:23 am

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