The Roster
Wrote some things for tomorrow's paper on the roster. Here's my 25-man as of the March 12 (we'll look at it on April 1 and laugh):
Rotation: Harang, Arroyo, Lohse, Milton, Belisle.
Bullpen: Weathers, Stanton, Bray, Coffey, Cormier, Hermanson, Saarloos.
Infielders: Castro, Encarnacion, Gonzalez, Phillips, Hatteberg, Conine.
Outfielder: Dunn, Freel, Griffey, Hamilton, Crosby.
Catchers: Ross, Valentin.
That means two guys who hit .340 at Triple-A -- Denorfia and Hopper -- don't make it. It also means a lot of pitchers who pitched well in camp don't make it. The Louisville rotation could be Santos, Livingston, Ramirez, Bailey and Dumatrait.
The next 19 games, could change things a bit. But not a lot of spots are in play.
posted by John Fay at 4:05 PM
17 Comments:
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Post a Comment*So what do you see happening to Burton?
Paul Wilson? Thought he was heading to the tail end of the rotation. I'd take him over Belisle. What's your reasoning? You have two outfielders on the bubble, any infielders like Belhorn?
What happens to Wilson in this scenario? Does he become a free agent? Does he go to Louisville? Hate to see him go. His last start sounded promising.
I think you are right on in your assesment of the roster. Crosby is probably the man on the bubble. Belise sure has looked good this spring and with his stuff it would be a real boost to the rotation if he can actually live up to the potential he had coming over from the Braves.
Eric R. -- Terre Haute, IN
I will definitely have tickets when Louisville comes to Durham, especially for Homer's outing.
Do you think Paul Wilson will attempt to go the minor league route?
I think Wilson would consider a temporary minor league assignment. If he can put together two or three more outings like his last one, he could make the club. But Belisle's pitched better so far. I think the Reds will try to keep Burton by working out a trade, although he has to clear waivers also. Again, it's March 12. Things could change.
Did anyone see Steve Phillips article on ESPN.com? Not a huge fan of his but he hits the nail on the head with his Hamilton assessment. Keeping Hamilton in the big leagues is a slap in the face to Hopper and Deno. The Reds are playing with and wasting a lot of players careers having them be "insurance" in AAA. The Reds hired Johnny Narron to baby sit Hamilton. He was guaranteed to be in the show before spring even started. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/spring2007/columns/story?columnist=phillips_steve&id=2792089
Nothing against Denorfia, Hopper or Phillips, but if Josh Hamilton can be what he was supposed to be, hurting some feeling will be well worth it. Hamilton has Hall of Fame talent. Denorfia and Hopper are good contact hitters and solid baseball players. None of their tools compare with any of Hamilton's.
Hopefully for his 2 little girls sake, the stressfull life of a baseball player that he couldn't handle without drugs before, he will stay clean with or without baseball.
Crosby over Denorfia? Why? Is that an options issue? Or do you think Narron wants another lefty on the bench (even one with a career line of .216 .255 .300)?
IMO, if you're going to use the 25th spot on Hamilton (which I'm down with), and you're going to carry Conine and Castro, you can't fool around with Crosby. At least Denorfia has shown signs that he could hit.
Totally agree, John. I saw Hamilton in Spring Training last week and he's the real deal. Hopper and Deno don't belong in the same sentence with him. Steve Phillips is an idiot on this one. I'm guessing there are teams all over the league who wish they had taken the gamble that the Reds took on Hamilton.
Anon 5:57 - He got hooked on drugs when he was >out< of baseball hurt. I don't know the guy, but I don't think the stress of the game got to him and got him hooked on drugs.
I would love to see a trade of Wilson and maybe other non essential players that would bring us some much needed power hitters in the minors of other teams.
I agree with your roster picks. Say what you want about Hamilton but the fact remains that he's outplayed Denorfia and Hopper at this point. This kid has some kind of tools.
Crosby would be strictly an options call. The way I figure it, the Reds wouldn't have signed him to a big leuage deal if they didn't have plans for him. And he's played pretty well this spring. But, as I said, it's a close call between Denorfia, Hopper and Crosby.
The guys with options always get screwed. Happens every year on a lot of teams. I'm not big on Denorfia, but he is a better option than Crosby. I'd take Hopper over both of them, but that is me.
Not only should Hamilton make the team, he should be starting, with Griffey on the DL (again).
Denorfia is fast-approaching Brandon Larson territory. He hasn't done anything this spring.
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