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John Fay
John Fay has been the Reds beat writer for the Enquirer since 2001. Prior to that, he served in a variety of roles for the Enquirer: backup Reds writer, UC beat writer, backup Bengals writer and as a general assignment reporter. He is a Cincinnati native and a graduate of Elder High School and the University of Dayton.

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Wednesday, January 23, 2008

From the La Salle stag

I spent a little time at the La Salle Stag Wednesday night. I left before dinner or Joe Morgan spoke, but here's a few tidbits:

--I asked Brandon Phillips if the Reds have talked to him about a long-term deal. "I ain't going to say nothing about it. Call my agent."

A little later Phillips tracked me down. "The reason I don't want to say anything is I don't want to get in trouble."

I'd take that as they're talking.

--Cool moment: Jay Bruce sheepishly approached Joe Morgan during the meet and greet.

"Mr. Morgan, I'm Jay Bruce."

"I've heard a lot about you, Morgan said.

"I've heard a lot about you, too," Bruce said.

They chatted about growing up in Texas.

--Grant Griesser, the Reds former assistant player development director, has taken a job outside of baseball in town.


16 Comments:

at 11:59 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

I love the idea of Jay Bruce being shy around Joe Morgan, only to have the Hall of Famer say he's heard a lot about him. Get used to it Jay, everybody's heard a lot about you. Can't wait to see him in the league.

And about Phillips, I love how he handles that. He says he won't talk about it, but then hunts you down just so he knows there aren't any hard feelings. What a stud. Let's get him signed LONG TERM!!!


Christopher Strand - 1/2 of the only Father/Son Reds fans combo in North Dakota

 
at 3:51 AM Blogger Grizzlyfox said...

I like the Bruce talk, however me and a Cards fan were talking about Cesar Izturis, and his career .295 obp. This reason and this reason alone is why I think Phillips is overrated. A career obp of .305. I hope they wait to see if he's for real before they go for it. A .305 obp is just awful. Even last year, at times I believe his obp was something like 29th among 2B and finished something like 23rd. He's really gotta work on that. But I'm not too worried, cuz I know this organization is smart enough now to at least know as much as the common fan, where as I think the common fan had a better grasp of Milton's short coming's than Dan O' Brien.

 
at 8:38 AM Blogger Nani J. Cootsack said...

izturis has 11 career HRs and like 200 RBIs, as well as 62 career SBs... BP tripled that HR total last year, knocked in half of that total last year, and stole half that total last year. not a bad year's work.

izturis is not a good comparison to make if you are trying to call BP overrated.

 
at 9:20 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

comparing BP to cesar izturus? get your head out of the fantasy books and watch a game. you have seen BP play before, right?

 
at 10:00 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Izturis Career SLG -.330
Phillips Career SLG-.420

I'm not saying Phillips is any Chase Utley, but give him a little more credit than Cesar Izturis.

 
at 10:01 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Izturis Career SLG -.330
Phillips Career SLG-.420

I'm not saying Phillips is any Chase Utley, but give him a little more credit than Cesar Izturis.

 
at 10:42 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Why wasn't my first comment good enough to make this wall? Mine wasn't, but that idiot's talking about Cesar was...

 
at 12:02 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

For the record: Phillips had a .331 OBP last year and .324 the year before that. Since he's broken out in Cincy, his career numbers aren't exactly relevant. Could he learn to take more walks? Yes, he could.

 
at 12:21 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sure, Phillips is a little streaky and doesn't have a great eye, but he still hits for power and swipes bases. Let's not forget the most important part of his game, the part the Reds need the most, his fielding. He's a wizard at 2nd and I can't think of anyone I would rather have. Now I am just going to refresh this webpage and wait for Jack from Blue Ash to pick apart this post and enlighten us all with how bad Krivsky got fleeced in getting Brandon Phillips from the Tribe for a McDonald's Happy Meal and whatever change he had left in his pocket.

 
at 1:00 PM Blogger reaganspad said...

Brandon is a very good (almost great) 2 strike hitter.

If he is the same in 08 with 2 strikes, he moves to great. He flat wears out pitchers with that quick bat.

now that he has hit 30, I think he will become more selective. I also see opposing pitchers wanting to pass him more instead of using 42 pitches on him for 4 stinking ab's

 
at 1:00 PM Blogger Ron said...

John,
I have some incidental questions. First, since Milton's name has been mentioned recently, what is his status? Has he found employment or been considered for employment? Second, who will be in camp to work with the young pitchers? I believe Mario Soto was in camp last year (if Affeldt is looking to add a change-up, is there anyone better?).

 
at 1:24 PM Blogger John Fay said...

Milton had Tommy John in Sept. He won't be ready until June or later. I see him getting minor league deal. I've heard the Reds may be interested. Soto works for the Reds. He'll be there.

 
at 2:00 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

John, can you explain why the Reds would be interested in Milton considering his performance over the last few seasons? Do you think it's a waste of time and effort?

 
at 4:50 PM Blogger Grizzlyfox said...

I'd like to point out that I wasn't comparing Izturis, who is just awful offensively, to Phillips, I was just looking at obp. And yes Phillips' obp last year was higher than it has been for his career, but as late as August 16th his obp was .316, which well, just doesn't get the job done. He is a fantastic all around player. His power is legit, he hits em at home and away, he could steal 40 this year, and he plays great D. But you have to get on base more. .316? That's a good batting average.

 
at 5:13 PM Blogger Ron said...

I don't know how John will reply, but it makes sense for the Reds to be interested in Milton to regain some of their investment. I'm sure if he signs it will be a minor league contract and for minimal money. If he would happen to return to major league form after surgery and rehabilitation, its a plus. If not, he's a major league veteran from whom the young arms in the minors can learn.

 
at 5:04 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

I love stuff like that: Cesar Izturis OBP is .295 and Brandon Phillis is only slightly better, at .305, as if the two of them should ever be mentioned in the same breath. Right now, we're going to build a team. Here's your choice, Izturis or Phillips. One hundred out of one hundred - no one thousand out of one thousand- no, 300 million (less one, apparently) people would take Phillips. Was it Churchill who said, "There are three types of lies: lies, damn lies and statistics?" Brandon Phillips is everything you want in a player.

 
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