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Award-winning columnist Tom Archdeacon — an old-school storyteller in a brand-new venue — writes about sports, the city, southwest Ohio and anything else that catches his fancy… or yours.Home > Blogs > Through the Arch > Archives > 2008 > June > 01 > Entry
BLOG: Thoughts on the Reds
CINCINNATI — Here are a few thoughts as I sit in Great American Ball Park on Sunday waiting for the start of the Cincinnati Reds-Atlanta Braves game:
— I know pitcher Homer Bailey isn’t much liked by many of the Reds players and some of the media who cover the team — they think he showed up from Louisville last year with his “big league” attitude already full-blown — but here’s the flip side of that.
A few years ago when he was playing for the Dayton Dragons, he sat down with me for more than an hour one day and talked — candidly and politely — about everything from growing up in Texas to the expectations of being a top draft pick.
I wrote the story and a few days later in the mail I got a hand-written note from Bailey, thanking me for writing the story. In 35 years as a sports writer, I can remember only a couple of other pro athletes sending me a written thanks.
Maybe Bailey has changed, maybe the bluster is just a facade for the pressure of all the hype shoveled on him when he first came here, but inside I also know there’s a decent guy.
I saw it and nothing that anybody says now will change that.
— I wonder if Jay Bruce had been on the 25-man roster at the start of the season would departed general manager Wayne Krivsky still have his job?
He insinuated plenty of times that Corey Patterson’s addition to the club wasn’t his idea. But when the owner — likely at the insistence of the new manager — tells you that’s the way to go, you do it.
That said, Bruce probably wouldn’t have started off like this. He struggled in spring training, he may have still been a little hobbled with a leg injury and I think it served him well to get some more minor league at-bats.
He’s here now and there’s plenty of time to charge to the top of the division. This is NL Central, not the mighty AL East.
— What will happen in a couple of weeks when Jeff Keppinger is healthy again and ready to play? Does he move back into his old job at shortstop, as I think he should? if so, what happens to Jerry Hairston Jr., who is playing as well as he ever has in his big league career? He needs to be in the lineup, too.
Could he end up at third in place of Edwin Encarnacion? Or maybe Keppinger goes there and Hairston stays at short.
— Speaking of guys not liked in the clubhouse, departed Josh Hamilton didn’t have much of a fan club among some of the Reds’ most established stars last year. They seemed to have tired on his tale of redemption almost from Day One. And they didn’t care for it that the manager’s brother was his guardian angel/babysitter.
Too bad.
What an outfield you’d have in Adam Dunn, Bruce and Hamilton next year when Ken Griffey Jr is almost certainly gone. Then again, you wouldn’t have pitcher Edinson Volquez. If the Reds had developed their own pitching recently instead of always chasing after it, the trade with Texas wouldn’t have been necessary.
But the deal has worked out well for both teams. Volquez is 7-2 with a 1.46 ERA and Hamilton is one of the hottest players in the American League. He leads the league in RBIs with 61, is tied for tops in home runs with 14 and is second in batting average, hitting at a .326 clip.
He may be the only guy with as much sizzle at the plate as Jay Bruce right now.
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Comments
By Billy B.
June 3, 2008 5:29 AM | Link to this
Bottom line, Freel got screwed! Hopper? Probably too.I can understand him not playing if he indeed is hurt but I honestly believe this was just another power play to make room.By BOB DUERSTOCK
June 2, 2008 12:38 PM | Link to this
best lineup.alternate catching, votto,phillips,keppinger,Incarnacion,bruce, Hairston,and Dunn.By Randy
June 2, 2008 10:39 AM | Link to this
Excellent blog article! Love the comment about the Reds not developing pitching. This has been a problem most of my 35 years of being a Reds fan, especially the last 15. It will be interesting to see what they do with the draft this week, with pick #7. I hope they make it a priority to get top-flight pitching talent. We have enough young dynamic position players right now. With 3-4 more young talented pitchers the division should ours to take for the next 5-10 years!By Jan
June 2, 2008 9:17 AM | Link to this
Thanks for cutting Homer some slack. People forget he’s just a kid, barely 22. What does he know about playing the media and other PR etiquette? People need to understand that he’s from a “small” town in “big” Texas and he doesn’t enjoy being hounded by anybody.