Spring Training 2008

[Guest Michael Myers Resplendent]

Oh, I don't have a problem with Marquis's performance as a #5 starter. I don't think he's really as terrible as a lot of people make him out to be. I'm just upset at the way he's punched his ticket out of town, which will most likely end up as paying 15 million dollars for a pitcher on another team. I either want him pitching for the Cubs or pitching for another team on their dime. Too often, Jim Hendry takes the middle way.

[TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe 0]

I need to find a video of Greg Golson making a diving catch in the 8th inning today. Spectacular.

 

That was quite a catch. Ken Singleton said on YES "all he was missing was a cape"

[devo 0]

I'm confused about the series the Red Sox and Athletics are going to have in Tokyo. I thought they were going to count as regular season games, but I looked at both teams' schedules today and saw that they're both having exhibition games after returning to the states.

 

If the Japan series counts, the scheduling seems very, very strange.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

I'm confused about the series the Red Sox and Athletics are going to have in Tokyo. I thought they were going to count as regular season games, but I looked at both teams' schedules today and saw that they're both having exhibition games after returning to the states.

 

If the Japan series counts, the scheduling seems very, very strange.

 

 

You are correct. It is a strange scheduling issue as the games in Tokyo do count, but they resume the exhibition season when they return. I think this is being done to help the two teams avoid being jet-lagged to start the season.

[Cartman 0]

I don't see the point in making those games count as regular season games anyways. People in Japan are still going to pack the stadium even if it's an exhibition.

[TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe 0]

The same happened when the Yanks and D'Rays returned from Japan in 2004.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

2 things:

 

Corey Patterson signed a minor league deal with the Reds.

 

and I assumed that Marquis running his mouth about wanting to be traded helps him go to the Os in a deal for Brian Roberts..

[Gert T 0]

Is this correct, I saw it on the bottom line during the Santa Clara-Gonzaga game.

 

Lowry IP, 0H, 4ER, 9BB

 

9BB in one inning of pitching?!! There is no way that is right, correct?

 

 

 

[Guest Beastalentier]

I dunno, he looked pretty shitty on Thursday against the Cubs. Maybe he's having arm trouble.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

I dunno, he looked pretty shitty on Thursday against the Cubs. Maybe he's having arm trouble.

 

 

I think it's called Rick Ankiel-itis

[Guest Beastalentier]

Chris Singleton got launched. Steve Stone will be the full-time color commentator for White Sox radio. fuckfuckfuckfuuuuuuck, this makes the White Sox broadcast somewhat more professional. What a terrible move.

[claydude14 0]

That's great news, I love Stone.

[Guest Beastalentier]

He's supposed to be our guy, if not for the assholes from 2004 sending him out. He still has to work with Ed Farmer, though, so the broadcasts will still be unprofessional garbage, but man, Singleton was terrible.

 

Who is claydude? Probably an idiot.

[Dandy 0]

I absolutely love the FSN Ohio/FSN Cincinnati combo of George Grande and Chris Welsh. It's just not a Reds baseball telecast without hearing those voices. Terrific insight to what is going on with the organization, and they have a good rapport with the players.

[Guest Beastalentier]

I like Marty Brennaman on 700, but Brantley is a dope. He tried to do solo play-by-play for an inning once. Bad. In other Cincinnati news,

 

SARASOTA, Fla. (AP)—Reds shortstop Alex Gonzalez, who has a compression fracture in his left knee, likely will miss the start of the season.

 

Manager Dusty Baker said Saturday the injury will keep Gonzalez from any baseball activity for three weeks, at which time team doctor Timothy Kremchek will examine the knee.

 

If Gonzalez is cleared to play, he would have about 10 days to get ready for the March 31 opener at home against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

 

“It would be hard for him to make it back on time, unless a miracle happens,” Baker said.

OPENING AT SHORTSTOP? DUSTY BAKER? ARE YOU THINKING WHAT I'M THINKING?

 

everythiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnng

everythiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnngggggg

in its riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight plaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace

hjieovhw9ogheavijaeg9327hukerjrkr

riiiiiiiiiiight plaaaaaaaaaaaace

 

 

[Dandy 0]

Ummm, Jeff Keppinger starts the season at SS?

[Guest Beastalentier]

 

He already brought back Jerry Hairston. It's all coming together.

[Dandy 0]

No way. I'm sure you are joking, but with Dusty Baker, I guess anything is possible. But no way they sign someone with Jeff Keppinger ready to fill in where needed.

[Guest Beastalentier]

Tell me this, Dandy. How many day games do the Reds play? Let's see how ready Jeff Keppinger is now.

[Dandy 0]

Did you get a stat about Keppinger not being able to play day games?

[Guest Beastalentier]

Are you just giving me a hard time or are you that poorly versed in the legend of Dusty?

[Dandy 0]

Hard time. Besides, I have to hold on to my hops that Dusty won't fuck this team up.

[Guest Beastalentier]

I have to hold on to my hops that Dusty won't fuck this team up.

I think you'll make it, but just barley.

[geniusMoment 0]

Speaking of the Reds, they just spent 2 million on 16-year-old Juan Duran. I don't know, is it a good idea to spend 2 million on a 16-year-old? Maybe?

 

 

Many thought player wasn't eligible to sign

 

By Ben Badler

March 4, 2008

E-mail Print

 

The international signing period is still four months away, but the Reds have already made a big splash in the Dominican Republic, giving a $2 million signing bonus to 16-year-old outfielder Juan Duran, a player who many thought would not be eligible to sign until July 2.

 

"We've scouted him extensively," Reds scouting director Chris Buckley said. "We had not thought he was eligible until this coming July 2. But we found out he was eligible, and when we did we were able to react. (Assistant general manager) Bob Miller and (director of Latin American scouting) Tony Arias deserve the credit on this one, because Bob was going over guys we were preparing for this year's signing period, and he said, 'You can sign this guy right now.'

 

"We did not know that, but when we found that out, we were able to go get him because of the work Tony has done. He compares favorably to this year's high drafts."

 

Players who are 16 years old are eligible to sign with major league teams during the international signing period, which lasts from July 2 to Aug. 31. Players who turn 16 years old during the international signing period are eligible to sign with teams on their birthdays.

 

Duran's birthday is Sept. 2, 1991, making him a 16-year-old who seemed to have barely missed the cutoff point to sign during last year's international signing period, and it appeared he would have to wait until the commencement of the 2008 period to sign. However, the rules state that for an international player to be eligible to sign, he must be 16 years old at the time of the signing and turn 17 years old by either Sept. 1 or by the end of his first professional season.

 

Players signed during the international signing period are not eligible to play that same year, so their first professional season comes the following calendar year. For example, a player signed during the 2007 international signing period would have his first professional season be the 2008 season.

 

The Reds realized that they could sign Duran if they assigned him to their 2008 roster in Billings in the Rookie-level Pioneer League, where the regular season ends on Sept. 5. Since Duran will turn 17 before the end of the 2008 Pioneer League season, he was eligible to sign before the 2008 international signing period and was eligible to sign back on his birthday last year.

 

One American League international scouting director said that he had Duran in for a workout as recently as last month.

 

"I think it caught everybody by surprise," he said. "Even his agents were promoting him as a July 2 guy. He really doesn't follow the July 2 cutoff for this year. I guess we all thought that, with the Sept. 1 cutoff in mind, we all figured he was eligible this year instead of last year."

 

Duran, who bats and throws righthanded and checks in at roughly 6-foot-6, 190 pounds, likely will not play a game this year in the PL, however, where at 16 years old he would be by far the youngest player in the league. The Reds cannot assign him to the Gulf Coast League, since the GCL season ends on Aug. 27, so sending him to the GCL would void his contract.

 

Buckley and Arias were both with the Blue Jays when the team drafted outfielder Alex Rios as an 18-year-old with the 19th overall pick in the 1999 draft.

 

"He compares favorably, only he's bigger and stronger at this age than Rios was," Buckley said. "He's more physical, and he has shown some of the same feel for hitting that Alex displayed.

 

"We don't have a second-round pick this year so we wanted to be creative and get more talent any way we can."

 

The $2 million bonus that Duran received was $500,000 more than the Red Sox gave to Dominican third baseman Michael Almanzar, who received the highest bonus of the 2007 international signing period. In 2006, the Giants gave Dominican first baseman Angel Villalona that year's top bonus at $2.1 million. It is the highest international bonus in Reds history, and tied for the third-largest signing bonus given to any player in club history.

 

Arias said that Duran was one of the Reds' top targets for July 2 before they realized within the last week that they could sign him.

 

"His body and offensive ability stick out like a sore thumb," Arias said. "In batting practice, he was just hitting them over the trees in our complex, hitting them out to center and right-center field. You can tell just tell from the way the ball jumps off his bat.

 

"I've never seen a 16-year-old with this type of ability. I talked to some people in the Dominican Republic who crossed paths with Vladimir Guerrero at that age, guys who have been scouting in the Dominican for more than 20 years, and they said they've never come into contact with a bat like this. He's got 80 power potential (on the 20-80 scouting scale) and just gets tremendous loft. In my opinion, in terms of his bat and his body, he's a better overall package than Angel Villalona. We wanted to change the perception in the baseball industry that Cincinnati is a cheap organization. We want to get back to being the Big Red Machine."

 

Another AL international scouting director said his team was also interested in Duran.

 

"We liked him," another AL international scouting director said. "We saw him as a corner outfielder, big, long-limbed, real bat potential. He's definitely a guy a lot of people liked."

 

One National League international scouting director compared Duran's body to that of a young Juan Gonzalez.

 

"He might end up being in center field because he's a plus runner. It's all going to come down to how big he gets and if he slows down," the scout said. "He's going to put on some weight, so whether he retains that speed will tell if he ends up at a corner.

 

"He's got some bat speed, and the power will come from the bat speed, but it all comes down to how thick he grows."

 

The same NL international scouting director also noted that Duran has been bothered by an elbow problem—which Arias said might have something to do with Duran having grown six inches in the past year—and that Duran only started throwing as far as 40 feet last month.

 

"He went to a tournament in Puerto Rico in the winter, and he didn't throw there. I saw him in February, and all he did was hit. I don't know what the up-to-date situation with his elbow is, but maybe they already checked him. Was he worth that kind of money? I guess he was to the Reds because they think he's an impact guy, but to me, I don't think so."

One AL international scouting director called him "one of those guys who don't come around very often."

 

"He's got all the tools," he said. "He's a pretty good player, very advanced for his age. I think it was a good investment. He's a good athlete, he has above-average power right now and he has a chance for 80 power (on the 20-80 scouting scale). He demonstrated every ability that you like to see in a kid. He's a very outgoing kid, good swing. There's no doubt about his approach, bat speed and power . . . he has all the common denominators you like to see, good balance, rhythm and a pretty good idea of what to do at the plate.

 

"If he has to go to a corner (outfield position), he certainly has the power to go there. But right now I'd give him every opportunity to play center field because he's light on his feet and has a good idea how to play out there. He's probably 6-foot-6, 195 pounds, somewhere in that area, so he could gain a whole 40 pounds with no problem. You look at this guy, and you hate to compare guys to major league players, especially at his age, but he could be a young Dave Winfield in the making."

[Dandy 0]

I have to hold on to my hops that Dusty won't fuck this team up.

I think you'll make it, but just barley.

CLever. How's that going for ya...being clever?

[Guest Beastalentier]

Is he as hungry like the wolf as his brother Duran?

[geniusMoment 0]

The Reds opening day lineup is obvious:

 

Corey Patterson CF

Neifi Perez SS

Griffey RF

Phillips 2nd

Jerry Gil 3rd

Jerry Hairston LF

some black dude at 1st and catcher

 

There, a whole lineup of minorities, Dusty and Joe Morgan won't be able to control themselves.

 

I just hope it's not cold on opening day.

[Guest Beastalentier]

Now that I give it some thought, this Farmer/Stoney pairing could be a beautiful disaster, unlike the utter pain of Farmer/Singleton. You can't have two arrogant douchebag pitchers calling the game. Stoney isn't going to put up with Farmer's bullshit tangents about Catholic League prep sports, organ donations, and pretending to be friends with famous people. He managed to play the straight man to Harry well because Harry was an affable drunk. Farmer is just an asshole that nobody likes except Jerry Reinsdorf. Meanwhile, hey Baseball Tonight fans, have fun with Chris Singleton struggling to describe what's happening in front of him without being a good ten seconds off the play.

 

Ideal Chicago baseball broadcast teams:

Cubs radio: Pat Hughes, Steve Stone, Ron Santo

Cubs TV: Len and Bob

Sox TV: Hawk Harrelson, Ed Farmer

Sox radio: who cares

EDIT: Chris Rongey + Darrin Jackson? or would that be the mellowest broadcast booth ever?

[geniusMoment 0]

I'd much rather have stone on the cubs tv broadcasts, as I hate Len and Bob, they are a very boring team. Hell, I'd rather have Chip and Steve back.

[Guest Beastalentier]

BELTED!

A HANGER AND A BANGER!

A FANTASTIC HOME RUN BY BERKMAN TO PUT THE ASTROS UP 5-3!

 

I went to a Fiery Furnaces concert last night.