With another deflating and disappointing Reds' season winding down, it's an appropriate time to take stock of the team and offer a few opinions, pointed or not, about what has transpired and where the club might be headed.
Though he has distinguished himself as a skipper since taking over the reins in early July, the odds don't favor Pete Mackanin returning to the helm in '08. Hamstrung by a depleted starting staff that's more Triple-A than big league, it's unlikely the Reds will end the current campaign on an upswing. And to realistically have any chance to be retained, Mackanin needs Cincy to finish with a flourish. But given the dubious talents of three of his starters, that seems a remote possibility. And that's a shame because considering the conditions, personnel and circumstances he inherited, Mackanin has done a more than skillful job of making the Reds competitive again.
Mackanin's effectiveness on the Cincy bench serves to underscore just how inept and, at times, incompetent was his predecessor Jerry Narron. The Reds' return to respectability since his departure clearly demonstrates that far from being an asset, Narron was a definite drag on the club. Those that hold to the belief that Narron bore little or no responsibility for the Reds' awful play through June, not only know nothing about baseball, they're bordering on insanity as well.
Given the superb manner in which he has swung the stick since becoming a starter, it should be a done deal that come next April, Javier Valentin merits being named the Reds' primary catcher. The left-handed hitter is not only consistent but clutch as well. His productive bat more than makes up for any perceived defensive liabilities. So please, no more talk about David Ross, he of the .200 average, or anybody else. Valentin is clearly the guy.
Objective number one for G.M. Wayne Krivsky is to somehow secure another solid starter. Sure, that's easier said than done but since Krivsky did nothing to upgrade the rotation last year, another off-season of inaction is totally unacceptable. We'll leave the manner of how to obtain another arm to Krivsky, whether via trade, free-agency or some other mode, but if the Reds' exec fails in this endeavor, his fitness to run the club must be questioned.
Speaking of starters, don't be at all surprised if hotshot young hurlers Homer Bailey and John Cueto are both on the Cincy roster come next April. Bailey, the highly touted phenom, showed some real upside during his brief gig with the Reds. And the reports on the hard-throwing Cueto are exciting. Like Bailey, the 21-year-old Dominican righty can really bring it and is said to have great stuff. Both Bailey and Cueto have genuine star power and that's a commodity the Reds' pitching staff could sorely use.
With the numbers he's putting up ( .292, 29 HR, 88 RBI ) and the way he's flashing the leather, if Brandon Phillips doesn't earn some postseason recognition, then something is terribly wrong. Either that or the fix is in.
And let's hope that Aaron Harang's nifty pitching won't go totally ignored by the Cy Young Award voters as it did last year.
Though the trade that sent Austin Kearns and Felipe Lopez to Washington has been a complete washout up to now, this much can't be argued. The men that Krivsky imported to replace them, the resurrected Josh Hamilton and the slick fielding Alex Gonzalez, are clearly superior players. The Reds are much more dangerous and dynamic with the latter duo than they ever were with the former twosome.
Don't look now but Edwin Encarnacion, having suffered the indignity of having been sent down in May, has rebounded with aplomb and is putting together a solid year ( .285, 13 HR, 69 RBI ). If he continues to work hard and maintains the mature approach he's demonstrated since his recall from Louisville, the Reds are set at the hot corner for the foreseeable future. Encarnacion has All-Star potential.
Am I the only one who regrets the fact that it went so wrong for Eric Milton in Cincy?
I realize it's a longshot but if the Reds don't retain Mackanin, I'd love to see them make a run at ex-Reds' star Joe Morgan. Yeah, I know Joe probably doesn't want to give up that cushy job at ESPN but hell, it's worth a try. Morgan's baseball knowledge is voluminous and his Hall-of-Fame stature would give him instant cred with the players. Moreover, he's a likeable, sincere and honorable human being. Remember Reds, it never hurts to ask.
Finally, after his auspicious big league beginning (.462, 2 HR, 8 RBI ) in just nine games, it says here that Joey Votto will never again play a game in the minors.