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Uncle Carl's (reds) Offseason


Guest bengalrick

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Guest bengalrick
[url="http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/features/freeagents?newTeamId=17"]free agent signings[/url]

kent merker
eric milton
joe randa
david weathers
ben weber
paul wilson (resigned)
jimenez (resigned)



not bad dan... he shut me up...

"A" for this year's offseason...

my projected lineup and pitching staff:

1st casey
2nd jimenez
ss lopezl
3rd randa

(i started mentioning freel at the positions also, but he plays everywhere... he will play close to everyday imo... kearns will also platoon)

rf dunn
cf griffey/kearns
lf pena/kearns

bench: freel, cruz, kearns, my mind is blank... we have a good bench now though...

pitching rotation:

milton
wilson
ortiz
hudson
clausson/harrang

very good rotation, finally!!!
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[quote name='bengalrick' date='Dec 28 2004, 12:43 PM'][url="http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/features/freeagents?newTeamId=17"]free agent signings[/url]

kent merker
eric milton
joe randa
david weathers
ben weber
paul wilson (resigned)
jimenez (resigned)
not bad dan... he shut me up...

"A" for this year's offseason...

my projected lineup and pitching staff:

1st casey
2nd jimenez
ss lopezl
3rd randa

(i started mentioning freel at the positions also, but he plays everywhere... he will play close to everyday imo... kearns will also platoon)

rf dunn
cf griffey/kearns
lf pena/kearns

bench: freel, cruz, kearns, my mind is blank... we have a good bench now though...

pitching rotation:

milton
wilson
ortiz
hudson
clausson/harrang

very good rotation, finally!!!
[right][post="30740"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/right][/quote]

Dunn will be in LF, not RF. Pena or Kearns in CF, Junior in RF, until July when he gets hurt again.

I would say we have a decent, but not "very good" rotation. Milton gives up a LOT of HRs, and GABP is a launching pad. Scary combination.

But I will give them credit, they made acquisitions that will make them a better team. But, unless one of the young pitchers steps up and they stay healthy, I don't see them doing better than 3rd in the division. Possibly second depending on how well Houston plays. But St. Louis is still the obvious class of the division.
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Guest bengalrick
yeah... i'm out of baseball mode... dunn is in left and kearns/pena will be in right...

own, you might be right... it would be the right move for him... he needs to save his legs...

injuries, like always, will determine the fate of the year... we have a chance though, unless the cards are dominate as they were last year...

jason, milton had a similar ball park at philly last year... he didn't do too well in that dept, but did have 14 wins... he was doing something right... w/ this lineup, it should help him a bunch... imo, the astros are too old and unless they sign beltron, they will fall quickly... don't forget about the brewers... they improved a whole bunch last year... i agree, the cards are the class so the wild card may be our best chance...
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Guest BengalsOwn
I don't know how we couldn't compete with the Cards this year. We have a very strong offense when everyone is healthy, now we have some good pitching, and our defense is average.
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I like what O'Brien has done and he seems to be sneaky about it. Some of the moves was not reported on, granted the big fish was the focus. I wonder if the Reds have considered getting Mario Soto to come aboard to help with their new philosophy of teaching the change up to all of their pitchers, minors and majors? He had the best in the league when he pitched, he could teach it. I don't remember Gullett ever throwing it. He had wall to wall heat, and his curve was just to keep them off balance.

Our rotation is going to be significantly better this year, finally. Uncle Carl is spending money, there is a Santa Claus and a Tooth Fairy.
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  • 1 month later...
Guest bengalrick
i had to change the title of this topic from dan obrien's offseason progress report to uncle carls b/c of this article... IT IS ABOUT TIME UNCLE CARL!!! WE HAVE WANTED TO WIN FOR A WHILE NOW!!!

[url="http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050216/SPT04/502160385/1078/SPT"]enquirer.com[/url]

[quote][color="blue"]Wednesday, February 16, 2005
[b]Reds finally paying to win?[/b][/color]
$17M spending spree boosts payroll to $63M

By John Fay and Cliff Peale

It was unexpected and remains largely unexplained.

In a 14-day period in December, the Reds, who were building a reputation as one of the cheapest organizations in baseball, added six players and roughly $17 million to their payroll, pushing it into the $63 million range for the 2005 season.

Chief operating officer John Allen had a simple explanation for the spending spree.

[b]"The bottom line is: Mr. Lindner's made it very clear to us that he wants to win," Allen said. "We're trying to improve our chances to win."[/b]

Mr. Lindner is Carl Lindner, the team's chief executive officer.

The Reds are coming off a 76-86 season, their fourth consecutive losing year. It's their longest such streak since the team had 11 straight losing seasons in 1945-55.

Allen and Lindner declined to be interviewed for this story, but it's clear from high-ranking officials with the club that Lindner was behind the move to spend more money.

The Reds' limited partners were not consulted. One partner thought it was a typo when he saw the headline announcing the team had signed left-hander Eric Milton to a three-year, $25.5 million contract, outbidding the New York Yankees in the process.

Why Lindner went on the spree at that time isn't certain.

Certainly, being booed by disgruntled fans last year on Opening Day did not sit well with him.

And, a source said, the team is benefiting from a revamped front office. Former general manager Jim Bowden was fired in July 2003 and replaced by Dan O'Brien, who is more cautious when offering free agents big contracts.

Bowden would not comment for this story.

The bottom line might be as simple as this: Money-making seasons in 2003 and 2004 fueled the team's decision to increase its payroll from $46.6 million last year to $62.8 million for 2005.

The Reds made between $2 million and $3 million in 2003 and more than $10 million in 2004, according to sources.

Among the keys to last year's success: The team shed almost $13 million in payroll and still drew 2.3 million fans. That was higher than projected and only 68,000 off the year before.

This season, the Reds are in a position to spend more money in part because of baseball's debt-service rule, which says a team's debt cannot exceed 10 times its average operating profits over the last three years. For teams that opened a stadium recently, like the Reds, it's 15 times its average operating profits.

Simply put, the rule means that teams that carry debt have to make a profit. The debt-service rule was adopted as part of the 2002 collective-bargaining agreement with the Players Association, and commissioner Bud Selig has told the clubs that they must be in compliance by this year.

The Reds are thought to have lost money in 2002, the last season at Cinergy Field. Because of that, the team had to watch its spending in 2003 and 2004, in order to keep its three-year operating profits in line with baseball's rule on debt.

Now, 2002 is off the books. And thanks to profitable years in 2003 and 2004, the team was able to spend more in 2005. And fans are happy.

John Burns of Amberley Village said: "I can't remember when I've been this excited about a season. I couldn't be happier, and I'm a season-ticket holder."

Said Carter Randolph, business adviser to Louise Nippert, who owns almost 30 percent of the club: "I don't know enough about the finances to assess it, but I like it as a fan."

A $63 million payroll isn't big news these days - this year, the New York Yankees will field Baseball's first $200 million team. Among their NL Central competitors, the Reds will have the fourth-highest payroll. The Cubs have the highest at an estimated $102 million. The Cardinals are next, with an estimated $85 million payroll, followed by the Astros, at an estimated $79 million.

But the Reds' moves are drawing some national attention. ESPN writer Jayson Stark rated the Reds as the ninth-most-improved team in baseball. NBCSports.com also rated the Reds as the ninth-most-improved team in baseball. CBS SportsLine.com rated the Reds as the most-improved team in the NL Central.

Andrew Zimbalist, an economist who has written several books about economics in sports, said 2005's payroll should work for the Reds.

"Sure, they can be profitable with that payroll," Zimbalist said. "They have a new stadium. They ought to be able to make money."

Great American Ball Park affords the Reds ways to generate more revenue. In 2001, for example, the Reds made less than $500,000 from stadium suite rentals at Cinergy Field.

By contrast, Great American Ball Park has 51 luxury boxes - some that rent for more than $150,000 a year.

The Reds got nothing in parking revenue at Cinergy Field. They control 3,500 parking places at Great American.

At Cinergy, 10 percent of concession revenue went to Hamilton County. At Great American Ball Park, the Reds keep it all.

The Reds are responsible for maintaining Great American Ball Park and any cost overruns associated with its construction, but the revenue should be there to support the payroll increase.

And, in baseball more than any other sport, success is tied to payroll. The eight teams that made the playoffs last year had an average payroll of $101 million.

The Reds are still a long way from that, but by adding the seven new players in the spending spree, they opened spring training Tuesday with a realistic chance of ending their current string of four losing seasons.

Whether the money was well spent remains to be seen.

"Throwing money at the problem isn't always the answer," Zimbalist said. "You've got to make good, sensible decisions. When you do that, you build your relationship with the community."

E-mail jfay@enquirer.com
[/quote]

REDS PAYROLL THROUGH THE YEARS
1988 $8.3 million
1989 $11.0 million
1990 $14.7 million
1991 $25.3 million
1992 $35.2 million
1993 $42.8 million
1994 $39.8 million
1995 $37.0 million
1996 $40.7 million
1997 $46.6 million
1998 $21.1 million
1999 $42.1 million
2000 $44.2 million
2001 $48.7 million
2002 $45.0 million
2003 $59.3 million
2004 $46.6 million
2005 [b]$62.8 million[/b]











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Guest bengalrick

[quote name='BengalsOwn' date='Feb 16 2005, 02:52 PM']Wow, 8.3 million only 17 years ago.
[right][post="47697"][/post][/right][/quote]

:D



how about 14 million for the year we won the world series :blink:

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  • 3 months later...
[quote name='BengalsOwn' date='Dec 29 2004, 10:17 PM']I don't know how we couldn't compete with the Cards this year. We have a very strong offense when everyone is healthy, now we have some good pitching, and our defense is average.
[right][post="31298"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/right][/quote]

Still think we have good pitching?
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[quote name='Jason' date='Jun 10 2005, 08:42 AM']Still think we have good pitching?
[right][post="101587"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/right][/quote]
Now that Hudson is back, Harang is playing well and Claussen seems to be finding himself--we're better.
I have been waiting for Hudson's return all year...now if we can get Hancock healthy...
I'm certainly not happy with the result of our pitching acquisitions, nor Wilson's performance...
At least the offense seems to be waking up...
Good call on Milton by the way...he's gawdawful...
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[quote name='Bunghole' date='Jun 10 2005, 02:54 PM']Now that Hudson is back, Harang is playing well and Claussen seems to be finding himself--we're better.
I have been waiting for Hudson's return all year...now if we can get Hancock healthy...
I'm certainly not happy with the result of our pitching acquisitions, nor Wilson's performance...
At least the offense seems to be waking up...
Good call on Milton by the way...he's gawdawful...
[right][post="101591"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/right][/quote]


Woe Bunghole!

"Do not drink the koolaid it has bad acid in it! Repeat do not drink the koolaid, it has bad acid in it!"
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Guest Claptonrocks
Why would this team sign a pitcher that throws high and gives up allot of homers?
Is the writing not on the wall? Milton sucks.
Randa was a good pickup.
Ortiz and Weber were terrible pickups as well.
Aurillia needs to get back on the juice like he was in Frisco!!!!
Obie has NO idea what the fuck he's doing.
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Guest BengalsOwn
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