We have just entered May, but it already seems as if the 2008 season for the Cincinnati Reds will end the same way it has for the last 13 years: without a playoff appearance.
The Reds are now 12-20 ... which means they are on pace to go 60-102. All this and the team really hasn't had horrid injury issues, they've spent money and they hired a fairly successful (albeit controversial) new manager.
The GM has already been canned.
In reality, the biggest elephant in the room wears the #600. When Ken Griffey Jr finally reaches the mighty 600 home run plateau, I fully expect the team to deal him away. From a purely selfish standpoint, I don't want to see that happen. However, the only think Griffey has to offer the Reds is the pub (and ticket sales) when he gets to that mark and the prospects he would be worth to a contending franchise.
Obviously, the Reds would be fools to deal him now. They can't wait to put the number 600 right into the media guide next to 4192. Dealing him beforehand would be moronic.
However, once he gets to the mark ... he's probably gone.
He could be followed out the door by Adam Dunn, who is seemingly always on the trading block. There are other guys Cincy would surely want to deal away (Arroyo, Gonzalez) ... but would anyone want them? The only veteran that I could see being off limits is Brandon Phillips.
In will come those vaunted prospects from Louisville and Chattanooga and we will enter Florida Marlins territory.
I don't mean disrespect when I say that. It seems that there are two ways to win in today's baseball: spend like a mo'fo or trade away your stars for top prospects.
The Marlins have chosen to do the latter. They develop young talent into a contender for a season or two ... then deal them off (when they are due to get paid) for some more young talent. Hey. They've won a World Series doing exactly this. Oakland and Minnesota have been pretty successful doing the same sorts of things.
There is no middle ground. You very rarely see a team spend average amounts of money win.
The Reds have been stuck in this middle ground for a decade or so. There is some good talent in the minors, but not an amazing amount. There are some big salaries on the roster, but no one who wows you.
And this is one of the reasons baseball has lost me a bit. I used to love it but have now grown weary of it all. While the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels and Mets can make constant trips to the postseason, the Reds, Brewers, Pirates and Royals can't get a sniff.
I'm not getting into all of that, but it does suck to sit here on Cinco de Mayo and know there is no point in the rest of the season.
2 comments:
You should trade Griffey to us... we could use another KG.
I agree. As the saying goes you can't fire the owner.
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