Re: who is leading the major's in RBI's...oh yea,Josh Hamilton!

-- 

"RJA" <rja@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message 
news:481cd852$0$5133$4c368faf@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> "David Short" <David.No.Short@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message 
> news:fvijve$sls$1@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> "Bob Braun" <oxinfla@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in
>>> Hamilton will have better numbers than Dunn.  400K vs. $13MIL.  Don't 
>>> even
>>> bother think about the defensive aspect.  Watching Hamilton handle
>>> pitches, and drive the ball to the opposite field with power made him
an
>>> absolute no-brainer.  He abused himself for years, literally thumbed
his
>>> nose at minor league baseball, jumped to the majors and handled
pitches
>>> like an elite player.  People just don't do that.  He is in a class
that
>>> approaches Albert Pujols.
>> ....a unique talent.
>>
>>> The GM of the Reds chose the wrong path for 2008.  Votto in LF,
Hamilton
>>> in CF and Bruce in RF was the way to go for 2008.  Adding an ace
pitcher
>>> to this lineup was putting lipstick on a hog.  Grow with the kids, the
>>> "cheap kids" in 2008, the future is bright.  But again, the Reds will 
>>> fall
>>> into perpetual rebuild.
>>
>> You can blame Krivsky all you want, but the mandate from the owner was
to
>> win NOW. He was in a position where he couldn't deal either Junior or 
>> Dunn
>> and he needed to get a winning record on the books in order to keep his

>> job.
>
> This is what I don't get.  There are tons of people locally saying that 
> Krivsky should have gone young and/or traded Griffey and Dunn, but none
of 
> them will tell you who the takers were.  Griffey is under contract and I

> doubt any smart GM wanted an aging veteran for 12.5 million or whatever
it 
> is.  They also know that he's got a 16.5 million dollar option after
this 
> year.  Dunn could have been bought out, but who exactly was going to 
> replace his numbers?  I know he has sucked thus far, but I'm not sure 
> anyone could have seen that after last year.
>
> Bruce is hitting .307/.324 at AAA and striking out 1/4 of the time. 
This 
> doesn't exactly say that he's going to tear up the majors just yet.
>
> If Hamilton was here, it may have been a wash.  Couple more games
possibly 
> won due to offense, and a couple more lost due to lack of pitching.  I'd

> rather have the pitching in the long run.  The offense is easier to 
> acquire/solve.  Hamilton also adds to our lefthanded hitting struggles 
> against lefties.
>
> As for next year, Griffey and Dunn do need to go.  These are guys who 
> aren't capable of carrying a team.  They're streaky, and they're cold
for 
> long periods of time.  We're in need of someone more consistent who can 
> help us on a daily basis.  Bruce can take RF and they're gonna have to 
> sign someone to play LF with some pop from the right side.  I have no
idea 
> what to do about CF.

I guess I need to clear a couple of things.  I don't dislike Griffey or 
Dunn.  You said it right above, next year they will be gone.  You can see 
that, I can see that, so jump the gate, run through 2008 with the kids 
getting their swings, and be closer to a winner in 2009.

Again, Volquez was a great acquisition.  Dealing Josh Hamilton was a 
horrible way to get him.

I don't know for certain that Texas wouldn't have structured a deal for 
Dunn.  He's a Texas guy.  Hopefully they could see his worth.  Last time I

checked, despite his other numbers, his OBP was very high.