Reports: Cuban Aroldis Chapman Signs with Cincinnati Reds

Reports came out earlier today proclaiming that Cuban sensation Aroldis Chapman signing a 5-year, $30 million deal with the Cincinnati Reds. Chapman was rumored to the Marlins, Blue Jays, and Angels, however, the Reds bid was $10 million more than any other offer Chapman received.

Click here for the Aroldis Chapman story.



Chapman Background

A 6'4, 22-year old, hard-throwing lefty who has topped out at 102 mph. Chapman is known for his fastball and a nice slider. People first started to notice Chapman in the World baseball Classic as he blew pitches past opposing teams and impressed scouts.

In 2008-09, Chapman went 11-4 with a 4.03 ERA, striking out 130 in 118 1/3 inning pitched. He led the Serie Nacional in K's, tied for 4th in wins, was 5th with 62 walks and tied for the most wild pitches (14).

Chapman was defected from Cuba just before the 2009 World Port Tournament started. Chapman then established residence in the Andorra, making him a free agent eligible to be signed by any Major League team.

Why the Reds and where did the money come from?

Other than the fact that the Reds have supposedly offered the most cash to Chapman, I believe he chose the Reds because of the work Mario Soto does with the club and Dominicans Edinson Volquez and Johnny Cueto being on the current pitching staff. I think it will be easier for the young left-hander to fit in because of this and I think all three will serve as great mentors.

The money is a good question? Re-structuring Rolen's deal did help but it makes me think that we will be dealing Harang before the season starts. If not, we could shed almost $20 million from our payroll after this upcoming season by declining options for Harang and Arroyo

I don't think Chapman will come in and start right away, however, I like the signing if it's true and I like how the Reds front office decided to fork over some money for a highly-touted prospect. Can you imagine a "staff of the future" with a healthy Edinson Volquez, Johnny Cueto, Homer Bailey, Travis Wood, and potentially Chapman and 2009 1st-rounder Mike Leake (although Leake may be in the bullpen).

Your Thoughts?

Have the Reds Found a Cheap Adam Dunn?

Hey, did everyone know the Reds are still playing… Most of you are more interested in Hard Knocks and Bengals preseason games (I can’t blame you).

One positive statistic I came across today that many people, including Dusty Baker, have overlooked is the play of Jonny Gomes. In only 173 at-bats, Gomes has put up solid numbers including a .277 AVG, 15 HR, 36 RBI and a .357 OBP.

Former Red, Adam Dunn, was just in town and it was amazing the amount of write-ups I scanned detailing how the Reds could use his 40 homers and 100+ RBI’s a year now more than ever. Funny thing is the Reds have a guy on their current roster who is also iffy in the field and is known for his bat, Jonny Gomes.

Listed below is Adam Dunn’s current 2009 stats and Gomes’ projected stats if he were to presently have 400 plate appearances.

Dunn: 282 AVG, 63 R, 31 HR, 86 RBI, 131 K
Gomes: .277 AVG, 58 R, 35 HR, 84 RBI, 135 K (Projected)

Reds Need To Take After Brewers

Today, the Milwaukee Brewers did something that Cincinnati fans have been asking the Reds to do for a long time. The Milwaukee Brewers took ACCOUNTABILITY for their actions. The Brewers have seen their season slipping away and today made several monumental moves to their ballclub. In the process, the Brewers ate a huge amount of money and apologized to their fans for the decisions they have made and the turn the seasons is taking. In a flurry of moves, the Brewers designated for assignment Bill Hall who just three seasons ago hit 35 home runs. The also optioned to AAA Indianapolis former All-Star SS JJ Hardy and fired pitching coach Bill Castro who had been with the organization for 18 years. The Bill Hall move will cost the club 11 million dollars.

Do you ever see the Reds doing something like this? How long did we sit on the contract of players like Alex Gonzalez just because we were ignorant enough to pay them large amounts of cash? How long will we continue to keep Brooke Jacoby has hitting coach and Dick Pole as pitching coach with the Cincinnati Reds continuing to finish near the bottom of the league in hitting and pitching. Today I am ashamed to say that I salute the Milwaukee Brewers.



Anyone for JJ Hardy? The Brewers still owe the Reds a player to be named later in the trade for David Weathers?
Hardy stats (26 Years old): 2007 164 Hits, 30 Doubles, 26 HR, 80 RBI, 73 Ks, .277
2008 161 Hits, 31 Doubles, 24 HR, 74 RBI, 98 Ks, .283
2009 (371 AB) 85 Hits, 14 Doubles, 11 HR, 45 RBI, 73 Ks, .229

Stormy Weathers Headed Toward Milwaukee

Stormy to Milwaukee... Derek didn't say it would be like this!

David "Stormy" Weathers was traded to Milwaukee for a player to be named this weekend. Looks like Jocketty is beginning to try to shed salaries as Weathers is making $3.5 million this year and had a club option for 2010 worth $3.7 million or a $400,000 buyout.

I will miss Stormy, he was consistent and posted an ERA in the mid-threes the past five seasons. He's currently posting a 3.32 ERA and the stat that stands out to me is he's posting a .199 BAA. He was a class act and put forth his best effort game in and game out.

Is this a surprise.... no. It's something that needed to be done as Stormy will soon be 40 and we literally can't afford to pay him close to $4 million next year. But do you trade him to a division rival??? We've traded or let division rivals sign players in the past couple years and it's ended up biting us in the you know what (See Ryan Dempster, Kyle Lohse, Todd Coffey).

SI.com: Arroyo and Harang Likely to Clear Waivers

I find this to be quite amusing. Sport Illustrated recently released what they believe to be the Top 10 list of mlb players to clear waivers this year if placed on waivers. Four of the top five players they listed to more than likely clear waivers are either current or former Reds:

Likely to clear

1. Bronson Arroyo, Reds pitcher: He's a winner, but his other stats (WHIP, ERA), probably don't justify his salary. The Reds wanted the Yankees to pay the full $17 million freight through 2010. Realistically, they'd probably have to chip in a few million to make anything work.

2. Adam Dunn, Nationals slugger: That $12 million salary for 2010 should scare anyone off. He was traded after the waiver deadline last year, and it could happen again. Belongs in the American League, a place he has yet to play.

3. Jose Guillen, Royals outfielder: He said it himself. He "s----.'' At $12 million per, he sure does.

4. Aaron Harang, Reds pitcher: Like Arroyo, the former ace hasn't lived up to his high pay.

Click Here for the full article.

2010 Nominees for the Reds Hall of Fame

The ballot for the Cincinnati Reds HOF 2010 class is:

Contributions while playing for the Reds
Bret Boone (1 AS, 1 GG) - decent numbers but not hall worthy, blossomed in Seattle.
Jeff Brantley - had a couple solid seasons as the closer in the mid-90's.
Norm Charlton (1 AS) - posted good numbers with the Reds, ERA under three for 4/5 years.
John Franco (3 AS) - career 2.76 ERA with the Reds, 1.57 ERA with 39 saves in 1988.
Danny Graves (2 AS) - Graves still has left a bitter taste in my mouth upon his couple horrific years near the end of his days with the Reds.
Kevin Mitchell - put up a 30 HR year but I'll always remember him as a Giant.
Hal Morris - never an all-star but a solid player. Batted over the .300 mark five of his years with the Reds.
Paul O'Neill (1 AS) - a solid year in 1991 but he's a Yank.
Chris Sabo (3 AS) - over 20 dingers in three of his years. The eyeware alone gets him in.
Scott Sullivan - seriously!

Barry Larkin was the lone recipient last year as the Reds only allowed one player to win the honor for the Class of 2009. This year three players will be selected. My votes go toward John Franco, Chris Sabo, and Norm Charlton. Although Franco will be remembered by many as a Met he was really good with the Reds.

Your Thoughts on who you think should be voted?

Reds make a trade with Seattle

The Cincinnati Reds have traded right-handed pitcher Robert Manuel to the Seattle Mariners for outfielder Wladimir Balentien.

Balentien, who made is MLB debut in 2007, has only played in 130 career games in three seasons. During that span he has hit .209 with 12 HR and 41 RBI. Balentien is a right handed bat and has played a number of games at each position in the outfield.

Manuel made his MLB debut this July for the Reds and in three games and 4.1 innings pitched Manuel gave up five hits, no runs, walked one and struck out two. Not really sure the thinking behind this deal. Balentien has shown some inconsistencies at the plate, but he is only 25. Waldimir was designated for assignment by the Mariners on July 25th. This season he has dealt with some wrist injury issues. He has mainly been labeled as a disappointment in Seattle, as he was one of their highly touted prospects.

And the Highest ERA in the Majors Belongs to..... Bronson Arroyo

Bronson Arroyo currently holds the highest earned run average out of all starters with 10 or more starts in major league baseball. Congratulations Bronson! Not only is your 5.85 ERA the highest, you've also let up the most home runs (21) and third most hits (121) in just 103 innings pitched.

Fearless Forecast: Disabled List (carpal tunnel)

2009 National League All-Star Team

Listed below is the 2009 National League All-star team. Francisco Cordero is lone the representative for the Cincinnati Reds. Some possible Reds snubs in comparison to players who made the team are lsted below as well.

P
Johnny Cueto: 8-4, 2.69 ERA, 78 K, 32 BB
Jason Marquis: 10-5, 3.87 ERA, 51 K, 36 BB
Ted Lilly: 8-6, 3.32 ERA, 97 K, 22 BB

*Seriously, Marquis over Cueto? It's not like Marquis was the lone representative for the Rockies as well (see Brad Hawpe).

2B
Brandon Phillips: 268 BA, 11 HR, 53 RBI, 41 R, 11 SB
Orlando Hudson: .288 BA, 5 HR, 41 RBI, 48 R, 6 SB

*This is a close call, but Hudson got the nod.

National League
Starters
C Yadier Molina, STL
1B Albert Pujols, STL
2B Chase Utley, PHI
SS Hanley Ramirez, FLA
3B David Wright, NYM
OF Carlos Beltran, NYM
OF Ryan Braun, MIL
OF Raul Ibanez, PHI

Pitchers
P Heath Bell, SD
P Chad Billingsley, LAD
P Jonathan Broxton, LAD
P Matt Cain, SF
P Francisco Cordero, CIN
P Ryan Franklin, STL
P Dan Haren, ARI
P Josh Johnson, FLA
P Ted Lilly, CHC
P Tim Lincecum, SF
P Jason Marquis, COL
P Francisco Rodriguez, NYM
P Johan Santana, NYM

Reserves
C Brian McCann, ATL
1B Prince Fielder, MIL
1B Adrian Gonzalez, SD
1B Ryan Howard, PHI
2B Orlando Hudson, LAD
2B Freddy Sanchez, PIT
SS Miguel Tejada, HOU
3B Ryan Zimmerman, WSH
OF Brad Hawpe, COL
OF Hunter Pence, HOU
OF Justin Upton, ARI

Bronson Arroyo Rumored in Trades, Phillies a Possible Suitor

Bronson Arroyo may be a target for many teams looking for pitching prior to the trade deadline. With Homer Bailey, Justin Lehr, and Matt Maloney all pitching well in Triple-A, Arroyo has become expendable for the Redlegs.

Arroyo is currently making 9.5 million and will be making even more next year which may hurt the Reds if they're trying to get something good in return. Arroyo has pitched well at times with 8 wins and only 5 losses but has an ERA over 5 be case of a couple bad outings.

One team that has been rumored to be in need for pitching is the defending world series champs, the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies need a big time inning eater after losing Brett Myers and there current starting five isn't going to win them another championship: Cole Hamels, Jamie Moyer, Joe Blanton, J.A. Happ, and Antonio Bastardo. The Reds are in need of a power-hitting righty in the outfield and some names to look at are Jayson Werth, John Mayberry, and Michael Taylor.

Mayberry and Taylor intrigue me a little more than Werth. Mayberry can play OF or 1B and hit .277 with eight homers and 25 RBIs in 37 games for the Phillies Triple-A affiliate before taking over in left-field for the Phillies when Raul Ibanez headed to the DL. Mayberry is 6'6, 230+ and was a first-round pick by the Texas Rangers in 2005.

Taylor would be a little bit harder to get as he's one of the Phillies best prospects at 6-6, 260+ and has drawn comparisons to Ryan Howard. Taylor is hitting .329 with 12 HR's, 48 RB's and 10 SB's this season in the Phillies Double-A affiliate.

The two players I profiled are there power-hitting prospects but the Phillies have about three or four other outfielders that are high prospects as well.

What do you guys think about getting rid of Arroyo?

All-Star Game in Cincinnati in 2013?

This could be big news for the baseball fan in Cincinnati. The Cincinnati Reds have not hosted an All-Star game since Riverfront Stadium in hosted the summer classic in 1988. The All-Star Game is generally given to a city that features a new or historic stadium. The Cincinnati Reds opened Great American Ballpark in 2003, now 6 years ago, and had hoped to receive an all-star game bid thereafter. However, bigger cities are now opening even newer ballparks and the Reds have seemingly been passed over. I have received word that the Cincinnati Reds may be the frontrunners to host the 2013 All-Star Game in Great American Ballpark.

The recent Civil Rights Game in Cincinnati was used as an audition for the All-Star Game. It is my belief that this game catapulted GABP and the city of Cincinnati into the forefront. The civil rights game, activities, and headliners presented over the weekend were fantastic. The city, its stadium, and its fans were put on display and the Cincinnati Reds did a great job at making this event possible.

The 2010 All-Star game will be played at Angels Stadium in Anaheim and 2011 in Arizona. The Boston Redsox have asked to host the game in 2012 and the Mets were previously thought to be the frontrunners for the 2013 all-star game due to their new stadium which opened this year. In an interesting side note, the KC Royals have been promised an all-star game between 2011 and 2014.

Paging Drew Stubbs.....

Willy Taveras can now officially be called the Corey Patterson of 2009 for the Reds. I didn't like the Taveras signing from the start and now we may see him in the lineup for a long time since Dusty Baker has a man crush on him. How can you have a guy batting lead-off when they're hitting .219 and have an on-base percentage of .270! Sorry Taveras but I think 200+ at-bats is enough to prove your worth!

If you want a spark in your offense bring up Drew Stubbs from Louisville. What does the kid have left to prove? He currently has a team best .304 average and a .392 on-base percentage.

Not to mention he has a better glove than Willy. Plus, Taveras was signed by the Reds to get on-base and then steal bases. He only has 13 this year when Stubbs has 25 in Louisville. Also, Stubbs has yet to produce and error in the outfield this season.

Off the topic, Homer Bailey has only given up 14 runs in his last 10 starts and during this time has posted a 6-3 record with a 1.83 ERA, just saying....

Who wants to see Matt Holliday in a Reds Uniform?

I never thought I'd see the day when the Cincinnati Reds would struggle to put runs on the board, but it seems that way so far this season. The team has averaged a miserable 2.85 runs per game with Joey Votto out of the lineup and weren't much better with him in the order everyday. The team also just made the Royals starters look like the Atlanta Braves rotation of the early 90's.

Imagine adding one more productive bat to the lineup... would this push the Reds to the the playoffs?

That bat could be Matt Holliday. Everyone knows the Reds are in need of a bat in the middle of the order to hit for a solid average, have some power, and get runners in, Holliday could fill all of these voids. Lets face it, our outfield is struggling: Nix at .259, Dickerson at .242, Taveras at .229, and the golden child Jay Bruce at .212.

A career .316 hitter, Holliday is only 29 years old, is currently making 13.5 million and is a free-agent after this season. If Holliday isn't locked down to a big contract by either the A's or whomever he may be traded to you know the Reds don't stand a chance vying for him in the free-agent market with the likes of the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, etc. It doesn't help that Holliday is represented by Scott Boras but he's struggling a little this season and his value for a long-term deal may slip a bit because of this.

We know the Reds have plenty of arms in there farm system but the thing is if you know you won't be able to lock Holliday down long-term do you get rid of prospects for half a season of services?

Holliday recently said, "If it looks like we're not going to be able to make it to the postseason and they can get some good players for me, I'd be OK with getting a chance to go try to make it to the postseason and play in October."

What guy wouldn't want to be traded to a contender, but knowing the Reds can contend may push Holliday to take a cheaper deal to stay with a up-and-coming team.

The Rays have locked down guys like Evan Longoria and Carl Crawford to cheap deals. Many other teams have done this as well so why cant the Reds?

Reds Draft Picks 2009

The Reds will continue their draft but at this point these are the players they have selected:

#8 Pick- Michael Leake- RHP (Arizona State)
See scouting report below.

#43 Pick- Bradley Boxberger- RHP (USC)
Most see Boxberger as becoming a reliever. Has good velocity but has difficulty maintain speed throughout innings. A little inconsistent with his command but has an arsenal of pitches to use.

#57 Pick- Billy Hamilton- SS (Taylorsville High School)
Was a three sport star at his school in Mississippi. Has committed to Mississippi State to play football so signability could be a question. He has raw talent with all of the tools especially if he can stay at his position of SS.

#88 Don Joseph- LHP (Houston)
Joseph is a Junior pitcher out of Houston. Pitched relief for Houston and was 3-1 with a 2.16 ERA over 50 innings with 75 strikeouts for the Cougars. Joseph has a fastball in the low 90's with some decent breaking pitches.

Cincinnati Reds Take Pitcher Mike Leake in First Round of 2009 MLB Draft

The Cincinnati Reds took pitcher Mike Leake out of Arizona State with the 8th pick of the 2009 MLB Draft today.

Leake is only 21 and was a junior at Arizona State. He posted a miraculous 16-1 record last season with a 1.36 ERA in 17 games. In 133 innings pitched he fanned 150 batters and only walked 21. As a sophomore he posted a 11-3 record with a 3.49 ERA and in his first season as a Sun Devil posted a 13-2 record with a 3.69 ERA.

His strikeout to walk ratio stands out the most to me as he posted 348 K's to only 70 BB's at ASU, almost a 5:1 ratio!

Leake is overlooked by many due to his 6'0, 180 pound stature. He's not the type of pitcher that will blow up the radar gun but he can throw four pitches, and throw each well: a curve, change up, slider and fastball. Lets hope Leake can prove the doubters wrong and be the next Tim Lincecum.... I sure hope so after looking at the Reds previous 1st round pitching prospects.

For a scouting video of Mike Leake, click here.

Reds Amateur Draft History

Tonight is the opening round of the 2009 MLB Draft, and thanks to Redleg2420 we have a great MLB Draft Preview. But as we approach this draft there is a lot of discussion regarding finding Major League talent to help this ball club. However, the MLB draft is completely different than the NBA or NFL draft. The fruits of this years draft may not be realized for some time, or even at all. The draft goes 50 rounds, so each year the Reds are able to draft 50 players so since 2000 the Reds have drafted roughly 400 players. Of those 400 only 16 have made it to the Majors. Below is a list of players who the Reds have drafted that have made it to the big show.

2000
Dustin Moseley
Dane Sardinha
Ryan Snare
Stephen Smitherman
Chris Schroder


2001
Jeremy Sowers

2002
Joey Votto
Chris Denorfia

2003
Ryan Wagner
Carlos Guevara
Chris Dickerson

2004
Homer Bailey
Paul Janish

2005
Jay Bruce
Adam Rosales

2006
Josh Roenicke

Likewise the Reds have not had success with thier first round picks throughout the years. Below is a list of the Reds #1 picks dating back to 1990. The players highlighted made it to the MLB.

2008 Yonder Alonso
2007 Devin Mesoraco C
2007 Todd Frazier 3B
2007 Kyle Lotzkar RHP
2006 Drew Stubbs OF
2005 Jay Bruce OF
2004 Homer Bailey RHP
2003 Ryan Wagner RHP
2002 Christopher Gruler RHP
2002 *Mark Schramek 3B
2001 Jeremy Sowers LHP
2000 David Espinosa
2000 *Dustin Moseley RHP
1999 Ty Howington LHP
1998 Austin Kearns
1997 Brandon Larson SS
1996 John Oliver OF
1996 *Matt McClendon RHP
1994 C.J. Nitkowski LHP
1993 *Pat Watkins OF
1992 Chad Mottola OF
1991 Pokey Reese
1990 Dan Wilson

Comparing Adam Dunn to Jay Bruce

Two of the most highly touted Reds to come out of the organizations farm system over the past decade are Adam Dunn and Jay Bruce. Both played sparingly a year before there first full season and I thought it would be interesting to compare there numbers to this point in there second year in the bigs(see below):

Adam Dunn Stats in first full season through May:

2002: .306 AVG, 11 HR, 36 RBI, 32 R, .460 OBP, 49 BB, 56 K

Jay Bruce Stats in first full season through May:

2009: .220 AVG, 14 HR, 30 RBI, 29 R, .296 OBP, 18 BB, 45 K

Granted Bruce is much better in the field (seven outfield assists and only one error) his offensive numbers have fared far worse in comparison. The big thing that stands out to me is Bruce’s OBP. His numbers so far this year look worse than Dunn’s because his K’s are high, like Dunn, but he fails to draw walks and his average is way down. Bruce will come around but we wanted to get rid of Dunn because he struck out way to much and had a low average throughout his career. You don’t think people will be calling for Bruce’s head if he keeps this up?

So far this year Dunn is batting .269 with 16 HR’s and 42 RBI’s for the worst team in baseball, the Natinals. He’s putting up these numbers with no supporting cast around him as well. Oh, and the Reds have a platoon of Nix, Gomes, and Dickerson in left field, I’d much rather have that.....

Evaluating the Cincinnati Trade for Ken Griffey Jr.

Ken Griffey Jr. is one of the greatest Baseball players of all-time. On February 10, 2000 GM Jim Bowden and the Cincinnati Reds traded Jake Meyer, Mike Cameron, Antonio Perez and Bret Tomko to the Seattle Mariners for Junior. The trade was monumental for the Reds at the time, they were able to secure the best player in the game who happened to play his High School baseball in Cincinnati. There is no doubt that from a marketing standpoint the trade was a plus for Cincinnati. Ken Griffey Jr. brought people to the ballpark and brought national attention to a team who needed it at the time. But I was curious to take a look back and evaluate the statistics of the two main players involved in this trade, Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Cameron. There is no doubt that Griffey is a much better player overall than Cameron, but if you look at what they have done since the trade, the trade is a little more even than what you would suspect.)
Ken Griffey Jr. statistics after being traded to the Reds:
(Does not include 2009 stats)
1,238 Games
938 Hits
3,484 AB
.269 AVG
213 HR
620 RBI

Mike Cameron
986 Games
1,146 Hits
4,557 AB
.251 AVG
197 HR
690 RBI

What do these statistics tell us? To me it says that the Reds didn't get as good of a deal as they may have suspected at the time. Everyone knows the story of Griffey and being plagued by injury. Junior is riding out his career in Seattle currently while Cameron is still contributing for the Brewers.

Joey Votto's 2009 All-Star Game Chances

Joey Votto is currently putting up stellar numbers for the surprising Cincinnati Reds. The question is if Votto keeps up with this pace will he be an all-star? You would think a .373 average, which currently ranks 2nd in the National League would be enough. Also, a .477 on-base percentage isn't to shabby. Where would the Reds be without Votto's consistent bat?

Problem is there's a difference between whether a player should get voted in and what will happen come all-star voting time. First-base in the National League has the most depth out of any position in all of Major League Baseball. How is Votto suppose to compete with the likes of Albert Pujols, Ryan Howard, Lance Berkman, Adrian Gonzalez and Price Fielder? The answer is..... he won't. Not to mention that since this is fan voting you'll probably see Carlos Delgado and Derek Lee towards the top because the Mets and Cubs fans control the voting polls in the National League.

This brings me to my next question, is it time to get rid of fan-voting? Aren't you tired of seeing a bunch of Yankees, Red Sox, and Cubs start every year during the All-Star Game? As a kid I remember one of the most fun things to do at Reds games was to punch your ballot for your favorite all-stars. Now, the majority of the votes come online from people who vote numerous time for players from there favorite team. Did Kosuke Fukudome deserve to start or even be in the game last year..... no way. It's not just Fukudome, players that don't deserve to step foot on the field happens every year. What should Major League Baseball do about this?

Tracking the Trade: Ken Griffey, Jr. and Adam Dunn

Adam Dunn for Micah Owings:

Dunn is currently batting .311 with 11 long balls and 28 RBI's in 29 games. His OBP is a remarkable .451 and he's walked 27 times. He currently ranks 2nd in the NL in homers, 1st in walks, 2nd in slugging percentage and 3rd in RBI's. His strikeout total is still high at 31 but he's only committed one error so far. I still think he's worth the $8 million the Nationals are giving him this year and it would be nice to have him in LF with Dickerson struggling.

Owings has posted a 2-3 record and a 5.08 ERA. He's allowed four or more runs in four of his five starts. His strikeout to walk ratio isn't all that great with 15 K's and 12 BB's. The one thing Owings does bring to the table though is giving the Reds a "26th man." What i mean by that is the team can pull him off the bench at any time to hit, as seen tonight with his game tying jack to left-field of Ryan Franklin on a 3-2 count in the bottom of the ninth with two outs. Owings is currently batting .333 with a homer and 4 RBI's. Five of Owings six hits have been for extra bases.

Ken Griffey, Jr. for Nick Masset:

Griffey is currently hitting .218 with three long bombs and seven RBI's. Although the Mariners are off to a great start Griffey is not. It was a great move by the M's as they're putting "butts in the seats" with the signing of The Kid.

Masset lost the fight for the 5th starting spot with his poor performance in the spring but has slowly gained respect from Dusty Baker and the Reds. Masset currently boasts a 1.35 ERA and has only allowed two runs on four hits in 13.1 innings.