Reds Musings

A few other thoughts before I hit the gym (got to lose a couple lbs.). I really enjoy John Fay's Reds blog. The Cincinnati Enquirer Reds beat reporter is one of the best in the biz. He has an accurate take on things, especially when explaining the team's organizational moves. Plus, he doesn't ask the team stupid questions base on every little rumor you see on blogs or twitter. I loved his take on former Reds GM Jim Bowden's comments last week when Bowden wrote the Reds should trade for the Mets Jose Reyes. Bowden's inclination toward the quick fix kept him from building a winner first in Cincinnati, and to a lesser extent in Washington, in my opinion. A federal investigation into the skimming of signing bonuses given to Latin American players cost Bowden the Nationals job. I think part of his problem was he came up in the Yankees organization in the late '80s, early '90s, when all the team did was sign big money free agents and trade away prospects for over-hyped veterans. It's no coincidence New York won four crowns from '96-2000 when they developed their own talent. Sometimes the best trades are the ones you don't make. Remember when the pundits wanted the Reds to give up the farm for Joe Blanton, Erik Bedard, or more recently, Zach Greinke? While the Greinke could still prove worth the risk to the Brewers, Blanton and Bedard would have cost the Reds the core that helped win the NL Central Division title last year. This is why it's so valuable to have a sage general manager like Walt Jocketty.