Howard Miller

The Reds have fired General Manager Wayne Krivsky today and have replaced him with Walt Jocketty. The news is only surprising in the sense of its timing. Krivsky had to see the writing on the wall when ownership hired Jocketty in the offseason.

 I liked Wayne Krivsky, but Jocketty has a ring and that’s really all that matters in my book. The Reds need to get things turned around here and it’s now up to Walt to do it.

My guess is a Jay Bruce call up would be tops on Mr. Jocketty’s to-do list.

I am gone until Sunday. Enjoy the weekend.

Howard Miller

The Reds are 19 games into the season and are sitting at a disappointing 8-11. There are a couple things I want to cover today, starting with what to do with Edwin Encarnacion. There is no doubt this guy can straight mash but his defense is really becoming a problem. He has an astronomical SIX errors in 18 games. SIX!! Dude is on pace for 54 errors this season. His booting of the ball yesterday afternoon in the 10th inning would have cost the Reds the game had it not been for the heroics of…well…Edwin Encarnacion in the bottom of the 10th.

Eddie has phenomenal power, but is it enough to make up for his porous defense? I’m not so sure. The problem is there is nowhere to move him. You can’t move him to left or right because of Dunn and Junior. First base, with the emergence of Joey Votto, is set for the foreseeable future as well. Edwin Encarnacion may very well be booting and overthrowing himself out of Cincinnati. I would really hate to give up on such a young talent so full of potential, but if the Reds really believe they can win now with this lineup, it may be something Wayne Krivsky has to consider.

The emergence of Joey Votto really has made Hatteberg expendable. It’s too bad because he’s a great clubhouse guy with experience and leadership qualities. The only problem is that he bats left, the same as Votto, and will rarely see the field. I’d like to see this guy moved somewhere he will get a chance to play because he deserves it. He would fetch a good major league reliever, something the Reds could always use. Joe Gallo suggested the Yankees would be a good fit. I think he’s right.

So I’m not entirely sure why Jay Bruce is still riding bus and carrying his own bags down in Louisville. This guy is the real deal and needs to be in the everyday Major League lineup if this team has a legitimate shot at contending in the Central. They need to do it sooner rather than later before the division gets away from them. Only 4.5 games back right now and a lot of baseball yet to play, so no need to panic, but it is time to get a little antsy.

Homer Bailey may be able to stay down in Louisville for a little while longer if Matt Belisle can fill in as a serviceable 5th starter. He makes his first start of the season tonight against the Dodgers as Josh Fogg moves into the pen. Bailey’s numbers in AAA have been great so far, but a little more seasoning won’t hurt.

That’s all I have for today. Hopefully the Reds can build off their great game yesterday an take it to the struggling Dodgers.

Howard Miller

It seems ever since I took a small break from writing to attend to some family matters, the Reds could not find a way to inflate their win total. Instead they had their first slump of the season which included a sweep at the hands of the Pirates and two consecutive losses in Wrigley before exploding yesterday for 9 runs and a win.

Edinson Volquez is now 2-0 and has pitched 3 great games. His only problem has been his inability to pitch late into games. His last two outings have been 5 inning outings due to high pitch count. I also notice he shakes off Bako an awful lot. They need to get on the same page if their success will continue.

Griffey continues his climb towards 600 career homeruns. He hit numbers 595 and 596 in the series with the Cubs. His swing looks as Junior-esque as ever and he is not hitting any cheapies either. Both against the Cubs were to dead centerfield and on 3-2 counts. Both times the pitcher hit his spot too. When will pitchers learn not to pitch Junior middle in? He will turn that mistake into a bleacher bomb every time.

New York Yankees blogger Joe Gallo said it this morning to me and I couldn’t agree more, Joey Votto should be given full time duty at first base. Nothing against Hatty, Votto is just younger and better. He seems to have found his swing…all he had to do was look in Northside Chicago. Two times in his very young career Votto has had a 5 RBI performance against the Cubs. He did it again yesterday and is starting to look comfortable at first base too. I don’t know where anybody got the idea he was not a good defensive first basemen…everything I’ve seen thus far contradicts that statement.

With Evan Longoria being called up by Tampa Bay and having already signed a multi-million dollar extension, and Corey Patterson beginning to struggle a little bit, I don’t think Jay Bruce will have to wait much longer to receive a callup to the big club. His numbers in AAA Louisville are once again impressive. Take a look:

.333, 1 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 9 RBI in 13 games. He’s also got 18 total hits.

This kid is ready for The Show. I would really like to see him inserted into the lineup and see how he looks sandwiched in the outfield by Adam Dunn and his (and my) childhood idol, Ken Griffey Jr.

As Josh Fogg continues to show he is not the answer to the 5th starter’s role, Homer Bailey’s progress in AAA continues to impress me. He is 2-1 with a 1.42 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP. He’s averaging just under 7 IP per outing and has only walked 3 in 19 IP. He has struck out 13.

I must say I have been impressed with how Dusty has handled his young arms. He has let them try to work their way out of trouble but has not hesitated to pull the plug when the pitch count gets a little too high, no matter how well he’s pitching.

Stay tuned for a tribute to Ken Griffey Jr. when he finally hits number 600.

In saying that, CNNSI.com posted a wonderful article about the careers of Griffey and Frank Thomas written by Tom Verducci. You can find it here: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/tom_verducci/04/15/verducci.griffey/index.html

Reds begin a series with the Brewers tonight. Arroyo takes the hill against Ben Sheets who has looked nasty this season.