It's been a while since the Reds were a winning team. However, they did appear to be on the right track heading into the season. Apparently, that wasn't enough to save Wayne Krivsky's job as Reds GM. He was fired on Wednesday. The 9-12 start ultimately did him in according to sources. Talk about an owner with no baseball sense. It's obvious to most baseball experts, that the Reds stocked farm system will propel the Reds to an elite status within the next two years. With excellent young talent on the way, the Reds were perhaps a bit too quick in pulling the plug on Krivsky. However, when you have Walt Jocketty in-waiting to take over, it's difficult not to pull that plug. Instability at the GM level (four GMs in six years), is just as much to blame as any one reason for the losing seasons in Cincinnati. The bottom line here, is that Jocketty will get credit for the success of this team, that others, such as Krivsky, helped build. The Reds are not far from being a playoff team. With Jay Bruce, Homer Bailey, and Drew Stubbs joing Johnny Cueto and Joey Votto shortly, the Reds are poised to be long term winners.

Of course, Krivsky wasn't perfect with some of his moves. Bringing in Mike Stanton is believed to be his biggest gaffe, followed by the Austin Kearns deal, but he still had the insight to deal for Brandon Phillips and sign Josh Hamilton. And his deal to bring in Jeff Keppinger from Kansas City may still prove to be an under-rated steal. And perhaps most importantly, he didn't deal his top prospects.

There's no doubt that Jocketty knows his job, and does it well. There's not much doubt that the Reds will win during his tenure at GM. But let's face it, this team is not his "baby". Jocketty lucked into the right situation here, and even he has to acknowledge that to his close friends and family.

The Reds have made a series of bonehead moves since 1999. Of course, it's difficult to blame two year owner Bob Castellini, who hired Krivsky, for the bad moves of past GMs and owners. This team went down the tubes, or "jumped the shark" shortly after former owner, Carl Lindner found a soft spot and overpaid dearly to keep a washed up Barry Larkin in a Reds uniform. The signing forbid the Reds to use that money on other talent. Lindner thought with his heart, and not his head, which would set the Reds back for years to come. This is a team that has hired new, inexperienced, and/or bad managers (following Jack McKeon and Bob Boone) that were over-matched, just to save a few bucks. Jerry Narron, Pete Mackanin, and Dave Miley are not exactly household names. Where are they now? Even Bob Boone had never been over .500 as a manager before being brought in. And as you may recall, the Reds low-balled Willie Randolph when offering him the managerial job. You get what you pay for, and the Reds certainly got what they paid for with their choices of managers.

Now, they have Dusty Baker. Not a brilliant strategist by any means, but a manager who knows how to communicate with players, which results in wins. That was Krivsky's move, but Jocketty will get the credit if the Reds turn it around and contend. It's difficult to imagine that Castellini will keep Jocketty on a short leash. Jocketty demands respect, and he'll get it from his boss. Let's hope another team is quick to sign Krivsky. He deserves better than what he got in Cincinnati. Then again, so do the fans.


Bad Hops - I hate to say it, but there are better arms in that San Diego bullpen than Trevor Hoffmann. I find it difficult to believe that any Padres pitcher feels comfortable turning a lead over to Hoffmann for protection. It's been a great run, but Hoffmann should be replaced as the Padres closer......Speaking of closer situations, how long will it be before the Cubs and Piniella wise up and insert Carlos Marmol as the team's closer. Wood seems to have retained his good stuff, but he's been too inconsistent. An ERA of 3.75 won't get it done in the closer's role..... James Loney may just have the sweetest swing in baseball today.....Is it any coincidence that the Tigers scored 19 runs on the night Curtis Granderson returned to the lineup? Actually, the answer is probably yes, but Granderson sure provided a spark and had an impressive season debut scoring 3 runs.....Toronto's release of Frank Thomas seemed like a rash move. Thomas started out slow last season, and led the Blue Jays in most offensive categories. Thomas handled it as poorly as he usually handles controversy, but the Blue Jays cut off their nose to spite their face. In other words, it was a bad move..... Nick Markakis is a star, plain and simple......There is some very good, under-rated young talent in Baltimore. They won't continue their current winning ways this season, but with young talent like Adam Jones, Luke Scott, Adam Loewen, Brian Burres, and Matt Albers joining Markakis, they could emerge as a decent team in 2009.........Just think Met fans, had the Mets played their cards right, they could have had a rotation of Santana, Kazmir, Maine, Perez, and Bannister. Getting Santana was a great deal for the Mets, without question. But how exciting would it have been if Jose Reyes and Carlos Gomez had been 1-2 in that lineup this season?.......Carlos Delgado looks done. He's eerily following the path of Mo Vaughn and his brief stint at Shea........Luis Castillo and his broken knees are going to be a year-long issue for the Mets. Aren't they glad they only signed him for four years?.......Jimmy Rollins may just prove his MVP worth when he's not starting for the Phillies. They miss him, and they need him back.....It's official, as we predicted, Jorge Cantu is back ......Mike Jacobs hits 25HR and drives in 100 runs before the season ends......Through 21 games, the A's have 8 homeruns. Their pitching has been excellent with the exception of the one guy who wasn't supposed to be an issue: Joe Blanton. Regardless, it's remarkable that the A's are 12-9 with their offense being a bit weak. Frank Thomas would be a welcome addition to that lineup.....The A's released Kirk Saarloos. I guess a 2.35 ERA and a 0.78 WHIP doesn't carry the weight it used to.....A's pitcher Dana Eveland always had decent stuff, but rarely had a chance to prove himself. Now, with an opportunity, he's delivering. Don't be surprised if he remains in the rotation all season and wins 12-14 games......Did anyone see the re-emergence of Eric Hinske this season? I didn't.....Roy Halladay pitched his third complete game in April. I like it, but others will blame Manager Gibbons if he tires down the stretch.... Troy Percival stats: 6IP, 1 hit, 6 K's, 0 walks. I definitely didn't see this coming. Let's hope he stays healthy all season.....How many fantasy owners were scared off by Pujols bum elbow? I'd say his .352 batting average suggests that he can play through pain. Having a similar injury myself, I can tell you that it hurt more in the field than when hitting a baseball.......Troy Tulowitzki started out extremely slow last season too and almost found himself demoted to AAA. He turned it on in late May, and the rest is history. He'll be fine.



Court Adjourned!