I had no idea that Cozart was hitting this well at AAA. I don't have a problem with Janish because the Reds do lead the league in runs scored, so a defensive minded #8 hitter doesn't overly hurt the lineup. Cozart would, however, be a huge improvement over Renteria.

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/...pid=446359

I thought this was interesting and didn't see it posted...

CINCINNATI — If the Cincinnati Reds are interested in upgrading left field any time soon, or even at the July 31 trade deadline, they might cast a glance westward to San Diego.

It appears the Padres are willing to trade outfielder Ryan Ludwick and would do oit straight up for outfielder Chris Heisey or take some minor-league prospects for him. Ludwick and Reds’ general manager Walt Jocketty already have a history: Jocketty signed him as a free agent for the St. Louis Cardinals in December, 2006.

Ludwick makes $6.7 million on the final year of his contract and the Reds would owe him about $#4 million if the deal is done soon.

Ludwick is 32 and is hitting .256 with eight homers and 37 RBIs, an upgrade over the .197/8/25 owned by Jonny Gomes.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/con...le_to.html

(06-08-2011 12:08 PM)CD11 Wrote:  I thought this was interesting and didn't see it posted...

CINCINNATI — If the Cincinnati Reds are interested in upgrading left field any time soon, or even at the July 31 trade deadline, they might cast a glance westward to San Diego.

It appears the Padres are willing to trade outfielder Ryan Ludwick and would do oit straight up for outfielder Chris Heisey or take some minor-league prospects for him. Ludwick and Reds’ general manager Walt Jocketty already have a history: Jocketty signed him as a free agent for the St. Louis Cardinals in December, 2006.

Ludwick makes $6.7 million on the final year of his contract and the Reds would owe him about $#4 million if the deal is done soon.

Ludwick is 32 and is hitting .256 with eight homers and 37 RBIs, an upgrade over the .197/8/25 owned by Jonny Gomes.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/con...le_to.html

Why would the Reds trade a 26 year old who plays good defense, is paid peanuts and is hitting .281 with a .345 OBP, and a .438 SLG (.783 OPS) for a 32 year old owed over $4M hitting .256 with a .327 OBP and a .402 SLG (.728 OPS)? Even adjusting for ballparks, Heisey has a better OPS+ (114 to 109). Pass.

Another frustrating loss. They keep losing pivotal swing games in the standings.

They were 8 games over .500 and only had to split with Pittsburgh to remain there before a very tough 10 game road trip. They lose both and fall to 6 over.

They only needed to go 3-7 on the long road trip to come back home over .500. They won Friday night in Atlanta and then dropped back-to-back 1 run games in Atlanta to drop to .500 after a 2-8 road trip.

In desperate need of a 6-3 home stand before 7 games out West they lose 3 of the final 5 games to the sub .500 Dodgers and Cubs.

The next 29 games before the break are going to be tough... 20 of them are on the road and 7 of the 9 teams are over .500 (SF, TOR, NYY, TB, CLE, STL, and MIL). A 15-14 record would be a hell of a feat and it would only put them 2 games over at the break.

(06-08-2011 12:08 PM)CD11 Wrote:  I thought this was interesting and didn't see it posted...

CINCINNATI — If the Cincinnati Reds are interested in upgrading left field any time soon, or even at the July 31 trade deadline, they might cast a glance westward to San Diego.

It appears the Padres are willing to trade outfielder Ryan Ludwick and would do oit straight up for outfielder Chris Heisey or take some minor-league prospects for him. Ludwick and Reds’ general manager Walt Jocketty already have a history: Jocketty signed him as a free agent for the St. Louis Cardinals in December, 2006.

Ludwick makes $6.7 million on the final year of his contract and the Reds would owe him about $#4 million if the deal is done soon.

Ludwick is 32 and is hitting .256 with eight homers and 37 RBIs, an upgrade over the .197/8/25 owned by Jonny Gomes.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/con...le_to.html

I was going to post this.

I wasn't interested at first, but someone on the ORG over at Redszone said that Ludwick's numbers are pretty good outside of Petco. I'm going by what they said.

Ludwick is a free agent after the season, and Heisey will never be anymore than a PHer for Dusty, because Dusty won't give him a chance.

I'm not a big fan of Ludwick, but if it's straight up and Dusty will never play Heisey regularly anyway, then I'd do the deal. But management better make sure that Ludwick's name is in the lineup and not Gomes, if that deal is done.

Updates on Burton, Rolen, Renteria, Chapman
11:20 am, Jun 8, 2011 | Written by jfay

Couple of early notes:

– Jared Burton threw off the mound for the first time yesterday.

“It went pretty good,” he said. “I’ve been long tossing 170, 180 feet the last couple of days. It’s feeling good. It’s just a matter of getting my arm strength back. I have full mobility.”

Burton was only throwing about 55, 60 percent off the mound.

“Getting on that slope, you’re getting a little extra crank on the your arm,” he said. “So I wanted to go nice and easy. I’m still probably a week and a half, two weeks from live BP.”

–Dusty Baker is pointing to San Francisco as a return date for Scott Rolen, who is dealing with a throat problem.

“I talked to the doctor,” Baker said. “It’s not strep throat as diagnosed by Scott. It’s a viral infection in the throat. The doctor said it takes three or four days to run its course. It’s worse in the heat. It will be better once we get to San Francisco.”

–Edgar Renteria’s back is better. “He hit yesterday. He ran. He threw,” Baker said. “Hopefully, he’ll better when we get to San Francisco as well”

–Aroldis Chapman allowed three runs in two-thirds of an inning in his first rehab outing for Carolina. He 24 pitches, 12 strikes.

“He hadn’t pitched in a while,” Baker said.

Baker said Chapman is scheduled for four outings. (He said at least two yesterday).

“It depends on how he throws, how he feels, what kind of strikes he throws,” Baker said. “If everything goes right, he might be ready to come off at the end of this road trip. Everything is round-off, guess speculation.”

http://cincinnati.com/blogs/reds/2011/06...a-chapman/

Final: Cubs 4, Reds 1
3:17 pm, Jun 8, 2011 | Written by jfay

The Reds lost the finale of the homestand to finish it 5-4. They left after the game for a seven-day West Coast swing — three in San Francisco starting tomorrow night, followed by thee in Los Angeles.

Bronson Arroyo went 6 1/3 innings and allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits. He walked one (intentionally) and struck out three.


The Enquirer/Cara Owsley
Miguel Cairo cools off between innings against the Cubs at Great American Ball Park.

Aside from two pitches, he was very good.

The Reds loaded the bases with one out in the first and got nothing. That would loom large.

The Reds took the lead in the third. Drew Stubbs lead off with a single. He stole second and went to third on Brandon Phillips’ groundout. Ryan Dempster struck out Joey Votto with a perfectly located 93 mph fastball. But Jay Bruce singled to get Stubbs in.

Arroyo allowed one base-runner through three. Blake DeWitt reached on shortstop Paul Janish’s error one out into the fourth. Carlos Pena followed with a long shot it right for ninth of the year. Four of the nine have come against the Reds.

Aramis Ramirez hit the next pitch out to left for his third, and it was 3-1.

Arroyo left after giving up a double to Kosuke Fukudome and a sacrifice in the seventh. Bill Bray came on to strike out DeWitt, but he walked Pena. The Reds then brought in Jose Arredondo. He balked in Fukudome.

Dempster didn’t not allow a base-runner after the Bruce hit, retiring the last 10 he faced. He went six innings and allowed the one run on three hits. He walked one and struck out eight.

http://cincinnati.com/blogs/reds/2011/06...1-after-7/

Bailey heads for rehab
4:13 pm, Jun 8, 2011 | Written by jfay

Homer Bailey is joining Triple-A Louisville for to begin his rehab assignment. He’ll start Saturday against Syracuse. He’s thinking two starts should be enough to get him ready to return to Reds’ rotation.

“Yeah, I think two should be enough,” he said.

Bailey, the disabled list since May 29 with a strained shoulder, threw his first bullpen session Wednesday.

“Everything was fine,” he said. “No pain. I felt great.”

Bailey only took four days off from throwing after the injury, so he thinks he’ll be able to regain his stamina quickly.

“I think I’m scheduled to go 60, 65 pitches the first time,” he said, “then 80 to 85 the next.”

http://cincinnati.com/blogs/reds/2011/06...for-rehab/

Reds let sweep get away, face a very tough road ahead
4:47 pm, Jun 8, 2011 | Written by jfay

The Reds needed a sweep and didn’t get it.

“It’s definitely disappointing,” said Bronson Arroyo, who took the loss Wednesday. “The way we’ve been playing lately, we can’t really afford to have a lot close games get away from us. We haven’t been able to come back in games we’ve been behind. Right now, we’re fighting to get every win we can. We can’t seem to catch a nice streak where they come easy.

“It’s not going to get an easier in the next two weeks. That’s the way it is.”

The schedule ahead is brutal. The Reds left after the game for four-game series in San Francisco, against the World Champion Giants. After the three in Los Angeles against the Dodger, the Reds come home and begin interleague play against the American League East.

Twenty-six of the 31 games leading into All-Star are against teams with winning records. Sixteen of the 31 are against teams currently in first place.

“It’s not going to easy,” Arroyo said. “nobody’s handing up anything. We’ve got a nice long stretch here that’s going to be a dogfight to beat some of these good ball clubs.”

It would behoove the Reds to play well in the series in San Francisco.

“It’s a huge series, especially when you’re going to World Champions,” Dusty Baker said. “They’ve got excellent pitching. They’ve got a good ball club. We’ve got to play our best baseball. There’s no way around it.”

http://cincinnati.com/blogs/reds/2011/06...oad-ahead/

Reds unable to break through for sweep
Homers hurt Arroyo; bats shut down by Cubs pitching

By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com | 6/8/2011 5:29 PM ET

CINCINNATI -- Despite already having a winning series over the Cubs and a winning homestand, Wednesday's finale for the Reds proved as pleasant as being trapped in a three-hour chat with Debbie Downer.

Wah-wah.

A 4-1 loss during a hot, muggy day at Great American Ball Park meant no three-game series sweep. It made for a 5-4 homestand record instead of a more pleasant-sounding 6-3 mark. Save for a Jay Bruce two-out RBI single that scored Drew Stubbs in the third inning, there wasn't much offense. After that hit, Cubs starter Ryan Dempster and three Chicago relievers retired 19 of the final 20 and struck out 12 overall.

"We had a chance for a sweep. That three in a row is eluding us, big time," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "We'll get it. We're like real close. Perhaps we'll turn it around on this road trip. The last road trip, we had a bad one [2-8 record], so we're due for an excellent one."

The Reds sensed a great day was ahead when they learned Dempster might not start the game because of a hip strain. As Cubs manager Mike Quade met with Baker to exchange lineup cards, reliever Rodrigo Lopez was warming up just in case.

"I said, 'I'm not sure right now who's coming out of the bullpen,'" Quade said. "If Demp can get his hip loose -- he sat down and got back up and said he felt fine."

Dempster labored through the first inning as the Reds had a bases-loaded, one-out rally slip away. Miguel Cairo, who hit a big grand slam in Tuesday's win, popped out to second base, and Fred Lewis grounded out to first base.

"We thought he was scratched from the game originally at the start," Stubbs said. "I guess he battled through whatever he had going and turned in a pretty good performance. You could see he got more comfortable. The first couple of innings, he wasn't throwing as hard as he normally did. Then he got his velocity back."

Reds starter Bronson Arroyo was enjoying a smooth day until one out in the fourth, when shortstop Paul Janish made a fielding error on a Blake Dewitt grounder. Carlos Pena fouled off a pair of 2-2 pitches before taking Arroyo deep into the right-field seats for a two-run homer. On the very next pitch, Aramis Ramirez made it back-to-back homers when he went deep to left field for a 3-1 Cubs lead.

Wah-wah.

"I was trying to get in on Pena, and he kept fouling off cutter after cutter after cutter, and I just wanted to move it up three or four inches closer to him," Arroyo said. "But I moved it three or four inches away from him, and he hit that ball out of the park. Aramis is a great breaking-ball hitter. I just wanted to get strike one on him."

That gave Arroyo 16 homers allowed for the season, tying him with the Astros' Brett Myers. Arroyo was charged with four runs (three earned) over 6 1/3 innings, including one intentional walk and three strikeouts.

"Bronson threw the ball well today," Baker said. "He just got bit by the long ball. We just have to figure out how to keep the ball in the ballpark."

The fourth Cubs run came after Arroyo exited in the seventh. With runners on the corners and two outs, reliever Jose Arredondo had a 3-2 count on Ramirez when his balk forced home Kosuke Fukudome, who Arroyo was responsible for. Arredondo made a pickoff move to first base and held on to the ball upon realizing Joey Votto wasn't holding the runner.

Wah-wah.

"We were trying to cover that hole but just didn't communicate and tell [Arredondo] we were playing off the bag at 3-2," Baker said. "We have to tighten up our game in all departments. If we do that, we'll be great."

Coming into the game, the Cubs had lost a season-high eight games in a row. The last time the Reds won three in a row came during a five-game win streak, during which they swept the Cardinals and Cubs from May 13-17. Since the previous Chicago series, the Reds have gone 7-14 to sit in third place in the National League Central with a 32-31 overall record.

A sweep would have been a very nice springboard heading into a seven-game West Coast road trip to San Francisco and Los Angeles. Following that journey is an Interleague homestand vs. the Blue Jays and Yankees.

"Right now, we're just fighting to get every win we can, and we just can't seem to be able to catch a nice streak where they seem to come easy," Arroyo said. "Everything has been difficult. It's not going to get any easier in the next couple of weeks."

Mark Sheldon is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Mark My Word, and follow him on Twitter @m_sheldon. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp...Id=rss_cin

Report: Padres could dangle Ludwick
Posted on: June 8, 2011 4:53 pm


By Evan Brunell

The Padres are willing to trade left fielder Ryan Ludwick, and the Reds could be a fit, writes Hal McCoy of The Dayton Daily News.

Ludwick, who was acquired by San Diego from St. Louis at the trade deadline of 2010, has found the going rough thanks to his new home park. He has hit just .234/.314/.367, the worst numbers he's had since becoming a starter in 2007 for St. Louis.

But Ludwick could move to a park friendlier for his offensive talents. Walt Jocketty, the man who brought him to the Cardinals, is now the Reds' GM, and Cincinnati has struggled to fill the left field position capably. Jonny Gomes has lost his starting spot and is fighting with Fred Lewis and Chris Heisey to stay afloat.

The Padres can make Ludwick available because top prospect Anthony Rizzo is on the verge of the majors and would play first base. That moves Brad Hawpe to the outfield. While Cameron Maybin is on the DL, that won't create a playing-time crunch. But once Maybin returns, the Padres will have to go with a Ludwick-Maybin-Hawpe alignment and relegate Chris Denorfia to the bench -- plus block a possible promotion of Will Venable or Kyle Blanks.

While Ludwick is one of the better hitters on a light-hitting team, he's also 32 with a big home/road split. San Diego would likely be better off finding someone more tailored to the home park and who isn't an impending free agent. The Padres are "just" 6 1/2 games out of first. Their 28-34 record isn't entirely worthy of being in last place, though, so San Diego will likely hold off until nearer the deadline to evaluate the team with Rizzo's bat in the lineup -- as well as hope some of the other hitters such as Orlando Hudson catch fire.

If Ludwick becomes available, his struggles in Petco Park won't be enough to dampen interest in him. He's still a solid power hitter, which is increasingly in demand as pitchers take hold of the league.

http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry...nnati_Reds

Dempster beats hip pain, Reds
Nearly pre-game scratch, Dempster pitches 6 to help beat Reds


(Andy Lyons, Getty Images / June 8, 2011)
Ryan Dempster throws a pitch to the Reds.

By Phil Rogers, Tribune reporter

6:48 p.m. CDT, June 8, 2011

CINCINNATI — Ryan Dempster loves comedy, not drama. He worked hard Wednesday to downplay the discomfort he pitched through to end the Cubs' eight-game losing streak and the possibility of having recurring problems with his right hip.

"I'll be all right,'' Dempster said. "I've been through worse before.''

Dempster almost was scratched before the start of the game, which began with 90-degree temperatures that were climbing. But knowing how badly his bullpen had been stretched, Dempster found a way to work six strong innings and carry the Cubs to a 4-1 victory, spoiling a sweep for the Reds.

Dempster felt fine before the game but experienced soreness pushing off the rubber during his bullpen warmups. It was a serious enough issue that manager Mike Quade ordered Rodrigo Lopez to get loose, and Quade said Dempster's decision came down to game time.

"I told (Reds manager Dusty Baker), 'I'm not sure right now who's coming out of that bullpen,'" Quade said. "'Do I have to declare?' (Dempster) was able to get loose and pitched well. He got better as the game went on.''

Dempster admitted "it wasn't a lot of fun warming up'' but hardly painted himself a hero after throwing 113 pitches. He held the Reds to one run on three hits while striking out eight, including Joey Votto, Jay Bruce and Miguel Cairo in order in his last inning.

"I wasn't able to push off the rubber,'' said Dempster (5-5). "I just kept the ball down. … I had a good slider today.''

The Cubs got their run production from Carlos Pena and Aramis Ramirez, who homered on back-to-back pitches from Bronson Arroyo (4-6) in the fourth inning. Carlos Marmol worked a perfect ninth to earn his 11th save.

The victory kept the Cubs from carrying a nine-game losing streak to Philadelphia, where they will face former 20-game winners Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt in succession.

"We're just going to enjoy today,'' said Pena, who marveled at Dempster's toughness. "He's a warrior, man. He goes out there, goes (six) innings. He pitched masterfully, (with) a lot of heart.''

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/bas...3850.story

Man, Chapman is an absolute mess right now.

(06-08-2011 09:20 PM)bearcatjim Wrote:  Man, Chapman is an absolute mess right now.

I still think the Reds org isn't very good at developing pitching prospects. I think if Chapman went elsewhere he'd get it figured out and the Reds could get someone already developed for him. I'm just going on past results, but I say Chapman never lives up to his $30 mil while in a Reds uniform.

(06-08-2011 06:54 PM)Vottomatic Wrote:  

(06-08-2011 12:08 PM)CD11 Wrote:  I thought this was interesting and didn't see it posted...

CINCINNATI — If the Cincinnati Reds are interested in upgrading left field any time soon, or even at the July 31 trade deadline, they might cast a glance westward to San Diego.

It appears the Padres are willing to trade outfielder Ryan Ludwick and would do oit straight up for outfielder Chris Heisey or take some minor-league prospects for him. Ludwick and Reds’ general manager Walt Jocketty already have a history: Jocketty signed him as a free agent for the St. Louis Cardinals in December, 2006.

Ludwick makes $6.7 million on the final year of his contract and the Reds would owe him about $#4 million if the deal is done soon.

Ludwick is 32 and is hitting .256 with eight homers and 37 RBIs, an upgrade over the .197/8/25 owned by Jonny Gomes.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/con...le_to.html

I was going to post this.

I wasn't interested at first, but someone on the ORG over at Redszone said that Ludwick's numbers are pretty good outside of Petco. I'm going by what they said.

Ludwick is a free agent after the season, and Heisey will never be anymore than a PHer for Dusty, because Dusty won't give him a chance.

I'm not a big fan of Ludwick, but if it's straight up and Dusty will never play Heisey regularly anyway, then I'd do the deal. But management better make sure that Ludwick's name is in the lineup and not Gomes, if that deal is done.

OPS+ adjusts for ballpark differences. As I pointed out earlier, Heisey has the better OPS+ this year at 114 to 109. In fairness, Heisey seems to hit better as a sub than a starter this year, but I think that's just a sample size issue. The Dusty issue is real, but if we can't make him play Heisey more what makes you think you can make him play Ludwick? Gomes is the vet with the job. Plus, similar to Gomes, Ludwick really hasn't been very good since the first half of 2010.

(06-08-2011 09:10 PM)ctipton Wrote:  Report: Padres could dangle Ludwick
Posted on: June 8, 2011 4:53 pm


By Evan Brunell

The Padres are willing to trade left fielder Ryan Ludwick, and the Reds could be a fit, writes Hal McCoy of The Dayton Daily News.

Ludwick, who was acquired by San Diego from St. Louis at the trade deadline of 2010, has found the going rough thanks to his new home park. He has hit just .234/.314/.367, the worst numbers he's had since becoming a starter in 2007 for St. Louis.

But Ludwick could move to a park friendlier for his offensive talents. Walt Jocketty, the man who brought him to the Cardinals, is now the Reds' GM, and Cincinnati has struggled to fill the left field position capably. Jonny Gomes has lost his starting spot and is fighting with Fred Lewis and Chris Heisey to stay afloat.

The Padres can make Ludwick available because top prospect Anthony Rizzo is on the verge of the majors and would play first base. That moves Brad Hawpe to the outfield. While Cameron Maybin is on the DL, that won't create a playing-time crunch. But once Maybin returns, the Padres will have to go with a Ludwick-Maybin-Hawpe alignment and relegate Chris Denorfia to the bench -- plus block a possible promotion of Will Venable or Kyle Blanks.

While Ludwick is one of the better hitters on a light-hitting team, he's also 32 with a big home/road split. San Diego would likely be better off finding someone more tailored to the home park and who isn't an impending free agent. The Padres are "just" 6 1/2 games out of first. Their 28-34 record isn't entirely worthy of being in last place, though, so San Diego will likely hold off until nearer the deadline to evaluate the team with Rizzo's bat in the lineup -- as well as hope some of the other hitters such as Orlando Hudson catch fire.

If Ludwick becomes available, his struggles in Petco Park won't be enough to dampen interest in him. He's still a solid power hitter, which is increasingly in demand as pitchers take hold of the league.

http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry...nnati_Reds

I'd rather take back Reds forum legend Denorfia than Ludwick all things considered. Denorfia kinda reminds me of Heisey but Deno has an OPS+ of 131 this year. He'd be much cheaper than Ludwick both in salary and trade. We could bat him leadoff and move Stubbs to 5/6/7 to use his power with more runners on base. Plus Stubbs would be free to steal bases without inviting the opposition to pitch around Votto/Bruce.