Hairston nice fit, but more is needed

By Hal McCoy | Wednesday, January 7, 2009, 05:55 PM

As expected, Jerry Hairston Jr. is returning to the Reds - a nice piece to the puzzle that is still missing some pieces.

The fact that the Cincinnti Reds might be expecting Hairston to play regular shortstop if Alex Gonzalez can’t do it is not a good message.

The fact they might expect him to play a lot of left field - if they can’t find a regular - is not good news.

Hairston is what he is - a plug-in, a guy to fit in where he is needed for short periods.

He talks, though, as if manager Dusty Baker plans to play him a lot.

After much delay and posturing, Hairston did what he knew he would do all along - re-sign with the Reds.

Hairston agreed to a one-year $2 million contract , with $2 million more in incentives, and is prepared to play just the way he played last season - anywhere, everywhere and often.

He hit .326 while playing six different positions for the Reds last season and is prepared to wander out to any of those positions this year, “Anywhere (manager) Dusty Baker wants me to play.”

Hairston, 32, said he might play a lot of shortstop at the beginning of the season while Gonzalez tries to ease himself back into game shape after a year off.

“I told Dusty and (GM) Walt Jocketty that I love the infield because I’m an infielder by trade, but I’ll play wherever they need me. That includes shortstop, second base and all the outfield spots.”

The Reds were 25-19 when Hairston batted leadoff and his on-base average of .487 while batting leadoff was second best in the National League among leadoff batters with more than 150 plate appearances. Only LA’s Rafael Furcal was better.

He knows, though, he won’t be batting leadoff after the Reds acquired Willy Taveras.

“I can see the light at the end of the tunnel with Taveras, Brandon Phillips, Jay Bruce and Joey Votto,” he said. “We have a very athletic team. We all know that pitching, defense and baserunning win games - Tampa Bay proved that.”

Hairston envisions himself batting second behind Taveras, “A couple of speed guys who can wreak havoc. We can get on base for Bruce, Votto and Phillips. I have three goals - get on base, score a ton of runs and help the team win.”

And how was it fairly certain that Hairston was returning?

“I’ve been texting with Jay Bruce and we have a little contest going on who is going to score the most runs,” said Hairston.

“And I’m a loyal person,” he said. “The Reds gave me a chance last year when nobody else would.”

The Cardinals, Royals and Mariners had lukewarm interest in Hairston, but he chose to return.

He played only 80 games and batted 261 times last season, mostly due to a hamstring injury.

“I’ve worked this winter with a nutritionist and he thinks my diet may have even contributed to my injury,” he said.

“I know this - I feel better right now at 32 than I did when I was 27 and 28 when I had a lot of injures,” he said. “I really believe my best years are ahead of me and that I have six or seven good years left in me.

“I actually felt better the second half after I came back from the first half,” he said. Hairston spent 44 games on the DL over three different periods with a broken left thumb and two right hamstring injuries.

Why only a one-year deal at relatively low price? A combination. The Reds want to see if he can stay injury-free while Hairston wants to see if he can put together a career year and become a high-value player.

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More needs to be done

By Hal McCoy | Sunday, January 4, 2009, 03:29 PM

It is now 2009 and it is only six weeks before the Cincinnati Reds begin their final year of spring training in Sarasota before relocating in Goodyear, Ariz., which some people believe is part of a witness protection program.

So far, with what the Reds have done, there is no reason to believe they’ll climb out of fifth place - they still are not better than the Brewers, Cubs, Cardinals and Astros.

They’ve made three minor moves, mere tinkering, with the additions of catcher Ramon Hernandez, relief pitcher Arthur Rhodes and center fielder/leadoff hitter Willy Taveras.

There hasn’t been a single cry of “Break up the Reds” from Milwaukee, Chicago, St. Louis or Houston.

The addition of Hernandez adds some punch to the catching position, offensively, but there are concerns about him defensively. It concerns me that Hernandez had 10 passed balls, second most in the American League last year, and nine errors, tied for second most in the AL.

I’m not so sure rookie Ryan Hanigan isn’t a better option. In addition to hitting .271, Hanigan threw out 8 of 23 base stealers, made only one error and caught the only two complete games Reds pitchers threw last year - all over 31 games and the team was 14-11 in games he started.

Rhodes, 39, is an OK addition as long as he was acquired only to face lefthanded batters in crucial situations and not to pitch an inning or two innings at a time.

After he was traded to the Marlins by Seattle in mid-season, he went 2-0 with a 0.68 ERA in 25 appearances over only 9 2/3 innings. The Marlins used him correctly.

For his career, lefthanders have hit .221 against him and righthanders .245. But lately, the gap is wider. Lefthanders hit only .165 against him last year and righthanders over .300. You don’t want him pitching to Albert Pujols.

I’m not giddy over Willy, either. While his 68 stolen bases in 75 tries is nice, his .251 average, his .308 on-base average and his 36 walks in 533 plate appearances are not so nice for a leadoff hitter.

His career batting average is .283 with a .331 onbase average - numbers he’ll need to help the Reds.

The Reds still need help - and lots of it. They still need a left fielder with some nitro in his bat.

There are reports that the Reds were interesed in Andruw Jones during the winter meetings. And now it has come out that the Dodgers and Jones came to an agreement that will make Jones more palatable to other teams.

Jones has agreed to shed big money from his contract if the Dodgers will trade him or release him - cutting his 2009 contract from $12 million to $5 million.

Now that the Reds have signed Taveras, here’s hoping they don’t go after A.J. The guy is injury-prone and played only 75 games for the Dodgers last year, hitting .158 with three homers and 14 RBIs. Those numbers make Corey Patterson look like a superstar.

He has been overweight the past couple of years and he is playing winter ball right now and several scouts say he looks no better now than he did with the Dodgers last season. And Jones is a center fielder, not a left fielder. If he could play left field, why wouldn’t the Dodgers keep him instead of talking with Adam Dunn?

Do you think the Reds could use Jones or should they look elsewhere? I say look elsewhere and anywhere.

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My 2008 Hall of Fame ballot

By Hal McCoy | Monday, December 29, 2008, 08:39 PM

Time to ‘fess up.

Who did I vote for on my 2008 Hall of Fame ballot? As a voter, I am NOT required to divulge for whom I did or didn’t vote.

But I respect the fans and my readers and, in fact, next year I may write a blog before I vote and list the candidates and ask you to help me make my vote.

First of all, I’ll tell you for whom I did NOT vote — Mark McGwire. Not now, not ever. As many of you know, my position is that when he sat in front of the congressional hearing on steroids and said, “I’m not here to talk about the past,” I immediately decided, “Well, Mark, if you won’t talk about the past, I won’t consider your past accomplishments.”

One of my esteemed colleagues at the Dayton Daily News, Sean McClelland, recently wrote that he voted for McGwire and said, “How can you not vote for a guy who hit 583 career home runs?”

Well, steroids and HGH notwithstanding, take a look at McGwire’s career statistics. I might not have voted for him even without the needle controversy. Yes, he hit 583 home runs. What else did he do? Not much. His career batting average was .262. When he hit 70 home runs, he had 61 singles. And he wore a glove at first base for decorative purposes only.

As an aside, in another piece, McClelland wrote that he saw nothing wrong with the exorbitant and obscene spending of the New York Yankees, close to $450 million this off-season.

Another esteemed cohort, Greg Simms, also wrote that he saw nothing indecent about what the Yankees do.

This is not to throw monkey do-do at my compatriots. Both are great guys, talented newspapermen and both have saved my posterior innumerable times by ferreting errors out of my copy - of which I’m much appreciative.

It’s just that I don’t agree with them. Sean once covered the Yankees and might still be under the Steinbrenner glare and Simms is an acknowledged Yankee fans (pshaw on him).

What the Yankees are doing is proof that baseball needs a salary cap. Now.

All baseball has is the luxury tax, as Simms pointed out. Any team with a payroll over $150 million a year must pay a luxury tax to the 29 other teams for the amount they transgress over the $150 million.

Well, in the six years of the luxury tax, the Yankees have paid nearly $150 million in luxury taxes. Divide that by 29 and each team has received a little more than $5 million. Big deal. That won’t even buy a decent starting second baseman.

OK, my Hall of Fame ballot. We are given a long list of eligible players and we can vote for up to 10, but we don’t have to vote for 10. We can vote for none or one or six or 10.

This year I voted for five - Rickey Henderson (first-year eligible), Jim Rice, Andre Dawson, Bert Blyleven and Lee Smith (who, to me, was as good, if not better, than last year’s winner, Goose Gossage).

That’s it. What do you think?

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Taveras believes he can do better

By Hal McCoy | Saturday, December 27, 2008, 05:17 PM

Willy Taveras didn’t have a spectacular season with the 2008 Colorado Rockies, hitting only .251 with an on base average of .308.

Those are not glossy numbers for a leadoff hitter. And it makes the fact that he stole 68 bases in 75 tries just short of spectacular.

As the new center fielder and leadoff hitter for the Cincinnati Reds, signed to a two-year contract Saturday, Taveras believes he can do better.

And so does Jamie Quirk, a new member of the Reds front office who watched Taveras last year while Quirk was a bench coach for the Rockies.

In fact, it was Quirk who pushed Reds general manager Walt Jocketty toward acquiring the 27-year-old Dominican.

“We tried to do a trade with Colorado for Taveras earlier, but it didn’t work out,” said Jocketty. “When the Rockies didn’t tender him (offer him a contract after the season), we called his agent and got this done.”

About his fallen batting average and on base percentage in 2008, Jocketty said, “Jamie Quirk believes Willy got away from his game plan. He needs to bunt more and keep the ball on the ground and get some infield hits. I don’t know if he tried to hit home runs, or what, but Jamie think he changed his approach and that we can get him back to where he was in 2007 (.320 batting average in 2007 over 97 games with a .367 on base average 33 stolen bases in 42 attempts).”

Taveras doesn’t believe playing in Coors Field changed his game, “Just that things didn’t work out and I know I can do better and will do better.”

He likes the fact Quirk is with the Reds on his side.

“Jamie knows me and knows my game and he worked a lot with me,” said Taveras. “We get along real well and he helped me a lot. He kept after me to stay on top of my game.”

Of more import to Taveras is the fact he’ll be playing for manager Dusty Baker, who called him to consider signing with the Reds.

“I’ve heard from plenty of guys about how good it is to play for Dusty,” said Taveras. “You know he is in charge and he lets you do what you do best. And I’m told he never has any problems with his players. I’m really looking forward to playing for the Reds and for Dusty Baker.

“I’ll play hard and do what I can do to help the team win and I know it is a young team and I believe I can help it.”

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Reds sign Willy Taveras

By Hal McCoy | Saturday, December 27, 2008, 12:29 PM

The Cincinnati Reds filled their leadoff hole by signing free agent outfielder Willy Taveras to a two-year deal.

Taveras, who turned 27 on Christmas Day, hit only .251 with a .308 on base average with the Colorado Rockies, but stole 68 bases in 75 tries.

But in 2007 Taveras hit .320 in 97 games with a .367 on base average with the Rockies.

Prior to playing in Colorado, Taveras had two solid years in Houston, hitting .291 in 2005 and .278 in 2006, playing 152 and 149 games. He stole 33 bases in 2006 and 33 in 2007.

It is expected Taveras, a native of the Dominican Republic who lives in Pearland, Texas, will play center field for the Reds.

“We’ve added speed to our club and added defense,” said general manager Walt Jocketty. “He fills a lot of needs for us and what I like he is genuinely excited about coming to the Reds.”

Taveras comes to the Reds on the recommendation of Jamie Quirk, Colorado manager Clint Hurdle’s bench coach last year and now a member of Jocketty’s staff in Cincinnati.

“We tried to do a trade with Colorado for Taveras earlier, but it didn’t work out,” said Jocketty. “When the Rockies didn’t tender him (offer him a contract after the season), we called his agent and got this done.”

About his fallen batting average and on base percentage in 2008, Jocketty said, “Jamie Quirk believes Willy got away from his game plan. He needs to bunt more and keep the ball on the ground and get some infield hits. I don’t know if he tried to hit home runs, or what, but Jamie think he changed his approach and that we can get him back on track.”

Jocketty said the Reds remain in pursuit of a left fielder, “And we’re still trying to sign Jerry Hairston Jr. and he can play some out there in left.”

There was a story this week that Sammy Sosa says he wants to play major-league baseball this year and when Jocketty was kiddingly asked if the Reds were interested in Sosa, he said, “Don’t think so. And I don’t think (manager) Dusty Baker wants him.”

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No ‘Dancing With the Stars,’ please

By Hal McCoy | Wednesday, December 24, 2008, 12:29 AM

A healthy and prosperous holiday season to you all as you await word on that big Christmas present the Cincinnati Reds are going to deliver - a hard-hitting righthanded-hitting outfielder, with or without a big Christmas bow.

And while we wait?

How many of you have seen the petition from some folks who want you to sign on behalf of George Foster appearing on Dancing With the Stars? The petition says an appearance by Foster would enhance the show’s ratings, as if that show needs a ratings kick in the posterior.

How many people who watch DWTS know George Foster from Jodie Foster or Stephen Foster - and which one wrote My Old Kentucky Home? In all the years Foster was with the Reds, I never saw him dance, except away from outfield walls.

That got me to thinking - always a dangerous exercise. Here are some former Reds who I think should NEVER appear on DWTS.

PETE ROSE - It wouldn’t look good if Rose slid head-first into his dancing partner and separated her collarbone. And what song would Rose use? Ah, that’s easy. Kenny Rogers’ The Gambler.

CLAY CARROLL - A down-home country boy from Alabama and I don’t think DWTS would let him dance to the Electric Slide. Carroll once asked if a Rhodes Scholar was somebody who studied to be a highway engineer. I made that up - but he could have.

GENE LOCKLEAR - He was a full-blooded Lumbee and I don’t think there is a place on DWTS for a native American dance to end a drought. Locklear was an artist and painted portraits of his teammates. Did he give the portraits to the players? Nah, he sold them to them. And I didn’t make that up; it’s the truth.

RAY KNIGHT - Do they let contestants do solos on DWTS. Don’t think so. Knight liked to do everything himself when he managed (and played). Designating authority was not his thing. He would dance to Frank Sinatra’s My Way.

JACK McKEON - Smoking is not allowed on the dance floor and his cigar would be inappropriate. I laughed every time I saw McKeon early in the afteroon before day games doing his physical workouts, long walks around the ballpark’s warning track, puffing a Padron 4000 as he pumped his arms on his stroll. His song would be Smoke Gets In Your Eyes.

SEAN CASEY - You can only dance with one partner and the Mayor of The World would want to dance with every female in the house. And he would end his dance with The Bounce, that thing the Reds did when they scored a game-ending run by gathering around home plate and jumping up and down. His song would be the classic by Danny & The Juniors, At The Hop.

GREG VAUGHN - I fear for the life of the judges who dismiss him. In 1999, Vaughn, the leader of Cincinnati’s LAST GOOD TEAM, picked up a whiny Reds pitcher by the throat and held him against the wall, the pitcher’s feet about six inches off the floor. Can anbody dance to Rocky? Vaughn’s partner would have to be Kevin Mitchell, an equally fearsome fellow, but do they allow same-sex partners?

KURT STILLWELL - He looked so much like the young Ron Howard on the Andy Griffith Show that teammates called him Opie. He would have to dance to the Andy Griffith Show theme song (whistling along with it) and he’d have to dance with Aunt Bee.

Well, you get what I mean. I don’t think George Foster, a great player and a great man, is the savior of Dancing with the Stars, nor is any former Reds player.

Happy holidays and it’ll be spring training before you know it - if the Reds have a full roster by then.

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Reds-Reds Futures to play at Fifth Third

By Hal McCoy | Monday, December 15, 2008, 03:20 PM

To commemorate 10 years of their existence and 10 years affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds, the Dayton Dragons came up with a novel idea.

The idea, which germinated last April, was so good that Reds general manager Walt Jocketty said, “A tremendous idead and I wish I had thought of it.”

Jocketty gave credit to the Class A Dayton Dragons for dreaming it up and presenting it to the Reds: An annual exhibition game before the season between the Reds and a Reds minor-league All-Star at Fifth Third Field.

The Reds bought the idea quickly and the first game will be played Saturday, April. 4, two days before the Reds open their 2009 season in Great American Ball Park.

“The only danger is they might beat us,” said Jocketty.

That could be so, especially after Reds director of minor league development Terry Reynolds tossed out a few names of possible minor-league participants.

“It is hard to nail down specific players at this point, especially pitchers who might have thrown a day or two previous o the game,” he said.

He mentioned: first baseman Yonder Alonzo, the team’s No. 1 draft pick in June; shortstop Chris Valaika, the Reds’ minor-league player of the year in 2008; shortstop/outfielder Todd Frazier; third baseman Juan Francisco, the teams minor-league hitter of the year; outfielder Drew Stubbs and catcher Devin Mesoraco, the team’s No. 1 draft pick in 2007.

“Most of these kids played in Dayton and this game will be a plum for them, a chance to show what they can do against the big team in front of everybody,” said Reynolds.

It is believed this is the first time any major-league team has played a game against an All-Star team made up of the club’s minor-league affiliates.

The minor-leaguers, called the Reds Futures, will come from Class A, Class AA and Class AAA teams.

REDS VERSUS REDS FUTURES

When: Saturday, April 4, 2009 (Time To be Determinted).

Where: Fifth Third Field, Dayton

What: Cincinnati Reds against an All-Star team of Reds minor-leaguers.

Tickets: First choice goes to season ticket holds, corporate partners and suite holds. If any tickets remain, the rest will be offered to those on the Dragons season ticket waiting list.

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