The Reds officially re-signed outfielder Jonny Gomes to a one-year, Major League deal with a club option for 2011. John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer broke news of the agreement, and ESPN's Jerry Crasnick tweeted details.
Gomes, 29, hit .267/.338/.541 in 314 plate appearances for the Reds in '09 before being non-tendered. 35% of his plate appearances came against lefties, and his defense was suspect. Gomes had a hard time finding a job as a free agent, and perhaps the Reds saw that coming. He will be arbitration-eligible again if the Reds decline his 2011 option.
the reds are making a big statement to any other teams considering taking 4th place in the nl central.
You mean the the Cubs?
dude, i don’t know, that “ambitious” john grabow contract has “fewer than 10 games under .500” written all over it. it should be a great race for the middle-bottom in 2010.
You do realize that even with all the complaining about how bad the Cubs were last year–including some from me, since it really was painful to watch them–that they were still an above-.500 team right? With abysmal performances from basically the entire roster?
I honestly don’t see how people can realistically expect the Cubs to be any worse than that. They almost have to improve just as people trend more toward their career averages than the career-worst seasons most players had. Though I do admit I’m terrified about Marmol as the closer.
if you read the below, you’ll find i agree with you. i think the cubs will be a lot better, and i think the cards will win more than 91 this year with a full season of holliday.
if i misspoke:
1. the cubs are a lot better than the reds
2. but john grabow? seriously?
if you read the below, you’ll find i agree with you. i think the cubs will be a lot better, and i think the cards will win more than 91 this year with a full season of holliday.
if i misspoke:
1. the cubs are a lot better than the reds
2. but john grabow? seriously?
You do realize that even with all the complaining about how bad the Cubs were last year–including some from me, since it really was painful to watch them–that they were still an above-.500 team right? With abysmal performances from basically the entire roster?
I honestly don’t see how people can realistically expect the Cubs to be any worse than that. They almost have to improve just as people trend more toward their career averages than the career-worst seasons most players had. Though I do admit I’m terrified about Marmol as the closer.
why in the world would you think there going to finish fourth? they have a pretty solid team as long as the injury bug dont hit them there better than cubs, We will probally finish second im not sure why your so hard on the reds alot of writers have them as the sleeper team
i guess the “why in the world” reason i think they’re going to finish in 4th place, is that they finished 4th last year and haven’t really upgraded their big-league club at all, apart from maybe aging and adding orlando “.316 OBP” cabera to the lineup.
if that doesn’t satisfy you, maybe you could look to the fact that over the last 10 years they’ve averaged only 75 wins a season, averaged finishing in “4.1th” place over the same time span, and only finished over .500 once.
so that’s my version of “why in the world.” but your argument that “alot [spelled wrong] of writers have them as the sleeper team [no context]” seems equally as compelling, so who knows.
okay well we started with alex gonzo the season then janish O cab is better than both and we have him and Rolen for a full season and a healthy votto and jay bruce, homer bailey started to figure it out and is going to have a good season. Maybe you could look that today isn’t the past okay so you might wanna look forward to the cubs again not getting the division as they will finish 3. We have the best bullpen last year and we have everybody returning while you get the new player to look forward to is carlos Silva lmao next your going to telling me he will be in the running for cy young , it will be interesting to see how many homers Albert hits off him
it’s difficult for me to respond to this as it’s barely english. but let’s try:
2009 paul janish: 1.1 WAR
2009 orlando cabrera: 0.6 WAR
next.
2009 edwin encarnacion: 0.0 WAR
2009 scott rolen: 3.8 WAR, turns 35 by opening day
nice.
and i can’t make sense of the rest of what you wrote.
so, you’ve maybe got a .500 team. if you make it to 3rd place, congratulations, but that’s sort of a best-case scenario, and there’s no way this is a playoff team.
1. Cards
2. Brewers
3. Reds (not because anything you said was wrong, but just because the other teams are slightly worse. It all depends now on either the pitching gets healthy or see what they can get for Harang and Arroyo)
4.Cubs
5.Astros
6.Buccs
2009 Jonny Gomes: 0.8 WAR
2009 Alfonso Soriano: -0.7 WAR
nice indeed!
ok, good point. let’s check where the reds finished in 2009: oh, that’s right… 4th.
Man, you got me on that one! Let’s check when the last time was the Cubs won the World Series: oh, that’s right….1908.
i can’t make this clear enough: i don’t think the cubs are going to any better than second place. did i ever sound more optimistic than that? if i did, i take it back.
it’s difficult for me to respond to this as it’s barely english. but let’s try:
2009 paul janish: 1.1 WAR
2009 orlando cabrera: 0.6 WAR
next.
2009 edwin encarnacion: 0.0 WAR
2009 scott rolen: 3.8 WAR, turns 35 by opening day
nice.
and i can’t make sense of the rest of what you wrote.
so, you’ve maybe got a .500 team. if you make it to 3rd place, congratulations, but that’s sort of a best-case scenario, and there’s no way this is a playoff team.
okay well we started with alex gonzo the season then janish O cab is better than both and we have him and Rolen for a full season and a healthy votto and jay bruce, homer bailey started to figure it out and is going to have a good season. Maybe you could look that today isn’t the past okay so you might wanna look forward to the cubs again not getting the division as they will finish 3. We have the best bullpen last year and we have everybody returning while you get the new player to look forward to is carlos Silva lmao next your going to telling me he will be in the running for cy young , it will be interesting to see how many homers Albert hits off him
The main reason they finished so low was injuries. When they had their regular lineup on the field they actually did very well.
let’s be clear: last year they “did well” 78 times and “didn’t do well” 84 times. it took the cardinals 91 “doing wells” last year in order to win the division. i really don’t see how healing players and orlando cabrera add 13 “doing wells” to that team. sorry. if everything goes well, you’re looking at a 3rd place team. tops.
So, who do you see finishing above the Reds, and why? Thirteen more wins from this team isn’t as inconceivable as you may think. I still believe that injuries put a huge damper on the Reds’ chances of contention last year. As long as they stay healthy, I don’t see why they won’t be able to do much better.
where are they going to get 13 wins? and it’ll probably take more than that. the cardinals will have a full season of matt holliday, and the cubs had a few injuries as well last year. they’ll have a full season of a-ram, and soriano can’t help but be better. the brewers added randy wolf, who’ll no doubt help the team more than braden looper did, and they finished 2 games ahead of the reds last year.
sorry, it’s looking like 4th place. again.
So, who do you see finishing above the Reds, and why? Thirteen more wins from this team isn’t as inconceivable as you may think. I still believe that injuries put a huge damper on the Reds’ chances of contention last year. As long as they stay healthy, I don’t see why they won’t be able to do much better.
So, who do you see finishing above the Reds, and why? Thirteen more wins from this team isn’t as inconceivable as you may think. I still believe that injuries put a huge damper on the Reds’ chances of contention last year. As long as they stay healthy, I don’t see why they won’t be able to do much better.
in response to your question, i see the following teams finishing above the reds:
cardinals
cubs
brewers
in response to your question, i see the following teams finishing above the reds:
cardinals
cubs
brewers
So, who do you see finishing above the Reds, and why? Thirteen more wins from this team isn’t as inconceivable as you may think. I still believe that injuries put a huge damper on the Reds’ chances of contention last year. As long as they stay healthy, I don’t see why they won’t be able to do much better.
Did you see that votto and bruce two of our main hitters was out for a while ? If we had our players votto and bruce with rolen and o cab for a year we would have most deff finished second because it would help the offense but our bullpen was one of the best in the majors last year and have that with a decent offense the team is going to do very well you might wanna stop arguing cause your making no case for us finishing 4th besides the past
Did you see that votto and bruce two of our main hitters was out for a while ? If we had our players votto and bruce with rolen and o cab for a year we would have most deff finished second because it would help the offense but our bullpen was one of the best in the majors last year and have that with a decent offense the team is going to do very well you might wanna stop arguing cause your making no case for us finishing 4th besides the past
let’s be clear: last year they “did well” 78 times and “didn’t do well” 84 times. it took the cardinals 91 “doing wells” last year in order to win the division. i really don’t see how healing players and orlando cabrera add 13 “doing wells” to that team. sorry. if everything goes well, you’re looking at a 3rd place team. tops.
The main reason they finished so low was injuries. When they had their regular lineup on the field they actually did very well.
If you guys would look into the statistics of last year. . . you will find that if you took away the months of June and July (When the Reds had 15 players on the DL including Bruce, Votto, and Volquez) the Reds had the best record in the Major Leagues! Look it up!!!
well the cardinals actually won all of their games last year except for the 71 in which they had either inadequate pitching or hitting. the thing that sort of sucks about that is that, for whatever reason, major league baseball actually counts the results of all 162 games when they record their “statistics”.
i guess the “why in the world” reason i think they’re going to finish in 4th place, is that they finished 4th last year and haven’t really upgraded their big-league club at all, apart from maybe aging and adding orlando “.316 OBP” cabera to the lineup.
if that doesn’t satisfy you, maybe you could look to the fact that over the last 10 years they’ve averaged only 75 wins a season, averaged finishing in “4.1th” place over the same time span, and only finished over .500 once.
so that’s my version of “why in the world.” but your argument that “alot [spelled wrong] of writers have them as the sleeper team [no context]” seems equally as compelling, so who knows.
why in the world would you think there going to finish fourth? they have a pretty solid team as long as the injury bug dont hit them there better than cubs, We will probally finish second im not sure why your so hard on the reds alot of writers have them as the sleeper team
I knew he’d go home to nest in Cincy. I mean, where else was he going to go?
Last line of the article has an error
end of 2010, not end of ’09. He already didn’t have 6 years service time at the end of ’09.
Finally this gets done. Jermaine Dye to TB perhaps?
Mark Sheldon is reporting that it’s a minor league deal.
marksheldon.mlblogs.com/
If it’s a major league deal, the Reds would have to release someone off the 40-man roster, right?
Most likely but they are planning on moving Volquez to the 60-day DL when they can so that opens a spot. Personally I don’t like this deal if it is a major league deal, Gomes is only worth the minor league deal as has been shown by the lack of interest
Most likely but they are planning on moving Volquez to the 60-day DL when they can so that opens a spot. Personally I don’t like this deal if it is a major league deal, Gomes is only worth the minor league deal as has been shown by the lack of interest
Sheldon is reporting its an MLB deal, consistent with what MTR has above. I knew Gomes would get an MLB deal. His hitting was just too good to warrant a minor league deal.
“Gomes agreed to a one year Major League contract with a club option, pending the passing of his physical. He said he would talk after it’s done.” – Sheldon
Red’s season hinges on the development of their young players, specifically this season that menas Bailey, Bruce, Stubbs, Francisco, and maybe Heisy and Frazier. Alonzo is in camp but he’s not ready this year. These guys have all put up outstanding minor league numbers that mean nothing once they are in the big leagues. There are countless examples of guys that put up big numbers in the minors but can’t break the Mendoza line in the bigs. The only way to find out is to play them and in doing so you have put up with some poor performances (see Bruce last year) and you have to be patient. If at least some these guys come through and Votto doesn’t regress Reds will have a shot. Pitching is farther along and should be outstanding assuming Harang and Arroyo play to their potential.
Red’s season hinges on the development of their young players, specifically this season that menas Bailey, Bruce, Stubbs, Francisco, and maybe Heisy and Frazier. Alonzo is in camp but he’s not ready this year. These guys have all put up outstanding minor league numbers that mean nothing once they are in the big leagues. There are countless examples of guys that put up big numbers in the minors but can’t break the Mendoza line in the bigs. The only way to find out is to play them and in doing so you have put up with some poor performances (see Bruce last year) and you have to be patient. If at least some these guys come through and Votto doesn’t regress Reds will have a shot. Pitching is farther along and should be outstanding assuming Harang and Arroyo play to their potential.
The Reds are already better than the Cubs and the Brewers. They will make a run for the division and at the very least the wild card. The most important thing is, the Reds are locked and loaded for a very long successful run with young studs Votto, Bruce, Volquez, Cueto, Chapman. That will be the core of this team. I predict the Reds will finish in second place this year, first place for the next 6 years to come at least.
LOL
LOL
BigRedOne,
Reality is calling on line 1, oh, and Albert and Matt on line 2.
You guys have a nice young core that may compete.. i wouldnt hand the Reds 6 of the next 7 first place finishes just yet.
The Reds are already better than the Cubs and the Brewers. They will make a run for the division and at the very least the wild card. The most important thing is, the Reds are locked and loaded for a very long successful run with young studs Votto, Bruce, Volquez, Cueto, Chapman. That will be the core of this team. I predict the Reds will finish in second place this year, first place for the next 6 years to come at least.
It would be silly to write off Cincy for 2010, really.
The lineup has two potentially star-level players in Votto and Bruce, along with other solidly above average players in Phillips and Rolen. The Hanigan/Hernandez combo should be pretty solid behind the plate, Cabrera and Janish shouldn’t kill the team at shortstop, and I would be shocked if the Reds couldn’t get solid production in the CF/LF spots from Stubbs, Dickerson, Gomes, Heisey and Nix.
The rotation has some huge upside in Bailey and people shouldn’t write off Aaron Harang, the bullpen should once again be pretty good, and you never know what Chapman may bring to the table, but I promise you that it’ll be gravy to Cincy, because they really didn’t sign him with 2010 in mind.
If something goes wrong in St. Louis, which simply isn’t that ludicrous of a suggestion, then honestly I don’t see how the Reds aren’t at least as good as the Cubs and Brewers, at least at this point. If 88-89 games can win the NL Central, then the Reds certainly have a chance.
It would be silly to write off Cincy for 2010, really.
The lineup has two potentially star-level players in Votto and Bruce, along with other solidly above average players in Phillips and Rolen. The Hanigan/Hernandez combo should be pretty solid behind the plate, Cabrera and Janish shouldn’t kill the team at shortstop, and I would be shocked if the Reds couldn’t get solid production in the CF/LF spots from Stubbs, Dickerson, Gomes, Heisey and Nix.
The rotation has some huge upside in Bailey and people shouldn’t write off Aaron Harang, the bullpen should once again be pretty good, and you never know what Chapman may bring to the table, but I promise you that it’ll be gravy to Cincy, because they really didn’t sign him with 2010 in mind.
If something goes wrong in St. Louis, which simply isn’t that ludicrous of a suggestion, then honestly I don’t see how the Reds aren’t at least as good as the Cubs and Brewers, at least at this point. If 88-89 games can win the NL Central, then the Reds certainly have a chance.
It’s pretty simple… If the Reds stay healthy and some of their young players start breaking out in the majors then they certainly have a shot at the #2 spot in the NL Central. To think otherwise is just as ignorant as redsandyanksfan’s grasp of grammar.
The reds will have a good lineup but the pitching where is going to come from. Harang is a good pitcher and i know injuries took there toll last year but look at the last two years 6-17 and 6-14 he hasnt been injuried for 2 years. Bronson Arroyo is well Bronson Arroyo enough said. Volquez is out till mid-year. Bailey hasnt shown he can pitch in the majors. And what if Johnny Cueto takes a step back. They didnt votto or bruce for most of the year but the cubs didnt rammie for most of the year either. So im a cubs fan and im not saying the reds cant finsh second or win it but im just not a belive in them or the brewers.
I know that tERA doesn’t agree, but Harang’s xFIP has been pretty consistent over the course of his career in Cincinnati, staying between the range of 3.67 in 2006 as the low mark and 4.23 in 2003 as his high mark. He’s still an above average starter.
Arroyo’s exceptionally durable, at the very least, and he’s shown flashes of being a solid mid-rotation starter.
Meanwhile, the upside of Cueto and Bailey is simply massive. Cueto still needs to figure out how to miss more bats while improving his command, but his FB/SL combo gives him two solid pitches, the slider being a clear plus pitch.
And you’re really underrating Bailey, who took massive strides last season. He still needs to improve his command and his poise on the mound, but he finished the 2009 season on an absolute tear: In his final nine starts, he went 6-1 with a 1.70 ERA, 53 strikeouts, 24 walks and a much improved ground ball rate over 58 innings.
Bailey could completely change the NL Central race next season.
Where are all the Chubs fans going to go when going to Wrigley and pretending to watch baseball isn’t cool anymore?
Congrats, Johnny. You deserved an MLB deal with the power you displayed, as well as your accumulated service time, and I’m glad you got one.
Why is there all this banter between Cubs and Reds fans? Geeze, the same thing will happen this year as happens every year: The reds will get off to a hot start and then fade away shortly before the Allstar break. The cubs will never get “off the ground” playing 500 ball consistently all season. At the end of the season the story will be that the Reds have such a promising young core and that the Cubs for all the money spent were a major disappointment. History only teaches those who take notes.
Big time move by the Reds. Playoff tickets are being printed in Cincinnati!