Front Office to Huddle

[Wally Mo Pena]

John Fay Reports:

The Reds' front-office people and the coaching staff will meet this afternoon.

The meeting is the regular monthly review, but it comes at a time when the Reds are ripe for a shakeup.

General manager Dan O'Brien is not a change-for-the-sake-of-change guy, but he wouldn't rule out tinkering with the roster.

"We'll talk specifics," O'Brien said. "The outcome as far as moves is unknown."

The Reds have struggled across the board. But the bullpen, which had blown two five-run leads and one six-run lead in the last five games entering Tuesday, is a major concern.

The bullpen ERA of 6.01 was the second worst in the National League.

The bullpen is the easiest place to make moves. The Reds have players with options who are struggling (Joe Valentine and Matt Belisle) and pitchers performing well in Triple-A.

Right-hander Ricky Stone, who has extensive big-league experience, is 2-1 with a 2.57 ERA and three saves at Louisville. Left-hander Randy Keisler, who also has pitched in the big leagues, is 2-0 with a 1.71 ERA. Right-hander Chris Booker, one of the organization's hardest throwers, is 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA and has struck out 12 in 10 1/3 innings.

Asked if any of those pitchers could help the Reds down the line, O'Brien said: "Of course."

Right-handers Luke Hudson and Josh Hancock both could help when they come off the disabled list. But in both cases, it'll be weeks, not days, before they are ready.

The Reds brought in three veteran pitchers to remake the bullpen, but only one of the three, left-hander Kent Mercker, has been consistent. Right-hander David Weathers had strung together some good outings before Monday's blowup. Right-hander Ben Weathers has been up and down on nearly a nightly basis.

Valentine (0-2, 8.71 ERA) and Belisle (1-3, 6.16) haven't been any better.

Ryan Wagner (1-1, 4.05) has been the best of the lot.

"We have the confidence to continue to give them the ball," O'Brien said. "But at some point, you have to have some level of proficiency."

To shake up the lineup, the Reds would have to go outside the system, i.e., a trade.

"We're always looking to improve the club across the board," O'Brien said. "That's an ongoing effort. But when you step back and look at it, we have confidence that our position players will eventually hit their strides. We've seen evidence of that lately."

[Wally Mo Pena]

No transactions today. crap.

[redsrbetter]

Yeah but at least this article shows that something may happen soon. That is a very good thing. I am glad they see the need to make a change. O'Brien could impress me soon. But the longer he waits, the less of an impression I will have. I expect that Stone and Keisler may come in for Valentine and Belisle. Weathers and Weber will stay just because of their contracts. But Weber could have a lot of eyes on him due to the low risk low salary situation.

Hopefully these changes at least happen first of all. And second of all, hopefully they are good moves and not something retarted.

I did not like what O'Brien said about seeing evidence of the position players hitting their strides. Because they ones that should be in question are Jiminez and Aurilia, who are not hitting any kind of stride whatsoever. So this shows me an invalid and completely false excuse to keep these guys starting and on the roster.

[griffeyfan3]

i want to see booker and stone in the big leagues and valentine and belilse back in louisville.

[volzok]

Good call redsrbetter. At least they know that there are problems and that they need to be discussed. Here is to the front office making some decisions.

[CincyRedsFan30]

Oh, front office huddled. For a minute there I thought it said the front office was befuddled. I was actually going to agree with THAT one.

[missionhockey21]

Is it just me, or does Dan O seem to not have a "Plan B." Given the collapse the Reds have faced in just his tenure, you think he would always be considering the disaster plan for the "just in case" type of situation.

[redsrbetter]

Yeah that is true. He jsut collapses. But that does tell us one thing, or maybe it does. Maybe it proposes that he really did not see this coming and expected to see a winner. But to not have a backup plan is bad management no doubt about it. Good point.

[missionhockey21]

I think he was a little confident in the "names" he got and did not anticipate this happening. The one thing I miss about Jimbo is that he wasn't affraid to make a change (although not all neccessarily were good) and even if he didn't truly have a backup plan, he figured out something quick. Dan O should be patient in certain situations (prospects, injuries, etc) but when a team is sliding like the Reds are... something needs to be thought up soon.

[Wally Mo Pena]

i've been thinking about jimbo too, i know he inherited some of it, but it makes the reds look pretty bad to have the nationals doing so well. He brings in all these ex-reds, like larkin, and makes some moces, and all of sudden the reds east are way better than the reds. I'm not saying i want him back, but i am saying that it looks like we didn't really go in the right direction with the change we made.

[CincyRedsFan30]

Losing to Bowden is a disgrace, any way you cut it.