| CINCINNATI REDS *NOTE - This analysis is strictly the opinion of the Red Sox GM, and was done as objectively as possible and strictly for the fun of it |
| GM NATE HUNTER 2003 RECORD 104-58 2d NL Central |
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| Team History: Nate's a founding member and in spite of averaging 94 wins over two seasons he hasn't made the playoffs yet. With Nils and Josh moved out of the NLC, the division is seemingly his to lose. Lineup: Not as strong a lineup as it was last year, major hole at the top of the lineup with Bernie Castro in the 2 spot. Lo Duca is demonstrating that 2001 was an aberration. Dunn is a remarkably talented hitter who for the first half of 2002 looked like the best hitter in baseball. He's been very inconsistent since then and finished 2003 on the DL. if he can pull himself together and stop being quite so selective he could be a remarkable hitter. Defense: Durham is nothing special but gets the job done, Hardy is an unknown quantity. Rolen is one of the best at the hot corner but giambi is nothing short of an atrocity at first base. Stewart is an average left fielder so i'm not so sure putting him in CF is a good idea. Dunn is a mess defensively. Defense is not this team's strong point. Rotation: Pedro, Halladay and Mulder, possibly the best 1-3 in the IBC and certainly tops in the NL. From there the dropoff is considerable. Scott Shields is an intereting #4, he may not not stick n the ANaheim rotation and if he does, will he have the endurance to start all year? Regardless of potential, Tsao is a Rocky and has not pitched about AA yet, because of those two facts I'd expect him to project in the 5-6.00era range. Bullpen: Valverde looks to be an impressive young closer with a whip under 1 in 50 IP for Arizona, or at least he would if not for stud draftee Ryan Wagner. Norton and Lopez make for a decent set-up pair, but the whole bullpen, while promising has little more than one season of proven results in the MLB each. 2004 will be an important year for this group. Minors: Some interesting prospects, the few blue-chippers have already jumped tot he 25 man roster (Tsao, Wagner, Hardy). Nate likes to find talent in unusual places. Conclusion: A very good team almost all-around with few notable exceptions (Defense, minor league depth). Though honestly, I remember being much more intimidated when I looked at this team several months ago than I am now. Comments from the GM: 12/11/04 The roster as you see it might change by the time the breakdown is published and should defenitely change by the time the season opens in 2004. There are a few pending deals, as I'm gearing up for the '03 draft. I'm hoping to grab a few players that will produce immediete results for my squad. The pen and the back end of the rotation - which I realize are question marks - are my primary concern the rest of the offseason. I've tried to fill the holes without sacraficing too much of the future. I've had to give up some quality prospects and/or players to create these opportunities, but I think it will clearly help address the areas of concern on the squad. The farm is still pretty solid with a group of guys such as Encarnacion, Gomez, Stanley, Stephens, Guthrie, Chulk, Forystek(sleeper), etc - although not as strong as what it might have been. We've sacraficed some of the future for a chance to win it all this year. We feel the linup is strong from top to bottom - as we were one of the top offenses in the league last year and plan to be on top again this year. We've replaced several players on the previous roster. Key additions this offseason have been Kearns, Dunn, and Rolen. The rotation is as good as it gets 1 through 3. Pedro Martinez has questions about his durability, but he's still the best pitcher of the last decade and possibly the past 100 years when healthy. Roy Halladay is 25, has absolutely filthy stuff, and just won his first Cy Young award. Mark Mulder also 25, is the best young lefty in the game in my opinion. He saw his season cut short last year due to a freak injury. Lidle is a capable 4th starter, and was excellent before nagging injuries caught up to him last year. Capuano is a youngster who isn't entirely proven. He certainly is a question mark, but I like his talent and the fact thats he's a lefty. We expect to address the back end of the rotation and the pen with the remaining offseason/draft. This is still a very young team, with all the talent in the world. We're a little upset that we managed to win 104 games last year and failed to make the playoffs. How often does that happen? We battled injuries all year and still managed to have a very good season - although we didn't reach the playoffs as expected. We expect nothing less than a division title this year, and our first playoff appearance - and if all goes according to plan a World Series title in '04. |
| 2004 Lineup: 1. S. Stewart - CF 2. B. Castro - 2b 3. J. Giambi - 1b 4. S. Rolen - 3b 5. A. Dunn - LF 6. A. Kearns - RF 7. P. Lo Duca - C 8. J.J. Hardy 9. Pitcher 2004 Rotation: 1. P. Martinez 2. R. Halladay 3. M. Mulder 4. S. Shields 5. C.H. Tsao |
| Pen: Closer - Ryan Wagner MR -Jose Valverde MR - Phil Norton - lefty MR - John Riedling MR - Javier Lopez - lefty MR - Chris Capuano MR - Cory Lidle Bench: John-Ford Griffin - OF Cody Ross - OF |
| Minors: 1. Danny Borrell - lhp 2. Mike Fontenot - 2b 3. Brian Forystek - rhp 4. Mariano Gomez - lhp 5. Francisco Liriano - lhp 6. Chris Oxford - rhp 7. Cory Stewart - lhp 8. Jared Doyle - rhp 9. Steve Stanley - of 10. Aaron Rakers - lhp 02' draft: Jeremy Guthrie - SP - AAA Alex Hart - SP - A Fred Lewis - OF - A Stephen Obenchain - SP - A Jason Pridie - OF - A |