The Reds in Primetime

Matt Garza

Sorry, it's been awhile, but it has been all quiet on the Reds' front, as well as baseball in general. That's just how it goes during the winter. Before I get to the big news with the Reds, there's some house cleaning that needs to be dealt with. First, the Chicago Cubs sent a truck load of prospects to the Tampa Bay Rays for Matt Garza. Garza, who has been as solid as they get in the AL East the last few years, went 15-10 with a 3.91 ERA for Tampa last year. He, of course, has playoff experience, and was the 2008 ALCS MVP, when Tampa first made the World Series. He has also shown the potential to be a dominant pitcher, throwing a no hitter last year against the Detroit Tigers. Garza will certainly improve in the National League Central, and combining him with Carlos Zambrano (if he finally decides to pitch like he can) and Ryan Dempster makes a pretty good top three for the Cubbies. And Tom Gorzelanny, Carlos Silva, and Randy Wells are not bad options either.

The competition in the NL Central just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it? The Brewers added a pair of top notch pitchers in Shaun Marcum and Zack Greinke to go with Yovani Gallardo and their high powered offense. Now the Cubs have added a slugger in Carlos Pena, and a potential ace in Matt Garza. Combine those rotations with the trio of Carpenter, Wainwright, and Garcia in St. Louis, and the plethora of pitching the Reds can roll out, and it looks like a heated summer race brewing in the NL Central.

The Reds have all but signed 2010 World Series MVP Edgar Renteria. The 35 year old shortstop hit .276 with three homers last season, but popped a pair of homers in the World Series for the Giants, including a go ahead three run shot off of Cliff Lee in the series clinching Game 5. Renteria is a career .287 hitter with 135 homers and 887 RBIs. He's been to the All Star game five times, won a pair of Gold Gloves, and three Silver Sluggers. He also had the game winning RBI singled in the 11th inning of Game 7 of the 1997 World Series for the Florida Marlins. The deal with the Reds is reportedly worth $2 million, and another $1 million in performance based incentives. This deal isn't finished yet, though, as Renteria still needs to pass a physical.

Edgar Renteria

Let me just say this, as simply as I possibly can: I hate this move. Why not just bring back Orlando Cabrera? First off, there is no offensive drop off between the two. Renteria's stats were compiled at the beginning of his career, and over a good run with St. Louis. His last good year was in 2007 when he hit .332 for the Braves. Since then, he's hit .270, .256, and .276. Meanwhile, since 2006, Cabrera has hit .286, .301, .281, .284, and .263. Yes, he had a down year last year in Cincinnati. But Orlando Cabrera has been consistent for years, while Renteria has clearly decline over the years. Not to mention, its a downgrade defensively at shortstop. Cabrera was pretty good last year, while Renteria ended up being benched for Juan Uribe. Now, Uribe is a terrible defensive shortstop, so what does that tell you about Renteria? Edgar committed 30 errors while playing for the Boston Red Sox in 2005. You can't tell me that Renteria will provide better offense or defense than Cabrera or Paul Janish. And that's saying something, considering, if you know me, you know I am not a member of the Paul Janish fan club. But I would rather him play over Renteria. Instead, the Reds will have another average shortstop playing at the top of the lineup that can't hit or run very well. At least Cabrera could run. Lastly, Renteria is known for being lazy and being a malcontent at times within the clubhouse. It's why he was run out of Boston, Atlanta, and Detroit. Orlando Cabrera was anything but that, proving his value through energy and leadership. Renteria is not a leader, and I don't want his personality around the young kids in the clubhouse. This isn't just about numbers, and things you can analyze. A lot of last year was the intangibles that certain players brought to the team. I'm not sure Renteria brings such intangibles. Maybe I'm wrong about this, and Walt Jocketty knows what he's doing. We know he brought Renteria in because of his time in St. Louis, and the relationship he had with him, like with Scott Rolen. I'm just not a big fan of this move.

Finally, the big news. Recognition keeps piling up for the Reds, and this is one of the more significant items. The Reds are loaded with nationally televised games next year. Including a pair of Sunday Night Baseball games on ESPN. Anybody remember the last time the Reds played on Sunday Night? I didn't either, but it was May 8th, 2005 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Eric Milton pitched and hit a homer in the game, but the Reds lost 9-3. Both games for the Reds in 2011 are on the road, in St. Louis and in Atlanta. They will also appear four times on Monday night on ESPN, two against Philadelphia, one against the Mets, and the other against the Yankees. They also get a Tuesday and Wednesday night game on ESPN. Lastly, the Fox Saturday game of the week has the Reds listed to play 9, count'em NINE, times. If you'd like to see what games are scheduled, and when, click here.