The Buzz About Bronson

"Did you hear the big news?" my husband asked me shortly after coming in the door.

Today was a crazy day at work, so I hadn't heard much of anything.

"No, what?" I responded.

"Bronson Arroyo is in Cincinnati and he's talking about coming back to the Reds."

I haven't stopped buzzing since.

I've been saying to him for weeks that the Reds need to bring Bronson back. GM Dick Williams says the team is only interested if he's healthy. But I don't care if he ever throws another pitch. The Reds young pitchers need Bronson in that clubhouse to teach them how to be a Major League pitcher. If he can eat some innings until Homer Bailey gets back, that's just a bonus.

Everything is just talk right now, but if this could get done, it would go a long way to boosting Reds fan's spirits. Just the thought of it has already boosted mine.

You can read John Fay's story here.

Will Fans Be Able to Deal With a Trade of Chappy?

Last Friday night, I had the pleasure of attending a dinner where Darryl Strawberry was speaking.

Because of the dinner's topic, the table conversation turned to baseball and the Reds. One of my tablemates asked me who I thought the Reds would trade this winter. I responded with two names: Jay Bruce and Aroldis Chapman, who I referred to as Chappy.

One of the other people at the table--who admittedly knows nothing about baseball--asked me if Chappy was the guy who threw really fast and I told her that it was. Then she asked me a question. Why would the Reds trade him when he is so good? I tried to explain to her that it was about money and that paying a player $7.5 million--or whatever Chappy ends up with after arbitration--was too much to pay someone who hardly played.  I then had to explain to her what a closer is and why he only comes in at the end of a game. It was a pretty entertaining conversation.

But on the way home, I started to contemplate her original question a little more. And I realized that when (not if) Aroldis Chapman is traded, many fans will ask the same question: Why?

It's the same question a lot of fans have been asking about the Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake trades. Not every fan understands the business of baseball. And I'm not saying that I'm an expert in it, but I understand enough to know that Chappy has become a luxury for the Reds. A luxury they can turn into promising younger players they can control at a lower salary for a longer period of time.

But for the less engaged fan, all it means to them is that when the bullpen door opens, Chappy won't come out and throw those three digit fastballs. And that will be hard for those fans to deal with and understand.

It will be interesting to see how the organization sells a trade of Chapman, or Bruce, or any of the other veterans that might be on the block this winter.  The Reds have already introduced a number of great ticket promotions, clearly anticipating that they're going to have to work to keep everyone's support this season.

Today, Richard Justice of MLB.com wrote a column speculating on the top five possible trade destinations for the Cuban Missile.

The GM Change: What does it really mean?

I admit when the alert came across my phone today, I got pretty excited. Walt Jocketty was no longer the Reds General Manager. But when I read the team’s announcement and saw that Walt would still oversee the department, I postponed the delivery of the party hats.

Then when I read the story after the Reds press conference regarding the change, I cancelled them entirely.

Yes, Dick Williams is now the Reds GM and Jocketty is now the President of Baseball Operations, but according to the team, Jocketty will still have final say in player decisions this season. When the season ends—the end of his three-year deal with the team—he will turn full control over to Williams. Jocketty is working on a new deal that would make him a consultant to owner Bob Castellini after this season.

So what does all this mean? To me, it means that Jocketty just didn’t have it in him to do the day-to-day grind the Reds need in this offseason. This way, he can have the final say in personnel without doing the legwork.

Some of you may be wondering why the Reds didn’t just fire Jocketty. He certainly had it coming. But Bob C. was never going to do that because they’re too good of friends. This way, there’s some appeasing the fans since he’s not the GM anymore, but he didn’t have to be fired.

Of course, this move opens up a lot of questions. Where is Williams’ head as far as trading players like Jay Bruce and Aroldis Chapman? And if he does want to trade some of these marquee players, will Jocketty actually let him? What happens if the two butt heads? Does Jocketty get his way or does a third party (i.e. Bob C.) have to decide?

Things are starting to get interesting now, kids…

Photo: Dick Williams signs an autograph during the 2013 Reds Caravan stop in Ashland, Ky. Photo by Angela Henderson-Bentley