Homer Returns

The Reds are calling up Homer Bailey for this week's road trip to Philly and Florida. The Bats pulled him in the third inning of his start today to give him the news and the rest. He'll take the mound on Thursday against the Phils, replacing Fogg Hat as the 5th starter in the rotation. Reds are looking to call up the rest of the Bats over the next month or so, replacing all the dipsticks they picked up in the off season.

Let's hope Homer's stuff gets cranked up a notch Thursday... he hasn't exactly been lights out in Louisville during his past few starts. He'll be facing a Phillies team that can absolutely rake... in a ballpark made just for rakers.

Bray Day

Bill Bray got the call up today. Coffey's getting a new apartment in Louisville. Lets hope that Bray's success in the minors translates to some good pitchin' in the bigs.

Where are they now?

Since the Reds signed Jeremy Affeldt and Josh Fogg, I've started to wonder what happened to some of the pitchers who were in spring training last year fighting for a job with the club. Here's a rundown of some of the guys from 2007 who are no longer with the Reds.



Phil Dumatrait
I had high hopes for Dumatrait last year. He didn't make the club out of spring training, but was a mid-season call up. He put up solid minor league numbers in Louisville (10-6, 3.53 ERA), but fared, um...not so good with the Reds. In 6 starts, he went 0-4 with a 15.00 ERA.

Dumatrait was claimed off waivers by Pittsburgh in October.


Kirk Saarloos
Saarloos went back and forth between the Reds and the minors last year. With the Reds he was 1-5 with a robust 7.17 ERA. Not exactly the numbers the Reds had in mind when they signed him. He was a colossal disappointment and finally elected free agency rather than another trip to Louisville.

Saarloos is back with Oakland this spring as a non-roster invitee.


Kyle Lohse
What I remember from Kyle Lohse last year was a handful of great starts, including an 8 inning, 4 hit, 0 run, 12 strikeout performance against the Cubs in April. What I remember more were his awful starts, and there were many of those. The question was often asked, "Is 'Good Kyle' or 'Bad Kyle' starting tonight?" The answer was usually Bad Kyle. He was 6-12 with a 4.58 ERA for the Reds before being traded to the Phillies late in the season for prospect P Matt Moloney.

Lohse is currently a free agent.


Elizardo Ramirez
EZ was another guy who got used to the trip down I-71 between Cincinnati and Louisville. Spent the majority of the year dealing with arm injuries. In just 4 games with the Reds, he was 0-2 with a 7.71 ERA.

Ramirez is with Texas this spring as a non-roster invitee.



Rheal Cormier
Cormier was the first casualty of the failure of the Reds bullpen last year. He wasn't as bad as his stats appear (6 games, 3.0 IP, 3ER) but blew a game in late April and was DFAed shortly thereafter.

Cormier is currently a free agent.


Victor Santos
Santos was a surprise in Spring Training and made the club to begin the season. He was less impressive as the season began. He made 32 appearances for the Reds before being sold to Baltimore.

Santos is with San Francisco this spring as a non-roster invitee.


Michael Gosling
Gosling was in the running for the 5th starter spot during Spring Training. He didn't get it, but made it up to the bigs in June as an innings eater when the Reds were getting blown out. In 23 appearances (all in relief) he was 2-0 with a 4.91 ERA.

Gosling was claimed off waivers by Toronto.


Eddie Guardado
"Everyday Eddie" played in only a handful of games at the end of last season after battling back from surgery on his arm in the offseason. The Reds certainly missed him filling the closer's role, and instead used the ill-fated "Closer by Committee" method. That did not work out well for the Reds.

Guardado was signed by Texas in the offseason.


A couple other guys worth noting:
Bobby Livingston is rehabbing from off season surgery and is not expected back until 2009.
Tom Shearn is in camp with the Reds as a non-roster invitee.

Outfielder Buck Coats was traded to Toronto for a player to be named later. (Insert porn star joke here)

Reds sign Affeldt

Reports are that the Reds have come to a preliminary agreement with FA pitcher Jeremy Affeldt on a one year, $3M deal.

From Ken Rosenthal:

"Affeldt, 28, will compete for a spot in the Reds' rotation after spending all of last season as a reliever with the Rockies. He has started in the past and the Reds' far greater need is in the rotation, where they are unsettled beyond right-handers Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo.

Affeldt enjoyed a long-awaited breakthrough with the Rockies last season, going 4-3 with a 3.51 ERA in 59 innings. He is 25-27 with a 4.74 ERA in 286 career appearances, including 42 starts."