Back from Canada

OK. I got back from Canada yesterday. We spent a week at a fly-in outpost way up north with no telephone, radio, or TV. I couldn't wait to get to the XM radio in my truck when our float plane finally touched down upon our return from no man's land on Friday morning.

As it turned out, I didn't really miss anything exciting. Apparently Billy Donovan came to his senses and decided to stay at Florida. That wasn't much of a surprise to me. Kurt Busch did something stupid during last Monday's race. This wasn't much of a surprise to me either. And, I found out that the Reds still suck. Again, not much of a surprise.

The Reds now have the worst record in the National League. I find this amazing considering the lineup that this team can put on the field. You'd think that they could score enough runs to overcome their awful pitching staff. I've pretty much given up on the Reds this year. But, I am optimistic for next year. Here are some things I'd like to see happen next year.

#1) The Reds have got to get rid of Eric Milton. Milton's contract expires at the end of this season and I am hoping that the Reds make no effort to re-sign him. In case you didn't know, Eric makes over $10 million dollars this season. Only Adam Dunn, $10.5 million, makes more money on the Reds roster.

#2) The Reds hold the option for Adam Dunn for next season. They could retain him or trade him this year while he still has some trade value. As I said, Adam gets $10.5 million a year. I feel like that money could be better spent to help the pitching staff, but I am worried that Wayne Krivsky will screw it up somehow. Lets face it, Wayne has given up more than he has gotten in return with his efforts to improve the pitching staff. The only trades I think Krivsky did good on was the Arroyo trade and the Phillips trade. I have been pretty happy with Arroyo and Phillips. I still wish the Reds would get some "ground ball" pitchers though. I will not be happy if the Reds let Dunn go and get only mediocre pitching in return. Another Gary Majewski or Bill Bray will not be good enough for Dunn.

#3) Something has to be done about Jerry Narron's platoon system. I don't mind platooning players, but have you ever seen a manager do it as much as Narron? Some of it makes no sense to me. I understand the "rightie vs. leftie" theory, but why on earth would you sit down a guy who is on fire and replace him with a guy who is in a slump? I'm sure Jerry is a nice guy, but I am just about done with him. I can't stand the way he handles the pitching staff, either.

#4) The Reds have to do something about the bullpen. Their starting pitching isn't great, but its good enough to win if the bullpen could hold a lead. Arroyo is signed through 2010. Harang just signed a 4 year extension. And Lohse, BeLisle and Bailey all look like their headed in the right direction. Krivsky needs to spend some money on the bullpen and stop signing relief pitchers that no one else wants. Two quality relief pitchers would make all the difference in the world. Trevor Hoffman only makes $7 million a year for San Diego. Francisco Cordero of Milwaukee only makes $5.4 million. Joe Borowski of Cleveland only makes $4 million a year. The Reds aren't going to get any of those pitchers, but you get the idea. They can afford a good quality closer if they lose Milton. If they get rid of Dunn, they could get another good quality relief pitcher or two.

I personally think that the Reds will screw everything up. They will probably trade Dunn this year to a team in their own division. They will probably get slumping players with outrageous contracts at the end of their careers in return for Dunn. Then, they'll probably re-sign Eric Milton. I'm sure Milton will sign for considerably less money than his current contract, but I'm also sure the Reds will still be overpaying him (even if he signs for league minimum). Jerry Narron will be back next year and will probably platoon players more next year because he won't have Dunn in the outfield and Griffey will be a year older. Krivsky will probably scour the waiver wires and offer $5 - $10 million dollar contracts to pitchers that were released by their former clubs because they could no longer perform at the Major League level. And, the Reds will suck again next year.