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Ousted GM discusses some of his decisions
Krivsky says Dusty Baker was his choice to manage Reds; takes responsibility for ill-fated Stanton deal.
What do you think of the job Krivsky did now?
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
ST. LOUIS — Wayne Krivsky is finding it difficult to sever his ties with the Cincinnati Reds after he was fired and says, "I must be crazy because I hope the Reds win every game the rest of the year and I still get on-line every morning to check how the minor-league teams did."
And before he fades into the woodwork, Krivsky wants to clear a few things off his desk and his mind.
Extras
One of the things he wants known is that Dusty Baker was his choice to manage the Reds and he told owner Bob Castellini at the time, "Dusty Baker is my man and he is the guy for the job." And Krivsky added, "It was my recommendation and Bob agreed."
Krivsky said he held the advance scouting job open for interim manager Pete Mackanin for if he didn't find a job, but he hooked on with the New York Yankees.
Then there was the trade of outfielder Josh Hamilton for pitcher Edinson Volquez (a deal that so far works both ways) and the signing of pitcher Josh Fogg.
"When I'm told before the season that I better win, I'm going to get all the pitching I can get," he said. "Fogg was a $100,000 gamble, what we would pay him if he didn't make the team. He made it so it cost $1.5 million and I still think it's a good deal.
"When Homer Bailey didn't make the team and Matt Belisle was injured, who did we have for our fifth starting spot? Nobody," he said. "That's where Fogg fit in. He made $3.7 million from the Rockies last year."
And then there was the $3 million paid to outfielder Corey Patterson.
"I was told to get him signed, whatever it takes," said Krivsky, who signed him for $3 million. Patterson was paid $4.7 million last year.
And Mike Stanton? "Stanton and the $3.5 million is on me," he said. "And Juan Castro ($975,000), but I had something going with the Los Angeles Dodgers when I was let go. I told (new GM) Walt Jocketty to please try to find something for Castro."
Krivsky kept quiet about pitcher Rheal Cormier and it was thought the Reds had to eat his salary when they released him. But when the Reds traded outfielder Chris Denorfia to Oakland the A's agreed to pay Cormier's $2 million, "And, actually, with interest we got $2.08 million," said Krivsky.
Well, hey, now that we've seen Toronto eat about $10 million to dump Frank Thomas and the penny-pounding Pittsburgh Pirates pour Heinz ketchup on $10 million for Matt Morris and eat it, how bad is Stanton's $3.5 million?
As Krivsky said, "If you havenl't had at least one bad contract or made one bad decision, then you haven't been a general manager."
So true, so true.
Comments
By Tom
May 1, 2008 7:56 PM | Link to this
I never was a Wayne Krivsky fan. He did get rid of the ridiculous take a pitch and pitch counts in triple A. However, I think he should have put more emphasis on the commish’s office on Majewski but I am there is a vendetta against the Reds. Why else would one team have 6 trips of 10 days are more last year and no other team had more than four? Already two this year. I am sure Trustry Dusty had more input on the ridiculous signing of Corey Patterson. One of his boys.
By BOB DUERSTOCK
April 30, 2008 10:02 PM | Link to this
Krivsky did a good job!!!He was stuck with Griffey and Dunn when he got here!!!They will have a winning team nex,t year when Griffey and Dunn are gone!!!
By Scott Hoerner
April 30, 2008 12:40 AM | Link to this
I am proud to come from a town that boasts the only three writers in the Hall that are not from a Major league town. Hal, Si Burick and Ritter Collett are the best, without question. It shows that Dayton has more passion for the Reds than even Cincinnati itself has.
Unfortunately, it is also true that some of the Reds fans are the most ignorant dunces in the game. Thanks to Reds Authority and Wolverine. You guys should try running your mouths like that in a Redsbar and see how far that gets you
By REDS FAN IN INDIANA
April 29, 2008 9:36 PM | Link to this
HEY REDS AUTHORITY (YEAH RIGHT). YOU COULDN’T CARRY MR. MCCOY’S LAP TOP. YOU SHOW YOUR ARROGANCE BY NOT GIVING THIS HALL OF FAMER THE RESPECT HE SO MUCH DESERVES. BE SURE TO CHECK MY SPELLING TEACH.
By RCarr
April 29, 2008 9:08 PM | Link to this
Hal, you probably mean Toronto cut Frank Thomas, not Frank Howard.
By Robert Staggs
April 29, 2008 8:04 PM | Link to this
I think Bob Castellini is an idiot, Every GM makes a stupid decision, Stanton was his, They should have never gotten rid or Josh Hamilton for the bargain price they did, I understand Jay Bruce was in the minors, but hello how crappy is Adam Dunn and his S.O. rate every year, The Kid is no longer the Kid, Point is, We have a better farm system then we have had in years, How is St. Louis’s farm system under Jocketty, Not nearly as good as ours, Krivsky Made us better in the long run!
By Robert Staggs
April 29, 2008 8:04 PM | Link to this
I think Bob Castellini is an idiot, Every GM makes a stupid decision, Stanton was his, They should have never gotten rid or Josh Hamilton for the bargain price they did, I understand Jay Bruce was in the minors, but hello how crappy is Adam Dunn and his S.O. rate every year, The Kid is no longer the Kid, Point is, We have a better farm system then we have had in years, How is St. Louis’s farm system under Jocketty, Not nearly as good as ours, Krivsky Made us better in the long run!
By Reds Authority
April 29, 2008 5:46 PM | Link to this
Hal,
Some here have made valid points on the deteriorating quality of your posts and articles.
It is not so much the substance of your material. Rather, it is the countless and increasing number of errors-of-fact and especially grammatical and spelling mistakes.
I realize you lost a great deal of your visual acuity in the last few years and have difficulty even seeing the computer screen in front of your face, but PLEASE have someone at the Dayton Daily News PROOFREAD your work!
By Scott Hoerner
April 29, 2008 5:12 PM | Link to this
Wolverine is a soccer ref. That makes him unqualified to comment on baseball in the first place. Go eat your orange wedges and leave this board for fans of Hal. Yes, someone will help you make the call. As in, Pull up your skirt, Mary! Or should I say Vladimir?
By Scott Hoerner
April 29, 2008 5:10 PM | Link to this
Wolverine is a soccer ref. That makes him unqualified to comment on baseball in the first place. Go eat your orange wedges and leave this board for fans of Hal. Oh, and don’t let me find out who you really are! Yes, someone will help you make the call. As in, Pull up your skirt, Mary! Or should I say Vladimir?
By Randy Plessinger
April 29, 2008 2:28 PM | Link to this
Can we try to keep this forum out of the sewer and abstain from the personal attacks. The enjoyment of Baseball isn’t only derived from sight but from every other sense. Hal brings a lot to the table. He isn’t running for political office, he’s trying to give less experienced people a chance to enjoy the nuances of a great sport and to carry on his love for the game.
By Petey in LA
April 29, 2008 2:12 PM | Link to this
Wolverine - Don’t go on the website of a writer you don’t like and complain that you don’t like him. Just don’t read him if you don’t like him. The world doesn’t need more haters. Your time would be just as well wasted by started Ihateasparagus.com - no one cares that you hate asparagus, just stop eating it. Except in this case, Hal’s writings are of hall-of-fame quality to this day, so he’s not so much asparagus, but more like pizza. Almost everyone loves pizza. Stay away if you hate pizza.
By Randy Plessinger
April 29, 2008 1:33 PM | Link to this
I was never a Wayne Krivsky fan. However, I admired his knack for discovering and developing talent. As a leader of an organization you should try to surround yourself with as many knowledgeable people as possible. Now Bob has lost a good source of experience. Wayne didn’t warrant the kind of termination that he received. That showed a lack of character by Castellini.I give Wayne a “C” running the mother club and an “A” for pulling the minor league up by its bootstraps.
By Wolverine
April 29, 2008 1:03 PM | Link to this
Petey unintentionally addressed a concern of mine. If Hal can’t see the game, how can he report on it? Truly, I’ve never liked his writings, but he’s a Hall of Famer, and I have to respect that choice. He’s been President of the Baseball Writers. But, again, how can he write about a game that he really can’t see? That’s like me, a soccer ref, running around the field and hoping someone yells to me when I should make a call.
By Jerry
April 29, 2008 12:58 PM | Link to this
I am not sure that Wayne will get the credit deserved. It was not but 3-4 years ago that the Reds had one of the worst minor league sytems in the majors. Now baseball america rates the Reds minor league system as one of the top 5-6 in baseball. It is not all Wayne, but he had a major role in buidling up the minor league where we will have quality players for years to come.
By Jerry
April 29, 2008 12:57 PM | Link to this
I am not sure that Wayne will get the credit deserved. It was not but 3-4 years ago that the Reds had one of the worst minor league sytems in the majors. Now baseball america rates the Reds minor league system as one of the top 5-6 in baseball. It is not all Wayne, but he had a major role in buidling up the minor league where we will have quality players for years to come.
By Mr. Redlegs
April 29, 2008 12:55 PM | Link to this
3.) What record do you think the Reds would have posted with Dan O’Brien’s roster in 2006? What condition is the overall organization—from minor league ops to the core talent on the big-league club—now compared to two years ago?
What GM can infuse that much young talent into one of the bottom 3-4 organizations in the game in such a short time, and do it at almost no cost? Are the Reds eating contracts to the degree of Mike Hampton, Barry Zito, Frank Thomas, Matt Morris or Carlos Delgado?
No
By Mr. Redlegs
April 29, 2008 12:50 PM | Link to this
2.) You complain about Cormier, Stanton and Castro? That’s peanuts, that’s all annual salaries UNDER the MLB minimum. Think most ownerships and fans would be happy with Phillips, Hamilton (nee Voltron), Arroyo, Burton, etc., which cost them a total of $100,00 and Jeff Stevens and Wily Mo… .
By Mr. Redlegs
April 29, 2008 12:48 PM | Link to this
What a group, what a crowd… .
1.) The ROCKIES offered Fogg $5 million for one year but his agent declined, hoping for a multiyear deal. When it didn’t happen, they were stuck for the offer the Reds made. The agent should have been tossed off a balcony… .
By bill
April 29, 2008 12:44 PM | Link to this
If you can walk and breathe then you qualify to be a MLB general manager. A lot like trading baseball cards when we were kids. A lot of it is luck.
By Petey in LA
April 29, 2008 12:38 PM | Link to this
Wow, the comments have really gotten petty on the Reds chat sites. Mike is complaining about the insufficient editing of a legally blind man who is writing his third story of the night - an enlightening exclusive with lots of good details - while on deadline on the road after many of you have gone to bed. Dippy. And Greg complains that for every Brandon Phillips deal we got a Rheal Cormier deal…isn’t it obvious that it’s intensely good for 1 out of 2 low-cost gambles to yield a stud?
By Jim
April 29, 2008 12:14 PM | Link to this
“He still thinks Fogg was worth $1.5, are you kidding me. Why did the National League Champion Rockies let him go — they knew he wasn’t worth keeping at any price.”
You might want to check your facts. The Rockies did want him back and offered him $2.5 million, but just like Loshe, he thought he was going to rake in a big multi-year contract and realized quickly he should have signed for what the Rockies originally offered.
By Mike
April 29, 2008 12:06 PM | Link to this
Frank Howard? Heinez? Who is editing this stuff? Toronto dumped Frank Thomas and it’s Heinz ketchup.
By Will
April 29, 2008 10:21 AM | Link to this
Anyone that says that this team is no better than before Krivsky took over is just ignorant and not worth arguing with.
By Will
April 29, 2008 10:17 AM | Link to this
Hey rockieredsfan, it wasnt a bad deal. The rockies didnt sign him because he demanded something like 15 million. So they went out got another pitcher. He signed for one year 1.5 million. In baseball money, thats nothing. Gagne got 10.5 million for one year from the Brewers. How would you like that one on the books? People need to lay of Krivsky. If you look at every GM you will find just as many bad deals if not more than Krisvky had. Its just the nature of the business.
By Greg
April 29, 2008 9:47 AM | Link to this
My only problem with Krivsky was for every Brandon Phillips, Jared Burton, Edison Volquez, and Bronson Arroyo deal, there was a Mike Stanton, Rheal Cormier, Josh Fogg, Juan Castro deal.
If Walt Jocketty does do another thing this season… At least he got rid of Todd Coffey!
By nick
April 29, 2008 9:27 AM | Link to this
The only chemistry between these players is the “roids”, the booze, or the dope they might be doing. And the biggest drug here is the cash in their contracts. It’s all about how much a franchise can afford to pay for a winner. A few good men have gone down for the lack of cash and talent. And we, the bleeting sheep fans, keep laying out the $ for this crap. May be Shotzie had it right…when it’s on the field, it still stinks!
By nick
April 29, 2008 9:16 AM | Link to this
There’s the Bambino’s Curse, the tied up goat, the curse of Bourbon and the pile that Shotzie left behind! The Cincinnati Reds and their fans are today cursed by the ghost of the Big Red Machine. We are still spoiled and haunted by the likes of a bygone era, the likes of what we or any team will ever see again. There is no” love of the game and getting paid to play too” on the part of players. In all pro sports its all about me first, agents, steroids, contracts.
By Mike
April 29, 2008 9:06 AM | Link to this
Frank Howard? Heinez? Who is editing this stuff? Toronto dumped Frank Thomas and it’s Heinz ketchup.
By Mike
April 29, 2008 9:06 AM | Link to this
Frank Howard? Heinez? Who is editing this stuff? Toronto dumped Frank Thomas and it’s Heinz ketchup.
By rockieredsfan
April 29, 2008 9:05 AM | Link to this
He still thinks Fogg was worth $1.5, are you kidding me. Why did the National League Champion Rockies let him go — they knew he wasn’t worth keeping at any price. I never liked Krivsky from day one and the Reds season the past two years tells me he stayed one year too long!
By Steven Ross
April 29, 2008 9:01 AM | Link to this
Catfish alienated too many within the organization with his hubris and condesending attitude. Getting off to a slow start sealed his fate. Let’s face it, when Jocketty was hired as “Special Advisor” (wink-wink) the writing was on the wall.
By JS
April 29, 2008 7:38 AM | Link to this
I haven’t changed my mind even though Krivsky is gone. He did a good job and shuldn’t have been fired. Why couldn’t Joketty dorm a panel with Krivsky and retain both. Present two views to ownersip and usually find a middle ground.