Willy Mo Pena for Nothing
Ben Godar
Outside of the White House, you’d be hard pressed to find more glaring mismanagement than in the Cincinnati Reds front office.
It’s been clear for three years that the Reds had outfielders to spare. But rather than part with Ken Griffey, Jr., Adam Dunn, Austin Kearns or Willy Mo Pena, former GM Dan O’Brien chose to keep one on the bench while his pitchers gave up more souvenirs than a vendor at Disneyland.
After O’Brien was fired, there was reason to believe the Wayne Krivsky regime would yield different results. Krivsky’s willing to play his chips, but the results are far from impressive.
First, face-of-the-franchise Sean Casey was dealt to Pittsburgh so Adam Dunn could be moved to first. A head-scratching move, but one that cleared up the logjam in the outfield. But today, the Reds traded Willy Mo Pena to the Red Sox for third-rate musician Bronson Arroyo. Dunn’s going back to the outfield to make room at first for the spectacularly mediocre Scott Hatteberg.
So after years of interest from most every team in The Game, the Reds end up with Arroyo and Dave Williams. Nice work, fellas.
Among the pitchers rumored to be potentially traded to the Reds over the last few years are: Derek Lowe, Brad Penny, Matt Clement, Erik Bedard, Rodrigo Lopez and Jason Marquis. They shunned these guys for Williams and Arroyo? As recently as a month ago, it was even reported that the Nationals wanted to deal Alfonso Soriano straight-up for Pena.
Are Williams and Arroyo an upgrade over the Paul Wilsons and Aaron Harangs the Reds already sported? Maybe. But it seems like arguing whether McDonald’s or Burger King has the best fries.
If I was a Reds fan, and thank the Lord I’m not, I’d be pretty underwhelmed by these moves. About all they’ve had to keep things interesting these last few years have been the trade rumors. Now all they’ve got is Bronson Arroyo and his Temple of the Dog covers.
Outside of the White House, you’d be hard pressed to find more glaring mismanagement than in the Cincinnati Reds front office.
It’s been clear for three years that the Reds had outfielders to spare. But rather than part with Ken Griffey, Jr., Adam Dunn, Austin Kearns or Willy Mo Pena, former GM Dan O’Brien chose to keep one on the bench while his pitchers gave up more souvenirs than a vendor at Disneyland.
After O’Brien was fired, there was reason to believe the Wayne Krivsky regime would yield different results. Krivsky’s willing to play his chips, but the results are far from impressive.
First, face-of-the-franchise Sean Casey was dealt to Pittsburgh so Adam Dunn could be moved to first. A head-scratching move, but one that cleared up the logjam in the outfield. But today, the Reds traded Willy Mo Pena to the Red Sox for third-rate musician Bronson Arroyo. Dunn’s going back to the outfield to make room at first for the spectacularly mediocre Scott Hatteberg.
So after years of interest from most every team in The Game, the Reds end up with Arroyo and Dave Williams. Nice work, fellas.
Among the pitchers rumored to be potentially traded to the Reds over the last few years are: Derek Lowe, Brad Penny, Matt Clement, Erik Bedard, Rodrigo Lopez and Jason Marquis. They shunned these guys for Williams and Arroyo? As recently as a month ago, it was even reported that the Nationals wanted to deal Alfonso Soriano straight-up for Pena.
Are Williams and Arroyo an upgrade over the Paul Wilsons and Aaron Harangs the Reds already sported? Maybe. But it seems like arguing whether McDonald’s or Burger King has the best fries.
If I was a Reds fan, and thank the Lord I’m not, I’d be pretty underwhelmed by these moves. About all they’ve had to keep things interesting these last few years have been the trade rumors. Now all they’ve got is Bronson Arroyo and his Temple of the Dog covers.
posted by Ben Godar at 3:53 PM
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