Former REds...Dunn, Hamilton....

• thavoice

  Was in discussion with someone the other day about a few former reds who are doing well and the "what ifs"
  
  The first was Dunn after he hit a monster HR on Saturday. Do you think it is safe to say that if he was still in Cincy that he woulda been moved to first base a few years ago? And if so...would we even know what Votto could do at the ML level? I just dont believe he still woulda been in LF.
  
  
  Hamilton. I remember when he was traded. Some of us were like HUH....and I know myself I hated to see him go but had heard that a promising pitcher was coming in. Volquez had amazing stuff, got better and had an amazing first half for the reds, and then after losing in the AS game he kinda went down hill.
  WHen the reds got Volquez that, to me, was the start of the reds focus on pitching. It was a change from the reds who were using a rotating door of old reclamation projects in the rotation. That kind of was the kick off of the reds organization focusing on pitching. Then ya had Cueto come into his own and now the reds have a solid rotation and a BP full of very good options.
  
  
  but man....wouldnt it be sweet to see him in areds uni now?
  
  It is hard to keep track of the who, what, when and where's in MLB and the what ifs. It isnt just easy to plant Dunn and Hamilton into this reds team right now.
  
  
  What other former reds are doing well...and if you play the what if game..who wouldnt be here? Another comes to mind...Konerko...
• Azubuike24

  

  Edwin Encarnacion - 9 HR, 25 RBI, .279 AVG
  Ramon Hernandez - 4 HR, 14 RBI, .281 AVG
  Laynce Nix - 2 HR, 10 RBI, .311 AVG
  Jeff Keppinger - 2 HR, 7 RBI, .311 AVG
  Jonny Gomes - 5 HR, 10 RBI, .264 AVG
  Juan Francisco - 3 HR, 10 RBI, .239 AVG
  Edinson Volquez - 2.98 ERA, 38 K
  Matt Belisle - 2.51 ERA, 10 K
  Jared Burton - 2.25 ERA, 12 K
  
  Given how bad the Reds' bench has been, some of these guys are worth mentioning. Volquez and Belisle earned their trips off the Reds, but they gave up Burton for nothing and I always thought he was worth keeping. The bench guys would definitely not make it with some of these guys...
• dave

  Volquez, Dempster, Lohse and Cueto all could make the NL all star team.
  
  EE is the DH for Toronto so he never would have worked in Cincy.
• thavoice

  Az. True....but do we recall how some of those bench guys left the reds? What I am saying though is the domino affect. EE may look good in the reds situation now at third...but if he was here then there would have been no rolen...and how would two years ago ended up without rolen?
  
  
  I know...all speculation kind of stuff...
• Azubuike24

  

  I wish we could "trade back" now. Rolen's contract is awful and could've been spent elsewhere. However, like you said, 2 years ago it was a great trade. EE wasn't going to work out in Cincy. Neither was Volquez. Belisle got his chances. So did Jonny Gomes. Lohse CHOSE to leave Cincy, he was a free agent and the Reds traded him to Philly at the deadline (then he signed with STL that offseason). Hoover has contributed this year, so Francisco isn't a loss.
  
  The two I regret are Burton and Keppinger. Burton would be nice to have at Louisville (or on the 25-man) since the injuries (and eventually moving Chappy to the rotation) and Keppinger has been a solid utility IF for many years and the Reds dumped him for squat.
• Heretic

  

  Azubuike24;1165991 wrote:I wish we could "trade back" now. Rolen's contract is awful and could've been spent elsewhere. However, like you said, 2 years ago it was a great trade. EE wasn't going to work out in Cincy. Neither was Volquez. Belisle got his chances. So did Jonny Gomes. Lohse CHOSE to leave Cincy, he was a free agent and the Reds traded him to Philly at the deadline (then he signed with STL that offseason). Hoover has contributed this year, so Francisco isn't a loss.
  
  The two I regret are Burton and Keppinger. Burton would be nice to have at Louisville (or on the 25-man) since the injuries (and eventually moving Chappy to the rotation) and Keppinger has been a solid utility IF for many years and the Reds dumped him for squat.

  What really happened for Burton with Cincy? He seemed to be coming along nice, then he got buried behind the geriatric set-up squad (Rhodes and Weathers), was ineffective for a bit and then vanished with injuries. Did he just fall off their radar because guys like Ondrusak, Bray and Masset came on while he was struggling and/or out?
• thavoice

  Dempster wasnt very good in cincy so at the time no one really cared. EE wore out his welcome, and as you said is a DH now.
  Gomes....just a journeyman for the most part.
  Didnt Keepinger go to Houston at first? Would have been good off the bench, but bench guys move around alot.
  
  Lohse...he wasnt much in Cincy. For whatever reason..things started to click in SL.....kinda like BP when he came to cincy.
• dave

  Don't remember why they let Burton go but I'd guess he was out of options and/or it was to protect someone else by putting them on the 40 man. His arm will probably fall off soon anyway.
• thavoice

  Heretic;1166000 wrote:What really happened for Burton with Cincy? He seemed to be coming along nice, then he got buried behind the geriatric set-up squad (Rhodes and Weathers), was ineffective for a bit and then vanished with injuries. Did he just fall off their radar because guys like Ondrusak, Bray and Masset came on while he was struggling and/or out?

  Rhodes and Weathers did a pretty good job in Cincy. I cannot really complain about the reds BP right now. They were patient with Bray and his injuries and he has performed, minus this season. Even Simon has pitched well...some nasty stuff. Masset.....dude is like bailey. Nasty stuff, and sometimes ya wonder how in the hell he would get rocked. I think massett and HB problems are between the ears.
• se-alum

  

  Heretic;1166000 wrote:What really happened for Burton with Cincy? He seemed to be coming along nice, then he got buried behind the geriatric set-up squad (Rhodes and Weathers), was ineffective for a bit and then vanished with injuries. Did he just fall off their radar because guys like Ondrusak, Bray and Masset came on while he was struggling and/or out?

  Burton just couldn't stay healthy.
• sportchampps

  I'm glad Dunn is far away from this team.
• Azubuike24

  

  Burton battled some injuries but the Reds just didn't tender him. He signed with the Twins. He was always solid and would've been worth keeping for depth. Obviously he was a victim of the lack of spots at the time, but with the Madson injury, Masset injury and Bray injury, it would be nice to still have him as a backup. The AAA roster is awful and their pen has been crushed this year. Carlos Fisher was kept over Burton...and the Reds signing of Alfredo Simon and trading for J.J. Hoover tells me they made a mistake letting Burton walk.
  
  The Reds traded Keppinger to Houston for a PTBNL (ended up being Drew Sutton, who sucked). At the time it wasn't a big deal, but it still made no sense to get rid of a guy under contract who was cheap and versatile for nothing. He's been a solid bench player everywhere he's been since and he was good with the Reds. It's a puzzling move to say the least...almost like someone just didn't want him around. How he could get booted while guys like Corey Patterson, Willie Harris, Dewayne Wise, etc...all were sought out and given PT...
• Commander of Awesome

  

  It's worse when you do the Tribe:
  
  Cliff Lee
  CC Sabthia
  Tim Linecum
  Victor Martinez
  Manny Rameriez (granted this is a bit dated but still, fuck)
  Brandon Phillips.
• Azubuike24

  

  Can't really count Lincecum for the Indians.
  
  Meanwhile, Dunn and Encarnacion both his their 10th HR's today in team wins.
• gerb131

  

  I will always be a Dunner fan and I think EE can be good and he's off to a good start
• Terry_Tate

  

  The Dunner is my favorite player of all-time. Needless to say I am loving this year so far. Would love to see him keep this up and make the all star team.
• sportchampps

  Dunn can't adjust his game to fit a situation and had a reputation as being lazy in Cincy
• Ironman92

  

  sportchampps;1166495 wrote:Dunn can't adjust his game to fit a situation and had a reputation as being lazy in Cincy

  
  Played 160 games......lazy players don't do that.
• SportsAndLady

  

  Never heard lazy when talking about Dunn, not sure where you got that sportschampps
  
  He just struck out too many times lol
• Rotinaj

  

  Count me in as another who loved Dunn.
• baseballstud24

  I was never a fan of the Hamilton trade. I know we were trying to focus on pitching, but how did we not see the phenom this guy was going to be? I know he was a risk with things about his past, but dammmmnnnnnnnn...Although, we'd probably never be able to afford Hamilton, Votto, BP, and Bruce..Imagine those 4 in the middle of our lineup..