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InvincibleCakeEater wrote:

cards2468 wrote:

vinsanity wrote:

cards2468 wrote:Oswalt doesn't have much of a say in the matter, but if he's willing to go to the east coast, then I have to imagine he has no problem going to Cincy where he'd immidiately step in as the ace of a young promising staff in the middle of a pennant run. The Reds have the pieces, but if they're willing to give up say Travis Wood + Yonder Alonso + Zack Cozart and get the Astros to eat some salary it might be doable

His full NTC says otherwise.

I know that, but I'm sure he'd accept a deal to Cincy. It's not like he's negotiating the trades.

I don't know why you would be sure he would accept a deal there. Seems like he wants to go somewhere that wins year in and year out. Cincy is not one of those places.

Cincy is also young and showing they could be perenial winners... or at least a better place to play than Houston.

InvincibleCakeEater wrote:I don't know why you would be sure he would accept a deal there. Seems like he wants to go somewhere that wins year in and year out. Cincy is not one of those places.

They haven't been, but given the pieces they have in place, I could easily see them becoming that organization over the next 2 or 3 years. And I've been their biggest naysayer through the years. Even now, I figured they were one more year off but the future seems to have arrived a year early. As an organization, they're something of a sleeping giant. They've got a big, dedicated fan base that's full of malaise, waiting for a good team to come along and reinvigorate the fan base. They've got a new(er) ballpark and they've got ownership that'd be willing to stretch their dollars in the right situation.

But... yeah, I'm not sure that Roy Oswalt is thinking along those lines.

Assuming what Oswalt said about his option holds true, I don't see the Reds absorbing close to $38 million over the next two-plus seasons. That's more of a Phillies thing.

JL21 wrote: They haven't been, but given the pieces they have in place, I could easily see them becoming that organization over the next 2 or 3 years. And I've been their biggest naysayer through the years. Even now, I figured they were one more year off but the future seems to have arrived a year early. As an organization, they're something of a sleeping giant. They've got a big, dedicated fan base that's full of malaise, waiting for a good team to come along and reinvigorate the fan base. They've got a new(er) ballpark and they've got ownership that'd be willing to stretch their dollars in the right situation.

But... yeah, I'm not sure that Roy Oswalt is thinking along those lines.

I guess I don't quite see them the same way. They've relied on Rolen turning the clock back 5 years and come from behind wins. Every member of their bench is having a career year. Johhny Gomes is hitting 5 million w RISP. Arthur Rhodes is their only reliable bullpen arm. Basically, they have a ton of things going right and can only muster being in a tie with the Cardinals who have been crushed by injury and hitting into the worst luck imaginable for the majority of the year.

As for their fanbase, I don't have many good things to say there. They've never drawn 3 million. Their biggest draw in 10 years was in 2000 when they opened Cinergy field; they drew 2.59 mil. The last time the Cards drew fewer than that was 1997. The last time they out drew the Cards head to head was 1980.

I don't see the sleeping giant. I see a .500 team that was hot one month, not a whole lot of minor league talent and not much payroll flexibility.

I disagree, ICE, though you make some good points. They remind me of the 2000 Cards, which was definitely a better team than these Reds. Ticket sales during the McGwire era helped us raise payroll in the early 2000's. Look at this:

2005: $ 92,106,833
2004: $ 83,228,333
2003: $ 83,786,666
2002: $ 74,660,875
2001: $ 78,538,333
2000: $ 63,900,000

Attendance is up significantly for Cincy this season over last, and most of that has to be walk-up sales or individual sales... Few expected a playoff run and they didn't make any big acquisitions in the offseason to prompt season ticket sales. Interest is high in Cincy. At an all-time high,. It might take a few years for them to build up to the 2.5-3.0 million range, but when they do, they'll be able to raise payroll steadily. All it takes is one good run in the postseason for a club to be able to make a big jump forward. Look at the difference in 2000 and 2001 and then '02 to '03. Those were based on ticket sales and better TV contracts, yes, but a big chunk of it was postseason revenue. Making a run into the NLCS adds millions to your available budget.

If the Reds can pull that off, I see them as contenders with us for the next 4-5 years. Remains to be seen if they can do that or not, but I see the potential in them for an extended run of success.

Hopefully the Reds can make enough money so that they can finally finish the upper deck at GAB.

Popeye_Card wrote:Hopefully the Reds can make enough money so that they can finally finish the upper deck at GAB.

I hope it affords them more Skylines with the little onion graters in the condiment section.

If they took one of our owners, our GM, our All-Star 3B, our former closer, and our former setup man--the least they can do is give us a [expletive] Skyline franchise in St. Louis.

Popeye_Card wrote:If they took one of our owners, our GM, our All-Star 3B, our former closer, and our former setup man--the least they can do is give us a [expletive] Skyline franchise in St. Louis.

Can I delete this inflammatory post as it could lead to civil unrest which I'm sure is against the guidelines somewhere?

Popeye_Card wrote:If they took one of our owners, our GM, our All-Star 3B, our former closer, and our former setup man--the least they can do is give us a [expletive] Skyline franchise in St. Louis.

my god that would be incredible. I actually considered finding a job in Cincy just so I can eat Skyline daily again. For now, I get by bringing home 4 cans of chili after every visit.