RINGOLSBY: Fired Krivsky blind to reality

By Tracy Ringolsby, Rocky Mountain News

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Al Behrman / Associated Press

Reds manager Dusty Baker, right, has a new general manager to work with, former Cardinals GM Walt Jocketty, left, who was working as an adviser before replacing Wayne Krivsky.

The most shocking news in Wayne Krivsky being fired and Walt Jocketty hired as Cincinnati Reds general manager was Krivsky's claim he was shocked.

"I did not see this coming at all," he was quoted as saying.

Really?

The most stable thing about the Reds is their instability. Since 2003, the Reds have had two owners, four GMs and five managers, including one interim.

Jocketty developed a close relationship with Reds owner/ CEO Bob Castellini when Castellini was a minority owner of the St. Louis Cardinals, where Jocketty was GM until last fall.

When Castellini first bought the Reds, the speculation was he would try to hire Jocketty from the Cardinals, although he eventually decided to hire Krivsky. Castellini did, however, bring in Jocketty as his personal adviser this offseason after Jocketty was let go by the Cardinals last fall, only a year removed from their World Series victory.

Krivsky was not receptive to the hiring of Jocketty, and the word was that instead of trying to integrate Jocketty into the decision-making process, Krivsky shut Jocketty out of high-level talks, which Castellini took as a personal affront because Jocketty was his hand-picked representative.

With the Reds struggling at the start of the season, again, Castellini decided to make a move.

Jocketty welcomes the job. Yes, manager Dusty Baker is a larger-than-life figure, but that has never been a problem for Jocketty, who began his big-league career working for the late Charlie Finley and in St. Louis never seemed to have any issues being overshadowed by manager Tony La Russa. In fact, the Jocketty-La Russa relationship was so strong, there was speculation the manager might not return to St. Louis after Jocketty was fired.

The irony for Jocketty is that he gets a second chance to be a GM because of his strong relationship with the team's owner, which was a burr under the saddle of the man he is replacing.

Given his preference, Jocketty's arrival in Cincinnati would have been welcomed by Krivsky and the two could have worked together.

In fact, Jocketty initially balked at joining the Reds as an adviser to Castellini because he wanted to avoid creating a situation similar to the one that was his shortcoming in St. Louis, where ownership brought in computer whiz Jeff Luhnow, put him in charge of scouting and player development and had him reporting directly to ownership, not Jocketty.

Infield chatter

With the first GM firing now in the books, who will be the first managerial casualty?

Keep an eye on Ron Washington in Texas, where there is speculation a change could be made after Rangers owner Tom Hicks gets back from England this weekend.

It could be a challenge finding a replacement, which most likely would be an interim hire so new club president Nolan Ryan could get a feel for the status of the organization before making a long-term commitment. Ryan has hired longtime baseball man Russ Nixon to provide an organizational evaluation.

There doesn't seem to be a legitimate in-house candidate for the interim managerial job, and it isn't likely a coach with another team would walk away from his current job during the season without some type of long-term security.

Here's a suggestion: What about Don Baylor, whose absence from the game this year is inexplicable? He brings instant credibility into any clubhouse.

The rotation

Kansas City on Sunday called up right-hander Luke Hochevar, a Fowler native and the first player taken in the 2006 draft, to fill a spot in its rotation. Tampa Bay has brought up third baseman Evan Longoria, and Cleveland brought up outfielder Ben Francisco in recent days.

Five other prospects who figure to find their way to the big leagues soon:

* Left-handed pitcher Clayton Kershaw is at Double-A Jacksonville only because the Dodgers don't want him to pitch in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

* Center fielder Jay Bruce of the Reds is the best prospect in the game.

* Arizona right-handed pitching prospect Max Scherzer hasn't even been in pro ball for a year, but with a legit 97-mph fastball, he'll be in the rotation shortly.

* Left fielder Chase Headley of the Padres is making the transition from third base at Triple-A Portland.

* Center fielder Colby Rasmus is the one impact prospect in the Cardinals system.

Closing statement

Frank Thomas might be considered one of the more selfish players in the game, but with Toronto obligated for his $8 million salary after releasing him, Oakland GM Billy Beane couldn't pass up adding Thomas' power potential while having to pay him only a prorated portion of the $390,000 major league minimum salary.

The Blue Jays don't care. They believe they saved a summer full of headaches and $10 million. That was Thomas' vesting option for 2009 if he got 1,000 plate appearances between last year and this year; he already had 696.

The Jays had no intention of bringing him back next year, and they figured as the season went along and Thomas' playing time dwindled, he could develop into a major clubhouse distraction.

Contrary to speculation,Thomas cannot make good on that vesting option by playing for the A's. Under baseball rules, when the Blue Jays released Thomas, they terminated his contract. When he signed with the A's, he signed a new deal.

NUMBERS GAME

5 losses without a win for left-handed pitcher Barry Zito of San Francisco, who makes his final start of April on Sunday. Dave Stewart and Mike Maroth are the only pitchers since 1956 to open 0-6 by the end of April, according to info guru Bill Arnold.

MEMORIES

Frank Thomas is gone in Toronto, but he won't be forgotten. Thomas was released by the Blue Jays on Sunday despite having a guaranteed salary of $8 million. The Jays have Frank Thomas Bobblehead Day on their promotions schedule for May 25.

Thomas signed with Oakland on Thursday and was in the lineup for the game against Minnesota.

HE SAID IT

"I already got a text from (Greg) Maddux that said I've lost a hair for every strikeout I've made."

John Smoltz, Atlanta right-hander, after becoming the 16th pitcher in history to strike out 3,000 batters.

MILE HIGH WATCH

* If it is good enough for Tony La Russa and Ned Yost, what about Clint Hurdle and the Rockies using a lineup in which the pitcher hits eighth?

It's an intriguing possibility. Consider the alignment:

CF Willy Taveras

1B Todd Helton

LF Matt Holliday

3B Garrett Atkins

RF Brad Hawpe

SS Troy Tulowitzki

C Yorvit Torrealba

Pitcher

2B Clint Barmes

What it does is take the three-through-seven hitters in Thursday's lineup and move them up one spot.

Hurdle is more of a traditionalist, and it isn't likely that he would hit the pitcher eighth, but that doesn't mean he couldn't make an adjustment in which he does move the quintet of Helton, Holliday, Atkins, Hawpe and Tulowitzki up a spot to hit second through sixth and slip Barmes into the No. 7 hole ahead of Torrealba.

That would increase plate-appearance opportunities for each of the big bats in the lineup, and Helton, who doesn't have the home run potential he once did, would seem a perfect option for the No. 2 hole.

He would 1)work counts, giving Taveras more opportunities to steal; 2) create better running situations for Taveras because pitchers won't simply challenge him with fastballs; 3) still pile up doubles and could drive in Taveras from first with his ability to drive the ball in gaps; 4) would benefit from having an open right side of the infield when first basemen hold Taveras on first; and 5) leads the team in on-base percentage.

* What was impressive about the Rockies' 2-1, 22-inning win at San Diego last week was the work of home plate umpire Alfonso Marquez, who met the challenge of spending 6 hours, 16 minutes crouched behind home plate.

Marquez didn't allow the game to get away from him, despite the physical strain he was under.