The Bakersfield Blaze have announced their field staff for the 2012 season. Ken Griffey Sr is returning as the manager, Rigo Beltran is returning as the pitching coach and Eli Marrero will be the hitting coach after spending last season with the Billings Mustangs in the same role.
That leaves only the Pensacola squad left to name its field staff for the 2012 season.
One of my favorite things to do each offseason is get the Fan Top 10 Prospects. Unfortunately, I completely forgot about it after I completed my list. But, I would still like to do it, so if you would like to contribute a Top 10 list, you can send it over my way. I will tabulate the votes and bring back the results at some point next week.
Billy Hamilton reportedly broke his hand while playing in the Puerto Rico Winter League. I will try to track him down at Redsfest and see what he has to say about the injury.
Speaking of Redsfest, are any of you guys going?
I am a few days late on this, but Ken Rosenthal has this to say about Yonder Alonso when it comes to potentially trading him:
Alonso, meanwhile, is viewed by rival GMs as a one-dimensional player, not someone who can be the centerpiece of a trade offer for a pitcher such as Athletics left-hander Gio Gonzalez or Rays righty James Shields.
I am not the first person to bring this up, but being one-dimensional isn’t always a bad thing, assuming that one-dimension is very good. And to be honest, Alonso, at first base, isn’t one-dimensional. He can play first base just fine. One the other side of things though, I really hope the Reds aren’t even interested in Gio Gonzalez. The Reds don’t need a pitcher who walks 4+ guys per 9 innings, they already have two guys who may fit that bill with Volquez and Chapman. Shields, I wouldn’t mind grabbing Shields. But, if the Reds are trading Alonso, even if they have to add more to the deal, I hope they are shooting for more sure things than Gio Gonzalez and his types.
Ramon Hernandez has reportedly signed with the Rockies. That eliminates the question of whether or not he would be back with the Reds. He was a strong pick up for the Reds and performed very well here, but it was time to let him go to another place. I think the Reds will be well suited to go with a 60/40 split on Mesoraco and Hanigan for the 2012 season and never look back.