[ComfortEagle]

The Cincinnati Reds have fired general manager Wayne Krivsky less than three years into his tenure, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.

Krivsky, a former assistant GM with the Minnesota Twins, was hired in 2006, succeeding Dan O'Brien. He was the first general manager to be hired under the Reds ownership group led by Bob Castellini and is in the last year of a three-year contract.

The Reds are currently 9-12 and 5½ games behind the NL Central-leading Chicago Cubs.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3363283

[Batpuff]

About time they got rid of him.

[jammin' jamey]

No surprise...Well, maybe the timing and all, but with the Reds slow start something was going to happen.

The reason I say "no surprise" is because Jocketty was hired as a special assistant to the ownership over the off-season and you're not going to let a guy that's won a World Series title not be in control of the ballclub in the same position he was previously.

Thank you Krivsky for bringing in Brandon Phillips. Jeff Keppinger was a nice inexpensive pick-up. Now lets see what a big boy like Jocketty can do for this franchise.

This season is long from over guys...

[-STAT-]

Yeah it is about time they get rid of him. Hopefully Walt Jocketty can make some big time move for the Reds.

[More Cowbell]

First off, I can't say that this move completely surprises me, although the timing is a little odd. From the moment Jocketty was hired on as a "special assistant", you had to figure this day was coming.

That said, I still think Krivsky was vastly underappreciated by Reds fans in general. To hear a good majority of them, you'd think he had run this franchise into the ground the past 2 years on the job. On the contrary, I feel he has left behind a team in much better shape overall than it was when he took the job. He made a few bad decisions (nobody's perfect), but to me the good ones outweighed the bad. In summary:

Good Moves:

1) traded Wily Mo Pena for Bronson Arroyo - while Arroyo has started out poorly this year, he did pitch very well for the Reds his first two years, making the All-Star team in 2006
2) acquiring Brandon Phillips for a nobody - again, while BP has started slowly this year, he hit very well for the Reds his first two years
3) picked up Jared Burton in the Rule 5 draft - for the small price of $50,000, the Reds got a fixture in their bullpen for the next several years
4) picked up Josh Hamilton as a Rule 5 pick - once again, the Reds acquire a potential superstar for next to nothing, then ...
5) traded Josh Hamilton for Ed Volquez - one year after acquiring Hamilton, the Reds turn around and swap him for a pitcher who so far, looks like a future staff ace

Bad Moves:

1) signed Mike Stanton to a 2-year free agent contract - probably his worst move as GM
2) traded Justin Germano for Rheal Cormier - gave up a player who has turned out to be a servicable pitcher, for a guy who didn't help the team much at all, then...
3) gave Cormier a contract extension after the trade - no return on this investment
4) signed Juan Castro to a 2-year extension - same as above
5) signed Ryan Freel to a 2-year, $7 million extension - this one looks worse with Freel now relegated to a pitch-hitting role

And of course, The Big Move: traded Austin Kearns, Felipe Lopez, and Ryan Wagner for Gary Majewski, Bill, Bray, etc.

This is perhaps the move Krivsky will always be remembered for. This trade looked terrible when it first happened, especially when Majewski turned out be damaged goods. Time has since changed my perception of this deal, though, as Kearns, Lopez and Wagner have all flopped in D.C., while Bill Bray and another young pitcher acquired in the deal by the Reds (Daryl Thompson) seem to have good potential. Still, the deal short-circuited a Reds team that was in a pennant chase at the time, and the lost offense prevented them from being able to lock up a playoff spot that year.

All in all, while the Reds continued their losing ways while he was in charge, the team was headed in the right direction. Two years is simply not enough time to turn a perennial loser into an instant winner, which I believe the Reds were close to becoming. Hopefully, the Reds can keep Krivsky with the organization in some capacity.

Anyway, good luck to Walt Jocketty, and Let's Go Reds!

[jammin' jamey]

1) signed Mike Stanton to a 2-year free agent contract - probably his worst move as GM
2) traded Justin Germano for Rheal Cormier - gave up a player who has turned out to be a servicable pitcher, for a guy who didn't help the team much at all, then...
3) gave Cormier a contract extension after the trade - no return on this investment
4) signed Juan Castro to a 2-year extension - same as above
5) signed Ryan Freel to a 2-year, $7 million extension - this one looks worse with Freel now relegated to a pitch-hitting role

And of course, The Big Move: traded Austin Kearns, Felipe Lopez, and Ryan Wagner for Gary Majewski, Bill, Bray, etc.

You can't manage a small-market team by giving millions of dollars to over-the-hill relievers like Stanton & Cormier. The Cincinnati media says the Washington deal was the beginning of the end, I would say that deal raised eyebrows, but the beginning of the end was the questionable contracts he approved listed above.

Let's not forget this: Castellini wants to win and win "now"...Krivsky was making quick fixes for the field, which in the long-run don't fly. Then again, if the Majewski or Bray either one had come through and helped the Reds in the pennant race a couple of years back, we may not in the place we are today.

Overall though, I think the move was needed and good. Finally, there's stability within the orgainization with proven people like Dusty Baker and Walt Jocketty. Now we need to chill with high expectations and let things progress. But don't be surprised to see a major shake-up with personnel if this team doesn't turn things around before the All-Star break. I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see Adam Dunn traded. And that's just an example of a major deal that will happen to get this team in a different direction.

[More Cowbell]

You can't manage a small-market team by giving millions of dollars to over-the-hill relievers like Stanton & Cormier. The Cincinnati media says the Washington deal was the beginning of the end, I would say that deal raised eyebrows, but the beginning of the end was the questionable contracts he approved listed above.

Let's not forget this: Castellini wants to win and win "now"...Krivsky was making quick fixes for the field, which in the long-run don't fly. Then again, if the Majewski or Bray either one had come through and helped the Reds in the pennant race a couple of years back, we may not in the place we are today.

Overall though, I think the move was needed and good. Finally, there's stability within the orgainization with proven people like Dusty Baker and Walt Jocketty. Now we need to chill with high expectations and let things progress. But don't be surprised to see a major shake-up with personnel if this team doesn't turn things around before the All-Star break. I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see Adam Dunn traded. And that's just an example of a major deal that will happen to get this team in a different direction.

I agree completely about the fat contracts being Krivsky's biggest blunders, they tied up a lot of money in players that were underperforming or even no longer on the team. Overall, Krivsky has a very poor track record when it comes to evaluating veterans, either as free agents or current players.

That said, he had a keen eye for young talent, and the good moves he made bear that out. He picked up Phillips, Burton, and Hamilton for next to nothing. He then nabbed Volquez in a trade that the local fans and media absolutely roasted him for, which doesn't look so bad now. All in all, I think Krivsky would have been able to get the team turned around in the long run, and to me he got a raw deal no matter how you look at it.

Anyway, I do think that Jocketty will do alright, especially in the area of signing veterans who will pan out better than Stanton and company. So, let's hope for the best. Go Reds!