Mo Egger

Mo Egger

Mo Egger delivers his unique take on sports on Cincinnati's ESPN 1530!Full Bio

 

Some Stuff: Dick Williams Goes Into A Pawn Shop....

Happy post-trade deadline day. Remember what I said last week about the deadline kinda being like Christmas?  

Today feels like December 26th doesn't it?

I wrote something for The Athletic specifically about the Reds not being able trade Matt Harvey. Do read it, please.

Basically, I don't think that not being able to trade a pitcher that they obtained at such a low cost is going to set the franchise back.

I do think the Reds believe they can get Harvey to clear waivers and deal him either to a team willing to give him a second look or one that's become desperate for pitching.

The interesting thing now will be to see how much longer the Reds stay with a six-man rotation, and when/if Robert Stephenson gets a chance to start in the big leagues in 2018. I don't believe the Reds think highly of Stephenson, and I think it's telling that the former first round pick has pitched well in Louisville, the Reds are using six starters, and he still can't crack their rotation.

Of course, there were other guys the Reds could have traded, but didn't. Maybe that's bad thing. Perhaps it isn't. I think it reflects mainly that their pieces weren't valued as much by other teams.  I'm reminded of the show Pawn Stars.

You've seen the show, which I used to be kinda addicted to, and still stop off on when I see that it's on, which centers around a pawn shop and the people that bring stuff - much of it of significant historical value - to sell to the store. People come in excited about what they have, and pumped about the prospects of turning their item into huge piles of cash. They give the guy on the other side of the counter their spiel, they're asked what they're looking for monetarily, and then get totally lowballed, with an explanation as to why what they're trying to sell isn't that valuable.

Dick Williams was the guy lugging an item into the pawn store.

Do the Reds have players of value that could've been moved? Yes, and I'm sure there's teams that would've liked Billy Hamilton, Scooter Gennett, or Raisel Iglesias.

But did any of them really want those guys?

Not for what the Reds were asking.

That's fine, but it will beg questions this offseason about how this team gets better if they can't deal from their surplus and convert what they have too much of into something they need. 

We've talked in recent weeks a lot about potential trades for a number of guys that are still here. Those conversations are just getting started.

Here's some stuff...

Phil Ervin's baserunning last night might have been the difference between winning and losing. His inability to score from second on a long double by Joey Votto came back to haunt the Reds in a well-pitched 2-1 loss to the Tigers. 

It made me think of Jim Riggleman, who thrived with the most ideal roster the front office and good health could have given him. Now, Duvall's bat is gone. So too is Winker. Riggleman has to make-do with less than what he had. 

And now, the real evaluation begins.

Words that came out of my mouth over afternoon beers yesterday: "I'm pretty excited to go to next week's preseason game."

Clearly I'm really losing my sense of self.

Might do this on radio today, or some point this week: I'm looking for people who either believe the Bengals can win more than ten, or think they'll win fewer than six.  It sounds like a wide range, but I've got them somewhere between six and ten wins, which isn't as wide a margin as you might think. 

And I can be convinced that either six or ten wins is going to be their final number. 

Convince me otherwise.  Tell me why they'll either be really bad or really good. I think they'll be below average, marginally good, or somewhere in between.

Email is best: mo@espn1530.com 

Not that you care: I love what the Red Sox, Pirates, and Brewers did at the deadline. I don't know why the Nationals did trade Bryce Harper.  I'll bet you don't care if I don't elaborate. 

Here's some other stuff...

This is some good inside-baseball stuff on what a team does that few notice when one of its players is traded. 

This is really great: a former top Cubs prospect is helping to find missing children

If Rick Pitino's tell-all doesn't include multiple chapters about the 1988 Knicks, I'm out. 

I went on the Kent Sterling Show in Indy to talk about the Bengals. 

Radio Show: I'm a huge fan of Football Outsiders. We have the guy who wrote the Bengals chapter from their almanac at 3:20. Tony Pike is at Bengals camp, and we'll hear from him at 3:42, 4:42, and 5:52. I'll look for extreme predictions, and can the NFL's worst offense a year ago turn into a strength? Plus, reaction to the trade deadline, and we'll recap Reds/Tigers. Join me at 3:05 on ESPN1530

Follow me on Twitter @MoEgger1530.

Email me: mo@espn1530.com

Like me on Facebook.


Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content

ESPN 1530 Podcasts

See All

More from Mo