Hello, gluttons, everyone happy with their Black Friday and Cyber Monday hauls? I'd be interested to know what you bought to contribute to the GNP, especially if you bought anything from the "12 Days of a Redlegs Christmas Series," which will resume shortly now that the holiday is past us.

Meanwhile, I confess to extreme confusion (if not dismay) with all the rumors floating around about the players the Reds are pursuing. Yeah, rumors are not reports or they would be facts, so an old boss used to say. But one day it appears Uncle Walt is content on building from the framework of the team's core of youth, then another day we hear about trading for Jermaine Dye. Boooooo-booooooooo!

(I do love a good, hearty, lung-clearing booing from time to time.)

Then word comes that Dusty Baker wants to see if Kerry Wood is interested in joining the Reds as a set-up for Cordero and now we hear the Reds are talking to 92-year-old Arthur Lee Rhodes about a situational lefty role. Who's next, Bob Feller to be the 5th starter?

I understand the Reds have big holes to fill and need MLB-ready players. But I'd like to see them stay the course of a younger team, not commit so much payroll and playing time to broken-down mules (Dye), injury risks (Wood) and geezers (Rhodes). Of course it's still early in the offseason and over the next few days we'll hear a lot of rumors--basically, tire-kicking discussions--leading up to next week's winter meetings. But I'm not very encouraged by what now appears to be split messages and redirection of the rebuilding.

What say you? 

Any trade for old talent goes against logic.  This team has too many question marks for one or two vets to fill.  If you want to trade young for young ala Volquez for Hamilton then makes sense.  Dye is almost as old a me and I'm about a broken down as they get.  I tweaked my knee going after a 4 years over the should pass with a nerf spiderman ball.  He can't much further along than I am on my journey to the grave.

I hope we stay young and fill in the holes with FA guys where youth woun't cut it.  Next year will be difficult to watch at times but I still like seeing the young guys growing up and making this their team.

As for Shopping I did nothing though the wife did her share of damage.  I got to thinking how much sales tax revenue is being lost because of on-line retailers.  The dem are in charge now.  Look for that to change.

I'm all for signing all the free agents they can afford, who are deemed to be an upgrade over what is currently on the roster, regardless of age. A youth movement is one thing, sucking even worse than you need to is just ridiculous. This blog will be lit up with complaints about inactivity in the off season if they enter spring training w/o some serious upgrading. 

what is there to say right now?

i think the picture will be more clear in a week or so, if the reds are going to make any moves for 2009 or just sit back and wait for 2010.

there are no big impact free agents worth signing, and even if there were i doubt they would come here.  there's no reason to part with young pitching to get a guy like dye for a team that is a lot further than one player away from contending.

so mostly, i think the keys this winter are

1) finding a position for encarnacion/votto/alonso and finding a left-fielder

2) finding a 5th starter

3) finding a shortstop

4) finding a catcher

5) finding a center fielder

and i think 4 of these 5 problems have answers within the organization, at least in terms of 2009 and judging what some of the kids can do.

i am looking forward to spring training, i think there will be some interesting competition and experiments.  and no corey patterson.

yes, they need about half a team, thus i don't see them competing next year... but, i think they can fill four-fifths of that half (uh, that's like two tenths?  too much math) internally, or at least should try to use 2009 for that purpose.  that way, 2010 coming up there's more money left for when the team does only have one or two big holes, assuming that some combination of two or three hanigan/alonso/dickerson/roenicke/stubbs/votto in lf/e5e5 on lf/bailey/thompson/maloney/herrera pan out.  and at least we'll get to watch some young players in 2009 (so please, no corey pattersons or neifi perezes this year unless we really really really need them, because this team is not making the playoffs).

and it looks like lincoln is coming back on a 2 year, $4 mil contract.  well, hopefully we get the good lincoln and not the bad one.  one inning every other day, dusty.  one inning every other day is PLENTY.