Ousted GM discusses some of his decisions

[redlegsfan21]

By Hal McCoy

ST. LOUIS — Wayne Krivsky is finding it difficult to sever his ties with the Cincinnati Reds after he was fired and says, "I must be crazy because I hope the Reds win every game the rest of the year and I still get on-line every morning to check how the minor-league teams did."

And before he fades into the woodwork, Krivsky wants to clear a few things off his desk and his mind.

One of the things he wants known is that Dusty Baker was his choice to manage the Reds and he told owner Bob Castellini at the time, "Dusty Baker is my man and he is the guy for the job." And Krivsky added, "It was my recommendation and Bob agreed."

Krivsky said he held the advance scouting job open for interim manager Pete Mackanin for if he didn't find a job, but he hooked on with the New York Yankees.

Then there was the trade of outfielder Josh Hamilton for pitcher Edinson Volquez (a deal that so far works both ways) and the signing of pitcher Josh Fogg.

"When I'm told before the season that I better win, I'm going to get all the pitching I can get," he said. "Fogg was a $100,000 gamble, what we would pay him if he didn't make the team. He made it so it cost $1.5 million and I still think it's a good deal.

"When Homer Bailey didn't make the team and Matt Belisle was injured, who did we have for our fifth starting spot? Nobody," he said. "That's where Fogg fit in. He made $3.7 million from the Rockies last year."

And then there was the $3 million paid to outfielder Corey Patterson.

"I was told to get him signed, whatever it takes," said Krivsky, who signed him for $3 million. Patterson was paid $4.7 million last year.

And Mike Stanton? "Stanton and the $3.5 million is on me," he said. "And Juan Castro ($975,000), but I had something going with the Los Angeles Dodgers when I was let go. I told (new GM) Walt Jocketty to please try to find something for Castro."

Krivsky kept quiet about pitcher Rheal Cormier and it was thought the Reds had to eat his salary when they released him. But when the Reds traded outfielder Chris Denorfia to Oakland the A's agreed to pay Cormier's $2 million, "And, actually, with interest we got $2.08 million," said Krivsky.

Well, hey, now that we've seen Toronto eat about $10 million to dump Frank Howard and the penny-pounding Pittsburgh Pirates pour Heinez ketchup on $10 million for Matt Morris and eat it, how bad is Stanton's $3.5 million?

As Krivsky said, "If you havenl't had at least one bad contract or made one bad decision, then you haven't been a general manager."

So true, so true.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/s/content/oh/story/sports/pro/reds/2008/04/29/ddn042908spkrivsky.html

[redlegsfan21]

From John Fay's Blog

I finally talked to Wayne Krivsky today after playing phone tag for a day or two. He sounded good, obviously still disappointed. He wanted to clear up some things:

--No talks have gone on with Adam Dunn about an extension. No figures have been exchanged. Nothing.

--The Gary Majewski case reached Bud Selig's deck within the last month or so.

--He didn't reveal that A's picked up Rheal Cormier's $2 million salary as part of the trade for Chris Denorfia in order not to make Billy Beans look bad. That is classic Krivsky. He wouldn't throw the other guy under the bus, even though the local media -- me included -- continually mentioned the Cormier deal as one of the Krivsky's failure.

--He's been contacted by two clubs about jobs. My guess is he'll have one soon. "I wouldn't mind scouting the National League out of Great American Ball Ball Park," he said. "I'd be comfortable walking in there."

He's still thinking like a guy with budget to meet. I told him that all the front office people are here in St. Louis. I ran off the list. "Man, that's got to be costing a lot money to have them all there."

Communication was a big factor in him losing the job. He regretted not putting things in writing for CEO Bob Castellini. "I communicate on the phone or in person," Krivsky said. "He likes things in memos."

He talked wistfully of how things may have worked out with him staying as GM and Jocketty as team president.

"The relationship got better," he said. "Walt and I are 180 degrees different as far as style but we're close as far as baseball philosophy. Walt may be able to do a better job of managing Bob."

http://frontier.cincinnati.com/blogs/redsinsider/2008/04/talking-to-krivsky.asp

[Steve Jeltz]

Why didn't Castellini just replace Krivsky before the season started? It was obvious that once Jocketty came aboard, Krivsky was on borrowed time.

[Dalkowski110]

Well, hey, now that we've seen Toronto eat about $10 million to dump Frank Howard [bolding and italics mine---Dalkowski110]

Anyone else catch that?

[Captain Cold Nose]

Anyone else catch that?

That reminds me of a mistake another Spinks award winner, Joe Falls of the Detroit News, made. He was running down a list of players who didn't accomplish something, it might have been the hits record, and he wrote Leon Wagner instead of Honus. Maybe it was an intentional joke, but it was the only joke of its sort to make the article.

Perhaps McCoy has the current liquor distributor and former slugger on his mond when writing. Or the copy editor did. That mistake should not have made the paper, and it is from someone at a level higher than McCoy who made that one.

[Chadwick]

To me the only sour deals Krivsky has made are the direct result of Castellini's interference. That isn't to say that Castellini is bad for the GM, but it certainly means that, whoever the GM is, he needs to be cognizant of Castellini's sensitivity to popular demand for a winner. The Baker hiring is the sole "negative" I can find in Krivsky's column that is his responsibility alone.

Whether Jocketty can do a better job remains to be seen, regardless of Jocketty's excellent track record. I was rather enjoying the Krivsky years.

[redlegsfan21]

To me the only sour deals Krivsky has made are the direct result of Castellini's interference. That isn't to say that Castellini is bad for the GM, but it certainly means that, whoever the GM is, he needs to be cognizant of Castellini's sensitivity to popular demand for a winner. The Baker hiring is the sole "negative" I can find in Krivsky's column that is his responsibility alone.

Whether Jocketty can do a better job remains to be seen, regardless of Jocketty's excellent track record. I was rather enjoying the Krivsky years.

I think this is the belief of most Reds fans now when they actually review the team and see who Wayne Krivsky has recieved and given up. Just looking at guys like Brandon Phillips, Bronson Arroyo, Edinson Volquez, and the minor league throw-in guy Daryl Thompson.