All Things Bubba

Paul Janish rounds 3B, spring training 2011

2011 didn't turn out quite like Paul Janish or the Reds had hoped. Mark Sheldon thinks Janish took his struggles at the plate into the field:

Janish is known for playing excellent defense, but could not get it together at the plate last season. He batted only .214 and had a two-week stint in Louisville in July before being recalled because of Cozart's injury. Janish's confidence issues as a hitter might have seeped into his defense, as he made 12 errors.

That thought had crossed my mind as well. Janish's defense was still excellent, but he had a bunch of errors that were quite unlike him. And in September, when the pressure was off, he not only hit a lot better, he had no errors.

Sheldon still thinks Janish has a chance to win the starting job:

Until a season-ending left elbow injury, Cozart was impressive for the Reds, batting .307 with two home runs and playing well defensively. But he only had 11 big league games to show what he could do. It's enough to give him the inside track on the job heading into camp, but the Reds are looking around for a backup just in case. Paul Janish, who lost the starting job last season, is looking for a turnaround year and could be an alternative.

I hope he overcomes his "confidence issues," if only because I love watching him play SS.

A lot of Reds fans, and even some in the media, were talking about signing David Aardsma to close. They were apparently unaware that Aardsma had Tommy John surgery in July, and will likely miss next year. He expects to be back next July, but IMO, that's over-optimistic. Pitchers always think they can be back in a year, but 18 months is more typical. At least to be fully effective. The Reds will have to look elsewhere for a closer.

Labels: Paul Janish

Is it spring yet?

Reds beat writer John Fay reports that Paul Janish has been tendered a contract. No word yet on how much he was offered; MLB Trade Rumors predicted he'd get $800,000.

He's probably happy to get a big league contract with the team he's spent his entire career with. But I suspect it might be better for his career if he'd been nontendered. He might get a roster spot on another team, as a backup infielder at least. As things stand now, there's no room for him with the Reds. I'm guessing he starts next season in AAA, as an insurance player.

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Or so says Jeff Pearlman at CNN. He thinks Albert Pujols was kind of a jerk. Unlike Lance Berkman.

Truth be told, inside the Cardinals' clubhouse Pujols was, on his best days, pleasantly present. When asked, younger players would praise his leadership skills because, frankly, that's what young players do. Yet with last season's arrival of the affable, open, intelligent Lance Berkman, members of the team were able to witness what genuine leadership looks like.

I haven't seen that much of Berkman - his tenure with the Yankees was brief and unremarkable - but from what I've seen, he's pretty approachable as MLB stars go. Anyone who puts up with the nickname "Fat Elvis" must be pretty laid back.

The non-tender deadline is Monday. Derek Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch suggests that the St. Louis Cardinals might be interested in Paul Janish if he's non-tendered by the Reds. But it's looking like he will be offered a contract. From Reds beat writer John Fay:

The Reds must tender contracts to their arbitration-eligible players by Monday. Edinson Volquez, Homer Bailey, Bill Bray, Nick Masset and Paul Janish fall into that category.

Jocketty at first said all would be tendered, but then backed off that slightly.

Mark Sheldon of MLB.com quoted Jocketty as saying the Reds would "probably" tender a contract to everyone, including Janish.

Labels: Paul Janish

MLB Trade Rumors posted a list a couple of weeks ago of players they thought would be non-tendered. Paul Janish is on it. There are a couple of comments under that post that mention Janish. One thought there was no way Janish would be non-tendered; the other thought he'd be worth picking up if the Reds did cut him.

I'm guessing he won't be non-tendered, since he's still on the roster. Though the non-tender deadline is not until December 12, I would expect the Reds to have released him already if they were going to. The deadline for making changes to the roster for the Rule 5 draft has already passed. The Reds roster is full, and they lost a possibly useful player by DFAing him to get him off the roster. (Starter/reliever Matt Maloney is now a Twin). It would be silly to keep Janish on the roster for Rule 5, only to cut him a couple of weeks later.

Of course, teams have done it. Usually to make room for a free agent signing. And the Reds probably are going to sign a free agent or two.

Labels: Paul Janish