Giving The Boot to Wayne's World

One of the most criticized men among general managers in today's game was given the boot by the Reds this week. I don't understand it--either the criticism of Wayne Krivsky or the decision to fire him. The Reds haven't played well this season, but it's a small sampling of games that doesn't accurately reflect the moves that Krivsky has made. Let's consider that Krivsky managed to acquire a third of the Reds' starting lineup--second baseman Brandon Phillips, shortstop Jeff Keppinger, and catcher David Ross--for a pittance. Krivsky stole all three players in minor trades, principally Phillips, who has emerged as the franchise's best second baseman since the days of Joe Morgan.

Krivsky also brought in the ace of the Reds' rotation, Bronson Arroyo, at the price of an underachieving Wily Mo Pena, a flat-out bust in Boston who is off to a terrible start with the Nationals in 2008. Furthermore, he managed to acquire Josh Hamilton for cash after the 2006 Rule Five draft, before flipping Hamilton to Texas for the ultra-promising Edinson Volquez. With Arroyo, Volquez, and Johnny Cueto, the Reds' starting rotation hasn't been this promising since the turn of the millennium. Because of that pitching, Reds fans, for the first time in a long while, have a legitimate right to be optimistic about the team's chances of contending.

Krivsky's detractors love to point to his ill-fated decision to surrender Felipe Lopez and Austin Kearns for a cache of mediocre Washington relievers, but it's not as if those ex-Reds have turned into the second coming of Davey Concepcion and George Foster. Frankly, I'd rather have Keppinger and Adam Dunn, who both remain property of the Reds.  

Other critics of Krivsky point to his secretive nature, his unwillingness to be more forthcoming with the media. Gee, that's a criticism that could be aimed at only about two-thirds of the game's current GMs, many of whom act as if they are operatives for the CIA. It's certainly a bone of contention, but hardly a fireable offense--not unless you wanted to start giving pink slips to the other GMs too.  

Whatever the real reason, Krivsky is out of work, replaced by Walt Jocketty, who may be angling to bring in Tony LaRussa as his manager in the next year or two. I'm sure that Jocketty will do well in moving the Reds from builders into contenders, just as he did with the Cardinals. I'm just not sure why his predecessor, Krivsky, wasn't given that same opportunity. After all, he was the man who started putting the pieces into place in Cincinnati.