According to Jocketty (via Sheldon):

Corey Patterson's return to the Reds in 2009 already seemed unlikely as this season closed. Now, it's official.

Patterson, one of nine Reds headed to free agency, won't be re-signed by the club.

"I don't think he'll be back," Reds general manager Walt Jocketty said. "We'll turn the page."

Sheldon believes they will try to sign Hairston and Weathers.  Personally, I'd rather move on from both of those players.  The only free agent the Reds have that I'm really interested in is Jeremy Affeldt, and that's only if his price remains reasonably low, which I doubt will happen.  Mike Lincoln is also a possibility, but we all know a second term won't likely end as well as the first.

Then again, maybe they should bring Javier Valentin back.  Otherwise, who will make the last out to end the game?

I was thinking about this over the weekend, trying to parse who the local baseball writers would pick to win the Ernie Lombardi Award for the team MVP.  I mean, I'm pretty sure I know who is going to win it, but I wanted to post something other than playoff threads, so play along, okay?

It's obvious who will win the Johnny Vander Meer award for most outstanding pitcher.  Edinson Volquez has had that locked up since May.  But I think there are 4 guys who are contenders for the ELA - well, three contenders and one guy who should get consideration but likely won't.  Those four are Brandon Phillips, Joey Votto, Jerry Hairston, and Adam Dunn.  Let's look at the case for each:

Brandon Phillips

The Case for Phillips: There is a lot of talk about this being "his team." After Griffey and Dunn were traded, the media pretty much assumed that Phillips was the de facto team leader, and the Reds put up a winning record (albeit just 22-21) after those trades.  He lead the team in runs, triples, and stolen bases and he finished 2nd in RBI, 3rd in doubles, and 4th in HR.  He is also arguably the best defensive second baseman in the league and likely the best defensive player on the Reds.

The Case against Phillips: Despite missing nearly a whole month of the season, Phillips led the Reds in outs made by 10% over second place.  His RBI total is deceptive because Phillips batted in the 4th spot most of the season and had the benefit of nearly 50 more base runners on for him than Joey Votto, who led the team in RBI.  He batted just .208/.270/.356 after Dunn was traded before injury finished his season.  So, despite the team leader moniker, his performance was not a big factor in the Reds late season improvement.

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