Interesting tweet this morning from Troy Renck, Denver Post, Rockies:
Phillies are kicking the tires a bit on Redding. They had interest in
him over the winter. For now, Kendrick is Blanton's replacement”
First off, I don't know if I have said this yet this offseason, but when did the phrase “kicking the tires” become so popular. I have known about it for a very long time, but I feel that 1 out of every 3 or 4 rumors I here now starts off with “kicking the tires”. If I had to guess why the phrase has become more popular, I think its directly related to Twitter. Think about it. Twitter provides short, 140 character, blogging. Meaning it is the perfect venue for a quick thought, specially one that does not have a substantial amount of source or breadth. It's hard to make an entire blog article or any article about a GM saying “yeah, we might be interested in that guy”, but thats perfect for a tweet.
Back on track though.
Redding signed a minor league deal with the Rockies this offseason. It would probably not take a lot for the Phillies to acquire Redding, but honestly, if I were in charge of the Phillies, I would leave Redding alone. Its not worth to go get him to replace Blanton. The Phillies have enough internal options and honestly, you are not going to get anything special out of Redding. (Of course, since it is the Phillies, if they get Redding, he end up having a Cy Young type year).
