Open Letter To Wayne Krivsky

(My Open Letter to Kirk Saarloos obviously prompted Mr. Krivsky to leave Saarloos in the minors for a couple months. So maybe this Open Letter to Mr. Krivsky will prompt Mr. Castellini to send Krivksy and his subpar brain packing.)

Mr. Krivsky,

I wish I could just thank you for all the good things you've done for the franchise I love. Oh, the good things that you've done! Brandon Phillips, Bronson Arroyo, David Ross, Josh Hamilton. You acquired these gentlemen without giving up anything (no offense to Wily Mo). Scott Hatteberg and Jeff Conine and Alex Gonzalez are solid contributors that you wisely picked up. Jared Burton appears to have a future here. When faced with lots of fan pressure to deal Dunn, you chose not to, and who can blame you? Why wouldn't you want a perennial 40-homer guy on your roster? I applaud you for keeping the guy with such offensive talent, even if his defense and commitment are questionable.

Unfortunately, I can't just thank you for all the good things. Because this team sucks, and it's as much your fault as anyone's.

• You are currently carrying 13 pitchers on the 25-man roster. Among those 13 are Mike Stanton and Todd Coffey. Is it really necessary to carry 13 pitchers? EVER?
• Not among those 13 is Jon Coutlangus, who has without a doubt been the best lefty out of the pen all year. When the biggest problem on your team is the bullpen, why would you demote the guy who has only given up 2 runs in 10 1/3 innings since July 1?
• 13 pitchers means you are only carrying 12 position players. Maybe I should give you some credit for finally deciding that 3 catchers is a ridiculous way to field a team. But you should have known better than that... you trade away Jason LaRue and decide Chad Moeller is a must-have?

May I give you some advice, Mr. Krivsky? August is upon us, and your team sucks. But you knew that. You might as well admit that this year is effectively over. Start treating 2007 as if it were practice for 2008:

• Hatteberg and Conine will be gone... so release them and bring up Joey Votto and Jorge Cantu. Get them some practice in for next year, as they are the future. Yes, I said "release" the veterans, and I mean that. What purpose do they have here? Would you rather win a couple more games or give your future players some potentially valuable opportunites? (Please tell us why you didn't trade Hatteberg or Conine. Surely, someone would have given up a class A longshot for them, right?)
• On September 1, bring Jay Bruce up and order Mackanin to start him at least 4 days per week. If he lights up big league pitching like he has minor league pitching, then let Dunn walk and spend his $13m on something else!

Please consider these things, Mr. Krivsky. I know you are a baseball professional and I am not, but I won my fantasy league last year, which is more than you're currently winning. So, umm... scoreboard?

Sincerely,
Scott