Reds Fans Not Handling Kearns Trade Well

The first big trade of the baseball season went down yesterday, and, to just from the popular reaction, you'd think the Washington Nationals were in wild-card contention and the Cincinnati Reds were selling off. The Reds traded Austin Kearns and Felipe Lopez, two of their best young hitters, for a cavalcade of relief pitchers .. and Royce Clayton. It's not the Yankees signing Sidney Ponson, but Reds fans are certainly skeptical. In fact, they're kind of losing their minds.

• Red Reporter: "So I've thought about it, and I can honestly say that this is the worst trade the Reds have made in my lifetime." • Red Hot Mama: "I'm baffled." • Redleg Nation: "I take back everything good I've ever said about Reds GM Wayne Krivsky. Jim Bowden robbed Krivsky today."

Keith Law — whom we really like over at ESPN, by the way, if you happen to be an "Insider" — hammered the trade too, saying [Bowden] just pushed the Reds to the back of the NL playoff queue." So does anyone like this trade for the Reds?

Would you believe a Cardinals blogger?

he's spent his surplus of slugging, one-dimensional outfielders to broaden the talent base on the pitching staff. the reds still have two 40-hr outfielders on the roster, plus denorfia and freel, so i don't think they're gonna miss kearns all that much. and now krivsky has created the payroll flexibility to go after zito or schmidt or one of those guys in the off-season. so by next year the trade may actually translate to: kearns / lopez for majewski / bray / schmidt. which would be a pretty damn good trade.

That's right, Reds fans: Only Cardinals fans can cheer you up.

"Steep Price" For Relief [Cincinnati Enquirer]