MLB announced the winners of the Gibbys tonight at 9 p.m. on the MLB network and on their website. In the disaster of tabbing and scrolling that was the nominations, I only saw Brandon Phillips from the Reds, in the category of Best Defensive Player. Google was able to tell me that Phillips did not win this honor this year, thankfully without me having to sit through the actual program.

Instead, Asdrubal Cabrera took home the award, which I assume looks something like this:

Maybe next year.

D-Train has signed on with the Phillies, Hernandez went to the Rockies, and the biggest news in Reds world is that they’ve managed to retain their arbitration-eligible players.

That’s all good for not continuing to lose players, but at some point the team does need to replace some starters, right? I’m antsy for some hot stove action.

Not only do I not want to get stuck with whomever is left as Opening Day approaches, but also I’m bored. The Albert Pujols thing is so last week, and I’m ready to be wowed by the savvy stylings of one Mr. Jocketty.

I’d like to have something to talk about before the Reds Caravan comes to town. There’s only so much content you can get out of cell phone photos.

Via Redleg Nation, I saw this quote from Cincinnati Reds General Manager Walt Jocketty about some of the trades the team is working on.

There are two deals we can do right now, but it would probably take a lot of our top prospects and I’m always a little nervous about doing that. So I’ll spend a little more time analyzing that.

On its surface, it makes sense. Of course, you should do your due diligence when making trades. You don’t want to be the Houston Astros trading away Joe Morgan. But then again, doesn’t it seem like Jocketty has been cautious and careful to the Nth degree the whole time he’s been in charge of the Reds?

There are a lot of younger general managers leading teams in baseball now. Jocketty, at 60, is certainly one of the older ones. Has he become too cautious? I hope not. Obviously, being young and trigger-happy can be dangerous–just ask Wayne Krivsky–but when I think about the Reds’ lack of daring in the trades and acquisition department for the last year and a half, I do wonder if Jocketty’s lost some of those trading skills he had with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Albert Pujols is dead to St. Louis Cardinals’ fans this evening.

Today, Pujols surprised everyone by signing a 10-year, $254 million contract with the Los Angeles Anaheim California Angels, spurning the Cardinals’ own 10-year offer.

Pujols, at a stated age of 31, will allegedly be 32 when the first season of the contract begins. By the end, he’ll be 41. Of course, rumors about his age being inaccurate have long surrounded him. If he’s fudged that by a couple years and is actually 33–starting 2012 at 34–he’s going to be one mightily overpaid 43 year-old.

I can’t help but thing that the Angels did the Cardinals a huge favor here. And I mean huge. Pujols has had key stats trending downward over the last few years, and he’s unlikely to change that in the future. Being saddled with that contract–with that expensive of a barely above average player in just a few years–would have been horrible for the Cardinals and wonderful for the Cincinnati Reds.

I was hoping the Cardinals would resign him. I saw how hamstrung the Reds were during the time Ken Griffey Jr was with the team. It’s taken years to overcome. Heck, they’re probably still paying him deferred money. The chance to see the Cardinals shoot themselves in the foot like that would have been thoroughly delicious.

As it is, Reds fans will simply have to take comfort in the fact that one more whiny bird has left the building. It really is a changing of the guard in St. Louis. Unfortunately, now they’ll have money to throw around, while the Reds squander away their time and talent.

I got this email in my inbox today. I didn’t read the words, but it looks like the team is offering Joey Votto’s disembodied head for Christmas.