At least that's what I keep hearing from people. The Reds offense can't score runs without home runs, can't string together hits, can't do this, can't do that, can't can't can't can't CAN'T! Let's take a look at a couple of things. The Reds lead the National League in batting average. They are fourth in on-base-percentage. Tops in runs scored. They are second in home runs and sixth in doubles. Oh yeah, tops in RBI. Sometimes you have to wonder what the heck fans want. Okay, so the Reds have lost 1-0 in three of their last five games. This is what I call the ebbs and flows of baseball. Baseball has the longest season in terms of games played. There are streaks you can't explain, no matter how obvious you may think the answer may be. My guess is the Reds may not lose three more games the rest of the season by 1-0 scores. Or they could lose a dozen. That's what makes baseball so great. What also makes it great is that most pretenders are separated from the pack by this stage in the season. At least that is what I believe. I also believe the Reds are setup to hang in there for the long haul. Barring key injuries, (hurry back Rolen!) there is no way they hang in this race. I feel that good about the starting pitching. I feel pretty good about the hitting too.
The Bengals get started in a little over a week. I think it will be a good season for the Bengals. I think they will go over the early Vegas total of wins set at eight. Well, let me rephrase that, I think strongly they will not go under that total. It's a tough schedule on paper, but the NFL is tough to predict. Every season teams that look scary in July turn out to be duds in the regular season. And vice-versa. The biggest thing I'll be looking for early in camp is one of the biggest players on the roster: Andre Smith. I'm anxious to see if his foot problems are finally behind him. We didn't see him on the field at minicamp and that concerns me. But I'm not getting too concerned yet. After all, it's only July.
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I think there are a few things that need to be tweaked.
ReplyDeleteFirst, an observation. If the Reds are up 5 to 3 in the first, then can hold that lead the rest of the game. However, when they are up 8 to 3 in the first, you can expect the game to get tight.
As of Tuesday, Jay Bruce broke an 0 for 16 streak. Why is he still playing, for the most part, day after day? Is it because of his defense? If defenese is the only thing that matters, then why isn't Paul Janish playing every day?! Jay Bruce needs to spend a couple of weeks in AAA on a hitting rehab assignment.
Number 2, Arthur Rhodes needs to be the closer, period. Do we want 33 straight scoreless innings as a closer or 6 blown saves??
If this team is going to make it to the post-season, here's what I say needs to happen:
Heisey needs to play more Right Field as long as Bruce is swinging the bat like he's trying to be a switch hitter for the first time.
Janish needs more playing time at short
Miller needs to get out from behind the plate and head back to where he came from.
Homer Bailey needs to be dumped from the team.
Cairo and Rolen need to have a regular platoon option to keep Rolen in good shape for October.
Leake needs to go the bullpen - with Volquez back, he would be better served in the bullpen.
But, most of all, this team needs to look within themselves and not to the toothpick and sweatbands as their inspiration. This team has the opportunity to revitalize the city's attitude towards our sports teams and the post season.