Mathematically speaking the season is not over for the Cincinnati Reds. Realistically, well that is a whole other story. The Reds have been a miserable wreck of a baseball team this season. From the nausea inducing performance of the bull pen, the inconsistent starting pitching, substandard offensive production, the list goes on and on. So much so that I could easily write an entire series of articles about the things that are plaguing this team. Then again who needs more negativity in the midst of an already dismal situation.
Instead, maybe we have reached the point in the season where we have known it was over and now we need to look to the future. There are a lot of pluses about this team, that could give a good manager and GM a solid foundation to build a team around. It may involve some unpopular and downright ugly moves, but that is the game. It has been said countless times, that professional sports are businesses, and as such sometimes tough and unpopular moves need to be made to allow the business to thrive. I have compiled a list of ten things I believe make this team more watchable then we as the fans and the media give them credit for.
1. Pete Mackanin
Face it, Cincinnati, the guy can manage a team. The Reds have the best record in the Central since Pete took over in July. He has a 4-1 win ratio. He is not afraid to step on toes and make moves that make people question his sanity, but ultimately work. You have to love the way he reacted to Todd Coffey being left in the bullpen. He said plainly that he would not use him and he has not. When Adam Dunn asked not to be taken out late in the game, Pete goes out that very same night and takes him out of the game in the eighth. Mackanin may not be the skipper next season, but he is putting on a great audition.
2. Junior 600
This is by far the most under-appreciated event that is going on in Reds baseball today. Let's look at the landscape of baseball right now. Every slugger in baseball has a taint over them because of the steroid era. Every hitting milestone that has been reached in this season has had a cloud of doubt over it, excepting Biggio's 3000 hits. Bonds was a no brainer, right? Sosa reaching 600 barely put a blip on the sports radar. Then in this little town called Cincinnati, Ken Griffey, Jr is on the verge of hitting 600 career home runs, and even local fans hardly acknowledge it. Here is a guy, that when spoken about by the media is almost unequivocally considered to be clean, yet no one is glorifying a milestone that we have been begging for. Why are we putting the players we know we have doubts about so far out in front of an amazing and CLEAN career. Because he is on a poor baseball team. Junior is THE reason we should be at the ball park. We should all be holding our breath every time he comes to the plate. We have seen it from the fans out side of Cincinnati, they love Junior. Now we need to give him the same.
3. Jeff Keppenger
This kid has got it. he is great with a bat, and looks good on defense as well. He is still young and will make some mistakes, but overall I think he is a great addition to this team. He plays hard and smart. He can seem to read pitches well and make adjustments pitch to pitch on the fly. I don't see a permanent spot for him on this roster with everyone healthy. At the very least making him a utility guy just to get his bat in the lineup is not a bad idea.
4. Bullpen Development
Bullpen problems are the bane of any baseball team. That said, at points this year I don't think this bullpen could have pitched themselves out of an inning against the Hamilton All Stars little league team. I mean for months,and even to maybe a lesser degree now, if the started couldn't pitch a complete game it was almost certainly over. Then we slowly saw guys coming in and out in the bullpen. Granted a great deal of seemingly bonehead moves (Coffey is still here I believe) and a whole lot of shuffling the same guys up and down has gone on. Still, I see it as a good thing. When dealing with the minor league system you have to realize the most of these guy have little or no major league experience. They are going to take their lumps and get beat, sometimes beat a lot. At the same time when you are this far out of it, why not shuffle guys around, get them some big league time, that way when spring training rolls around next year there is a little better idea of who is going to cut it and who isn't. As much as we as fans would like to see Coffey and Stanton grab a greyhound to Louisville we need these guys in that bullpen. They are probably both at the trailing end of their careers but they still have valuable information to feed to the young guys who has the ability, but need guidance. Watching these guys is great fun, you get to see their development on the biggest stage.
5 Filling the 5th Starter Spot
I realize that having a hole in the rotation seems like a really bad thing. Yet if kept in the context of, this season is a scratch, it makes for a good experience of the game. Forget pre-season what better way to see if a guy has what it takes than to put him right in the thick of it. When Bobby Livingston was put in as a starter, we all questioned how long he was going to last. then he came out strong in a couple of early games and mad a little room for himself. Since then he has taken some pretty good shots, but overall he has good stuff. Good games are what will make you a star in this league. Your ability to go deep and hold things down for your bullpen. Livingston can hold down a game and I think he will emerge as a dominant starter on this team. That leaves the 5th spot, which since the release of Lohse has been a merry go round. Once again this makes for very interesting baseball, you can watch a guy develop on the major league level. This is the best way to see if a guy has what it takes.
Everyone knows how hard it is to get behind a bad team. Just ask anyone growing up in Cincinnati during the 90's. The trick is I believe is to recognize that your team is bad, and to then go to an individual basis. Yeah the team as a whole may be awful, but there is always an Aaron Harang, or Griffey, or Phillips, that can make going to watch your last place team a little more enjoyable. You can always say "Well the bull pen blew it again, but did you see (insert player)? Great job!" A little light at the end of the tunnel beats no light at all, right?
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