The Cincinnati Reds have come to a vague and unexpected crossroad a month and a half into their 2008 season. The club is faced with two options: demolish their mediocre at best, and vastly underachieving roster in an effort to build for the future, or make a few moves nearing the trade deadline to try to make the team better in the short run.It seems as if the first option is the best, considering the second one is a near impossibility at this point.
The problem that comes along with building for the future is that we’ve been hearing that phrase from the organization since the team fell one game short of the postseason in 1999, one season before Ken Griffey Jr. arrived on the scene. Just about every season since, the Reds have pushed our patience to the brink; promising “three-year” plans that have never panned out. The 2003 season, the first year the team played in Great American Ballpark, was supposed to be the year the Reds exploded. Instead, the Reds finished 69-93. Midway through the season, manager Bob Boone was fired, and several other high dollar players were traded.
Going into this season, the Reds held expectations similar to the ones entering the 2003 campaign. The team was picked by many to be one of the surprise up-and-comers of the year. The acquisition of Dusty Baker, who led the San Francisco Giants to the World Series in 2002, to fill the team’s managing vacancy seemed to be the off-season move that signified the Reds finally wanted to win by grabbing a big-name.
Coming into this season, the Reds also boasted a slugger’s dream outfield of Griffey and left fielder Adam Dunn, and the young and talented infield of first baseman Joey Votto, second baseman Brandon Phillips, shortstop Jeff Keppinger, and third baseman Edwin Encarnacion.
The Reds also came into this year with a solid starting rotation, with proven ace Aaron Harang, and young newcomers Johnny Cueto and Edinson Volquez. The team even filled one of their most pressing needs when they signed free agent closer Francisco Cordero over the offseason.
With all of these moves being made, the Reds had no excuses to fall any shorter than third place in the National League’s Central Division. But what went wrong?
The Reds just haven’t put it all together when needed. When they get a strong pitching outing, their bats fall silent. Harang holds a 3.32 earned run average, but has only received 30 runs of support from his team, leading to his record of 2-5. When the Reds do go out and give some run support, the pitching gets rocked. The team has recently lost games by scores of 7-14 to the Atlanta Braves, and 6-12 to the New York Mets.
Currently (as of press time), the Reds have a record of 17-23. The team is in last place, and is 6.5 games behind the division-leading Chicago Cubs. It’s not quite yet time to send out the white flag and start trading players away, simply because four and a half months remain in the marathon season. But it’s safe to say that the Reds are beyond the “it’s still early” stage.
The Reds have to turn it around quickly, and it starts with the hitting. The pitching is doing enough to win games, considering the lineup Cincinnati has.
Is this feat impossible? No.
Are the Reds already in a pretty deep hole? Yes.
The Reds have the roster needed to get the job done, and the right man to put it into motion. Baker has turned around his fair share of teams, including the Cubs. The manager led the Cubs to within one game of the 2003 World Series in his first season with the club.
If the Reds don’t turn it around soon, expect some heads to roll. Walt Jocketty, who was once the general manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, was hired to the same position with the Reds on April 23 after the firing of Wayne Krivsky. Jocketty will have more ammo to make an impact on the team with big personnel moves if the Reds continue to play the way they’re playing now.
The next month or so is very important for the Reds. If things don’t change for the liking of President Bob Castellini, get prepared to say goodbye to some of your favorite players.