Cueto leaves game with injury again.

[LincolnparkRed]

Protect your investment and shut him down.

[RedsManRick]

I'm preparing myself for no more effective Cueto... perhaps ever again. No special insight, just not sure how he gets back to where he can hold up.

[mikdavrut]

I'm preparing myself for no more effective Cueto... perhaps ever again. No special insight, just not sure how he gets back to where he can hold up.

I do wonder how effective he will be if he does indeed end up dropping the weird little wind-up he employed a few years back. Some will almost certainly argue otherwise, but I have little doubt in my mind that that wind-up has been a considerable factor in his turning that corner. Otherwise, I can not imagine he would still be using it. Not after all of the recent injuries he has sustained.

Can he be effective, even VERY effective sans it? Well, we might be finding out sooner rather than later. I certainly do hope that he can.

I'm not ready to turn doom & gloom yet, despite the fact that I feel that way tonight because I know how quickly things can turn around and the team could possibly look as though they are firing on all cylinders again. I'll wait and see where things stand come middle to late July. Cueto being seemingly unable to stay healthy is indeed a BIG hit at any rate.

[Wonderful Monds]

I'm preparing myself for no more effective Cueto... perhaps ever again. No special insight, just not sure how he gets back to where he can hold up.

I agree. I think he can be healthy, but that windup trick appears to be a big weapon for him.

Does anybody remember around when he started doing that in 2011? Or know where game by game stats can be found? I remember that game specifically being one where he was especially great and kind of kept it up from then on out.

[Jim]

Shut him down. Get the injury completely healed as we need a dependable starter, not a pitch-one-inning-and-sit starter as we're getting from him lately. If Tony Cingrani is destined for the starting rotation of the future, put him back into that spot.

[smixsell]

I'm too bummed out for rational thought on this matter.

[mikdavrut]

Of course, the biggest obstacle created via Cueto going down again is the further depletion of an already depleted BP. I loved having Cingrani in the pen. I also love the fact that he can step up for Cueto and, thus far at least, seems very capable. I hate to imagine us without the guy.

Having said all of that, who do you guys & gals think is most likely to replace Cingrani in the BP should Cueto indeed go on another DL stint (which IMO is almost guaranteed to happen and also IMO SHOULD happen - let the guy get FULLY healthy before giving it another go)?

Ondrusek? Arredondo? (I have not looked @ 'Dondo's stats lately - in fact, the last thing I heard about 'Dondo was that his walk rate was still up there and then that he was being suspended for a couple of weeks or so. I don't think I have heard much of anything post-suspension and that was a some weeks ago). Who else?

Has there been ANY timetable spoken of recently concerning Marshall/Broxton? I have not heard ANYTHING myself.

Also, what about Nick Masset? (yeah, yeah...I'm just kidding concerning him - I personally have VERY little faith in Nick ever pitching another innning for the Reds).

[Todd Gack]

Man, if only we had Zach Stewart to replace his spot we'd still be good to go.

[joshua]

Screw it. Bring up Reynolds and stick him in the pen.

[vaticanplum]

I'm scared to say this for fear of being run off the board for negativity, but I'm starting to believe this isn't the Reds' year.

[oregonred]

I'm scared to say this for fear of being run off the board for negativity, but I'm starting to believe this isn't the Reds' year.

Sure looks a lot less likely than even a week ago. -24 run differential in June.

And 1991... 1996... 2000... 2011... This is why Reds fans are so (justifiably) skittish and on the edge.

All of those were years of high expectations following playoff seasons and then back to a cold reality without ever being in the race. Last consecutive playoff appearances were '75 and '76.

We're all in for 2013 with the Choo and Marshall trades further depleting the farm, and the Broxton/Ludwick overpay short term contracts and because of the injury bug only one of the four has provided anything of value for the club in 2013.

[Todd Gack]

I'm scared to say this for fear of being run off the board for negativity, but I'm starting to believe this isn't the Reds' year.

Ohhh, the difference one game makes. I'll wait until AS Game to make a judgement again as one game doesn't make a year. But tonight was as close as it gets.

[757690]

It's a long season. Every season for every team has peaks and valleys, winning streaks and losing streaks.

The 1975 Reds had steaks of 0-6, 1-6, 6-8, 1-5, 1-5 and 2-6 on their way to win 108 games.

I with Raisor. Reds win the division by 10+ games.

[mikdavrut]

I always try my hardest to wait until about at least a couple of weeks post-AS break before I begin to REALLY worry and turn more towards the "doom & gloom". It's very hard not to be excessively negative after, especially the A's series and tonight (the Dbacks series wasn't all that hot for the Reds either, but we were "Chapman being "great Chapman"", as we so often expect him to be away from taking the series).

But we looked pretty bad vs. the A's and this 1st game vs. a REALLY good Rangers team sure didn't help ease the pain from that short A's series. The offense has looked abysmal the last 3 games and now w/Cueto going down yet AGAIN, it's hard to keep a positive attitude currently.

But, having said all of that, I'm going to keep my chin up. Baseball can be a very odd game at times and who knows? The Reds might explode offensively beginning with tomorrows game and hang double-digits on the Rangers. The SP might shut them out while doing so. And again, who knows? Maybe they will keep that hypothetical super hot-streak going for the next month. So yeah...no "hanging head" for me, not at this point in the season and with a still decent lead in the WC race.

I remember last season when Votto went down. I was thinking "oh s**t, how long 'til the Reds begin circling the drain now"? And while yes, I am VERY well aware that many things are different currently vs. that point in time last year, the Reds very well could get really hot & go on yet another 10 game winning streak. The offense could really get going. The SP could begin shutting teams down and, hard as it might be to feel this way as of now, even the struggling BP could suddenly turn things around and begin to dominate. I assure everyone, stranger things have happened in this game.

Also & once again in the "who knows what could happen 'tween now and seasons end" hypothetical discussion, the seemingly "four-leaf-clover" Cardinals could fall into a big slump. And the Pirates, though I personally *do* think that they are "for real" this season, at the same time it certainly would not shock me in the least if they went on a downward spiral.

Bottom line, we are absolutely & unequivocally still in this marathon and while there are a myriad of things to be concerned about, for sure, I would recommend folks resist that very human urge during these "lows" & not allow themselves to go all doom & gloom at this point in time.

While I can't necessarily say "it's still early" at this point, I CAN say that there IS still a lot of time. A lot of games left to be played. Our offense, despite how bad it has looked very recently, I feel very confident in saying will not remain at such a stagnant level for too much longer. So cheer up and have a little faith in this team folks!

[vaticanplum]

Ohhh, the difference one game makes. I'll wait until AS Game to make a judgement again as one game doesn't make a year. But tonight was as close as it gets.

Exactly the kind of response that made me hesitant to post that. I'm not in any way making a judgment call based on one game. Not my style. It's a culmination of three months of injuries, inconsistency, and mental blips. Sometimes the chips fall into place and sometimes they don't. It's a long season and I certainly hope I end up eating my words; I think the ability to win it all is there. I just have a different feeling than last year and I feel that whereas every time something broke in their favor last year, everything is breaking against them this year. That's all I'm saying, just an observation.