Is It OK To Acknowledge the Disappointment in This Season W/O Being Absurd?

[GAC]

We've played the Pirates pretty well this year. We're 6-7 in the head-to head series, but after they swept that first series the Pirates haven't won a series against us since. We split that 4 games series, but we should have taken 3 of those.

The Cards are another story. It's not that we can' beat them, we've just been unable to. If we get into the post-season, and while anything is possible, we better hope some other team takes them out, because I don't see us getting by them if it gets to that point. They've had our number this season.

Injuries aside, I've really been disappointed in the performance of a few of our players this year....

Cozart is Cozart. We need to be looking elsewhere. But Phillips and Frazier have been huge disappointments, IMO, this year. Phillips has been terrible these last couple of months with his sub-.700 OPS. He has no grounds to be "jealous" about Votto's big contract looking at what BP has done this year.

Offensively, Votto, Choo, and Bruce have been the only bright spots. The rest has been pretty Blech!

Look at 1-6 in our batting order....

Choo
black hole
Votto
black hole
Bruce
black hole

The reason this team won last year ... and it wasn't because they weren't a good team either.... but there were some other variables involved. The Cards were fighting injuries they couldn't overcome, the Pirates did a huge choke job in August, and we got good, consistent, production from players, especially kids like Frazier, that we just aren't getting this year. And the loss of Ludwick, who carried us last year, is also key this year.

[reds44]

Todd Frazier has not had a hit for 9 straight games now.

I am really tired of watching a AAA talent, tops, at 3B every day.

Who are you watching then? Must not be the Reds.

[NebraskaRed]

Joel Luckhaupt ‏@jluckhaupt 1h
4 of the last 6 NL teams to win the World Series were 61-51.

[miamiredskin]

It is not the best of times, but far from the worst of times...

Love the starting pitching, all of it really. Especially battling Mike Leake, crafty Bronson and gritty Cingrani.
Love Choo. Like how Bruce is improving, despite his lapses.
Like how Mes is coming along.

Tough to watch Cozie and Todd struggle, but it really is not unexpected for 2nd year guys. Sophomore slump is a cliche for a reason.
What's worse is watching guys routinely run ragged on the bases.
Who's teaching them? What are they telling them? Run until someone tags you?

[Kc61]

I'll give the politically incorrect but truthful answer for me.

Very disappointed in the Reds so far, unequivocally. It's not even the won-lost record, it's how the team is playing and has been playing for months.

Expected to be in a position to say "hey, my team is excellent, I'm very confident about the stretch run and playoffs."

Instead now the big seling point is the randomness of playoff baseball rather than any real confidence in the Reds on their merits.

The starting pitching is exempt from this disappointment. The front office is not, has been inactive despite injuries, particularly the Ludwick injury which occurred on Day 1. Not happy with that at all.

[REDREAD]

What if the Cards and Reds end up as wild card teams and the Reds knock the Cards out of the playoffs.

Would that make the season satisfying? For me, it would. The Cards have pulled out so many of these wildcard wins, it would be totally awesome to knock them out in a one game playoff.

[Roy Tucker]

Not that the '13 Reds and this team are all that comparable, but does anyone recognize this record?

Month by Month 
                W  L  Pct
April          13  3  .813 
May            17  9  .654 
June           16 14  .533 
July           14 15  .483 
August         15 14  .517 
September      14 15  .483 
October         2  1   .667

[westofyou]

Not that the '13 Reds and this team are all that comparable, but does anyone recognize this record?

Month by Month 
                W  L  Pct
April          13  3  .813 
May            17  9  .654 
June           16 14  .533 
July           14 15  .483 
August         15 14  .517 
September      14 15  .483 
October         2  1   .667

1990... look at the stretch at the end of July

Brutal

[Roy Tucker]

1990... look at the stretch at the end of July

Brutal

Yep.

They invented the "hot start, play .500 ball for 4 months, and get hot in the playoffs" strategy.

[RedsManRick]

Not that the '13 Reds and this team are all that comparable, but does anyone recognize this record?

Month by Month 
                W  L  Pct
April          13  3  .813 
May            17  9  .654 
June           16 14  .533 
July           14 15  .483 
August         15 14  .517 
September      14 15  .483 
October         2  1   .667

Clearly that team just coasted. I mean, sure they got off to a hot start, but they had a 61-59 record after June 1st (.508 win%). They clearly weren't real contenders.

[RedsManRick]

Choo
black hole
Votto
black hole
Bruce
black hole

This isn't fair. The black hole after Votto is actually an all-star if there are men on base. He's just a massive black hole if there isn't an RBI opportunity involved.

[GAC]

This isn't fair. The black hole after Votto is actually an all-star if there are men on base. He's just a massive black hole if there isn't an RBI opportunity involved.

That's true; but I was referring to his overall offensive performance and two months of a sub-700 OPS.

[Edskin]

1990... look at the stretch at the end of July

Brutal

I think you also have to put into context the situation. That team led wire to wire and was never really in serious danger of getting caught even through those rough patches. I think that likely plays into concentration levels, etc.

If I'm a Braves fan I'm a week or so away from hitting the snooze button on this season until October and I wouldn't be surprised if their players did the same. Meaning they are far enough out in front now that they might very well dial it down a notch heading through September.

I think what stresses some fans out is that the Reds have been hovering around .500 for two months while ina somewhat tenuous position.

[westofyou]

I think you also have to put into context the situation. That team led wire to wire and was never really in serious danger of getting caught even through those rough patches. I think that likely plays into concentration levels, etc.

If I'm a Braves fan I'm a week or so away from hitting the snooze button on this season until October and I wouldn't be surprised if their players did the same. Meaning they are far enough out in front now that they might very well dial it down a notch heading through September.

I think what stresses some fans out is that the Reds have been hovering around .500 for two months while ina somewhat tenuous position.

Consistent .500 ball is consistent .500 ball, that's my context

[Edskin]

Consistent .500 ball is consistent .500 ball, that's my context

But I think many times in sports, teams will "play down" to the situation. Perhaps not consciously, but more out of human nature. The 1990 team probably felt they had the season wrapped by June. I imagine that some of them "drifted" for lack of a better term in large part due to their perception that things were locked up. That's dangerous business of course, but it is also human nature.