Sorry, the sad fact is, we still don't have enough pitching

[GOREDSGO32]

Arroyo is coming down to earth from being a Cy Young leader early in the year. Obviously it was going to happen eventually, the sad fact is, we just don't have enough pitching. In a weak NL, we're barely over .500 and tied (maybe down now) in the NL WC - in a VERY week league this year. Fact is this team in an up NL year would probably be under .500 and 8 games out of the Wild Card at this point.

We're relying on a lot of spare pieces to continue astronomical career years (Hatteburgh, Phillips, Arroyo, Harang) to keep us in it, and when someone falls off, we lose. Sad fact is, we just don't have enough. If we had players in Milton's and Griffey's place that played to what their overpayed salary is, we'dd probably be up there with the Mets leading the NL.

Maybe if we can make it to the final week within 2 or 3 games we could pull off something, right now we're just hanging on watching the playoff spot slip away.

[redsupport]

the amazing thing is of all the pitchers vs. st louis in this series, mIlton was the best

[GOREDSGO32]

Well I guess he's the nine million dollar a game man, since thats how much we pay him to have 3 decent games out of 30 in a year pretty much.

[Chainer]

Is this being referred to over the course of the season, or just the recent loss?

Hopefully Griffey gets hot very soon and breaks from his 1 for 4 type of shell he keeps casting each game. Cutting down on the strike outs would be great as well.

We split a series with the Cards, which could arguably be the best team in the NL alongside of the Mets.

What is an UP NL year? So, you're saying the the NL is weak this year and that the only reason the Reds are playing good is because the NL is weak? That's absolute crap! I don't need to state any reasoning on that, because either way it's a personal opinion. The Reds have one of the best hitting ballclubs in all of baseball....and their pitching has been really steady for a team that resides in a HITTER'S ballpark.

[goreds2]

Dare I say, HOMER BAILEY?

[CTA513]

Dare I say, HOMER BAILEY?

Joe Mays is in AAA and waiting to be called up.

[BRM]

Joe Mays is in AAA and waiting to be called up.

[goreds2]

I am sure Mr. Bowden has a healthy pitcher for us.

[KronoRed]

Dare I say, HOMER BAILEY?

Yikes, hate to throw him into the fire like that.

[Jr's Boy]

Dare I say, HOMER BAILEY?

Would'nt hurt at this juncture to give him a start.

[TeamBoone]

Would'nt hurt at this juncture to give him a start.

I wouldn't be so sure about that.

[StillFunkyB]

I wouldn't be so sure about that.

I'll second that TB.

[Unassisted]

Would'nt hurt at this juncture to give him a start.

Won't hurt now, but it'll hurt in a few years when he becomes a free agent one year sooner due to this shortsighted approach. Instead of starting his arb clock early so that Homer can get on-the-job training at the ML level, let him continue to mature and improve in the minors. That way, the Reds can enjoy more of his peak performance years .

[RedEye]

Is this being referred to over the course of the season, or just the recent loss?

Hopefully Griffey gets hot very soon and breaks from his 1 for 4 type of shell he keeps casting each game. Cutting down on the strike outs would be great as well.

We split a series with the Cards, which could arguably be the best team in the NL alongside of the Mets.

What is an UP NL year? So, you're saying the the NL is weak this year and that the only reason the Reds are playing good is because the NL is weak? That's absolute crap! I don't need to state any reasoning on that, because either way it's a personal opinion. The Reds have one of the best hitting ballclubs in all of baseball....and their pitching has been really steady for a team that resides in a HITTER'S ballpark.

I agree that the Cards are one of the better teams in the NL... but I don't get your other reasoning at all. It is, without a doubt, a down year in the NL. All you have to do is look at the standings to see that the NL is not performing very respectably in the one stat that counts the most: wins. That's probably why the AL has, like, six teams playing over .560 ball. Heck, the Twins might not even make the playoffs, and their record is almost the same as the Mets!

As much as I'm glad we have a front office that cares and a GM who tries, I'm having a really hard time understanding the recent acquisitions. We've frittered away all of our viable resources now, and all we have to show for it are five mediocre middle relievers. Yuck.

I hope the Reds make the playoffs, I really do. And I know that "You don't pick the year, the year picks you." I just can't avoid the feeling that the year didn't really pick us at all.

[GOREDSGO32]

Um its not personal opinion, the NL just sucks this year. It's nowhere as good as the AL, when you only have one team, the Mets, who are steadily above .500 with no danger of going under that point - its pretty sad. The AL completely destroyed the NL in interleague play also. The NL is just in a really down year. If the Reds were in the AL, I doubt we would be over .500.

It's just the way it goes. In 1999 the Reds won 96 games and didn't make the playoffs, and had a better record than the NL West champs and two AL playoff teams I believe. Just a really unfortunate draw who we ended behind that year. This year its been a pretty good draw, except we still don't have enough firepower to take over.