I was talking with someone about baseball the other day and the Reds came up as a subject and, for the first time in a long time, it caused me to have Reds-related thoughts. Anyway, since I had them I figured I'd share them.
First off, this year's Reds are a testament to the fact the lineups DO matter. On April 27, Brandon Phillips moved up to the #2 slot in the order and Scott Rolen moved up to the #4 slot. Before that, the Reds were 8-11 with a fairly forgettable offense. Since then the Reds have been the class of the NL at the plate and the team has gone 41-27.
Apparently the Scott Rolen trade was a masterstroke. He's really freakin' good. Hall of Fame good. One of the best 3Bs in history good. The Reds prospered immediately when he came over last season and making him the cleanup hitter literally unlocked this lineup. Walt Jocketty deserves all the praise in the world for making the deal and Dusty Baker deserves all the praise in the world for finding the right combination with the players at his disposal.
Joey Votto may be the guy getting all the MVP attention (rightfully so), but I'm not so sure his game gets to this level without Rolen behind him. Phillips also has responded exceedingly well to hitting at the top of the lineup. It makes sense, because the #2 slot (or even the leadoff slot where he's been of late) asks him to be the slash-and-instigate player he is instead of the RBI man he was miscast as in recent years.
It doesn't hurt that Jay Bruce is starting to show why we all were so excited about him and that Jonny Gomes is doing all right vs. RHPs (maybe he really was injured for three years).
Ramon Hernandez has been the kind of tag-along player that princeton once noted Steve Parris was. When the team is bad, Hernandez can't get the job done well enough. When the team is good, he's a useful additive.
And it's kind of exciting the way Chris Heisey has stepped into the majors.
On the pitching side, it is impossible to say enough good things about Bronson Arroyo. Seriously, he deserves a medal for what he's delivered in 4+ years in a Reds uniform.
Sure enough, Johnny Cueto has become a pitcher. Meanwhile Mike Leake has proven an object lesson in the kind of impact a team can get from a starting pitcher who is immediately ready to pitch in the bigs.
Francisco Cordero at the end of the bullpen enforces sanity and structure for the rest of the pitching staff. And Aaron Harang may yet have some positive impact on this season ... not to mention that Edinson Volquez guy.
Anyway, the point is the Reds have a lot of things going right at the moment, the folks in charge deserve praise, and fans of the team should enjoy this run after nine years of misery. There really isn't any reason the Reds shouldn't win the NL Central. They aren't a lock to do it, but it's within their grasp.
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Originally Posted by Raisor
