August 1, 2012: The Reds wake up with the best record in baseball

[backbencher]

That's how I'll remember this trade deadline.

[RedFanAlways1966]

Hold on!! I am confused and feel as though I just got done traveling for a week with Led Zeppelin on tour during the 1970's...

Yankees or Red Sox? Nah (sorry ESPN!). The “money does not matter despite we were bankrupt not long ago” Rangers? Of course not. Those Motown Tigers with the best pitcher in MLB (so they say) and those high-$$$ sluggers named Miguel and Prince? They are not even in 1st place in their own division. How about the Walt Disney of California/Anaheim/LA/Tijuana Angels? Of course not b/c they are still behind the Nolan Ryan Bankrupts.

I give up! Someone help me figure this out. I have heard they are the ONLY team with a winning % that starts with a 0.6 in MLB right now. I have also heard the team with the 2nd best record is rather unknown too. They are called the Harpers or something like that. These top 2 teams in MLB as of 8-1-2012 have been to the playoffs how many times in the last 15 years?

I am drawing a blank. Perhaps it is relative to the fact that I listen to Mike & Mike in the morning and they rarely mention this team with the best record in MLB. They do talk about the Harpers from time-to-time, but rarely mention the best team in MLB.

I think I will travel the rest of this dream in the front of the LZ tour plane. Tell Jimmy and Robert to stay away from me until my mind has cleared.

[Vottomatic]

That's how I'll remember this trade deadline.

It feels good.

They're starting to pick eachother up, which is a good sign. Starting pitching broke down last night and the bullpen did a stellar job and the offense did just enough. Good stuff.

Rolen is batting over .300 since the AS break.
Phillips, unfortunately injured last night, has been on a tear.
Frazier and Ludwick bashing big time.
Bruce starting to show some life again the last few nights. Hopefully he goes on one of his hot streaks.
And Votto comes back soon.

I hope Bailey and Leake got their clunkers out of the way. They've been pretty consistent up until this week.

I want to win it all, like we all do. Winning it all would be awesome along with knowing the Reds didn't suck the life out of their farm system at the deadline, like alot of teams, to get it done. If they fall apart, there will be finger pointing at Walt. If they go the max, we have the Hamilton's, Cingrani's, Corcino's, Gregorius, H-Rod's, Lutz's, etc........to continue to look forward to. Best of both worlds.

Keep up the good work, Reds.

[jhu1321]

It feels good.

They're starting to pick eachother up, which is a good sign. Starting pitching broke down last night and the bullpen did a stellar job and the offense did just enough. Good stuff.

Rolen is batting over .300 since the AS break.
Phillips, unfortunately injured last night, has been on a tear.
Frazier and Ludwick bashing big time.
Bruce starting to show some life again the last few nights. Hopefully he goes on one of his hot streaks.
And Votto comes back soon.

I hope Bailey and Leake got their clunkers out of the way. They've been pretty consistent up until this week.

I want to win it all, like we all do. Winning it all would be awesome along with knowing the Reds didn't suck the life out of their farm system at the deadline, like alot of teams, to get it done. If they fall apart, there will be finger pointing at Walt. If they go the max, we have the Hamilton's, Cingrani's, Corcino's, Gregorius, H-Rod's, Lutz's, etc........to continue to look forward to. Best of both worlds.

Keep up the good work, Reds.

[redsmetz]

Hold on!! I am confused and feel as though I just got done traveling for a week with Led Zeppelin on tour during the 1970's...

Yankees or Red Sox? Nah (sorry ESPN!). The “money does not matter despite we were bankrupt not long ago” Rangers? Of course not. Those Motown Tigers with the best pitcher in MLB (so they say) and those high-$$$ sluggers named Miguel and Prince? They are not even in 1st place in their own division. How about the Walt Disney of California/Anaheim/LA/Tijuana Angels? Of course not b/c they are still behind the Nolan Ryan Bankrupts.

I give up! Someone help me figure this out. I have heard they are the ONLY team with a winning % that starts with a 0.6 in MLB right now. I have also heard the team with the 2nd best record is rather unknown too. They are called the Harpers or something like that. These top 2 teams in MLB as of 8-1-2012 have been to the playoffs how many times in the last 15 years?

I am drawing a blank. Perhaps it is relative to the fact that I listen to Mike & Mike in the morning and they rarely mention this team with the best record in MLB. They do talk about the Harpers from time-to-time, but rarely mention the best team in MLB.

I think I will travel the rest of this dream in the front of the LZ tour plane. Tell Jimmy and Robert to stay away from me until my mind has cleared.

Great post. And what's going to amaze you now is I'll tie the Led Zeppelin reference back into baseball. In the 1970's, a buddy & I took two baseball trips; one to Chicago, one to St. Louis. And both times, passing by the airports in those towns, we saw Led Zeppelin's plane parked out on a runway. Another common thing for those trips? The Cubs and Cardinals each played the Dodgers and there was a bench clearing brawl in both games we attended. But I still talk about seeing the LZ jet (painted with Peter Max images - how's that for Deja Vu?).

[RBA]

Not only ESPN, but MLB.com pretty much ignores the Reds. Yes, Reds.com has plenty of stories, etc, but when you go to the mlb.com homepage, most often there is not a story about the Reds.

[DGullett35]

Sure is great to be a Reds fan Now if we can just stay healthy!

[WildcatFan]

It feels good.

They're starting to pick eachother up, which is a good sign. Starting pitching broke down last night and the bullpen did a stellar job and the offense did just enough. Good stuff.

Rolen is batting over .300 since the AS break.
Phillips, unfortunately injured last night, has been on a tear.
Frazier and Ludwick bashing big time.
Bruce starting to show some life again the last few nights. Hopefully he goes on one of his hot streaks.
And Votto comes back soon.

I hope Bailey and Leake got their clunkers out of the way. They've been pretty consistent up until this week.

I want to win it all, like we all do. Winning it all would be awesome along with knowing the Reds didn't suck the life out of their farm system at the deadline, like alot of teams, to get it done. If they fall apart, there will be finger pointing at Walt. If they go the max, we have the Hamilton's, Cingrani's, Corcino's, Gregorius, H-Rod's, Lutz's, etc........to continue to look forward to. Best of both worlds.

Keep up the good work, Reds.

Good post, but--ahem--Drew Stubs batting .306 with 4 home runs and a .362 OBP since the ASB. Shoutout.

[redssince75]

Great post. And what's going to amaze you now is I'll tie the Led Zeppelin reference back into baseball. In the 1970's, a buddy & I took two baseball trips; one to Chicago, one to St. Louis. And both times, passing by the airports in those towns, we saw Led Zeppelin's plane parked out on a runway. Another common thing for those trips? The Cubs and Cardinals each played the Dodgers and there was a bench clearing brawl in both games we attended. But I still talk about seeing the LZ jet (painted with Peter Max images - how's that for Deja Vu?).

Yesterday, I saw an advertising poster for a current Led Zeppelin/Lynyrd Skynyrd concert tour. I thought I was in a time warp and asked my wife, "is this 1972?"

Then today the Reds are best in baseball. I ask again....

[cumberlandreds]

Not only ESPN, but MLB.com pretty much ignores the Reds. Yes, Reds.com has plenty of stories, etc, but when you go to the mlb.com homepage, most often there is not a story about the Reds.

Yep, heard Harold Reynolds saying the other day, "Look out for those Cardinals. They are getting hot again." I thought, how about the Reds? They are on a pretty good streak themselves. Actually its pretty good to be flying under the radar. When they do win it all it will be that much sweeter.

[Big Klu]

And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our soul
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold
And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last
When all are one and one is all
To be a rock and not to roll...

And she's buying a stairway...to heaven.

[mdccclxix]

Not only ESPN, but MLB.com pretty much ignores the Reds. Yes, Reds.com has plenty of stories, etc, but when you go to the mlb.com homepage, most often there is not a story about the Reds.

The 2010 Reds were a darling story and were greeted by baseball with a "Welcome Back!" That was nice.

The 2012 Reds have everything to prove. Dusty's legacy. Votto's MVP campaign. Phillips' AS snub. Bruce's M.O. Walt's prowess. Cueto's genius. Latos' trade value. Homer's ceiling. Team experience. Playoff composure.

There's a lot there. I think the media is waiting to jump all in until sometime in mid-late August for the push. They are also functioning to keeping the heat off them, which I don't mind.

I'm ready to knock some heads around in October, just got to keep pushing forward.

[Sea Ray]

There's a lot there. I think the media is waiting to jump all in until sometime in mid-late August for the push. They are also functioning to keeping the heat off them, which I don't mind.

I'm ready to knock some heads around in October, just got to keep pushing forward.

I agree. The last thing I want to see is a picture of our 5 man rotation on the cover of ESPN the Magazine. Keep the national media guys away from here

[Vottomatic]

Yep, heard Harold Reynolds saying the other day, "Look out for those Cardinals. They are getting hot again." I thought, how about the Reds? They are on a pretty good streak themselves. Actually its pretty good to be flying under the radar. When they do win it all it will be that much sweeter.

I'm not sure how old you are, but it was the same story with the 1990 Reds getting almost zero attention at all. When they made it to the World Series, the Oakland A's had so much hype with TLR as their manager, the Bash Brothers, Dave Stewart, Eckersley..........that's all you heard about it seemed like.

One of the greatest moments in Reds history was Eric Davis taking Dave Stewart deep in I believe the first game which set the tone for the whole World Series. It looked like David vs. Goliath.........but in the end, the Reds were simply the better team, and I have no doubt about that. They were way, way, way, way underrated by everyone including the A's and the media. And when you're considered a huge underdog, even if you really aren't, there is no better taste in your mouth than proving everyone wrong in a big, big, big way. The Reds had power (Davis, Sabo), speed (Larkin, Duncan, Hatcher, Sabo), stellar defense, a killer bullpen (Nasty Boys), and one of the greatest Reds pitchers all-time putting on one of the greatest performances all time, Jose Rijo, a true ace (too bad about his current antics).

It's good to fly under the radar. Disrespect is a good thing. It should fire guys up even more to prove people wrong and make a statement. I hope it works.

[cumberlandreds]

I'm not sure how old you are, but it was the same story with the 1990 Reds getting almost zero attention at all. When they made it to the World Series, the Oakland A's had so much hype with TLR as their manager, the Bash Brothers, Dave Stewart, Eckersley..........that's all you heard about it seemed like.

One of the greatest moments in Reds history was Eric Davis taking Dave Stewart deep in I believe the first game which set the tone for the whole World Series. It looked like David vs. Goliath.........but in the end, the Reds were simply the better team, and I have no doubt about that. They were way, way, way, way underrated by everyone including the A's and the media. And when you're considered a huge underdog, even if you really aren't, there is no better taste in your mouth than proving everyone wrong in a big, big, big way. The Reds had power (Davis, Sabo), speed (Larkin, Duncan, Hatcher, Sabo), stellar defense, a killer bullpen (Nasty Boys), and one of the greatest Reds pitchers all-time putting on one of the greatest performances all time, Jose Rijo, a true ace (too bad about his current antics).

It's good to fly under the radar. Disrespect is a good thing. It should fire guys up even more to prove people wrong and make a statement. I hope it works.

Oh I was around in 1990. You can look at my signature when I first became a Reds fan. Yes that team didn't get any respect either until after they had won it all. This team may have to do the same to get any national media attention.