The Double-Helix of Failure Returns

[Falls City Beer]

Failure is in this organization's genetic code. Full display this weekend--it's almost Gothic. Votto goes mad, like some Hawthorne character, Harang's doppelganger returns from the misty regions, broken bones, blown leads, Mike Lincoln.

So we stand at a crossroads--who are these Reds: the first two months of 2009 or 2001-2008 + this weekend? I'm betting on the latter.

[Tony Cloninger]

Depends on their intestinal fortitude. If they can find it....then they will champion through this.

Hopefully it does not turn into 1993 where they all dropped like flies by game 100 or so.

[Falls City Beer]

In the best of circumstances this was probably a team capable of winning only a few over .500. But you're right--can this team forge on to be that team despite adversity or will they succumb to genetics?

[RFS62]

Originally Posted by Falls City Beer

Failure is in this organization's genetic code. Full display this weekend--it's almost Gothic. Votto goes mad, like some Hawthorne character, Harang's doppelganger returns from the misty regions, broken bones, blown leads, Mike Lincoln.

So we stand at a crossroads--who are these Reds: the first two months of 2009 or 2001-2008 + this weekend? I'm betting on the latter.

Amazing. We laugh at the idea of chemistry but consider a curse that makes the Cubs' goat look like a lucky rabbits foot.

It makes for an entertaining post, but that's about it. No curse here. No Double-Helix of Failure, as clever a play on words as it may be.

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

[OnBaseMachine]

And I thought I was the king of overreacting.

[RFS62]

Originally Posted by OnBaseMachine

And I thought I was the king of overreacting.

Well, let's not minimize your body of work.

[Falls City Beer]

Originally Posted by RFS62

Amazing. We laugh at the idea of chemistry but consider a curse that makes the Cubs' goat look like a lucky rabbits foot.

It makes for an entertaining post, but that's about it. No curse here. No Double-Helix of Failure, as clever a play on words as it may be.

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

Maybe it's just a phrase, but I think you know what I mean. You've seen organizations that fail time and time again--for a lot of reasons, of course, and no it's not a curse--there's an inertia in some organizations (not just ballclubs either) that is almost impossible to overcome. Lack of urgency, acceptance of lower standards of performance, cheapness.

But I like this bunch of players. Can they buck disaster? (Which is a different question than, "can they be good or great?")

[remdog]

Originally Posted by RFS62

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

I've heard that before (I think it was Bill Clinton) but it is so true.

Rem

[Kc61]

Reds are now 13-10 on the road. They were 13-5 and now have lost five in a row on the road. This isn't surprising at all. The Reds are not a good enough team to have a decisively winning road record. So they were due to lose some road game. Probably 13-10, the current record, is still unsustainable, although it's more reasonable than 13-5.

Reds are now 13-12 at home. They have started to win at home and hopefully will pick up some ground there.

[BCubb2003]

At least they've banished the Roy Oswalt and the Astros spell.

[RFS62]

Yeah, I do know what you mean. But the idea that a team, other than the Cubs, of course, could be doomed to such a dismal fate is a bit overly dramatic, IMO.

Personally, I love this team's makeup. Throwing in some adversity definitely adds to the drama, no doubt. But these guys don't know or don't care what the prior incarnations of Reds' suckitude did or didn't do. They're their own men, their own team, their own story.

[Falls City Beer]

Originally Posted by BCubb2003

At least they've banished the Roy Oswalt and the Astros spell.

True. It's a start. But maybe that mojo redounds as a crippling counterspell that kneecaps them against the Nationals.

[jojo]

I guess you could blame their DNA because coming out of camp they projected to be a roughly .500 team.

Personally, I think a better analogy is that they are a factory camaro that needs a little something added if they want to win the street race....

In other words, Walt needs to work a little PCR. Walt is the "gene jocky" responsible for the DNA.

[TheNext44]

Originally Posted by Falls City Beer

Maybe it's just a phrase, but I think you know what I mean. You've seen organizations that fail time and time again--for a lot of reasons, of course, and no it's not a curse--there's an inertia in some organizations (not just ballclubs either) that is almost impossible to overcome. Lack of urgency, acceptance of lower standards of performance, cheapness.

But I like this bunch of players. Can they buck disaster? (Which is a different question than, "can they be good or great?")

I agree with you that for the past "lost decade" (your check is in the mail, Cyclone), the Reds were a Double-Helix of Failure. Don't have to do much research to back up that claim.

But I think the Double-Helix was at first an ownership that valued profit over winning, and a GM that held a "win now at all cost, the future be damned" philosophy.

Then it became an owner with a "win now at all cost, the future be damned" philosophy, and a GM with good scouting skills but no discernible organizational plan whatsoever.

This is not either of those two organizations. I only see one small Helix of failure, and that is a manager that likes to manage like it's 1979. But the owner wants to win and is willing to spend what is necessary, and the GM has a long term plan of building a strong organization deep on pitching and defense.

I just don't see a long downward spiral this year. The Reds may not make the playoffs, but they will contend the rest of the year, and be fun to watch. More importantly, I think they will be a solid playoff team for years to come.

[Phhhl]

Originally Posted by Falls City Beer

Failure is in this organization's genetic code. Full display this weekend--it's almost Gothic. Votto goes mad, like some Hawthorne character, Harang's doppelganger returns from the misty regions, broken bones, blown leads, Mike Lincoln.

So we stand at a crossroads--who are these Reds: the first two months of 2009 or 2001-2008 + this weekend? I'm betting on the latter.

Is this baseball or an episode of "Dark Shadows"? I can almost hear Kate Bush in the background singing "Wuthering Heights" when I read this aliterative gem. Melodrama is best left to the dramatic arts. This ball club has been presented some problems, but they are unique to this club and have absolutely nothing to do with any kind of "genetic code" or "karma". I usually enjoy your posts, even with the pessimistic tone they predictably have. But, let's see how this set of players handle adversity over a larger sample size before turning all Edgar Allen Poe on the situation. After all, two days ago, they were riding a nice four game winning streak.