Which Corner Are You In?

[Brutus]

Originally Posted by macro

I said the following in the "Anybody Concerned?" thread on September 18:



I'll add that I really do think the Phillies are peaking too early, and I will be shocked if they actually make it to the World Series.

I had forgotten how the regular season ended for the 1990 team, so that's a little uplifting in looking back.

I will say while I tend to agree with you about the Phillies, you could always find a 2007 Colorado Rockies that did peak a little early but carried their momentum right through.

[dougdirt]

I am glad its happening and I really don't care who we draw. If our pitching shows up, we can beat anyone. If it doesn't, we won't. I don't care if it is the Phillies or anyone else... if our pitching doesn't perform very well, we won't win. Fortunately, our pitchers have that potential. Unfortunately, its just that for now. I will be glad to be there though, because we have the pure talent to beat anyone in a 5-7 game series if our guys step up.

[corkedbat]

I'm gonna be overjoyed just making it to the postseason this year. Too many of the tuys seem to be hitting a wall the last two or three weeks though. Hope fully they clinch in the next couple of days though and can devote most of the next week resting guys and ordering the rotation for the 1st round. This time around, I'll be ecstatic if they can make it to the 2nd round.

One of the things I'm most interested to see though is how the FO handles the offseason and builds upon this to strengthen the squad for next year and beyond.

[mdccclxix]

In general, I think this town could do better to refocus their perception of the Reds from one of former royalty, oldest franchise, etc, to current real underdog. Without the payroll of NY, LA, Chicago teams, they've accomplished a lot. The underdog angle hasn't been used at all by the media or the Reds, but they really are one at this point. And they'll always be one as far as I can see. So, I guess that puts me on the side of being excited to just get the call to go the playoffs, then see what happens.

[The Operator]

I have this weird feeling it's going to be a laugher, one way or another.

I could see The Reds getting hot and steamrolling the competition. I could also see The Reds getting bounced right out in the first round and going home without their lunch money. I'm hoping for the former.

In the end, it'll be a rush just to watch postseason baseball played by The Reds.

This is gonna basically be "my first time", if you will. Too young in 1990 and barely remember 1995 so I'm foaming at the mouth to see this, whatever it may hold.

[RedsBaron]

Originally Posted by RFS62

Yeah, who really gave the 1990 Reds a ghost of a chance against the A's? Certainly none of the pundits. And not many outside of the Reds nation.
This season has been such a blessing.... such a wonderfull gift to the survivors of the "lost decade". Savor it. Don't take it for granted. Find a way, anyway, to enjoy it. You don't know when it will happen again. We may well play championship baseball for the next several years. But nobody knows for sure. I thought the '75-'76 Reds would rule for several more years.
You just never know for sure.
Find a way to savor every nano-second.

Yep. The Reds certainly would be underdogs against the Phillies, and I will pleasantly surprised if they go very far in the post season--but in a short series there is always a chance. The 1990 Reds appeared to be stumbling into the post season, but once they got there they were lights out. One thing I like about the 1990 Reds is that while the Larkin/Browning/Davis/O'Neill/Rijo group of Reds that showed so much promise between 1985-92 only made one post season appearance, they made the most of the chance.
It took the Big Red Machine a long time to finally win it all, but they had enough talent to be able to keep returning and returning to the post season before they finally made it all the way. This bunch of Reds has a nice group of young players, but there is no guarantee that they will make repeated post season visits. They, and Reds fans, should enjoy 2010 for all it is worth.

[919191]

Originally Posted by westofyou

The party is getting there, that's the essence of the major league season, it's like a great concert. The post season is another animal, it's the after show party, it could suck, it could be the best, you have to get invited though, and to me that's the rush.

Dusty might not be the steward for the talent on hand, but I bet his guys will be prepared mentally and at the after show party that matters a lot.

Bring on anyone, this team is here early, anything can happen.

I look at it similarly, but like a trip. Maybe the road won't lead me to the the destination I want, but if the journey itself is a blast, then it was worthwhile adventure..

[oneupper]

What's a playoff?

[WVRed]

Originally Posted by oneupper

What's a playoff?

YouTube - Playoffs??? The Sound Byte

[jojo]

It's the playoffs after a lost decade. This is no time to get all diva. Just enjoy the show.

[Degenerate39]

Anything can happen in the post season

[cincrazy]

I'm not concerning myself too much with this lackadaisical September. Yes, I do think we'd lose to the Phillies, because I think the Phillies are the best team in baseball. But outside of that, I like our chances. We've been banged up in September, and with our cushion in the division, we've been able to back off the pedal a little bit. The 2006 Cardinals and the 2000 Yankees, among others, are teams that went into the playoffs ICE COLD, and came out champs. Momentum really doesn't seem to mean anything from a historical perspective, and I think it will all depend on matchups.

If we draw the Padres in the first round, and the Giants take out the Phillies in the opposite bracket, who knows?

[steig]

I'm really enjoying the playoff team this season. But I'm more excited about the future than I am about this year. I don't think the Reds have much of a chance in the playoffs and I'm not satisfied with seeing the Reds make the playoffs. The Reds will have a fighting chance in the first round but odds are they won't get past the Phillies when they have to play them. I want to see them win the World Series again in the near future, anything less is failure. That is why I'm excited for the future of this team. I think the team will possibly be at a great point in 2012, after Leake, Wood, and Chapman have developed at little more. I also believe the other teams in the Reds division are at crossroads where the Reds could make a move to dominate the division for several years. The Cubs are well the Cubs and have several big, wasted contracts. But the Cardinals have proven this year that they may have several great players on their team but they don't have any role players or middle level players to make them a true 'team'. And the potential of signing Pujols to a $30 million plus annual salary could handicap their team for a long time to come.

[membengal]

Thrilled to be here. Looking foward to the clinch.

Hoping for the best in the playoffs.

Hoping this is a preview of coming attractions.

[Ghosts of 1990]

I am happy just to win a division and get to play some playoff games. Worry about the rest when the time comes, and due to what I've seen in the last 20 games (a stretch in which we're 7-13) I don't think we're going to do much in the playoffs.

I'm happy just to be where we're at.