Is it sinking in for anyone else RIGHT NOW too?

[Kc61]

I am more irritated today than yesterday.

The only game they "should" have lost is game 4. They made a decision to use Leake which was within reason, and it was a losing game from the outset.

I've been a critic of the offense since April (actually since mid-2011) and the offense failed in Game 3.

Latos failed in game 5, and a more aggressive manager would have pulled him before the Posey home run. Regular season, no, but in a do or die game, yes.

Cueto injury was a big blow, but they still could have won the series.

Yesterday, I felt sorry for the team. Today, I want some changes because next year the Reds will likely have a tougher schedule (Astros out of the division) and things may not be so easy for them.

[CrackerJack]

Should've swept the first 3 games, offense blew it, and never really showed up again after coming home.

.110 BA with RISP?

39 runners LOB?

No EBH's from Votto

Making the first out at 3rd twice in the series? Cmon.

Dusty leaving Latos and Leake in too long as he managed the home games like he still had 100 games to play this season.

--------------------

They need a new hitting coach, a new approach, they've failed miserably in two post season series now with him and I've seen enough.

Better find a sixth starter for rotation depth, a good LF, and preferably a new CF who can lead-off, as well as some better infield depth on the bench.

There's no excuse for Walt to sit on his hands and just go after the Cairo's and Valdez's of the world, what a waste that would be.

I'm also tired of Dusty, great guy, good player's manager, would probably do well in New York or Boston or Texas, and go further than he would here.

[steig]

I can hardly eat anything today, my stomach feels that low right now.

[MikeS21]

Originally Posted by CrackerJack

Should've swept the first 3 games, offense blew it, and never really showed up again after coming home.

.110 BA with RISP?

39 runners LOB?

No EBH's from Votto

Making the first out at 3rd twice in the series? Cmon.

Dusty leaving Latos and Leake in too long as he managed the home games like he still had 100 games to play this season.

--------------------

They need a new hitting coach, a new approach, they've failed miserably in two post season series now with him and I've seen enough.

Better find a sixth starter for rotation depth, a good LF, and preferably a new CF who can lead-off, as well as some better infield depth on the bench.

There's no excuse for Walt to sit on his hands and just go after the Cairo's and Valdez's of the world, what a waste that would be.

I'm also tired of Dusty, great guy, good player's manager, would probably do well in New York or Boston or Texas, and go further than he would here.

Blame Dusty for Games 4 and 5 (I don't) if you want, but this series was lost in Game 3. With the game Bailey pitched, the Reds should have won that game.

You nailed it with the the RISP stat That was the problem. Even in Game 5, the team could have pulled it out with better hitting with RISP.

I was most disappointed in Votto's performance in this series. Even though his OBP was .500 during the post-season, he just never looked comfortable. He never got untracked after coming off the DL. The most telling stat to me was that during this series, Votto was the ONLY position starter who had ZERO RBI's (other than Navarro). Considering the two guys hitting in front of him combined had an OBP of .345+, and the two guys hitting behind him had a combined OPS around .950, I guess I expected more production out of Votto.

I agree they need a new hitting coach, but I'm fine with keeping Dusty. With a new hitting coach, I'd even keep Stubbs around another year. At least Hamilton may be ready for CF by 2014.

[Cyclone792]

Still feeling pretty bummed and disappointed.

I had a bad feeling in my stomach after the 10th inning Tuesday night. I sat up in the upper deck and knew I had that bad feeling when in about a five minute span I watched an excellent defensive catcher allow a passed ball followed by one of the greatest defensive third basemen of all-time making an error. The odds of those two players making those two mistakes back-to-back ... something didn't feel quite right.

That said, probably the biggest feeling right now is that I'll simply miss the Reds. I'll miss being able to go down to GABP to watch them 3-4 times each month. I'll miss being able to flip on the TV on a nightly basis to watch them, just as I did many nights these last six months. Even on nights I'd be out doing something else, I'll miss the opportunity to catch a glimpse of a game wherever I'm at, be it a sports bar, restaurant, etc.

The Reds become a fixture in your life, and just like that, they're gone, not to return for another five months.

Sunday might be pretty rough too when the NLCS starts. I'm sure I'll watch at least part of Game 1. I'll turn on the TV and quickly realize that I was thisclose to being able to watch the Reds again, but instead of watching the Reds it'll be the Giants and somebody else.

Sure, I'll watch a good chunk of the remaining playoff games but even those games will be over in three weeks too. Part of baseball's beauty is its routine, day after day style through the season. But man, it sure is tough to move on each fall when it's over.

[RedsManRick]

From the moment Cueto walked off the mound I felt like the season ended. Not logically, of course. Especially after Game 2, it was hard to imagine we'd lose 3 in a row. And yet, the storm clouds were on the horizon. The Cueto diagnosis was still being debated and the question about Game 4 was still lingering.

Phillips' over-zealous base-running in Game 3 was another signal to me. It felt like the errors last year. It was the kind of mistake we largely didn't make during the regular season. Then you had the 10th inning. It just never felt right to me after the first inning of Game 1. Sure, some of that is hindsight and confirmation bias. But the feeling is real.

The closest thing I can think of that this reminds me of is when Baker got hired. I (infamously) went off about how it was the worst thing to happen to the Reds in my lifetime. I had been so optimistic and then I felt like the rug was just pulled out from under me. I was despondent. Obviously, in hindsight, that was a slight overreaction. But I was just terribly disappointed.

And that's how I feel now. It was a reminder that it can all fall apart at any time. Nothing is given. If your team is merely average you should win a championship once every 30 years. It's been just 22. How long will this window last? You only get so many bites at the apple.

In American sports, as Ricky Bobby would say, "If you ain't first, you're last". It feels like we're last and it still hurts. But I'm starting to get over it. In the next couple weeks, that hurt will turn in to excitement for the off-season and its possibilities. That will likely turn in to frustration that Walt isn't doing anything big as some deck chairs shuffle and Chapman gets left at closer. That will turn in to impatience that Spring Training is too far away. And that will be followed by a Spring Training that never ends. But that will followed by opening day. And that will be followed by 6 and hopefully 7 months of Reds baseball.

That's where I'm at. I'm sure I'll continue to be my typical pessimistic and annoyingly analytic self. But I'll carry with me a less than rational twinge of what might have been.

[Roy Tucker]

Originally Posted by Cyclone792

That said, probably the biggest feeling right now is that I'll simply miss the Reds. I'll miss being able to go down to GABP to watch them 3-4 times each month. I'll miss being able to flip on the TV on a nightly basis to watch them, just as I did many nights these last six months. Even on nights I'd be out doing something else, I'll miss the opportunity to catch a glimpse of a game wherever I'm at, be it a sports bar, restaurant, etc.

The Reds become a fixture in your life, and just like that, they're gone, not to return for another five months.

Yeah, me too. I wasn't ready for this season to be over. The end came too fast.

I came home tonight and almost changed channels to 1309 to see the Reds play and then I went "crap, no more Reds".

[Roy Tucker]

It breaks my heart because it was meant to, because it was meant to foster in me again the illusion that there was something abiding, some pattern and some impulse that could come together to make a reality that would resist the corrosion; and because, after it had fostered again that most hungered-for illusion, the game was meant to stop, and betray precisely what it promised.

Of course, there are those who learn after the first few times. They grow out of sports. And there are others who were born with the wisdom to know that nothing lasts. These are the truly tough among us, the ones who can live without illusion, or without even the hope of illusion. I am not that grown-up or up-to-date. I am a simpler creature, tied to more primitive patterns and cycles. I need to think something lasts forever, and it might as well be that state of being that is a game; it might as well be that, in a green field, in the sun.

From A Great and Glorious Game: Baseball Writings of A. Bartlett
Giamatti, © 1998 by A. Bartlett Giamatti.

[Captain Hook]

Originally Posted by dsmith421

Down the line. This year was the chance. Unless the Reds produce a few more Cueto/Votto types or dramatically increase payroll, they won't get a better chance.

Yankees sketchy, Rangers eliminated, Cards hobbled, Phillies out of the playoffs. That's a perfect storm. And the Reds, poised to take advantage, produced one of the most abject chokes in the history of playoff baseball. Good God.

I really don't get this line of thinking. I see no reason why the Reds won't continue to be one of the top dogs in baseball going forward. They don't need to produce a few more Cueto/Votto types because they have the real thing locked up.

[Caveat Emperor]

Originally Posted by Captain Hook

I really don't get this line of thinking. I see no reason why the Reds won't continue to be one of the top dogs in baseball going forward. They don't need to produce a few more Cueto/Votto types because they have the real thing locked up.

And the real things weren't enough. They need more if they want to take the next step.

[kbrake]

Originally Posted by Caveat Emperor

And the real things weren't enough. They need more if they want to take the next step.

One of the real things was hurt and didn't contribute so maybe this team, if healthy, is enough.

[Wonderful Monds]

Originally Posted by kbrake

One of the real things was hurt and didn't contribute so maybe this team, if healthy, is enough.

A couple of the realest things actually.

If any team's real things were as injured as ours they'd likely have done much worse

[Patrick Bateman]

Originally Posted by Caveat Emperor

And the real things weren't enough. They need more if they want to take the next step.

It wasn't enough THAT time. You could replay that series 100 times at the Reds likely win greater than 50%.

That doesn't mean the same group is incapable of winning it all.

[Caveat Emperor]

Originally Posted by kbrake

One of the real things was hurt and didn't contribute so maybe this team, if healthy, is enough.

You wanna take a bet on whether or not they get 161 starts out of 5 guys next year?

They made the mistake of not adding talent after 2010. They shouldn't make the same mistake twice.

[George Foster]

I live in central Kentucky. We mounted a nice am/fm radio under our cabinet. For some reason it picks up 700wlw great. The only radio in the house that will pick it up.

It's my job to load and un-load the dishwasher. I miss listening to the post game show after watching the games on tv. This has been my routine since April. I might of missed 10 games all season. It made a bad job go a lot faster. I really enjoyed just being by myself in the kitchen listening to the radio.

It really sunk in friday night....it will be a long, cold winter.