So...is anyone else worried about the Reds?

[westofyou]

Originally Posted by WildcatFan

The way it stands now:

Texas
Washington
Cincinnati
New York
San Francisco
Detroit
St. Louis
Atlanta
Oakland
Baltimore

Concerning the Nats

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/...l-stars-depart

Acknowledging the vagaries of short playoff series, the Nats could still present a bit of a litmus test on how to build a playoff roster. Though the team's biggest strength lies in its run prevention, it has an incredibly young pitching staff, with Edwin Jackson the only one of the team's four starters with any postseason experience. It's also a team that thrives on balance more than star power.

Jayson Werth is the only starter with an on-base percentage above .350, Ian Desmond and Adam LaRoche are the starters with an OPS above .850, and not a single Nat has managed 20 steals this year

(Washington ranks ninth in the NL in stolen bases). Maybe pitching, defense, and carrying very few true slugs on the roster will prove to be a formula for playoff success. But something in the back of my mind makes me wonder if a team whose best power threat is Adam LaRoche might see its offense exposed a bit by superior teams with better pitching.

[WildcatFan]

Originally Posted by westofyou

Concerning the Nats

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/...l-stars-depart

I think the +143 run differential speaks for itself, however. Best in the bigs by a LONG shot. I was tempted to put them first in my little off-the-cuff list, but the offense dropped them in my head to second.

The Reds, on the other hand, have very legitimate offensive concerns. They will most likely go into the playoffs with the fewest runs scored of any of the teams. I ranked them third on the strength of their pitching and their offensive potential.

[durl]

If the Reds we saw in August come back in the next week, I'd say the Reds' chances of winning it all are actually quite good. When they're at the top of their game they're one of the best in baseball. Even with the weak spots in the lineup, they've managed to have one of the best records in baseball.

But these games of scoring 1-2 runs isn't going to cut it in the playoffs. The bats seriously need to wake up. I hate seeing Cueto allowing 1 run in 6-7 innings but still not have the lead.

[Vottomatic]

Originally Posted by durl

If the Reds we saw in August come back in the next week, I'd say the Reds' chances of winning it all are actually quite good. When they're at the top of their game they're one of the best in baseball. Even with the weak spots in the lineup, they've managed to have one of the best records in baseball.

But these games of scoring 1-2 runs isn't going to cut it in the playoffs. The bats seriously need to wake up. I hate seeing Cueto allowing 1 run in 6-7 innings but still not have the lead.

Geez. If our pitchers had some offensive support this season, we might have had 2 or 3 twenty game winners.

[VR]

Everyone has an equal shot once you get in. 87, 90, 91, 2011....even 2001 should remind us of that.

[vaticanplum]

This team is not built to be an offense powerhouse. The strength of this team is its pitching, and that's a conscious choice. They have enough offense not to be *bad* in this area, but the money and the foundation has been focused on the pitching. They haven't been knocking it out of the park lately not because they've fallen off, but because that's not what they're supposed to do. (And I do think there's a bit of comfort there too, seeing as the Reds have had the biggest divisional lead for quite a while now.)

One thing that impresses me about this team is that it seems to have an innate sense of what it has to do to win every time out. It is keenly aware of its own strengths and limitations. I don't think the Reds are trying to blow the other team out all the time; I think they're trying to do just enough to win. Beyond even talent level, I see this self-awareness as the major difference between this team and the 2010 Reds.

I'm no more concerned about the Reds than I would be about any team in the playoffs, and far less than I would be for some. I don't expect them to score a lot of runs against anybody. But that isn't a cause for inordinate worry, to me, because the flip side of that is the strength of the team's pitching and not allowing a lot of runs either. If our pitching had fallen apart in September, that would be a huge cause of concern. Offense? They know what they're doing there.

[PuffyPig]

Originally Posted by Reds/Flyers Fan

It's not like they're going to get dominated by Wily Peralta then all of a sudden flip a light switch and start raking the likes of Cain, Bumgarner, Wainwright, Gonzalez, etc.

Actually tha kind of stuff happens all the time.

Plus Peralta has a better ERA than each of those 4 pitchers, by an average of 0.74 runs.

[PuffyPig]

Originally Posted by WildcatFan

The way it stands now:

Texas
Washington
Cincinnati
New York
San Francisco
Detroit
St. Louis
Atlanta
Oakland
Baltimore

Hard to put the Cards above the Braves when the Cards have to beat the Braves in Atlanta facing a pitcher who's team as won his last 22 starts.

[M2]

I don't worry about this team. I'm eager to see it go at its opponents in October.

[mth123]

Biggest concern is that this is a home run offense that is at its peak in the heat of summer with the ball flying out even when they don't get "all of it." Balls that would have been in the moon deck in July are ending up as outs on the track in September. The team just doesn't have the on base skills to score runs in other ways. I still think they have a good chance to go deep in the play-offs, but I'm hoping for an unseasonably warm October.

[kaldaniels]

Originally Posted by M2

I don't worry about this team. I'm eager to see it go at its opponents in October.

Agreed. This is the postseason we've been waiting years for. Hopefully it won't be as long until they return this strong.

[traderumor]

All the handwringing about the postseason opponent:

Head to Head

Washington 2-5, but RS/RA is 25 to 29. Lost a couple of low scoring extra inning games in April, the Reds won the big comeback on Mother's Day with Votto's slam. It looks like we were dominated, but it was more the matter of one team won a couple more close games. More of the same in a postseason matchup, hopefully we win 'em when it really counts. I think Atlanta will beat them if that is the NLDS matchup.

Atlanta 5-1, 21-15 RS/RA. Swept them in 4 at home, but another very even matchup for the Reds. We won the close ones in this series. Hudson and Medlen will be formidable.

St. Louis 6-6 with 3 to play, 54-41 RS/RA because of a couple of blowouts by Cards. Another very even matchup, except I think there is a clear bullpen advantage here. They will have to be raking for a week to have a chance to win a playoff series against anyone.

San Francisco, 4-3, 28-21 RS/RA, attended a Marshall blown save, we were better than the Giants in two series, blew two games late. Handled Cain once, Baumgartner has always been tough on us. It will take outpitching to grab a game in AT&T, but that will be the task. Win game 1 against Cain, game 2 will be a bonus. I think our pitching will handle their hitting, but can we score out there?

No matter how we cut it, we will have to win like we have all year--outpitching the other team. That is how the regular season series went against the playoff teams, that will be how we win playoffs series. It just won't matter who the opponent is. I don't think we will dominate or be dominated by any of those 4 teams.

[George Foster]

My concern is what happened today. Latos pitched a heck of a game. 1 run, 3 hits over 7 innings. We scored 0 runs...0. We won't be lucky enough to face a closer like we did today who has had problems all season. We will face a dominant closer. We have to score runs off of starting pitching. Each team we will face will have closers that for the most part have gotten the job done all season. All the strikeouts is a real concern as well.

It's time for our boys to turn it on offensively. 4 runs a game would be nice.

[traderumor]

Originally Posted by George Foster

My concern is what happened today. Latos pitched a heck of a game. 1 run, 3 hits over 7 innings. We scored 0 runs...0. We won't be lucky enough to face a closer like we did today who has had problems all season. We will face a dominant closer. We have to score runs off of starting pitching. Each team we will face will have closers that for the most part have gotten the job done all season. All the strikeouts is a real concern as well.

It's time for our boys to turn it on offensively. 4 runs a game would be nice.

Except Axford had earned the job back by straightening himself out in setup and has been a shutdown closer during this hot streak. The Reds had a one run lead to overcome, got to a reliever. Been doing it all year.

Oh, and only the Braves and Reds have a shutdown closer. Giants have been closer by committee, Motte has been shaky, and Storen just returned to closer for the Nats.

[Roy Tucker]

October is pitching and defense. Not making stupid plays, no stupid baserunning, and stay away from stupid pitches. Be in the moment and relaxed concentration. Play hard, but not too hard.

And these Reds have scads of pitching and defense and they play intelligent baseball. Think they'll do all right. No deer in the headlights like 2010. This team has maturity. Of course, post-season baseball is incredibly tough and everyone is good. But the Reds have played the good teams well this year. Low scoring games are their forte. They'll be all right.