Are the Reds for real?

[klw]

On a side note, I think that Johnny Cueto guy might be for real.

Too old to be a real prospect.

[RedlegJake]

All I know is...once again.....west coast trip is the death of us. I wonder....do west coast teams look with dread on their east coast trips. "Oh man we're doing good BUT that damn east coast trip is coming up...."

[Bruce Berenyi]

laughable proposition,,

[westofyou]

All I know is...once again.....west coast trip is the death of us. I wonder....do west coast teams look with dread on their east coast trips. "Oh man we're doing good BUT that damn east coast trip is coming up...."

Time change is weird going west, the weather is different , parks have bigger outfields, traditionally players did sight seeing and stuff while west since many had never been to the coast. That is probably less of a factor now though. There is always a get away day that seems to be rushed too, yesterday the Reds saw 106 pitches, they were hacking, only the top four batters saw 4 PAs, the game was 2.5 hours. Seems like they lose those games a lot, that heightens the sting

[Tony Cloninger]

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/...-move-our-list

Seems very acceptable review.

[REDREAD]

Brain and eyes say no, heart says yes. Just like most years. The hitters' problems haven't been magically cured during the offseason; they swing for the downs all the time and don't make enough hard contact against good pitching. If nearly everything goes right maybe they can make a WC bid, despite the division being down, and then everything's a crapshoot, but my memory of last season's dearth of O against top pitching still makes me doubt. Having said that, I hope I'm wrong and they win 120 games. I'll be watching and rooting like crazy regardless of the outcome, just like the last 46 yrs.

I think they have a better chance of winning the NL Central than the Wildcard, since I think the NL Central will take less wins to make it than the wildcard. But other than that, I agree.

[Chip R]

All I know is...once again.....west coast trip is the death of us. I wonder....do west coast teams look with dread on their east coast trips. "Oh man we're doing good BUT that damn east coast trip is coming up...."

People talk about it football a lot. I know if the 49ers are playing back to back games on the east coast, they stay in Youngstown the week between games. I think it's more of a factor for them when they play 1:00 games since it's 10:00 am on the coast. Since baseball games usually start between 6:30 and 7:30 that may not be as big of a deal for them. I would imagine thew afternoon games may be an issue but they have already played a few games anyway so they are more used to it by then.

[M2]

I think they have a better chance of winning the NL Central than the Wildcard, since I think the NL Central will take less wins to make it than the wildcard. But other than that, I agree.

The problem with that math is you're supposing the division overall won't be very good. If that's the case, then one or two teams are going to get a big bump from the rest of the division. It's a fairly narrow set of circumstances that nets you a division winner with less than 90 wins.

[Banshee]

I think they have a better chance of winning the NL Central than the Wildcard, since I think the NL Central will take less wins to make it than the wildcard. But other than that, I agree.

I think the Brew Crew will win it going away barring injuries. And the Cards from hades seem to always end up either on top or right...there... I think they stink on ice this season, but history says they'll be at or near the top.

[RiverfrontRed]

I can see 85 with an outside chance at the Central or WC. But... pitching must hold up and Votto must hit.

[RedTeamGo!]

Yes, no, maybe

I don’t know

Can you repeat the question?

[onehand]

Still see a struggle to get above .500 for the season. Too many things have to go right, and this doesn't seem likely with our 2021 Reds. Hope to eat my words in September, though (Joey, Geno).

[VR]

Obviously roster (relievers) need to get better. I think the roster has a chance to be awesome....Shogo and Naquin as 4th and 5th outfielders?

Biggest concern is Bell's ability to manage big games.

[REDREAD]

The problem with that math is you're supposing the division overall won't be very good. If that's the case, then one or two teams are going to get a big bump from the rest of the division. It's a fairly narrow set of circumstances that nets you a division winner with less than 90 wins.

That's a good point.. My opinion.. which people can disagree with. The Reds are going to be well under 500 outside their division. Is it possible that the other NL Central division guys also play poorly outside the division? Yes, of course.

Miley being off to a good start is a pleasant surprise. If he can keep that up, he'll be a difference maker, but the problem is, he's still a 5 inning pitcher and the bullpen is very weak. It looks like Antone is going to be able to do 2-3 innings every 3 days. That could change, but that seems to be the pattern Bell is using. That's a lot of slack for the rest of the pen to pick up. (Not criticizing Antone, just pointing out that there's a lot of innings the pen is going to have to pitch).. Hopefully Gray is actually healthy and was not rushed back into service.

[15fan]

Reds have 9 games vs Pitt in the last 2.5 weeks of the season. If Reds can keep within shouting distance of leaders, be it division or wild card, they’ll have a lot of winnable games vs the Pittsburgh minor leaguers to close the season.

Edit: and to touch on a point earlier in the thread - no travel to mountain or pacific time zones during 2nd half of season.