The Cincinnati Reds completed the sweep Sunday against the St. Louis Cardinals, and now hold a 1 1/2 game lead in the NL Central. Everything looks great in Redsland, right? Yes, but what I'm worried about is The Letdown.
Cincinnati starts a pair of 2 game series this week at home, first against the Cubs, then Pittsburgh. The team is healthy, Homer Bailey and Johnny Cueto have returned to solidify the starting lineup, Scott Rolen is back in the lineup and his value goes way beyond statistics, and it look like everything is in place to make a run to pull away from the pack. But how do they react to taking three at home against their nemesis.
If the Reds get too cocky, they will be lucky to take one of the next four games. But having been through this last year, and especially with Rolen back to keep everything on an even keel, I believe the Reds can use this as a building block to even greater success this season.
By the way, if anyone knows what has happened to Aroldis Chapman and why he can't find the strike zone please let me know. One luxury the Reds have is a deep farm system, and if Chapman gets sent down to Louisville for a little tweaking the impact of his loss will easily be offset by bringing up Matt Maloney. How many teams are looking at the Cincinnati farm system and wishing they were that deep all over the field?
Monday, May 16, 2011
Monday, May 2, 2011
Settling in at Average
The Cincinnati Reds seem to be settling in as an average team in the National League. The hitting is above, the pitching below. The result: A 14-14 record heading May, but thankfully they are in the NL Central. St. Louis took two out of three from the Reds last weekend, and leads Cincinnati by 2 games.
One area of concern for me, and it was last year as well, is the inability of the starters to get anywhere near a complete game. Every team would love to have a Roy Halliday type ace who can go nine every night out, but the Reds can't even get a starter to go eight innings. This early in the year, it's a problem. Yes, you don't want to wear out your starters, but you don't want to wear out your bullpen, either. Dusty Baker has a history of being Captain Hook 2 in going to the pen, but someone needs to step up and take that burden off of the skipper.
Edinson Volquez has finally been able to get out the first, and at times looks the part of staff ace. But Bronson Arroyo seems to be feeling the effects of mono still, and the young guns Travis Wood, Sam LeCure and Mike Leake seem to be getting stronger. But soon, Johnny Cueto and Homer Bailey will move back up to the majors after their AAA rehab stints, and it would be oh so nice if by their third starts they can go nine and take some of the pressure off the pen.
The Reds complete their homestand with three against the Astros, then head out on the road for three in Chicago and three more in Houston before coming back to Great American for a series against the Cardinals. With two off days before the St. Louis series, I'm sure the bullpen will get a lot of action. But it would be nice to see a Reds pitcher go the distance and bring home the win. Let's Go Reds!!!
One area of concern for me, and it was last year as well, is the inability of the starters to get anywhere near a complete game. Every team would love to have a Roy Halliday type ace who can go nine every night out, but the Reds can't even get a starter to go eight innings. This early in the year, it's a problem. Yes, you don't want to wear out your starters, but you don't want to wear out your bullpen, either. Dusty Baker has a history of being Captain Hook 2 in going to the pen, but someone needs to step up and take that burden off of the skipper.
Edinson Volquez has finally been able to get out the first, and at times looks the part of staff ace. But Bronson Arroyo seems to be feeling the effects of mono still, and the young guns Travis Wood, Sam LeCure and Mike Leake seem to be getting stronger. But soon, Johnny Cueto and Homer Bailey will move back up to the majors after their AAA rehab stints, and it would be oh so nice if by their third starts they can go nine and take some of the pressure off the pen.
The Reds complete their homestand with three against the Astros, then head out on the road for three in Chicago and three more in Houston before coming back to Great American for a series against the Cardinals. With two off days before the St. Louis series, I'm sure the bullpen will get a lot of action. But it would be nice to see a Reds pitcher go the distance and bring home the win. Let's Go Reds!!!
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