It's Thursday afternoon!
I celebrate that a lot, closer to the weekend, almost Friday.
We know this about your Cincinnati Reds: the can beat the teams that won't be around in October. Now, we need to see if they can beat the teams that will contend for a playoff berth. In the next ten days, the Reds play three in Milwaukee, four in St. Louis and then three against the Cubs in Cincinnati. This will tell us a lot about whether the Reds are 'con' tenders or 'pre' tenders.
My best guess is the Reds will hang around for awhile this season. I still think they need to pick up a good 'bat' (and a player along with it obviously) who can play left field on a daily basis. The platoon of Dickerson/Nix/Gomes has worked OK. But long term, none of these players has a resume to suggest they'll hold up under the pressure of a pennant chase.
If you look critically a the Reds roster, it's comprised basically of four good to decent starting pitchers (Harang, Arroyo, Cueto and Volquez), two bona-fide star players (Phillips & Votto. Sorry Jay Bruce, not there yet, but getting there) and a lot of role players. This 'team' aspect of the game has always played well in Cincinnati. We tend to love the team, hate the superstar around here. But for the rigors of a pennant race, it doesn't always hold up. Maybe this year is the exception. My best guess is, no. Walt Jocketty needs to be laying the ground work NOW to find what his team will need at the trading deadline, to push itself into contention late in the season.
THE BROO VIEW: Cincinnati's Legendary Sportscaster Offer His Thoughts On The Ever Changing World Of Sports
