| 12 May 2010
I'm not quite ready to say it's time to party like it's 1990, but the Cincinnati Reds are surging and it's definitely a good time to be a fan of the team. How often could we say something like that during the last decade? Exactly ... not very often.
The Reds have won five straight games, are four games over .500 at 19-15 and are just 1 ½ games back of the St. Louis Cardinals for first place in the National League Central. (The Cardinals will play the Houston Astros tonight.) Oh yeah, and the Reds just so happen to host the Cardinals for a three-game series this weekend.
Everything seems to be coming together for Cincinnati. The bats are warming up and the pitching has been lights-out good of late.
How good?
Well, Johnny Cueto (1-hitter) and Homer Bailey (5-hitter) just pitched back-to-back complete game shutouts. Not that it's that big of a deal or anything. Happens once every 21 years or so ... if you're lucky. The last time it occurred for the Reds was in 1989 when Jose Rijo and Tom Browning pulled off the feat against the Dodgers.
This came on the heels of Bronson Arroyo limiting the Pirates to just one run on Monday. And Aaron Harang finally seems to be getting more aggressive with his fastball (and not throwing his weak-ass curve ball as much) and appears to be finally reverting back to his old ways. We can only hope.
Mike Leake has been solid all season and there's no reason to think that will change. And Aroldis Chapman is ready to come up if any of them falter or get hurt.
So, does the starting rotation look good? Is Tiger Woods the most-famous member of the Buddhist Sex Rehab community?
Now, this complete slurping of the Reds does come with one warning: The five-game winning streak came against the Cubs (who suck) and the Pirates (who really, really suck, even though they swept the Reds last month). We'll see what the Reds are really made of when the Cardinals come to town on Friday. The Redlegs are 2-4 against the Cards thus far this year, and they need to prove they can beat them if they really want to be contenders and not pretenders when August and September roll around. If the Reds can stay hot right now, look out. I don't see a big weakness on this team. Offense is probably still going to be somewhat of a weakness, but it's not a big weakness. Moving Orlando Cabrera to the leadoff spot was long overdue, but at least Dusty Baker finally did it. I think for all his faults, Dusty is doing a fine job with this club.
How could you think otherwise at this point? The Reds are playing winning baseball and just came off of one of the most-dominating pitching performances in a series in team history. On the post-game show today on the Reds Radio Network, I heard Marty Brennaman say it was only the third time in the history of the club that the Reds limited the opposing team to just one run in a three-game series. And the Reds are the oldest professional baseball team, so that's saying a lot.
And the fact that it was accomplished by Cueto and Bailey - two pitchers that almost every Reds fan was concerned about - makes it that much better.
As for the offense, Joey Votto is undoubtedly the straw that stirs the drink and that is not going to change. He's batting .309 with eight home runs and 24 RBIs and is exactly what the Reds need in the third spot in the order. But Scott Rolen has also provided punch in the cleanup spot and that's been huge. Everyone knew he was going to bring an excellent glove ... and he has. But it's his offense that has me excited because I really wasn't expecting much. I know he got off to a really hot start in Toronto last year, but I thought it might have been an aberration. And while Rolen is not a great hitter by any means, he is the perfect cleanup hitter for the Reds right now because he gives some protection to Votto and enables Baker to not do two important things: bat Brandon Phillips cleanup and bat lefties back-to-back (Votto and Jay Bruce who has been on a tear lately). Rolen is batting .271 with six homers and 15 RBIs.
Jonny Gomes is getting most of the starts in left field and he's been very solid (.261, 3 HR, 19 RBIs). And the biggest pleasant surprise offensively has been catcher Ryan Hanigan who is batting a cool .380 with two home runs and 16 RBIs. Hanigan had 11 RBIs all of last season. He and Ramon Hernandez (.288, six RBIs) are a very solid catching tandem.
I go back-and-forth on the bullpen, but overall it's solid with closer Francisco Cordero, set-up man Arthur Rhodes, fellow lefty Danny Herrera, Micah Owings and Nick Masset (who appears to be rounding into form after a rough start). Still not a Mike Lincoln fan (how could you be?) and Carlos Fisher has been ineffective when given a chance after tearing it up at AAA Louisville earlier this year. But with Cordero, Rhodes, Herrera, Owings and Masset, the Reds have five reliable arms in the pen. It's a long way from perfect, but it certainly appears to be good enough to keep the Reds in the race. I don't think the bullpen is great, but it's not going to be the downfall of the team or anything.
Again, there just isn't a glaring weakness on this team and the starting pitching is the best it's been in my lifetime. So, enjoy it while it lasts, Reds fans. And hopefully "while it lasts" means all the way through the playoffs. Wouldn't it be fun to break out those old "Fear of a Reds October" T-shirts?
I know, getting way ahead of myself, especially after insisting I wasn't going to suggest anyone party like it was 1990. What the hell, peg those jeans, have a Zima and get after it.
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