CINCINNATI — 1. What great raucous crowds on hand for each of the four games in San Diego. Three times attendance topped 38,000, and it felt normal watching a baseball game with sold out crowds that made multiple games feel like watching a playoff game.
2. You want to know why the Padres had large crowds on hand? Because they have a team to be excited about, thanks to their general manager spending money on high-prized free agents- huh, what a concept. Outside of Fernando Tatis Jr., the other key players in their lineup- Manny Machado, Eric Hosmer, Tommy Pham, Wil Myers, the list goes on and on and on and on- but they were all acquired either via free agency or trade. And a lot of those acquired players had crucial impacts on the series.
3. In contrast to the Padres, the Reds did not spend money this offseason. And the players currently on the roster I have heard be referred to AAAA-players- spoiler alert, there is no such thing as that level of a player. But those “AAAA-players” have actually been reliable this month of June. Look at Jonathan India; he’s raised his batting average from .230 to .261 this month, has seven multi-hit games, has dramatically balanced out his walk-strikeout ratio, has hit three home runs and four doubles. In other words, he’s had a very solid month of June, especially after David Bell moved him to the leadoff spot in the lineup to take advantage of his abilities as a contact hitter and base-runner.
Look at Kyle Farmer; once thought of just as a utility player, and yet, he’s also become someone, like India, who I now have confidence he can get a hit every time he comes to the plate. Farmer has hits in 11 of his last 15 games, including three games with multiple hits. With Mike Moustakas now on the 60-day IL, Farmer has taken advantage of every opportunity he has gotten in becoming an everyday fixture at shortstop.
4. The emergence of India and Farmer this month are why I actually feel better about this team today than I did on Thursday going into the four-game series at San Diego. The Padres are a really good team, and their sweep of the Reds should be more about how good they are as opposed to any negative views people may have towards the Reds despite being swept. San Diego has a bunch of STUDS in their lineup, but I saw the Reds compete their asses off in this series sans maybe Friday’s game. Three of the four games were decided by two runs or less, one game the Reds were two outs away from winning and another was decided by a game-winning home run in the eighth inning and one of the Reds two best hitters- and one of the National League’s two best hitters overall- grounding into a double play to end in the game in the ninth.
The fact that the Reds were able to put themselves in position to win three out of the four games against a really good baseball team in the Padres shows that the roster they have is capable of winning the division and getting into the playoffs. Now it’s just a matter of being able to beat those elite teams outside of the national League Central while hopefully getting some help in the bullpen.
5. The Reds currently sit at 36-36, four games out of first place in the NL Central, but think about what hasn’t broken for this team yet this season. For one, health has not been on the Reds side up to this point. Nick Senzel and Mike Moustakas are both on the 60-day injured list, Sonny Gray and Michael Lorenzen are both currently on the injured list and while the Reds didn’t spend money in the offseason to acquire a high-prized free agent or ma e a splashy trade, it is worth noting they haven’t had the whole team of the team they have all healthy at one time. And yet, here they are even at .500 4/9 of the way through the season.
On the field, Luis Castillo is 2-10, and, yet, the Reds are still only a handful of games out of first place. Hey, John Smoltz was 2-11 at one point in 1991. Fun fact: he closed the year 12-2 and went on to win game seven of the NLCS and duel with Jack Morris in game seven of the World Series. And considering that Castillo has only allowed six earned runs and just one home run in his last four starts while lowering his ERA by two whole points, the tide could be turning for La Piedra. Sonny Gray, before getting placed on the IL, was only 1-4. So the Reds two best starting pitchers were a combined 3-14, and yet this team is still right on the fringe of contention. Health and wins on the days and Castillo and Gray pitch can potentially propel this team on a surge to boost them into legitimate contention.
6. Nick Castellanos did not have a good trip to say the least, and his only highlight- a go-ahead RBI single in the top of the 10th inning in the first game at Minnesota- was spoiled by the Reds bullpen giving up the lead in the bottom of the inning and then losing the game in the 12th. On the nine-game road trip, Castellanos was just 7-35 with two RBI and no extra base hits. Again, a lot hasn’t broken for the Reds this season, and they could have used Castellanos’s normally explosive bat on this all-important nine-game road trip that just concluded.
7. The Reds bullpen simply needs better pitchers. To those who still blame David Bell: what more do you want him to do? But I will say this, it would help if the Reds relievers had defined roles as to when they come into the game. For example, Tejay Antone, the Reds best reliever, has come into the game in five different innings this season. He doesn’t have a defined role as to when he comes into the game. David Bell has done a great job rolling out different lineups until he has found clear and defined roles for guys like Jonathan India hitting leadoff, putting Castellanos more towards the heart of the order and moving Eugenio Suarez down the order. I would love to see him start to put some relievers in clear and defined roles so we don’t have to see Ryan Hendrix randomly take the mound to start the ninth inning in a crucial game at San Diego.
8. Aristides Aquino has become a secret weapon other MLB teams should yearn to have on their roster. He’s a guy who can start or come off the bench, and on any pitch he can unload it for a home run. Think about how great it would be if the Reds made the postseason and they had the luxury of bringing Aquino off the bench to pinch hit with the opportunity to hit a game-changing home run. He’s become somebody that when he comes to the plate, and it’s even better if there’s already runners on base, that he has a chance to hit the ball out of the park.
9. Tyler Naquin had four hits in the series finale at Minnesota on Tuesday. His emergence as this team’s leading RBI man is a large part as to why Shogo Akiyama, who the Reds paid a lot of money for as an international signing prior to the 2020 season, has not gotten much playing time this season. It is worth wondering why Akiyama practically doesn’t start at all, but if Naquin is helping this team win games then he should be playing everyday.
10. Akiyama is part of an outfield with a lot of depth and options as to who to put out there every day. It’s great that there are so many options that can help this team win, but again, it’s important to know which players exactly are going to help the team win short-term and long-term. Look at the infield. What is David Bell going to do when Moustakas and Senzel come back? What happens to Kyle Farmer and maybe even Suarez? Who stays long term in the outfield? Again, it’s great that there are all these options, but clear and defined roles must be determined.
Let me be Frank and Cut to the Chase 