Senzel could be a cancer in the clubhouse right now and contributing to this slide they're on. Though I think general fatigue. a schedule that has something like 26 or 27 games with only one off day, that included a west coast road trip with no day off on the return. They just have to be mentally and physically worn out at this point.
Only one day off since the all-star break and that off day was spent travelling to LA. That's a recipe for fatigue.
Some of this slide started when they moved EDLC to leadoff. I wasn't all that keen on him batting 4th either, I thought he should be in the three hole. Seems like Friedl would be a natural leadoff guy. Good average, Good base stealer, decent OBP.
Don't think they've won a game since Senzel whined his way into the lineup. In the Nats series, Senzel homered off the much-abused Patrick Corbin his first AB then singled in his last AB of the series. In between he actually never got a ball out of the infield including his little league bloop pop up to 2D with the bases loaded and 2 out Fri night.
Fatigue no doubt is a huge factor in the Reds slide. However, not one team is at 100% full strength in August. This is twice in 3 years with Bell we've seen a downhill slide post All-Star Break where the Reds start to fold with a 100 loss season in between. Blaming leadership mostly. FO set back and let it all unravel instead of making the right moves to stop the bleeding. I get they are a young team who will struggle, have a bright future and next season should be setup for the long haul with some more money to spend but the message of being told to be patient does not resonate with the fan base any longer with decades of mediocrity.
I'm hoping they can get off the slide a bit, they're still only 1.5 games back of the Brewers. If they can start to get an influx of fresh arms off the IL here soon, then maybe they can turn some things back around and make a nice stretch run in September. Hoping a Greene/Lodolo return will let Abbott skip a 2-3 starts and get rested up for hopefully a Playoff series or two. If they sneak into the playoffs with a rotation of Ashcraft, Greene, Lodolo, and a rested Abbott, they might be able to make some noise.
Hopefully that is the case. Will need them to give the Reds some length to save the bullpen too, bounce back like they did in the 2nd half last year after their injuries and not take more than 2-3 starts to find their rhythm again with only a handful of starts in the regular season by the time they return, for sure with Lodolo coming back later. Tall order but about all you can look forward to at this point. Reds can't keep sliding during these games before they do come back and dig themselves a deeper hole. As far as the offense, only time will tell when the bats start coming around. India coming back will help, need Fraley to stay healthy and productive too. Had to win the series vs the Nationals, got swept. Miami won't be easy.
The good thing, if you want to call it that, about Greene and Lodolo's injuries, is that they weren't arm related.
I'm glad they weren't arm injuries but still significant injuries that required them to miss months and can only hope it won't take them the rest of the 2023 season once they return to get back to form. Reds will for sure fall out of the race if this ends up being the case. Their arms will be fresh so that's one good thing. It's MLB, so a lot of pressure comes with the territory, especially Greene with the contract but a lot will be expected of them with the injuries to the starting rotation and fatigue to the bullpen. Even September roster call-ups have been limited in recent years to prevent teams from tanking though it will be an opportunity to add some help from Louisville down the stretch. Have to stay afloat in August for anything in September to matter.
You don't win the World Series in August but sure can lose even going to the playoffs with oftentimes these races coming down to a game in the end. Time and time again, we've seen the Reds fold after the All-Star Break. I agree with much of CardHack's post, they probably are out of the race for more than 1 reason realistically even though the standings say otherwise. The whole vibe around this team is different than it was prior to playing Milwaukee in July. A lot of that to do with the injuries, fatigue and inexperience. They can get healthy, fatigue and inexperience are going to still be there.
I don't expect the Reds to win the World Series this year, just getting to the postseason is going to be a hard enough battle. We're told be patient so many times of the years while these guys adjust but finding myself thinking there are more issues than just inexperience at play here. Just hope the Reds do actually win something with this core and get a World Series before ownership has to go through another fire sale.
True but important that those injuries are healed fully or they could become arm related.
On second thought, I do see what you're saying how much of it is mental right now and will need the off-season to refine their mechanics, studying film etc making the necessary adjustments that way 2024 won't be a repeat of this season.
The Reds are only a couple of pieces away, just need the young core to develop and get more than a season together. My biggest fear right now is the managerial decisions getting in the way of putting this team in position to win. Reds should have let this season play out, give Bell an extension for a year and then think about long term because Cincinnati hasn't even won a postseason game with him yet. Instead, 3 more years he was signed to already.
And let's bring up a hot hitting AAA outfielder.....and then not play him. Yeah, that'll work.
Luke Weaver has the best run support of any pitcher on this team. If it wasn't for the offense in many of the games he pitched the Reds would lose. There was a streak from May-July the Reds were winning nearly all of his starts because of the hitting and certainly not his pitching.
IMO, Blake Dunn and Rece Hinds have passed up Hopkins & McGarry and should be in Louisville right now. Hinds has drastically improved this year with 18 HR & 74 RBIs, .275 average, Blake Dunn might be a more polished TJ Friedl with slightly more power with 14 home runs & 60 RBIs, 43 SBs this year. Hitting .358 since getting called up to Chattanooga in early June. At 24, not sure what they're waiting on. Move him up.
Except for the fact they're not out of the race, I agree. My point is what they're learning as a young team is the biggest factor about August and September baseball. They've played hard right up until the end of 9 innings all year long. They have to learn it for 6 months as few of them have been thru this before. Once they get in, they'll need to learn what it takes to make it 7 months if they really want to be champions. It's a long hard grind to get there.
I get what you're saying like my 2nd post to yours was about it will take time to build a winner and misread your 1st post wrong initially. My point though, there is still being in the race and then having what it takes to finish the job. I tried to stay optimistic as long as I could but don't realistically think this team with so many obstacles to overcome (not their fault) and the inexperience to have what it takes to get the job done this year. It will take more than 1 game to convince me the 2023 team with a total of 10 teams realistically not out of the race are legit contenders this year.
I totally agree that being in the race and being contenders are 2 different things. But this year is also the beginning of hopefully something special.
We'll see. Think it was Sunday they showed a short clip of India running in OF, thought he had a noticeable limp.
This was the report given after Monday's BP session when India tried some orthotics in the cleats and felt a discomfort come back up again. We see just how important he is to this team beyond being a leader in the dugout but his presence in the lineup. How the Reds remember that next time talk comes up of trading him just how valuable he is to the organization. No rush to see him traded.
Yeah, there's more issues than just inexperience. Only having one starter going from your initial rotation to start the season is a big issue. And that one starter had his own stint on the IL. You can't expect consistency when the IL has a revolving door.
Not saying Diaz hasn’t done a great job. But as you said it’s very obvious that he’s not as effective as he was earlier this year. He’s tired. And if he continues with the heavy load, I wonder what his longevity will be.
