The Cincinnati Reds Are Hellbent On Hurting My Feelings

This is apropos of nothing, I just like the name Bip Roberts

We are now ten games into the second half of the Reds' season and because of some glitch in the matrix they are a mere half game behind the first place St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central.

Some might say that they are holding on by the hairs on Jonny Gomes' chinny chin chin, and they would be exactly right.  Let's run down a short list of things that need to happen in order for the Reds to make the playoffs:


1. Edinson Volquez must return to form

In the two starts since returning from his year long recovery from multiple shoulder surgeries, Volquez has shown that it might be a bit of a slog before he becomes a consistently productive starter once again.  Against the Rockies, he was untouchable, going six innings and giving up one run on three hits.  Against the Nationals (!), however, he went two and a third, giving up six earned runs while only getting 38 of his 76 pitches through the strike zone.  It's easy right now to pass off that second start as Edinson shaking off the rust of being out of the game for so long, but if we're going to have any shot at either overtaking the Cardinals or winning the Wild Card, we absolutely need him to, more than anything, be consistently serviceable.  He needs to find his control and not get frustrated.  The Reds have a pretty soft schedule the rest of the way, which means he'll be facing some fairly weak opponents over the next two months.  If he struggles mightily against the likes of the Pirates and Astros, we might be in some deep, deep trouble.


2. Scott Rolen needs to get healthy

Joey Votto is hands down our best player, but Scott Rolen is this team's heart.  He is the leader everyone looks to in the clubhouse and the veteran who anchors the infield.  It was inevitable that he would fall victim to the injury bug, but the tenuous look the Reds have when he's out of the lineup is worrisome.  They not only need him in the dugout, they need him on the field and at the plate.  Though Miguel Cairo has been a wonderful surprise thus far in Rolen's stead, he is not Rolen.  Hopefully his hamstring issue will be short lived and he can get back out on the field for the stretch run.


3. Something's gotta give with the bullpen

Right now our bullpen is relying heavily on a batch of young and unproven arms.  Logan Ondrusek has been extremely steady since being recalled from AAA and Jordan Smith has definitely been a reliable arm in recent weeks, but it's hard to say how these guys will react as the pressure of a pennant race builds.  It stands to reason that either Russ Springer or Jason Isringhausen will fill a void before the season's end.  Both are veterans with loads of post season and big game experience and both have seemingly no ceiling for their performance.  Springer has been solid thus far in Louisville and may get called up as early as mid-August.  Isringhausen, on the other hand, hasn't pitched regularly in over a year and is coming off of Tommy John surgery, so it's a pretty hazy forecast for him until he starts facing live hitting and shows us what kind of stuff he still has.  There's still a possibility that the Reds will add a bullpen arm through a deadline trade, but the market is fairly barren at this point and they may be content to just go with what they have.  That being said...


4.  It is in the Reds' best interest to pick up a right handed hitter via trade

The Reds have been shutout 12 times this season.  For those of you playing at home, that's the most of any team in the majors.  The majority of those shutouts were 1-0 heartbreakers.  This team, for all of its offensive prowess, at times has an extremely hard time putting runs on the board.  Some of this has to do with guys like Scott Rolen and Ramon Hernandez being out, but more than that it has to do with the sporadic hitting of everyone else in the lineup.  Jay Bruce, Drew Stubbs, Jonny Gomes and Brandon Phillips embody the very definition of 'streaky'.  They need one more bat to go along with Rolen and Votto to steady things out.  I for one would love to see Ty Wigginton on this team, but no matter who it is, he has to be a consistent hitter and capable of playing more than one defensive position.  We have plenty of prospects to dangle in front of teams, it's imperative that we use them.

5.  Beat the Cardinals

Cincinnati has six more games against the Cardinals.  Three at home and three in St. Louis.  They must either win or split this series.  There is no room for error, especially considering the favorable schedule the Reds have down the stretch.



The most important part of this, of course, is for the fans to enjoy the ride.  It's been a long time since our Redlegs have been competitive and they currently stand to finish above .500 for the first time in ten years.  That alone should be cause for celebration.  The World Series would just be icing on the cake.

Onward.

- Terrence Adams