Watch your back St. Louis as Reds are making a move |
Nobody, including me, could have ever envisioned the Cubs being swept in Cincinnati last month- after all, they were the last-place team in the division. I tried pointing out that the Reds were on fire, and although in last place, they weren’t going to stay there, but still people scoffed at me.
Beginning the season at 3-15 (.167), the Reds decided it was time to oust fifth-year manager, Bryan Price. The Reds’ skipper never had much to show for his record as the Reds’ manager, going just 279-387 (.419) in four-plus seasons. The Reds never finished higher than fourth in the National League Central Division since Price took over managing the team at the start of the 2014 season, and that was in his first year as manager. Enter former Cubs manager, Jim Riggleman. Despite a career winning % of just .445 (662-824) before getting the call to join the Reds, Riggleman and his team has now gone 34-33 (.507) since he took over the interim manager’s role on April 19, 2018. Riggleman had past managing stints with San Diego, Chicago, Seattle and Washington before joining Cincinnati. As the Cubs skipper from 1995-1999, Riggleman went 374-419 (.472), which was his best managerial record to date, before joining the Reds. Enough about the management though; what about the players? Votto, Gennett, and Suarez are on fire. Collectively, the trio is batting .312, with a collective OPS of .911, 37 home runs and 168 RBI. Billy Hamilton is a speed-demon and extremely dangerous on the base-paths if he’s allowed to reach base. Although Hamilton has only swiped 15 bases so far this year, he has a career high of 57 (2015). Position players aren’t the only ones hitting for the Reds these days, as their pitching staff has contributed offensively as well. Anthony DeSclafani is batting .154 with a grand slam against the Cubs in June. Relief pitcher, Michael Lorenzen is hitting .667, with three dingers this season (one against the Cubs), and has an OBP of .714, with six RBI. Before Riggleman’s arrival, the Reds had been outscored 100 to 54 in their first 18 games of 2018, under Riggleman, the Reds have outscored their opponents 338-324, a very superficial run differential for a team with a .500+ record. At the end of the day though, wins are what count, and Riggleman’s Reds have accrued 34 of them. No team has been more underrated or devalued by fans this year, than have the Cincinnati Reds. Their dismal beginning has overshadowed their recent success. The Reds only went 7-22 (.241) through the end of April. By the end May, they’d improved to 13-15 (.464), and through June they were 14-11 (.560). Though only three days into July, Cincinnati has started the month at 3-0. In early June, the Reds were 16 games out of first-place and trailed the fourth-place Pirates by nine-and-a-half games. Fast forward a month, and the Reds are now nine-and-a-half games out of first, and only trail Pittsburgh for fourth-place by mere three-and-a-half games. Don’t look now St. Louis, but your once cushy third-place lead has been cut to seven games, as the Reds continue to move up in the standings. Do I think they’ll ever overtake the Cubs and Milwaukee? Most likely not, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they finished third in NL Central. Momentum is a mighty motivator, and the Reds seem to have a lot of it. Don’t let the standings fool you, the Reds may still be in last place, but they are no longer a last-place caliber team.
