About a month ago the Cincinnati Reds were looking like the favorite to win the second wild-card spot in the NL playoffs. It seemed like the Reds were on a tear and the rest of the NL was on a losing streak with tough schedules remaining. Since then, the Reds are 5-12 in the month of September, losing 8 straight series to teams like with losing or borderline records, such as the Pirates (54-92), the Cubs (64-76), the Tigers (64-73), and the Cardinals (71-69) who have been on a hot streak lately and have overtaken the second wildcard spot.
Even though I’m sure many fans will want to blame manager David Bell for the end-of-season meltdown, there really isn’t one person who is responsible for this breakdown alone. All year third baseman Eugenio Suarez has been hitting well below the Mendoza line with a current .176 batting average. In the month of September, the clear rookie of the year candidate for the NL, Jonathan India, has been in somewhat of a slump coming off of a hot streak that lasted seemingly all year. All-star left fielder Jesse Winker has been on the IL all but one game in September which is a huge loss for this Reds lineup. Not to mention, the bullpen continues to be an issue even after the acquisition of Luis Cessa and Justin Wilson from the New York Yankees. Fans will always look for an individual to blame, but this Reds meltdown is on the team as a whole.
The past three weeks of baseball have not made the Reds look like a playoff team. Personally, I don’t see the Reds turning things around and making the wildcard. Even if they do turn things around it would be really tough to come back from three games down and pass the Cardinals. But the old saying still holds true for Cincinnati sports fans, “There is always next year”.
