Will the Cincinnati Reds break our hearts again?
I just need them to keep delivering those good vibes.
Forty-nine days ago, the Cincinnati Reds were in last place in the National League Central.
Let that sink in. Remember where we were as Reds fans at that point. We were recovering from a 100-loss season and waiting for the day that the Reds would be relevant again. To be sure, we were starting to get a little excited. Matt McLain had been called up ten days earlier, and I marveled over his ability in the digital pages of the mother ship. As you know, he hit the ground running and hasn’t stopped since.
The week before that, I wrote these words, as part of a plea for GM Nick Krall to bring up all the other kids:
On the other hand, what’s the worst that could happen? Will the Reds lose more games by bringing up these talented young kids? I hate to mention it, but Cincinnati is currently on pace to lose 95 games. It’s difficult to believe they’d lose more games with McLain or CES replacing guys like Kevin Newman and Matt Reynolds. And even if they did, at least they’d be more interesting. At this point in the Reds rebuilding process, I’m OK with that. If you can’t be good, at least give me some hope for the future. Bring the kids to Cincinnati.
The point I was trying to make was this: Sure, the team wasn’t good, but they had been fun to watch. Bringing up the kids would make them even more fun. That’s all I felt I could ask for at that point. After all, the Reds had just had a decent week and they were still on pace to lose 91 games.
So back to May 25, when the Reds languished in last place in the division. On May 23, struggling for topics to write about, I decided to wax poetic about closer Alexis Diaz. I learned a lot about Diaz in the process of writing that piece. You have to love that kid. I hope he’s a Red for a dozen more years.
But here’s how I closed that column:
Does a last place team really need a great closer? No. But tell me you wouldn’t love to see Alexis Diaz sauntering in from the bullpen in a couple of years, during a September game with playoff implications, “Matador” by Marnik and Miami Blue blaring from the loudspeakers. Dare to dream.
Now look, you may read that and think aloud that I’m a complete moron. That’s a natural reaction to anything I write! How could I have dreamed about a Reds playoff game in two years, when it was so obvious that the team was ready to explode and become the hottest, most exciting team in baseball within days of that column being published? What an idiot!
I’m not immune to criticism. To the contrary, I try to own up when I’ve missed the mark. I’ll always be honest with you, devoted reader, even when that means I have to fess up. But I don’t feel particularly bad about not predicting that the Reds were about to take the baseball world by storm. I challenge you to find one writer or analyst who saw this coming so soon. I’m serious! If there’s someone out there who thought the Reds would be fighting for a division title as soon as this year — much less, that they’d be in first place at the All-Star break — I want to subscribe to that person’s newsletter. Drop that link into the comments!
Nick Krall didn’t even see this coming. Or presumably he would have signed some pitchers to support this suddenly potent offense.
All I’m trying to illustrate is how mind-blowing the last six weeks have been. Be honest with yourself: what did you think about this team on May 25? Did you see this coming? Or were you like me, thinking that we were lucky to have a pretty fun team to watch, even if they were bad — and excited because the kids were playing so well down on the farm. Hopeful for the next couple of years.
So maybe we’re all idiots, but I couldn’t be happier about it. Will the Reds continue to battle the Brewers and the Cubs for first place in the Central for the rest of the season? I’m not even going to try to predict that. The pitching is still shaky, and — because I’ve been conditioned by years and years of being a Reds fan — I’m sorta waiting to get my heart broken again.
But this I know: at the All-Star break last year, the Reds were 23 games under .500. This year, they’re nine games over. Whether they win the division and/or qualify for the playoffs just doesn’t matter that much to me right now. I hope it happens. I want it to happen.
But I don’t need it to happen. I just want this club to continue playing fun baseball. I want the kids to keep developing, and maybe the Reds will bring up Christian Encarnacion-Strand or Noelvi Marte or Connor Phillips down the stretch and we’ll get to enjoy their debuts too. I just want them to remain competitive into September. I want to watch meaningful baseball as October approaches.
Of course, I would love for the Reds to pull out all the stops to #GetThePitching and push this team over the top. You only have to qualify for the playoffs to have a legitimate shot to win the entire thing. But I’m not going to get my hopes up. That’s a fool’s errand with this club. This is a defense mechanism I’ve built up over the years, I suppose.
The last six weeks have been as much fun as I’ve had as a Reds fan in, I don’t know, more than a decade probably. I just want to keep enjoying this vibe for as long as possible.
This week at Cincinnati Magazine: My Reds Midseason Awards
One year ago, the Cincinnati Reds were 23 games below .500 at the All-Star break, a distant 15.5 games out of first on their way to a 100-loss season. As recently as May 25 of this year, the Reds were buried in last place in the National League’s Central division. What’s happened since has been nothing short of stunning.
The Reds have won 29 games and lost only 12 in the last six weeks, powered by a dazzling young cast of budding superstars. The contrast between this exciting club and last year’s dull mess couldn’t be more stark. With the leagues taking a break for the 2023 Midsummer Classic, Cincinnati’s record stands at 50-41, and, after winning nine of their last 12, the Reds are in first place, a game ahead of Milwaukee.
The Reds are taking a few days off (with the exception of the club’s lone All-Star, Alexis Diaz), but there’s no rest for us here in the digital pages of Cincinnati Magazine. Let’s take this opportunity to hand out some (similarly digital) midseason awards. Read the rest of this week’s Reds column over at Cincinnati Magazine.
What’s Chad Watching?
Two good movies in theaters this week. First, “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.” I try hard to avoid trailers and commentary surrounding films before I see them. I don’t want to know much, if at all, about movies before I see them. So I knew very little about the latest iteration of the Indiana Jones franchise before I walked into the theater, but what I had heard was largely negative.
And look, I get it. The last Indy movie, “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” was panned by critics, though I really enjoyed it personally. But all I want out of an Indy movie is, well, Indy stuff. You know what I mean: adventure and wild set pieces and exotic locales. And Dial of Destiny delivers plenty of that.
It’s too long, so it drags at times, but it’s a lot of fun from beginning to end. I’m already thinking that I rated it too low (at 3.5 stars out of 5). I’m looking forward to seeing it again. Recommended.
“Past Lives” was a movie that I knew literally nothing about before I saw it. All I knew was that some critics I like were rapturous in their praise; I read none of the reviews, but I kept seeing headlines like “best movie of the year.” Okay, you talked me into it.
Here’s the quick plot line from Letterboxd: Nora and Hae Sung, two deeply connected childhood friends, are wrest apart after Nora’s family emigrates from South Korea. 20 years later, they are reunited for one fateful week as they confront notions of love and destiny. It’s deliberately paced, but I couldn’t look away from the screen. Incredible debut from director Celine Song, and if Greta Lee isn’t a contender for Best Actress, I’ll be shocked. Outstanding film. Highly recommended.
Also, we are into season two of our Mad Men rewatch. Still brilliant.
The World’s Most Dangerous Podcast: The Reds Are a Team of Destiny!
Another brilliant week, as the Cincinnati Reds take 2 of 3 from the Padres followed by a sweep in Washington. With the team now 10 games over .500 and firmly in first place in the NL Central, the guys have one question: Are the Reds a team of destiny?
Nate and Bill Lack joined me to discuss everything that's happening right now, and try to quantify precisely how much fun we're having at the moment. Enjoy!
You can find The Riverfront wherever you download podcasts (Apple, Spotify, etc.), or you can click here to subscribe (for free!). If you don’t do the audio thing, we have a YouTube channel, too!