Why the Cincinnati Reds Have a Future

In the life of a Cincinnati Reds fan the past several years, you have begun to take on the persona of a blighted Pittsburgh Pirates lubber. Without a playoff appearance since 1995, Reds fans have been treated to glimpses of promise in the form of players like Ken Griffey, Jr., Austin Kearns, Adam Dunn, Felipe Lopez, and Danny Graves. In the 96-win year of 1999 under Jack McKeon, the Reds fanbase sought promise in a one-game playoff only to be crushed by Al Leiter's shutout.

Some blame our faults on the figures of Dan O' Brien, Wayne Krivsky, Bob Boone, and Dave Miley. When you dive in and look at the source, you see an underfunded minor league system circa Marge Schott and a series of bad investments: Griffey, Ryan Dempster, and Eric Milton. Combined with the prowess of Jim "Leatherpants" Bowden, the Reds have fallen into the obsuritive dweller of the National League Central Division.

That is, until now.

Reds fans have found a light in their figurative darkness. That form is not in one large beam in their eyes like the Griffey's of the past, but many smaller little streaks that take the shape of the team like names of Cueto, Votto, Volquez, Philips, Bruce, and soon Alonso. Under the watchful eyes of a man named Baker, will this new breed of Redlegs come to form?

This creation has been a long time coming. Beginning on Apr. 7, 2006, the Reds traded for Brandon Phillips, 2008 Gold Glove Award winner. His average dropped 20+ points from 2007 to 2008, and his HR total dipped from 30 to 21, but this could be attributed to a lack of consistent effort around him. Phillips spent much of the season as Cincinnati's No. 4 hitter, sitting in between Griffey, Dunn, or Joey Votto. He is the new face of the franchise and is the anchor in a soild middle infield that also includes Alex Gonzalez.

With the arrival of Joey Votto on Sept. 4, 2007, the Reds have found a solid left-handed bat that doesn't strike out 200+ times a year. In his first full season with the Reds, Votto was plagued with defensive issues that cleared up toward the last third of the year. Still, Votto swung for 24 HR and an average of .297, tops on the team. With the draft pick of Yonder Alonso, this almost guarantees that Votto will transition to left field in the next two years unless anything unforeseen happens. He looks to be a leader in this year's clubhouse and is returning from a successful stint with the Canadian National team in the WBC: .556 AVG, 1 HR.

The new Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn has taken shape in the form of Dominican fireballer Edinson Volquez. Known for his wild flaming pitches, Volquez approached heights unseen by the Reds after a trade that sent Josh Hamilton to the Texas Rangers on Dec. 1, 2007, landed he and Daniel Herrera. Volquez finished '08 with a 17-6 record and a 3.21 ERA (eighth best in the NL). Poised to work on his control this year, Volquez will anchor the Reds starting rotation, which includes Aaron Harang, Bronson Arroyo, Johnny Cueto, and either Homer Bailey or Micah Owings.

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