So far, the 2009 version of the Cincinnati Reds has been successful in the early goings of the season in spite of the ineptitude in the offensive side of the game.
Heading into Monday night's game, the Reds ranked 27th in runs, 28th in home runs, and dead last in batting average, making a 7-5 record quite a feat. While the team has had trouble getting those hits, they have brought a positive approach to the plate and have forced the opposing pitchers into throwing a ton of pitches and forcing walks.
The player that has exemplified that the best this year has been Edwin Encarnacion, who is in the Top 10 in walks with 11 on the season.
The only players that seem to be hitting for the team are Joey Votto, Willy Taveras, and Micah Owings. Votto, who is currently in both the Top 20 in batting average and RBI, is showing that his rookie year was no fluke.
Taveras was highly criticized by many Reds fans when he signed a two-year contract in the offseason, but has shown that he has a good enough eye to be a productive leadoff man as well as the ability to get some base hits.
Mini-Babe Ruth Micah Owings struggled in his first start of the year but has come up huge with the stick, most recently on Sunday plating the go-ahead runs with a pinch-hit double.
Once main reason that the team has been so successful has been their bullpen. These guys (Rhodes, Weathers, Cordero) have held on to leads in the final three innings, allowing a total of one run over 19 and a third innings. Its a small sample, but if these guys keep up with the job they have done so far, it will create less pressure on manager Dusty Baker to extend the starters an extra inning.
Its only going to be a matter of time before the bats come around, and when they do, watch out. This team has the potential to hang in the wild card chase throughout the whole season and could potently do damage with that pitching staff.
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