The Reds lack of hitting so far this season has caused manager Dusty Baker to juggle the lineup, moving Griffey into the two hole.
The result: exactly the same production from the middle of the order in Friday’s game with Phillips, Votto, and Encarnacion combining for one hit.
On the bright side, starting pitcher Matt Belisle had a strong outing throwing 5.1 innings and only giving up two runs on eight hits.
But the Reds’ horrific bullpen combined for seven earned runs in just 2.2 innings.
The Reds have dropped the last four games in a row and now face a seven-game deficit for the NL Central Lead.
There are many explanations as to how the Reds ended up in this situation ranging from their shaky bullpen to their inability to score runs. Dusty Baker was a great offseason addition, but if the players aren’t producing, Baker can’t work his baseball genius on the diamond.
If Cincinnati can’t figure out a way to turn things around somewhat soon, they will be facing their eighth straight losing season. They have plenty of young talent to build around such as Joey Votto, Homer Bailey, Edwin Encarnacion, Jay Bruce, etc.
And with the veteran leadership of Baker, Griffey, and Harang the Reds should be able to salvage the season.
The key right now is to get the hitting back on track. The starting pitching has been sufficient so far with Aaron Harang and Edinson Volquez pitching well.
But it doesn’t matter if a pitcher gives up one or two runs over seven innings and gets absolutely no run support. The hitting ranks well into the bottom half of the NL and this reflects in the 12-19 record.
Fans are frustrated because the team has been building up a solid farm system over the last couple of years, but at some point it has to become more than a rebuilding process.
Steps have been taken in the right direction with the addition of Walt Jocketty, a proven World Series championship caliber G.M., and bringing in Dusty Baker to manage the team.
If the team continues to slide, expect top prospects such as Homer Bailey, Jay Bruce, and Drew Stubbs to see MLB action well before the expanded September rosters.
The Reds have the pieces to contend for a division title. They have a solid starting rotation, and the hitting will come in time.
But until then we can only watch and hope. One thing is for sure: Reds fans are in for a wild roller coaster of a 2008 season. Who knows, maybe Dusty Baker will take a page out of Yankee Legend Billy Martin’s book and pick his next lineup out of a hat. What do the Reds have to lose?
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