Cincinnati Reds September Sorrows

The Cincinnati Reds are having a rough September and its not cause they are in a playing slump. The Reds are currently 12-8 in the month of September and have beaten other teams besides the worse off Pirates.  The slump the Reds are in is an attendance slump, due to the poor play of both the team and their opponents.

Reds September Home Games Attendance

Tue., Sep. 1 Pittsburgh—10,304
Wed., Sep. 2 Pittsburgh—11,541
Mon., Sep. 14 Houston—9,852
Tue., Sep. 15 Houston—11,923
Wed., Sep. 16 Houston—10,662
Thu., Sep. 17 Florida—9,685
Fri., Sep. 18 Florida—15,882
Sat., Sep. 19 Florida—17,026
Sun., Sep. 20 Florida—16,186

Remaining Home Games

Tue., Sep. 29—St. Louis 
Wed., Sep. 30—St. Louis 
Thu., Oct. 1—St. Louis 
Fri., Oct. 2—Pittsburgh 
Sat., Oct. 3—Pittsburgh
Sun., Oct. 4—Pittsburgh 

Can the Reds Improve in 2010 and Beyond?

They seem to be at the team's budgeted payroll limit and they have no major salary coming off the books for the 2010 season. This limits the Reds from adding any larger-number free agents.

Year—Total Payroll
2009—$73,558,500                                   
2008—$74,117,695                                   
2007—$68,904,980                                   

They are in a tough division with the Cardinals and the Brewers, plus the Cubs have the resources to pay to make up for previous mistakes. They should be able to compete with the Astros, who need some retooling and should be able to handle the Pirates, who may be the worst team in the league year after year.

The Reds are going to have to make some creative trades if they are going to get back to winning and building a future. They have not made the playoffs since 1995 and not finished over a .500 winning percentage since 2000.

The organization has strong leadership with Walt Jocketty, who was a driving force for the Cardinals all those years, as the general manager. They also have a solid manager in Dusty Baker, but they need some more talent to make a run and have the fans believe.

They have the management in place for the future, but they need to start showing signs of improvement and development. The Reds have a proud history and it's time to give the fans something to cheer about once again.

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