Cincinnati Reds: Why They Are Baseball's Most Confusing Team

In 2010, fans of the Cincinnati Reds were rejoicing for the first time in 15 years because the Reds were finally back in the playoffs. It had been a long, very painful 15 years.

In my opinion, the Reds were to the 2000s what the Bengals were to the 1990s:  just awful. Year after year, the Reds would be out of the NL Central Race by the All-Star break, but would deliver a promising August and September run to give false hope for the next season.

The 2010 campaign was different: the Reds clinched the NL Central, but only would disappoint in the playoffs after being swept by the Philadelphia Phillies. 

Now that 2011 is here, this team has been more up-and-down than any roller coaster I've ever been on. They started the season 8-3, but now have slipped to 12-12. For those of you who can't put that math together, that means they've gone 4-9 since that tremendous start.  hey have not been able to string together consecutive victories since April 11 and 12, and that was only two games. 

Pitching and hitting started off hot, but have no dropped off to embarrassing levels.  The team's collective 4.27 ERA is 11th in the National League.

Nick Masset and Edinson Volquez are the first two to lead the pitching demise. Masset is 0-3 with a 5.11 ERA coming out of the bullpen, and Volquez—the Reds' Opening Day starter—is 2-1 with a 6.50 ERA. 

The only bright spots up to now have been star-studded Cuban Aroldis Chapman, who has yet to allow an earned run, and Bronson Arroyo, who's at 3-2 with a 3.64 ERA. One of the main concerns has been Travis Wood, who has been less than effective after being arguably the Reds' most impressive starter last season.

Here's what makes this team's pitching a conundrum: Homer Bailey and Johnny Cueto will both be back from injury soon, so will this help? And who will be on the odd men out? Cueto certainly showed he has some potential after last year's 12-win season. With the return of these arms, can the pitching turn itself around?

The offense has also been struggling, especially given last night's two hit performance against the Brewers. To this point, Brandon Phillips and Joey Votto have been the only really impressive offensive performers. The only other man on the team batting over .300 is Edgar Renteria, and that's in less than half the at-bats that Phillips and Votto have. 

Discipline at the plate has improved (Johnny Gomes walked 39 times in 2010; has 18 walks thus far in 2011), which is good, but not if you can't knock the base-runners in.  Collectively, the team is batting .259. There is no doubt they can hit: they scored double-digit runs in five games over their initial 8-3 stretch. Scott Rolen on the DL certainly does not help their cause.

I do not think the current Reds' struggles will hurt the team's chances at another Central division title, but I do fear that if it should continue, they may wind up too far out by time they recover. The Reds have one of the youngest and most talented teams in the league, but they need to get that "talented" part working, or the fans in the Queen City may be in for another looooong season.