-- Big picture: The Reds just need to take two out of three from Milwaukee this weekend and they'll be sporting a 4-5 record for this nine game road trip. Not the end of the world.
-- Small picture: Ugh. Just ugh.
This is what happens when you're bullpen is absolutely terrible. The offense does it's job and gets out to an enormous lead and you get to watch it slowly slip away. Just for fun let's look at these three players at AAA:
Player One: 14.1 IP, 1.26 ERA, 18/6 K/BB
Player Two: 13.2 IP, 2.36 ERA, 17/4 K/BB
Player Three: 11.2 IP, 3.09, 13/2 K/BB
I haven't included their names because none of them are prospects. But all three, small sample size aside, look like they'd be better options than Joe Valentine, Ben Weber, and David Weathers.
Relievers are fickle. They pitch so few innings that their numbers can be awfully deceptive this early in the season. But it's ridiculously clear that this bullpen hasn't gotten the job done thus far. It certainly doesn't help that our starters can't seem to get into the sixth (the sixth!! I'm asking for so little) inning.
The three relievers above? Randy Keisler, Tom Shearn, and Ricky Stone. I told you the names wouldn't blow you away, but I'm thinking that I'd love to see them given a shot in the near future. They can't do worse than what we're seeing now. O'Brien needs to cut bait on somebody, if for no other reason but to prove that he's serious about winning. Maybe a few of the other relievers would stop sucking if they feared for their jobs.
-- Felipe Lopez should be starting every day. If the Reds are at all serious about competing then they can't continue running Rich Aurilia out to shortstop on a daily basis. Just in case you missed me saying it the first few dozen times.