I keep reading things like this that chastise Reds fans for getting bent out of shape over the recent losing because A) it should have been obvious that the Reds weren't going to be terribly good in the first place and B) there are 130 odd games left to be played.
I agree with A, but I have issues with B. I'm beginning to think this might be the worst Reds team of all time. This incarnation of the Reds would only have to lose 102 games to hold the record for Cincinnati, and that figure looks increasingly reachable.
It becomes even more likely when you consider that there's likely to be a firesale at some point that will make the Reds even worse over the last two or three months of the season.
I've been a loyal Bengals fan my entire life. It became obvious in the mid 90s that the franchise wasn't going to turn around until Mike Brown either stepped down or turned control over to someone else. He finally did that, giving control to Marvin Lewis, and the team is turning around.
It's become quite clear, and very quickly, that the Reds aren't going to go anywhere until Dan O'Brien is replaced. They probably won't improve until John Allen moves on either. Neither have shown that they have the slightest clue when it comes to putting together a winning franchise. Neither have shown any kind of willingness to be visionary or to do things differently since Cincinnati doesn't have the money to compete directly with the Tier One NL Central teams.
The starting pitching is terrible. The bullpen is worse. The offense is being horribly misused (Rich Aurilia started last night over Austin Kearns - brilliant move that). The farm system is pretty darn close to barren and the Reds don't seem to have a clue when it comes to drafting.
We may be entering a long dark period where the franchise will hit new lows. The ship is sinking, and the captain is drunk. I'm not sure where we go from here.