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Though the Reds current losing streak stands at a very respectable "1", the Reds still have ten losses in their last eleven games, and sit in 4th place with a 19-27 record. Which means it is the season of trying to get rid of everything currently associated with the Reds. The "FARR BRYAN" folks are out in full force, of course, while others lick their chops over trade possibilities. Would you trade Mike Leake to the Astros for Michael Felix and Teoscar Hernandez? How about Cueto and Chapman to the Red Sox for Eduardo Rodriguez et al.? Would you trade your old cow to Mr. Redlegs for six magic beans? These are questions only Walt Jocketty can answer. Oh yeah, we should also trade him, too.
For our short term not losing forecast, the arrival of the Washington Nationals does not look very promising, as the Nats lead the NL East and are 9-2 in their last 11 games. As Robert Bondy at mlb.com points out, the Reds have not had a winning record for the season against the Nationals since 2011 - though last season, we tied. The probable pitchers for the Nationals are Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, and Tanner Roark, which sounds like the name of the original character in the Ayn Rand fanfiction I would have written in high school in the alternative universe where I was really into Ayn Rand. The Reds haven't seen a ton of these pitchers before, though Gonzalez's lefthandedness has not been kind to our lineup. Strasburg has actually been kind of bad this year - and got roughed up pretty badly by the Phillies in his last start.
The current All-Star Game voting tallies were released yesterday. Votto, Phillips, Frazier and Cozart are all in the top 5 for their positions as of now. Frazier's the highest at third, but Cozart may have the best shot, as fewer votes separate him from the leading Jhonny Peralta. Could we make a deal with the Giants - Cozart and Posey? Of course, Giants fans would probably rather vote for their own shortstop, who is having a pretty great year.
Also: Hal McCoy discusses slump-busting techniques. Supercut of adorable dogs at Bark in the Park night. A cool bit about the bronze statue of Tony Perez going up at GABP in August. An interview with Barry Larkin on his role in the Reds minor leagues.