Reds pound Cardinals 9-5, lose Tyler Stephenson to injury yet again

Tyler Stephenson took a foul ball to his right clavicle tonight against the St. Louis Cardinals and broke it. Broke the hell out of it. Sheared it clear in half. Snip, snip, snip, scissors couldn’t have lopped it more thoroughly.

After concussions and a broken thumb, it’s the last thing anyone in any Ty Steves camp wanted to see at this point. Given that the Cincinnati Reds traded away all the veterans they could over the winter so they could turn the team over to Tyler and Jonathan India, it’s been been a triple whammy of awfulness for the Reds and all those who follow them.

1. They went cheap.
2. The kids to whom they turned it over haven’t been healthy enough to show the world anything akin to what they might do if healthy for a full lot of a season.
3. Dear god the record, oh my god the record.

So, once again we’re left with months of wondering what this team could do if Tyler Stephenson, Jonathan India, Nick Senzel, and Jose Barrero were together in a lineup behind Hunter Greene, Graham Ashcraft, and Nick Lodolo, since that’s a scenario that simply hasn’t materialized at all in a year when the lone goal was to see what happened when that materialized. I am demoralized just writing about it once again.

The Reds picked up their mate on the night, at least, socking whoppers on Adam Wainwright and thumping the Cardinals to the tune of 9-5. Joey Votto homered, as did India, while Tyler Naquin did just about everything on the planet except homer in his four-ribbie showcase for the trade market.

Ashcraft was bing-bonged for 4 ER in 4.2 IP and Ian Gibaut coughed up a run in relief, but otherwise things went just swimmingly enough as the Reds emerged for the second half of their season. Except for, y’know, losing their potential superstar catcher to serious injury for the third time in just over half a season.

Something around this franchise needs to change, man. Paint the seats white, swap out LaRosa’s for Dewey’s, sell the team, Bob, something. Bad juju is bad juju, and the juju is simply festering in some upside-down beneath GABP as it has been for years.

This 400 word blab of positivity came after a win over the Cardinals.

-fin-