Silver linings from a 1-5 Cincinnati Reds road trip

The Cincinnati Reds wrapped up a two-city road trip earlier this week that saw them win a lone game against five losses. In any normal world, for most any other franchise, it’s the kind of form away from home that would’ve left everyone annoyed and frustrated, especially with the frequency of one-run losses.

They’re the Reds, though, and they’ve made it quite clear that a primary focus on wins and losses in 2023 is not their priority. So, why should it be ours, either?

Mo Egger of ESPN 1530 joined Walks Will Haunt this week to discuss that with us, and to try to quantify our focus right now. The good players on the Reds roster, for instance, played well all road trip, and have all peformed admirably so far this year despite the team’s stumble in the standings early. The players we don’t expect to hear much of in the future, meanwhile, have largely been the ones who have cost the team wins.

The future, then, still looks rather bright. That near-term future, though, is going to Joey Votto back in the fold as well, and we talked at length about how the future Hall of Famer is going to mix back in with this experienceless youth-movement that’s already beginning to find its identity without him.

Smack the play button below to catch this week’s episode, or follow this link should that embed be stripped out on your page for whatever reason.