Aspects of the game that the Reds have consistently performed at all season long have completely fallen by the wayside. Johnny Cueto, the team’s ace in the first half, looks tired. Pitching a ton of innings last season, playing winter ball, and his workload this year have appeared to have taken his toll on him. Aaron Harang has been a dissapointment, Homer Bailey can’t seem to get it together, and Micah Owings has, quite frankly, sucked. The big righty nibbles, and doesn’t really feature that extenstive of a repetoire. Only Bronson Arroyo has pitched well. Both him and Harang are the subject of trade rumors.

The bullpen has faltered as well. If the Reds are smart, they will remove themselves of guys such as Francisco Cordero and David Weathers. Those are high dollar luxury items that will impede the club from pursuing free agents this offseason. Both men, along with Arthur Rhodes, have performed, but they are older vets and for a team that is probably a few years away, could possibly net some nice future talent.

As for the offense, outside of Joey Votto and Brandon Phillips, perhaps noone else out there would be in the starting lineup for most other major league ballclubs. Really, the offense reared it’s ugly head this past month. Edwin Encarnacion looks like a guy who is playing for a paycheck, Johnny Gomes and Laynce Nix are limited, and a man such as Jerry Hairston Jr. really ought to be a super sub as opposed to a near-everyday starter.

With Jay Bruce out, and now Chris Dickerson (a minor bright spot) possibly out for some time, the starting outfield will be Gomes/Tavares/Nix. This is an absolute JOKE of a major league starting outfield. I wrote that Jocketty ought to go after Matt Holliday, but the Cardinals got him. As usual, we sit around and watch everyone else improve. Holliday wouldn’t have improved all of our woes, but wow, this team really needs to send the message across that they are trying, and they clearly have missed the boat so far.

What to look forward to the rest of the way? Votto, assuming he stays healthy, will eventually qualify for enough at bats to be in the race for the batting title. Whether he is facing right handers/left handers/runners on bases/bases empty, it doesn’t matter. The man flat out rakes. Also something else to check out will be Brandon Phillips’ pursuit of 100 RBI’s. Really, though I was quite critical of him for his boneheaded baserunning error last week at L.A, he has done his job and performed. Also, now that Ryan Hanigan has the catching job all to himself, he has a good opportunity to prove himself worthy of the job, and I think he can do it. He’s a good hitters to all parts of the ballpark.

The trading deadline is soon. The Reds clearly are now sellers. This month proved that they are basically frauds in this NL central race. The personnel decisions they make from here on out will hopefully build for a better 2010 and beyond. Also, they have some good young players in the minors such as Drew Stubbs, Yonder Alonso, etc. Once again, in Cincinnati, it’s “wait till next year”

Good teams hustle and give 110 percent. Phillips is considered to be one of the veteran leaders of this bunch. For him to do that was simply inexcusable. Literally, the Reds are in a situation where the next week or so will determine whether or not they are buyers or sellers at the trade deadline. Last night’s mistake was costly on so many levels.

Johnny Cueto: Has been in a tailspin lately. He started off looking like a very likely all star candidate. His numbers at the break are still good–8-6/3.62 ERA, but he has looked like a fatigued pitcher lately. Mechanically, he’s falling off towards 1st base when he releases the ball. Also, he’s been doing more throwing as opposed to pitching. I think in the end, he’ll be alright, as he’s too talented to continue to pitch as poorly as he has been the past month

Grade: B+

Aaron Harang: He’s having another year with a bad record. He may never fully recover and bounce back from the workload tossed his way the past several years. His 4.18 ERA though, given his 5-9 record, indicates that run support has been an issue for him. This IS is better season for him than last year. He’s not the clearcut ace of this staff anymore, but he’s still a workhorse.

Grade: B-

Edinson Volquez: He won’t be back for about another month. Even when healthy, he wasn’t fooling hitters the way he did the first half half of 2008. It’s been about a year now since we’ve seen Volquez in true form. What has been wrong? He’s lost some of his aggresiveness towards hitters, resorting more to “nibbing.” If he gets healthy, and Cueto gets back on track, the Reds have a 1-2 pitching duo that few teams can match with

Grade: C (leaning towards an incomplete)

Bronson Arroyo: He eats innings, is incredibly durable, and mixed some terrible starts in with some great starts. He can be maddeningly inconsistent, but he is what he is. There are worse options to have at the back end of a rotation. His carpel tunnel seems not to be a factor for him out on the mound.

Grade: B-

Micah Owings: He doesn’t have much variety in his pitches, but for a number 5 starter, a 6-9 record coupled with a 4.94 ERA is about what one should expect. As is the case with Arroyo, there are worse options to have than Owings at the back end. He is still young and has room to grow, and he also gives the Reds not only a legit hitter at the number 9 spot, but a true pinch hit threat on days where he’s not pitching.

Grade: B-

It should also me mentioned that Homer Bailey has looked very sharp in recent outings. He’s been in the rotation since the injury to Volquez. He has a tremendous amount of talent–perhaps moreso than anyone else in the rotation when he’s going in the right direction. Even the great Albert Pujols praised his stuff. He just has to continue to do what he’s done lately.

Bullpen: Collectively, this has been an absolutely outstanding unit. They have faltered as of late, but the setup guys David Weather and Arthur Rhodes have done an outstanding job of keeping the opposition shut down so that Francisco Cordero can come in and finish them off. All 3 of these guys are older guys. They are smart, durable, and know how to pitch. Bottom line. Outside of that trio, Daniel Ray Herrera has been in a pretty bad slump lately, but he’s been producing for the most part. He may greatly benefit from the rest.

1b: Joey Votto–He’s like Sean Casey with power. He’s someone who is going to be a cornerstone of this organization for years to come. He came out of the game strong, and if it wasn’t for the inner ear infection/stress disorder that sidelined him, he probably would’ve been an all star. His average will probably come down. Hit BABIP. (batting average of balls hit into play for you non baseball prospectus geeks) took a sharp turn upwards from what he had last year. He’s a line drive hitter with a sweet stroke, but it’s hard to imagine all of those batted balls falling at the rate that they have to far this season (over .400). Regardless, he is a steady guy who hits both right handers and lefties well, and will continue to be a .300 batter for a long time.

Grade: A

2b: Brandon Phillips–Even though he still tends to swing from the heels from time to time, his patience has improved. He has almost as many walks in 81 games this year (31) than he had last year in 141 (39). He may never return to the production he had during his 30/30 season in 2007, but he’s a great fielder, one of the few sources of power on this team, and has given them better than average production out of that position. He got ripped (and deservedly so) for dismissing the importance of on-base-percentage. However, for a guy who claims that it’s not as important as people make it out to be, he’s improving in that department (.336 as opposed to .312 last season). I’d like to see more hustle out of him on a consistent basis, but other than that, and the swinging for the fence tendancy of him, I don’t have many complaints.

Grade: B+

3b: Jerry Hairston Jr/Adam Rosales/Edwin Encarnacion–It’s been a revolving door this season, with Edwin’s injuries and all. Rosales faded after a good start, Hairston has sacrificed on base percentage for power (but is like a Ryan Freel with his versitility), and Encarnacion continues to leave people wondering when he’ll reach his potential. Even if he doesn’t, if he can get back to his slightly above average production last year, he’ll be a OK bet out of that spot. His defense leaves something to be desired, and his plate approach is questionable, but when he’s in the lineup, it’s a fairly sizeable upgrade over anyone else they could plug at that spot:

Grade: C

SS: Alex Gonzales/Paul Janish, etc–Production out of this spot has been awful. Alex Gonzales even in his heyday was a stopgap player. He’s noone’s long term solution. A year removed from the game, and a year older, he looks close to being on his way out of the majors. He’s hurt again. Neifi Perez/Chris Gomez status ought to be in store for him. Paul Janish didn’t give them much, but has decent upside. Really, this postion has been a sore spot for this organization for years now

Grade: D

LF: Johnny Gomez/Laynce Nix/Chris Dickerson/Hairston, etc-Though none of these guys are really a difference maker, one can’t really complain. Gomez and Nix have done their part. They have some power and have had their moments. Like I said in an earlier blog, though, the Reds need to make a big move and go after a Matt Holliday type player. This current platoon is nice, but isn’t the stuff that winning ballclubs are made out of.

Grade: C+

CF: Wily Tavares-he’s like Corey Patterson. At least Patterson had some pop in his bat, though. The biggest bust on the team. OK, so he’s rebounded slightly after seeing his average drop down to .219, but the bottom line is, he doesn’t get on base, hits for no power, hasn’t stolen bases like he predicted he would (he said he wanted 100. He currently has 17) and takes questionable routes to balls on defense. This looks like a really bad signing, and Dusty ought to platoon him with Dickerson the rest of the way. Wisely, Dusty has done this, and has started to look at other options in the leadoff spot as well

Grade: D

RF: Jay Bruce-He is struggling badly. A stint on the DL might just do him some good. He has power, but ever since his blazing hot start when he was called up to the big leagues last year, he has tailed off considerably. He’s still very young, though, so anyone who is writing him off is foolish. However, he swings at a lot of bad pitches and at bad times in the count. Young players go through this sort of stuff. Reds fans don’t want to hear that, though. We have suffered through losing seasons every year since 2000. In a perfect world, he’s the Reds’ cleanup hitter and not Brandon Phillips, but he has more holes in his swing right now than swiss cheese.

Grade: C-

He represents an improvement over Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Big Z, I feel, still has a few seasons left in the tank, but the Cavs need an intimidator, they need a low post scoring presence, and Shaq is the guy who can give them that. Him and Z, the way I’m imagining it, can each play roughly half the game, and even though they are both old, can be one of the best center duos in the league.

Everyone knows Shaq’s style of play. He stays down low, and puts up close range shot attempt. However, will that impede Lebron? King James likes to drive it to the basket. Will they get in each others way?

Getting Shaq doesn’t solve all of their problems, though. They need an athletic power forward and another guard who can create his own shot. Orlando got better by adding Vince Carter (though they may lose Hedo Turkoglu), and Boston will be back and healthy for another run at it. The Cavaliers don’t have much cap room left. It’s a weak free agency class anyway. Next year is probably going to be the most crucial period in the history of the organization. LeBron can opt out if he so chooses. Will he be happy with the direction of the organization? Getting Shaq is a step in the right direction, especially since they basically got him for nothing. If anything else, it gives the organization a shot in the arm, and with the jerseys and shirts that the Big Diesel will sell, a big time money maker.

What happens over the next few weeks will determine whether the Reds will be buyers or sellers at the deadline.

Lets be realistic, though. If the Reds were to get him, it would be purely as a rental player. He would command too much money this offseason for a team like the Reds to retain his services. That is probably why they wouldn’t make this move. Also, they don’t want to part with valuable minor league players. However, as a huge Reds fan, I’m sick and tired of the current status quo. Go for it. Go for broke. It’s what the Milwaukee Brewers did. The aquisition of CC Sabathia last year brought so much excitment to that city. They sold out games routinely, and made it to the postseason. Everyone knew that they would lose him eventually, but they didn’t sit pat and accept the current situation.

Why can’t the Reds be the Milwaukee Brewers? When was the last time this organization really had anything to get truly excited about? Don’t worry about next year. It’s good to have some foresight, but sometimes, you have to just take a risk and go for broke. I think Matt Holliday can be that impact player. St Louis (another market similar to Cincinnati) is already making moves. They recently aquired Mark DeRosa..

I’m tired of watching everyone else be aggressive. Now is the time. Eight consecutive losing seasons. I don’t want to hear about prospects developing and what they will bring to the future team. We have tremendous pitching for the first time in years. Lets help out that staff by getting a big time bat.

2b Brandon Phillips: He is having a very nice season. Chase Utley has the starting spot on lockdown, as he is clearly the best second baseman in the NL, which is reflected in fan voting. As of June 17th, Phillips is batting .282 with 10 homers and 43 RBI’s. He’s had his ups and downs this season, but has been the leader of the offense in the absence of Joey Votto. What I like is that .351 OBP. Noone will ever mistake Phillips for being a selective hitter, but all of last season (141 games), he had 39 walks. In 57 this year, he has 23.

Competition for that spot include Orlando Hudson, who is batting .311 with 4 home runs and 31 RBI’s, and Skip Schumaker (.302/8/46). Assuming Utley holds on to his lead in the fan voting, I think Hudson probably gets it, because of the overall team success of the Dodgers (especially in the absence of Manny) as compared to the Reds. Phillips, however, deserves some consideration, and every team has to have somebody. He’s one of the most deserving candidates on this team

P Johnny Cueto: He is maturing into a fine starting pitcher this season. He has a 6-4 record, and currently holds a 2.17 ERA, which is tops in the national league. That cannot be ignored. Volquez has similar success last year, and got picked, so why not Cueto?

P Francisco Cordero: He has 15 saves this year, 3 behind the current leader. He has been lights out all year, posting an outstanding 1.93 ERA. Francisco Rodriguez and Johnathan Broxton have slightly more saves and play on better teams, but Cordero has the resume this season to show that he belongs with those guys in St. Louis.

Sadly, noone else on the team really deserves a spot on the all-star game roster. Hitting has been a pretty major weakness, and really, outside of Phillips, noone else in the lineup produces enough on a consistent basis. In the rotation, guys have either been hurt (Volquez), or have had fairly ordinary seasons (Harang, Arroyo).

Votto probably would’ve been a shoo-in for an at-large selection, had he not been placed on the DL. When he played, few, if any, first baseman, posted the statistics that he did.

I guess something else to keep in mind is even if someone on Cincinnati gets an unfair snub, there is always the chance that they get to participate anyway due to someone else having an injury or what not. However, someone WILL be going to St. Louis. I just posted whom I thought were the most worthy candidates.

Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but none of that is going to happen with the way the Reds are hitting right now. Literally, for the first time in YEARS, Cincinnati has pieced together a solid rotation and a bullpen that ranks up there with the best of them. However, the offensive is absolutely killing them. Our lineup is making a lot of medicore/average guys look like CY Young candidates.

Here are the ugly statistics: Reds are 25th in on base percentage (.320), 27th in batting average (.245 and, 23rd in total runs (257). We are near the middle of the pack in homeruns, but we are a team that as of right now, just doesn’t have enough offense. Joey Votto’s absence is absolutely killing this team. Lets get something straight, though. Votto isn’t a .360 hitter. Whenever he returns (who knows when that will be), he will probably tail off a bit. Out of the current guys healthy and active, only Brandon Phillips is looking worthy of being in a major league lineup on a nightly basis. He’s doing his job, but he is surrounded by guys who are clearly scuffling. In all fairness, left field has been reasonably covered by Jonny Gomes and Laynce Nix, but looking around them, Wily Tavares is having a horrible season, Jay Bruce’s batting average is creeping ever too close to the mendoza line, Ramon Hernandez has tailed off, Alex Gonzalez is an all field/no hit guy, and the Jerry Hairston/Adam Rosales combo at third base isn’t scaring anyone.

Well, what to do about it? First off, Wily Tavares has no business being in the leadoff spot. When you have a leadoff hitter who has an .OBP under .300, that absolutely kills the team. He needs to be bench, or platooned with Chris Dickerson. However, I don’t really think the Reds have anyone who can adequately handle the leadoff spot, as hardly anyone on the team consistently gets on base. I would keep Bruce up in the big leagues. There has been some chatter about him returning to triple-A, but I think they should just let him continue to learn at this level, as there is no better level to learn at. Also, I would examine the idea of putting Paul Janish as the full time shortstop. Alex Gonzales just isn’t hitting.

Of course, there are potential trades rumors that could happen, but do you want to part with key minors leaguers, guys such as Yonder Alonso, who could be an important piece to our future? Is a short term fix worth it? I think it is. Why can’t we be like the Milwaukee Brewers, who went out and got CC Sabathia last year? It created a buzz, filled the stands, and look at them now. They sell out almost every game, and are making money, which can lead to another big name potentially landing there. I think we need to take a serious look at Matt Holliday. Oakland isn’t going anywhere this year, and you know that Billy Beane is looking to deal him.

While I am thankful for the position we are in, I feel that this lack of offense will be our undoing. Our pitchers can’t be expected to throw lights out every single night. Our offense needs to make guys work. Last night (and lately as a whole) against Kansas City, there were a lot of quick outs. Guys were swinging early and often. That isn’t going to lead to winning baseball. Hopefully, whenever Votto comes back, this all can change, but as of this point, Dusty Baker needs to manuever around some guys in the lineup and bench vets that aren’t producing.

With that said, hey, it could be worse.

As a transplanted Ohioan now living in the steel city, I partake in the occasional Pirates game. While one can never go wrong with Major League Baseball, outside of the fantastic park itself, there is nothing “Major League” about the team itself, or the environment. When you enter the iron wrought gates, there really isn’t any sort of buzz in the air. Half the crowd doesn’t wear anything Pirates-related. You are just as likely to see someone in a Steelers or Penguins jersey as you are a Pirates one. For those wanting to buy a piece of overpriced merchandise—who exactly do you get? The Pirates have no idea who they want to be apart of their “core.” Spend the $175-200 on a jersey, and that player is likely to be gone before the first run in the washing machine (unless that player is Jack Wilson, whom the Pirates can’t even GIVE away). At this point, one would have to be drunk off of those $8 beers to do that.

While the Reds have had their own extended run of futility, I think that there is a general sense that the organization is heading in the right direction. That can’t be said about the Pirates There is a young core of players in place in Cincinnati. Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, Edinson Volquez, and Johnny Cueto are some of the key members of that core. There have been severe growing pains at times (and still are), but the team is slowing getting better and gaining experience at the major league level. Surrounding them are productive vets such as Ramon Hernandez, Brandon Phillips, Aaron Harang, Bronson Arroyo, and a veteran led bullpen that ranks among the best in the business.

With all that said, the team still needs to make several moves before they can take the next step. That next step being October baseball. Production in left field and shortstop isn’t good enough, and in the absence of Joey Votto, there isn’t enough of a presence in the lineup to overcome that. However, if this once great rivalry is to ever resume again—at least the Reds are trying to do their part. Their young talent is learning on the fly right now as we speak. The Pirates? They are suffering now, and will continue to suffer as their new talent, guys such as Andrew McCutchen, Pedro Alvarez, Jose Tabata, etc make the adjustment to Major League Baseball. The Pirates are making repairs to a farm system badly abused by their previous administration, and I can’t blame them for that, but the Nate McClouth trade demonstrates that Pittsburgh has no idea whom they want to be part of the future. No one can say with any degree of confidence that the Pirates will allow this current young crop time to thrive before they trade them off for single A prospects.

I’m a realist. I know that years from now, the young players currently in place for Cincinnati may price themselves out of the market. After all, one of the sad realities of this game is that many of the teams in the smaller markets ultimately serve as farm clubs for the big, bad Yankees and Red Sox. However, teams like the Brewers and Twins don’t throw themselves pity parties for losing key guys to big time teams. They have future prospects ready to fill in. There’s no reason whatsoever the Reds can’t strive to be like them. If that were to happen, I think attendance in a baseball city such as Cincinnati would increase exponentially, and money could be spent at the trade deadline and what not. Something like that isn’t a pipe dream for the Reds anymore. As for the Pirates—their recent moves have shown that they are years off from even being relevant—let alone good.