The Boys Are Back In Town…
I don’t know about you, but this guy certainly isn’t a fan of the extended All-Star break. Feels like baseball hasn’t been played in a month. And what a way to kick off the second half of the season than to welcome our favorite whiners into town. Tony LaRussa seems to be everywhere the Reds are and he’s not even an active member of baseball. I know, he snubbed two of our guys that were with out a doubt two of the biggest snubs in AS history. Here’s how I see it:
– The fans have the first say in who makes the starting line up. So, it’s actually our fault as fans that BP didn’t make it on the first wave. You can be mad that he wasn’t tagged as a player or manager pick, but then you also have to be mad at yourself for getting it to that point.
– As much as I hate the guy, LaRussa had a pretty valid point as to why he didn’t pick Cueto. He may have one of the better ERA’s in the NL, but he was scheduled to pitch 2 days before the game. He would basically just be wasting a roster spot. Obviously TLR isn’t going to go out of his way to call Dusty and let him know that, but why would he? I wouldn’t expect Dusty to do it if the tables were turned.
So, go ahead and be mad about our AS snubs. I’d rather be focusing on the second half of the season where the Reds have to fend off the division-leading Pirates. Pittsburgh has the easiest second half schedule in the division, maybe in all of baseball. The Reds have an easy one as well, but this division may come down the last week. Remember the last day of baseball last year? The Braves and Red Sox collapse. The Cardinals and Rays squeaking in. Then the Cards go on to win it all. This year’s season finale could be just as exciting. I’m hoping the Reds aren’t involved. Only because they have a comfortable 6-8 game lead already. A man can dream can’t he?
My second half predictions:
The Reds offense IS going to take off. Votto will of course be Votto, but I feel like Bruce and Phillips are about to hit their offensive and you’re going to see one of the best 3-4-5 combo’s in the NL. The starting rotation will be just as good as they’ve been in the last month or so. The achilles heal of this team will of course be the bullpen. Chapman HAS to restore the confidence he had before his four game meltdown in June. If he does, our boys will run away with the division. If he doesn’t, we may be apart of the fireworks in the last week.
As always, comments are welcome. Questions may be answered. Concerns may be looked over.
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/ItsARedsThing
TWITTER: @ItsARedsThing
It's A Reds Thing 