Athletic Narcissism Trending Up

Is this really happening?  Reds still leading NL Central

In an effort to properly follow the Cincinnati Reds from our homestead along the Potomac, I started surfing Reds blogs last year.  I wanted to read the non-accredited, un-edited musings of true fans vice organizational PR hacks.  Blogs like the Red Reporter and BlogRedMachine provide insights from differing vantage points and of varying worth.

Throughout the 2017 Spring Training I began to imagine being a Reds-specific blogger must be  similar to serving as an internal communications specialist on the Titanic.  Reds bloggers can write about a mediocre everyday lineup, an injury riddled pitching staff and low-ceiling prospects while sprinkling in some faint hope about young players getting the experience needed to enable future success. 

That is equivalent to Titanic customer service informing you of the string quartet on level four and putting up posters about the drink specials in the Captain's Lounge.  And all you want is to find one more life jacket for your oldest child and get pointed in the direction of the nearest life boat so that you stand a chance of getting off this historic, yet sinking ship.

That is where Reds fans found themselves again this spring -- cold, wet and without hope.  But hey, Reds tickets on StubHub are cheap and they serve IPA at Great American Ball Park.

Preseason publications predicted rough seas ahead.

• Athlon Sports predicted the Reds would finish in 4th (out of 5) in the NL Central, because "there are far too many ifs to expect the Reds to contend." 
• USAToday Sports Weekly lamented that Joey Votto's brilliance is going to waste and predicted a last place finish in the division.
• The Washington Post capsule claimed the Reds season would be a success if "they don't wind up as one of the worst teams in history." [Geesh, that one was harsh.]

As I typed this from AHOTP headquarters, I watched the first place Cincinnati Reds on MASN beat the Baltimore Orioles by six in a series opener.  So how does this happen?  Three starting pitchers (Scott Feldman, Brandon Finnegan and Amir Garrett) have exceeded expectations, three Reds infielders (Zack Cozart, Eugenio Saurez, and Scooter Gennett) are batting over 0.300 and it is still very early.  Almost anything can happen in such a small sample size (13 of 162 games).

There are still many icebergs to circumnavigate.  Wick Terrell highlighted some troubling signs in the Reds pitching staff in his April 18 article for the Red Reporter.  Due to injuries to Finnegan and Rookie Davis and a poor showing by Sal Romano, Cincinnati came into the Orioles series with their 4th and 5th starting pitchers unknown.  Terrell also pointed out the Reds bullpen has thrown more innings than any other set of relievers in MLB as of Tuesday morning.

Nick Vorholt of BlogRedMachine thinks the Reds "have enough talent to make some noise in the NL Central, if they play their best players."

At this point, that comment doesn't seem as ridiculous as it might have sounded three weeks ago.  I will be making a trip to Cincinnati for a weekend set early this summer.  I am just hoping this boat keeps afloat through that and I get back on I-70 headed east with the Reds still making some positive noise.