In Spite of Loss...Reds Are Still in This Thing!

It isn't time for Reds fans to jump off the Roebling Bridge.

Nor is it time to give up on the relief pitching core assembled by Cincinnati's general manager, Wayne Krivsky.

My son, Philip, and I were at Great American Ball Park this afternoon to watch the Reds lose a heartbreaker to the Atlanta Braves.

The Reds were beating the Braves and their starting pitcher, future Hall of Famer John Smoltz, 4 to 2 going into the eighth inning. The Reds' starter, Kyle Lohse, turned in an impressive performance, but ran out of gas, necessitating bringing in bullpen help. Reliever Gary Majewski opened up the floodgates, leading to 4 Atlanta runs in the eighth.

(By the way, how does one get "Losh," with a long "o" as a pronunciation for a name which, in the original German would be pronounced "Losa," also with a long "o"? But the long "o" isn't the issue. I know of no language in which the letters "hs" are pronounced with the "sh" sound. It makes about as much sense as the French name, "Favre," which should be pronounced something like "Fahvra," being mongrelized as "Farv.")

Anyway, the Reds' loss was really discouraging, especially since the team is in definite contention for either winning the Central Division or the Wildcard race.

It was doubly disappointing for my son and me, who, contrary to a lot of Reds fans, have been big supporters of the July trades that saw the team deal away some of its more-than-ample offensive firepower in order to get some much-needed pitching help. (In years past, Reds teams have done well in the front half of their seasons, before the All Star breaks, only to fade as weak pitching began to give out.)

Today's post-game comments on the radio were full of the concern and questioning you'd expect after such a loss, I guess.

And though the Reds can ill afford to lose games in which they have leads going into the late innings, it is just one game. I remain convinced that Krivsky and the new ownership group led by Bob Castellini know what they're doing. The National League is ripe for the picking this year, with only one team consistently dominant, the New York Mets. The Reds can go to the post-season still and I still believe that it has a stronger bullpen that can help make that a reality.

On Monday, the Reds begin a super-critical series with the Saint Louis Cardinals. Now would be a great time for the bullpen to come alive!

By the way, Ken Griffey, Jr.'s home run today was a thing of beauty. He has the most perfect swing I have ever seen in my life. He now has 559 career homers. And just think: Not a single one has been 'roid-powered!