In Pittsburgh, it's fashionable to bash the Pirates, and for good reason. But after their series in Cincinnati, it seems as if Pittsburgh is going to finish ahead of anyone in the NL Central, it's the Reds.
I've heard some talk on sports radio that Cincinnati might make some noise this year, with "young talent" and "good pitching." Well, if they watched Aaron Harang shut out the Pirates on Sunday, that type of reasoning might hold some merit.
Judging by the "talent" in the latter half of the Reds' lineup, their pitchers are going to have to put up a lot of zeroes for the team to have any kind of success this year.
On Sunday, hitting fifth through eighth for Cincinnati were Jay Bruce, Edwin Encarnacion, Ramon Hernandez and Alex Gonzalez. They went a combined 2-for-13 against Ian Snell and three relievers. Encarnacion got one of those hits, but he also hit into a rare triple play.
For the first week of the season, those players had a cumulative 60 at-bats and 8 hits for a .133 batting average. Hernandez and Gonzalez were a combined 1-for-27.
It's not as if those guys haven't had success in the past. Encarnacion, Hernandez and Gonzalez all have had 20-homer seasons. Bruce broke into the majors with a bang last year, hitting .400 over his first 14 games and finishing fifth in National League Rookie of the Year balloting.
Yet everyone from Pirates announcer Bob Walk to Reds manager Dusty Baker has been commenting on how they all have looked lost at the plate so far this year.
Sure, it's early yet. But if Pittsburgh fans want to concentrate on the miseries of other teams, Cincinnati seems like a good place to look.
Trivia #4: Who was the second pitcher in history, after Grover Cleveland Alexander, to win a World Series game for the Philadelphia Phillies? (For the answer, scroll down and look to the right.)
A new home
7 years ago
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