She did some weird things…but when money needed to be spent for someone she wanted, Marge rarely hesitated. (From Press Pros Files)
No longer a proud tradition in major league baseball, the Reds have sacrificed winning and a lot of that tradition for the sake of the bottom line…ignoring the fact that you have to win to even have one!
The response to Hal McCoy’s Monday column on the Reds firing manager David Bell has been brisk.
Not all that many, because there really aren’t that many anymore whose daily habits include the Cincinnati Reds. But brisk.
And why don’t people care…like they once did in the heyday of the Big Red Machine?
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Because there’s nothing ‘big’ about the Reds anymore. They’re a four-cylinder hybrid now, more concerned about miles per gallon than the luxury of the ride.
Because of that they’ve lost the once-proud, traditional Reds fan they once bragged about – people who knew the roster (even the forty man roster), the stats, the farm system, and the rookies who might make the big league roster next spring, and contribute!
They’ve lost the trust of the people who once trusted in the Reds – to be competitive, entertaining, and consistent with the daily batting order. They’ve lost what they once called “the most knowledgeable fans in baseball”. Now, as Hal detailed in his Monday column, it’s hard to even name a set lineup. The roster has become a glorified Triple-A composite of ‘here todays’, and ‘gone tomorrows’.
Injuries have hurt, yes. But injuries hurt every big league franchise. The difference is…are you prepared to deal with losses in a manner that keeps you competitive? Are you a buyer or a seller at the trading deadline? And when have the Reds ever been a buyer since the days of Bob Howsam, or even Marge Schott?
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Now, the only thing they buy are the discards from other major league rosters that come cheap, like Frankie Montas. Montas was once a valued major league starting pitcher until he had arm troubles with the Oakland Athletics. He won 13 games for Oakland in 2021, then became a reclamation project for the Yankees before the Yankees said…you’re not good enough to be a Yankee.
But he was good enough to be a Red, and last off-season he was signed as the steadying pillar of a young starting staff, none of which can stay healthy.
It’s true that the eight Reds behind Montas were no threat to Cooperstown. But he was expensive enough that they dumped him on the Brewers at the trade deadline for (what else?)…prospects! Nick Krall is ate up with other people’s suspect prospects.
There was great optimism after they finished with a winning roster in 2023 with some of those prospects, but here’s the reality of that euphoria.
Spencer Steer has hit 20 home runs in 2024, yes, but he’s hitting .229.
TV anchor John Sakak keeps telling us about Will Benson’s work ethic? He’s hitting .180.
TJ Friedl…hitting .220.
Noelvi Marte…lost for using a banned substance.
Santiago Espinal…hitting .250.
Jonathan India…a former first-round pick, hitting .247.
And thank you God for Ty France, who Seattle dumped because he was hitting .223. As a Red he’s hitting .273.
Elly De La Cruz is one of baseball’s most exciting young players, has 25 home runs and leads baseball with 65 stolen bases. But he’s a strikeout waiting to happen (212), and hitting .260. Make no mistake, he’s young, and one to build around, but they’re going to have to pay him big money to stay. They won’t!
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So the Reds have lost the audience who once trusted Bob Howsam, and later Marge Schott, to spend what was necessary to keep them competitive. Say what you want about Schott, and her weirdo ways, but she stocked that 1990 team with the added pieces (Mariano Duncan, Hal Morris, Glenn Braggs, Billy Hatcher, Randy Myers) to make them a wire-to-wire winner. Yes, salaries and expenses are up since then, but so are revenues, and revenue sharing. And if you’re counting (and groundwater Reds fans don’t anymore), it’s been 34 years since they’ve sniffed a World Series.
Now the fan base is populated by those who take a day off for opening day…and the yearly family outing concerned with seeing the zoo and King’s Island as they are a Reds game. Sadly, in that order.
They made the brilliant move years ago to move their spring training to Arizona, killing fan anticipation for driving to Florida in March to watch them train and dream the dream. Arizona is simply too far away, and creepy when you get there.
If you go to college baseball games and canvas the other scouts about the Reds farm system and player development, they do their best to be positive. But you can tell.
Owner Bob Castellini’s net worth is listed at about $400 million dollars (Celebrity Net Worth. com), which pales in comparison to the richest major league owner groups. Still, when he bought the team in 2006 he uttered these now lightly-regarded words: “We’ve come to a point where we’re not going to lose anymore,” Castellini said, emphatically.
That was in 2008, 16 years ago, and they’re still waiting – those still willing to buy the optimism of other teams’ discards turning up gold for the Reds.
In comparison, Marge Schott bought the Reds in 1984, and even with the Pete Rose mess was able to see them to a World Championship just six years later.
Publisher/editor Sonny Fulks writes OHSAA and Buckeyes sports for Press Pros Magazine.com.
Comparing talent, only one member of that 1990 Reds has been inducted to Cooperstown – Barry Larkin.
In sixteen seasons under Bob Castellini, the Reds have produced just one even worthy of conversation – Joey Votto. Ken Griffey, Jr. came to the Reds at the end of Schott’s regime, and Scott Rolen was inducted as a St. Louis Cardinal.
No longer is there swagger, and barely mention of names like Pinson, Robinson, Rose, Perez, Bench, and Morgan. Like the ’27 Yankees, the Big Red Machine is a figment in baseball history – in just 40 short years!
The difference is the Yankees are still relevant, and willing to compete, both in the front office and on the field. The Reds are not!
You can thank Hal McCoy…for reminding us.
