After 9 straight losing seasons and a 15-year playoff drought, the Reds are in. Last night the Reds clinched the NL Central Division on a walk-off homerun by rightfielder Jay Bruce. In the bottom of the 9th, with the game tied at 2, Jay Bruce homered on the first pitch he saw from the Astros' Tim Byrdak. Bruce became the fifth player in MLB history to hit a walk-off homerun to clinch a playoff spot.
The Reds last made the playoffs in 1995. It's been 20 years since they've won the World Series. But it feels like an eternity. I was only six-years-old when the Reds swept the defending champion Oakland A's to win the 1990 World Series. Some of my all-time favorite players were a part of that Reds team; Barry Larkin, Chris Sabo, Eric Davis, Paul O'Neil, and the "Nasty Boys." The Reds were playing a "pre-steroids" Mark McGwire and the heavily favored Oakland A's.
The Reds pounded the A's in Game 1, behind an Eric Davis homerun and the start of Billy Hatcher's streak of seven consecutive hits. Game 2 went into extra innings with the Reds winning in the bottom of the 10th on a walk-off single by Joe Oliver. In Game 3, Chris Sabo hit two homeruns and the Reds won decisively. Jose Rijo retired 20 consecutive batters in Game 4, leading the Reds to their first World Series championship in 14 years. Rijo was named World Series MVP.
The Reds are making their second playoff appearance since that 1990 World Series Championship and the first since 1995. They came close in 1999, losing a playoff for a wild-card berth against the New York Mets. The Reds finished with a winning-record in 2000, but still didn't make the playoffs. In the last fifteen years the Reds have been through three owners, five general managers, and seven managers. Ray Knight, Jack McKeon, Bob Boone, Dave Miley, Jerry Narron, and Pete Mackanin all tried to lead the Reds back to the playoffs after Davey Johnson did it in 1995. And after the Reds hired Dusty Baker it didn't get any better. Baker's first two seasons in Cincinnati were awful, finishing 5th (74-88) in 2008 and 4th (78-84) in 2009. But Cincinnati GM Walt Jocketty had faith in Dusty. As it turns out, it was a great decision.
Baker deserves alot of credit for leading this young team to the playoffs. No one expected the Reds to be here. And they've done it by being good on offense and defenese, at every position. Cincinnati is a solid defensive team; 1B Joey Votto, 2B Brandon Phillips, 3B Scott Rolen, SS Orlando Cabrera, LF Jonny Gomes, CF Drew Stubbs, and RF Jay Bruce all rank in the top-6 in fielding percentage in the National League. And the Reds are even better swinging the bat. Currently, the Reds lead the National League in runs scored (768), batting average (.271), hits (1461), home runs (181), slugging percentage (.435), and they're tied for first in on-base percentage (.338). Arthur Rhodes, Scott Rolen, Brandon Phillips, and Joey Votto were NL All-Stars. Votto should win the National League MVP. And newcomer Aroldis Chapman (RP) is the most exciting player in baseball.
The Reds go into the postseason with some question marks. In my opinion the biggest question concerns the bullpen, and more specifically, Reds' closer Francisco Cordero. Can Cordero get it together? Cordero has a 6.75 ERA in his last 9.1 innings. He has given up 15 hits and 7 earned runs. I'm not worried about the offense. I'm not even worried about the sometimes inconsistent pitching staff. But the lack of a dominant closer can doom a team in the postseason. Hopefully CoCo will come through in October.
Even with some concerns, I'm going into the postseason optimistic. I'm happy and content with a division title and playoff appearance. How could you not be after being a Reds fan for the past 20 years? But I want the Redlegs to make a run. My 1990 World Series Championship t-shirt is getting really thin and worn out. I want a new one.
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