5.5 Games out of first place in the NL Central
4 Games behind the Cardinals
4.5 Games ahead in the race for the final Wild Card
Here is quick breakdown of what lies ahead for the three teams in the NL Central race...
Pittsburgh
26 Home Games/28 Away Games
21 Games against teams winning records/37 Games against teams with losing records
6 Games against the Reds/9 Games against the Cardinals
St. Louis
32 Home Games/23 Away Games
27 Games against teams with winning records/28 Games against teams with losing records
9 Games against the Pirates/10 Games against the Reds
Cincinnati
31 Home Games/22 Road Games
25 Games against teams with winning records/28 Games against teams with losing records
10 Games against the Cardinals/6 Games against the Pirates
Pirates have the most road games, but they play the easiest schedule. All three teams play more games against teams with losing records then teams with winning records. But obviously that is the case when there are only 6 teams with winning records in the NL. Cardinals and Reds have about the same schedule left when it comes to home, away, and opponents winning percentage. As you can see, there is a whole heck of a lot of games left between the three teams, so this will sort itself out quickly.
I noticed some Walt bashers showing up in blogs and on twitter the last few days. Saying things about Walt not making trades which means he doesn't care and they should be embarrassed. This is wrong in so many ways. The Reds have injuries, they'll be getting back five guys from the original 25 man roster before the season is over. So that is like making trades. Also, you can't say the Reds need a big bat because they can't hit. It's baseball, every team has up and downs. The Reds scored 36 runs in five games to start the road trip. Then they had a stretch where they scored five runs in five games. You can't just choose the bad games to make your conclusion, the good games count too. Currently they have the fourth most runs in the NL. Yeah, that's not great, but it's definitely not bad.
I am reading that Ludwick might be back in the next week or so. Here are my lineup suggestions when he returns.
Against a lefty....
Choo
Frazier
Votto
Phillips
Bruce
Ludwick
Mesoraco
Cozart
When a righty is in, I think you go with Paul and Robinson until Ludwick shows he is ready to play everyday, which might not be until the playoffs. Frazier clearly can't hit the curveball, he looks like he can't see the spin on the ball. At least I hope that is the case, don't know what the other explanation would be for his awful swings at the curve. Hitting in front of Votto would get him a few more fastballs and could help him get on base more. I don't like putting Ludwick in the cleanup spot right off the bat. If he struggles, that will get Votto walked even more than usual. And no, I am not on board with moving Votto to the two spot. You don't move your best hitter because the whole team is struggling, doesn't make sense.
I have more topics I want to hit but I'll wait to use them in a later post. As I mentioned earlier, we have a huge series starting Friday night. With the Cardinals struggling right now, the Reds have a chance to get it turned around. Shelby Miller takes the mound, the Reds are better at hitting righties, it's no secret. Bronson has been pitching well lately and seems to do better against teams in the division, I look for him to have a nice night. We all want the sweep, but winning the series is the goal. If you win every series the rest of the way, the division should be theirs. We will be at the game Saturday night, looking forward to talking trash to some whiny bird fans. Hope you enjoyed the read. Let me know if you have any thoughts or questions. Thanks.
Curt
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