MILWAUKEE – The Cincinnati Reds have gotten some of the best pitching in the majors through the first three series of the season, producing a 3.41 staff ERA.
The starters have been even better those first two full turns through the rotation, producing a 3.18 ERA even after Sunday’s 8-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.
But some of the worst hitting in the majors has wasted most of it during a 3-7 start for a team that expects to still be playing in October.
Talk about a missed opportunity.
“We’re all working our butts off here, and we’re going to find an answer,” said Spencer Steer, whose first home run of the season was close to all the firepower the lineup could muster on the way to its 11th consecutive series loss to the Brewers.
That was one of only two earned runs the Reds scored combined in the three losses to the Brewers during the four-game series.
The point isn’t that the Reds are somehow buried. It’s a long season, with nearly six months and 152 games to play by the time their charter left Milwaukee for San Francisco and a three-game set with the Giants beginning Monday.
But the opportunity missed extends beyond simply the chance to bank three or four more early wins and the impact in the early standings (which, for those scoring at home, had the Reds tied for last place with the Pirates, three games behind the first-place Cubs).
Because Reds ownership leaves the door open to flex the budget when in-season revenue (read: attendance) rises, strong starts – or poor ones – have the potential for disproportionate impact on competitive resources over the course of the season.
In other words, if the Reds are in the market for reinforcements at the July 31 trade deadline, how they arrive in that position could impact how flexible they are in being able to add salary to the payroll at that point.
A big April and early May that drives excitement and ticket sales into the summer might have more impact, for instance, than a disappointing first month or two followed by a June surge into the fringes of the race.
Team president Nick Krall addressed that reality on the eve of spring training when asked about his anticipated resources once the season starts and he begins planning for the deadline.
“It always changes. If revenues are up, you have more money, and I think that’s what you’re looking at,” Krall said. “Hopefully, we get off to a good start like we did in ’23 and add some dry powder in the middle of the season.”
In 2023, coming off a 100-loss season, interest was low entering the season, and the club drew three sub-10,000 crowds the first 14 home dates, ...
