The Goal (chemistry counts)

[Wally Mo Pena]

I've been pretty down about the reds the last few weeks, as i'm sure we all have. We wanted a big start from oour new guys and the lucky sweep of the mets got us excited. That's not how it has worked out, and i have been very close to giving up on this team.

But is it just me or have other people been seeing some changes in the reds lately? For some reason last night, when danny graves got in trouble, i knew he was going to get out of it, he looked ready to go. I think the change is the chemistry of the team, with Aurilia gone and freel and lopez getting the time they deserve. That article that Hal wrote about how the players were questioning whether DanO had a hand in playing Aurilia shows that everyone was on edge about it, and i think that that kind of stuff has a serious impact on a team.

So i'm not giving up on the reds. I think things are going to slowly come around, and i'm giving them a new goal. .500 by the all-star break. It's a tough goal for sure but i think they can do it if the pieces keep coming together.

Ortiz showed last night that this team doesn't need the start that harang gave us last time, they just need to be kept in the game. The pen has settled down considerably the last few games, and i think that it's just going to continue. Graves and wagner looked sharp, and Mercker has quietly been plowing through hitters. Even weathers has looked good.

Maybe i'm being overly optimistic. But with 9 series vs sub .500 teams before the break, we have a chance to put it together. Lets just keep this date in mind. May 12, the day the reds started back to .500.

[redsrbetter]

Good post Wally. I will join you in that thought as well. We need this team to catch fire soon. We could very well get a 10 game win streak and turn this whole thing around. Either that or we could win a few series in a row to get a start back on the right track.

This team does not look like it is ready to go nuts yet, but like Wally said, it does seem different for the time being. So much better without Aurilia in there. The bullpen does not look nasty, but it did do its job last night. More of that and we have a better shot at things. But we have to come out of the gate with this thing. Milton has to get it done tonight, so hopefully he does not allow too many runners on base before he allows his daily two HR. But here is to a huge hot streak. Go Reds!

[Wally Mo Pena]

i doubt that the reds can win a bunch in a row right now, not with how shaky the starters are. Harang and pray for rain? Doesn't ahve a good ring to it. But as the other pieces of the team gel and the attitudes turn around, i think we can win some series in a row. In fact with the infusion of WMP and Hudson and Hancock when they make it back, i think the reds can win 6 of the next 8 series.

if they can do that and avoid getting swept through the next 8 (including the phils) we'd be 28-31 with a lot of momentum when baltimore comes to town, which would be a great start.

The baltimore, boston, atlanta, st. louis stretch is going to be really tough i think, and we'll need some momentum going into that.

[redsrbetter]

Also we have the Astros hurt, the Cards 3B hurt, and this brings us some chances to capitilize. Good point about Pena, Hudson, Hancock. They may be the guys we need to help put this together.

[missionhockey21]

I really don't think this is a team that will go on big win streaks. With the lack of pitching talent and overall inconsisent bats, we are likely to get blown out from time to time. However, if some players start clicking, we could start winning 2 out of 3 in the series. This team is much better on paper than what they have indicated, but if we want to get back to .500, our vet pitchers are going to have to wake up. There is just no chance of us finishing over .500 if they all continue to get bombed.