Reds heading into their most important August in years

• mhs95_06

  At the end of July they sit 11 games over .500 and one game back of StL in the loss column and comfortably ahead of the rest of the teams in the NL Central, and 2 games back in the wild card race. They have a tough schedule in August with 15 road games and 12 home, including the dreaded trip to LA and SF along with AZ in the 3rd and 4th weeks of the month, while the Cardinals don't play west of Houston for the rest of the season. They get 4 off days including the day before and after the western trip. They have 5 Sunday games and they are only 6-10 on Sunday so far in 2010.
  
  I think the key to the Reds making the playoffs will be for them to get improved offense from Stubbs and Bruce along with better pitching from Cordero, and for Rolen, Votto, and Phillips to not be hurt.
• redstreak one

  

  Improved pitching for Cordero, more like night and day IMO. Everytime they put the ball in his hands with less than 2 run lead, I hold my breath. While several offensive players arent playing at the top of their game, Cordero is not even average at this point of the season.
• Swamp Fox

  I agree with everything that redstreak one and mhs95_06 have said, but then I sat back and thought about all of this and I guess the thing I am most thankful for is for the first time in quite awhile, the Reds are going to have a really important August. Now, go do this.
• gerb131

  

  Just keeping taking 2/3 and things will work themselves out. With a younger team if they do lose like 5/8 then the vets like Rolen and Phillips need to step up their roles and carry them thru the hard times. Hope not getting another righty out of the pen doesn't come back to hurt us.
• darbypitcher22

  

  you win series, you keep pace. Sweep the teams you have to (Pittsburgh, Florida, Houston, etc) and you'll be fine
• Midstate01

  

  I try to keep telling myself to just relax and enjoy this season. I thought this team was still a year away. In the end though, I can't relax!! Hopefully we play well!! If we go out west and don't just completely blow it, we will be fine.
• georgemc80

  I was disappointed the Reds didn't do something at the trade deadline to get another pitcher say a Felix Hernandez type. I feel that when you are the Reds, you have to strike whenever you are competitive at the deadlline....
• thedynasty1998

  

  I would hardly consider myself a baseball fan, but I do root for the Reds and I'm actually getting excited about their season and tend to enjoy watching their games. Pretty cool to have a team that I enjoy watching and can root for down the home stretch.
• lhslep134

  

  As much as this sucks I just don't see them holding off the Cardinals.
• HitsRus

  

  Good luck and enjoy the race .....from this frustrated Tribe fan.
• Nate

  In my opinion, I still think Baker messes with the lineup WAY too much. He throws Nix, Gomes, Stubbs, Heisey, etc... In and out of lineups way too much. It's make or break time now, he needs a consistent lineup with fewer off days now. Rolen needs less time resting, if not, a crucial game is going to end up being decided by the bat of Miguel Cairo.
• Midstate01

  

  John Fay said today there is a good chance the reds will be recalling dickerson and sending stubbs down. That'd be great news!!
• justincredible

  

  Nate;438947 wrote:In my opinion, I still think Baker messes with the lineup WAY too much. He throws Nix, Gomes, Stubbs, Heisey, etc... In and out of lineups way too much. It's make or break time now, he needs a consistent lineup with fewer off days now. Rolen needs less time resting, if not, a crucial game is going to end up being decided by the bat of Miguel Cairo.

  
  To be fair to Miguel Cairo, he's about as good of a bat off the bench as you can get.
• justincredible

  

  Midstate01;438966 wrote:John Fay said today there is a good chance the reds will be recalling dickerson and sending stubbs down. That'd be great news!!

  
  This is good. I love Stubbs but he needs to get his head right against some AAA pitching. He has been brutal the last 10 games or so. In his last 10 games he's 2/34 with 1 RBI and 18 Ks.
• osu45804

  

  From what I've read Dickerson has been tearing the cover off the ball down in AAA ..... Would be nice to have another extra big bat off the bench
• fiction

  

  georgemc80;438332 wrote:I was disappointed the Reds didn't do something at the trade deadline to get another pitcher say a Felix Hernandez type. I feel that when you are the Reds, you have to strike whenever you are competitive at the deadlline....

  
  is this a real post?
• justincredible

  

  georgemc80;438332 wrote:I was disappointed the Reds didn't do something at the trade deadline to get another pitcher say a Felix Hernandez type. I feel that when you are the Reds, you have to strike whenever you are competitive at the deadlline....

  
  After losing out on Cliff Lee there really were no other options on the starting pitching front. Oswalt would've been the only other viable Ace and Houston wasn't going to trade him here.
• Heretic

  

  You guys are going up against the mighty Pirates for three games starting tonight. The dream ends!
  
  Guhhh...I'll need a couple of drinks before 7 p.m. to fortify me and keep the shoulder-heaving sobs away tonight...
• justincredible

  

  Heretic;439087 wrote:You guys are going up against the mighty Pirates for three games starting tonight. The dream ends!
  
  Guhhh...I'll need a couple of drinks before 7 p.m. to fortify me and keep the shoulder-heaving sobs away tonight...

  
  Your guys gave us no help the past three games. If the Pirates win one game this series I'm demoting you.
• Heretic

  

  Hey! We had a 1-0 lead early in the third game. Sure, we gave up eight unanswered runs and lost, but for one shining moment, things were looking good!
  
  And our line-up, half of which started at AAA this year, had to face Carpenter and Wainwright! That's just cruel!!! Now, the less said about their ineptitude against Jeff Frickin' Suppan, the better...as there's no way to justify that.
• Azubuike24

  

  The last things the Reds needed was another starting pitcher...
• justincredible

  

  Azubuike24;439272 wrote:The last things the Reds needed was another starting pitcher...

  
  Unless it's someone like Lee. I don't care who you are, you can always use a pitcher like that down the stretch.
• Ironman92

  

  West coast trips must have good play....can't be doing 2-8 or 3-7 trips....Rolen will lead...several must follow
• SportsAndLady

  

  Loved what John Fay wrote on his blog:
  
  While fans and we in the media tend to dissect every loss and examine the Reds on a daily basis for flaws, the players and coaches judge success mostly by one thing: Winning series.
  
  The Reds won their third straight series Sunday. They are 9-1-1 in their last 11 series. They are 22-14 in the that time. In that span, they were shut out five times; Jay Bruce and Drew Stubbs struggled; and Francisco Cordero blew a couple of saves and lost a game. But the Reds continued to win series.
  
  If they keep that up, they will be in the hunt right until the end.
• georgemc80

  fiction;439018 wrote:is this a real post?

  Is this a real reply?