My Thoughts on the Rebuild of the Cincinnati Reds

Let’s sit back and reminisce about the MLB Lockout. Those were the good old days, right? Back then, we were still projected to have a close to .500 win percentage, and we were still just a few pieces away from being real contenders. 

My how things can change in a moment.

Seriously, the Castellini’s betrayal of Reds fans makes me angry. 

Let’s dive in.

Rebuild Reloading

After having solid years from 2010-2013, the Reds entered a rebuild which saw brutal 90+ loss seasons for several years. Reds fans held on, though, to the hope that, on the other side of pain there might be glory. 

Unfortunately, all we found was a fruit & veggie salesman looking to save money.

Last year, following the departure of Kyle Boddy and the mass exodus of Reds Front Office staff, I predicted that the team would be moving into a rebuild. That teardown is now in full swing. And it’s ugly.

The Reds wasted little time, prior to the lockout, in their effort to save money. Not long had the Hot Stove season started that they traded away Tucker Barnhart and placed 6 WAR pitcher, Wade Miley, on waivers (where he was claimed by the stupid Chicago Cubs). The moment the lockout ended, the Reds continued this maddening race to the bottom, parting ways with All-Stars Sonny Gray, Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suarez. As of writing this, Amir Garrett has also been traded away. I’m confident that more players will be packing their bags soon. 

I’ll write in a future post more about these trades and the pieces we’ve gotten in return. Some are better than others, but it’s frustrating to see ownership give up when we were so close.

Free Joey Votto

Poor Joey Votto. He’s been so good to the city of Cincinnati, even when fans criticized him for walking too much (what a stupid critique, by the way). We as fans have had the privilege of getting to watch one of the greatest hitters in our team’s history, and only a few of those years contributed towards a winning club. 

As a baseball fan, I’m disappointed that we’ll likely never see him in the World Series. 

As a Votto fan, I find it heartbreaking that, unless he’s traded, the last time he clinched the playoffs was in an empty stadium.

Joey Votto deserves better than this. Please trade him to a contender, so he can have an opportunity playing for a team that is actually trying to win.

#FreeJoeyVotto

Sell the Team

We have to understand where the blame falls here:

The Castellini Family. Yes, Bob may be the official owner of the team, but an increasing number of reports are indicating that a transfer of power is occurring, in which his son, Phil, is taking on more responsibilities. 

This race to the bottom is 100% their fault. And yes, it’s easy for me to spend their money, but the truth is that I’m the consumer of their product. They’ve consistently put out a crap product on the field, and I’m not having it anymore. 

#SellTheTeam

Final Thoughts

Reds fans, you have loved this team, but its owners do not love you back. You have given them time, emotions, attention and money and what have we gotten in return? We got swept in the playoffs without scoring a run. A playoff, mind you, that we only managed to get in because it had been expanded. Had this been a regular season, we would have been on the outside looking in. 

There are some people out there who will question my Reds fandom, but they’d be wrong to do so. We can follow and cheer for the Reds, without giving them any more money. Funding them and supporting them are not synonymous. Don’t let anyone say you’re not a true fan for choosing to save money on Reds related things.  

After all, why should you be expected to spend money on the team? 

The Castellini’s sure aren’t planning to. 

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