We are now Queen City bound for the 12th day of our report cards. Today's team will be the Cincinnati Reds. Let's look at their record and their team leaders:
Cincinnati Reds:
Record: 78-84 (Fourth place in the NL Central, 13 games behind St. Louis).
Batting Leaders:
Batting Average: Joey Votto (.322)
Home Runs: Joey Votto (25)
RBIs: Brandon Phillips (98)
On-base Percentage: Joey Votto (.414)
Pitching Leaders:
Wins: Bronson Arroyo (15)
ERA: Bronson Arroyo (3.84). Bullpen- Francisco Cordero (2.16).
Strikeouts: Aaron Harang (142)
Innings Pitched: Bronson Arroyo (220.1)
WHIP: Bronson Arroyo (1.27)
Saves: Francisco Cordero (39)
Highlight of the Season: A nice 13-4 stretch between September 12-30.
Lowlight of the Season: An embarrassing 22-1 loss in Philadelphia on July 6.
The Lowdown:
For most of the decade, the Cincinnati Reds were all about the longball. The team has hit at least 190 homers in a season five times in this decade (2000, 2004-2007), peaking at 222 in 2005. However, 2009 proved to be the exact opposite for the Reds, as their starting pitching improved, and their bats went suspiciously silent in the power department. Their lack of offense was mostly attributed to inconsistency, as well as having Jay Bruce and Joey Votto each spend an extended amount of time on the disabled list. Despite their collective inconsistencies, the Reds proved themselves to be much more adept at holding leads late in the ballgame, thanks to a greatly improved bullpen. Let's see what made this team tick in '09, beginning with their offense.
Offense:
Despite their lack of power, the Redlegs still featured four hitters who thumped at least 20 homers in 2009: Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, Brandon Phillips and Jonny Gomes. However, the two cornerstones of the lineup in '09 were Votto and Bruce. Even though Phillips had a potent bat of his own, the fortunes of the lineup were basically riding on the shoulders of those two, who each had to continue to show improvement at the plate in their second full big league seasons. When the two were healthy and on the field, they did not disappoint; Votto socked 25 homers to go along with 84 RBIs and a brilliant .322 batting average, while Bruce drilled 22 homers of his own. Both players did this on limited time though, as they each spent time on the disabled list. Bruce missed over two months in the second half with a broken wrist, while Votto missed 21 games due to depression-related issues. There is little doubt that if the two did not spend any time on the DL, they would have each hit over 30 homers.
Outfielder Jonny Gomes managed to step up in Bruce's absence, performing very well during the season's second half. Altogether, his efforts garnered him his third career 20-homer season (hitting 20 on the nose), to go along with 51 RBIs. Second baseman Brandon Phillips also put together a decent year, hitting 20 homers himself to go along with a team-high 25 steals. Overall, this lineup was sorely crippled by their low batting average, hitting only .247 as a team. This was the second-lowest batting average in MLB, next to San Diego. Having such a low batting average creates a domino effect throughout the lineup, as the team only scored 673 runs (24th in MLB). Also, Dusty Baker's disdain for the "on-base percentage" statistic is painfully obvious with this team, as they do not draw many walks; their .318 OBP was the third-worst in baseball, trailing only Seattle and San Francisco. What was once a strength for the team just one year ago has become a weakness that the front office needs to address.
Final Grade: C-
Pitching:
While the starting pitching improved for Cincinnati this season, it was their bullpen that was the foundation of the pitching staff in 2009. Francisco Cordero, Arthur Rhodes, Nick Masset and Daniel Ray Herrera were the four major arms in the 'pen that provided stability during the end of games, putting together numbers that rival some of the better bullpens in baseball. Cordero, Masset and Rhodes all finished with ERAs under three, and Herrera just barely finished over that threshold with a 3.06 ERA. Closer Cordero was lights out once again, going 39 for 43 in saves, and finishing second in the National League in saves to San Diego's Heath Bell. Rhodes and Masset also split time as set-up men for Cordero, and they did not disappoint, as they combined for 45 holds this season. A fantastic year by the relief corps certainly made life a lot easier for the starting pitchers.
To go along with the bullpen's success, the starting pitching continued to improve as a whole in 2009. Bronson Arroyo quietly put together another solid season for the Reds, going 15-13 with a 3.84 ERA in a whopping 220.1 innings. That innings total was good enough for 10th in MLB, and fourth in the National League. While it is nice to have a good bullpen, it is also nice to have an innings-eater on the staff that can give the 'pen a rest every now and then.
Perhaps the biggest thing that crippled this rotation was the elbow injury of righty Edinson Volquez. He only started in nine games this year, and put together a 4-2 record, to go along with a modest 4.32 ERA. His elbow troubles continued to nag him throughout those starts, and he was eventually shut down in June, needing Tommy John surgery to fix the elbow. Having your staff ace missing for the majority of the season will hurt any staff, and it certainly affected the Reds a great deal.
Another thing that hurt the Reds was the disappearance of Aaron Harang. During 2006 and 2007, he went a combined 28-17, while putting up ERAs under four both seasons. He also finished among the National League leaders in strikeouts both years, fanning over 200 both times. Since 2008 though, he has been anything but a staff ace. In the last two seasons, he has gone a combined 12-31, with an ERA of 4.52 in that time span. What has happened to him that would cause such a dramatic decline in his numbers? Was the Harang of 2006 and 2007 the "real" Harang, or was it just a fluke? Are the numbers he has been compiling during the last two years just a fluke, or is it the "real" Harang? Next year will be a telling year for him.
Despite the aforementioned two, there is nothing to really complain about with the starting rotation here in Cincy. If you remember the dark ages of Eric Milton and Paul Wilson, you'll welcome this bunch any day of the week. While Johnny Cueto had a mediocre year (11-11, 4.41 ERA), he is still just 23 years old. There is plenty of time for improvement with him. Homer Bailey even started to show some flashes of his potential during the end of the season as well. Their overall staff ERA was 4.18, good for ninth in the majors. In 2008, it was 4.55; in '07, 4.94. This staff has come a mighty long way, my friends.
Final Grade: B-
Wild Card: Bullpen
The bullpen ERA was 3.53, good for third in the National League. Pretty damn good, I'd say.
Final Grade: A
Overall:
During the last couple of seasons, the Reds have moved from being a really bad team overall, to becoming just an average team, which isn't a horrible thing necessarily. Any sort of improvement is a good thing with this team. Key injuries during the season to Volquez, Bruce and Votto really hurt this them, though. While they may not have contended with those three healthy, the team would have likely finished with their first winning record since 2000, which is obviously a step in the right direction. This team, when healthy, is not as bad as they appear.
Final Grade: C
Check back later for the report card on the Chicago White Sox!
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