The 30 Team/30 Day Report Cards: Day 25- Cincinnati Reds

Cincinnati Reds
Record: 91-71 (NL Central Champions, six games ahead of St. Louis)

Batting Leaders
Batting Average: Joey Votto (.324)
Home Runs: Joey Votto (37)
RBIs: Joey Votto (113)
On-base Percentage: Joey Votto (.424)

Pitching Leaders
Wins: Bronson Arroyo (17)
Strikeouts: Johnny Cueto (138)
Innings Pitched: Bronson Arroyo (215.2)
ERA: Johnny Cueto (3.64). Bullpen- Arthur Rhodes (2.29)
WHIP: Bronson Arroyo (1.15). Bullpen- Arthur Rhodes (1.02)
Saves: Francisco Cordero (40)

Highlight of the Year: On September 28, Jay Bruce drilled a walk-off homer off of Astros reliever Tim Byrdak to send the Reds to the playoffs for the first time in 15 years.

Lowlight of the Year: Pretty much the entire NLDS against Philadelphia. The Reds became the first team to get no-hit in a postseason game in 54 years in Game 1, committed four errors in Game 2 that led to a 7-4 loss, and were shut out at home in Game 3.

The Lowdown:
The Reds arrived in the postseason a little bit ahead of schedule in 2010, as many prognosticators believed that they were a couple of years away from contention entering the season. Their young talent came to fruition, as Joey Votto put together an MVP season, Drew Stubbs emerged as a capable center fielder, and Jay Bruce settled in after a rocky 2009. Their pitching also solidified itself, as rookies Mike Leake and Travis Wood emerged to strengthen a rotation that already featured veteran Bronson Arroyo, as well as fireballers Johnny Cueto and Edinson Volquez, the latter of which came back from Tommy John surgery in the second half to provide more depth to their rotation.

The Reds were not quite your typical playoff team, though. Even though they featured one of the best offenses in the National League, the Reds were largely unsuccessful facing teams with winning records. In fact, the Reds did not record a winning record against any team that finished above .500 (including going a dismal 6-12 against division-rival St. Louis). However, the Reds made up for this by absolutely decimating the sub-.500 teams, including finishing 12-4 against Chicago, 11-3 against Milwaukee, 10-5 against Houston, 10-6 against Pittsburgh, and a combined 10-4 against Florida and Arizona. While some criticized the Reds for their inefficiency against the "big boys," they gained ground in the division by laying waste to the teams they needed to beat, which is what good teams are supposed to do. Their season may have ended on a disappointing note in the playoffs, but their core will remain together for the next couple of years at the very least, meaning that they will be right back in contention this year should everyone stay healthy.

Offense:
Cincinnati finished fourth in the majors in runs (790), fourth in batting average (.272), fourth in home runs (188), fourth in slugging (.436) and fifth in on-base percentage (.338). The body and soul of this lineup was without question, Joey Votto, who led the Reds in just about all of their major offensive categories. He not only was the Reds' best hitter, but he was also one of the elite hitters in the National League last year, finishing second in batting average, third in home runs, third in RBIs and first in on-base and slugging. His remarkable all-around performance resulted in him being named the National League MVP in a vote that was nearly unanimous.

Votto wasn't the only run producer in this lineup though, as Scott Rolen, Jay Bruce, Brandon Phillips and Drew Stubbs contributed to making this lineup a formidable one. Rolen had a renaissance year at age 35, hitting .285 with 20 home runs and 83 RBIs, easily his best season since he helped guide St. Louis to a World Championship in 2006. Brandon Phillips also continued to show that he is one of the elite second basemen at the plate in the National League, finishing with 18 home runs and 59 RBIs. Even though his power totals dipped a bit, this was likely the result of him not having to be the main power hitter in the lineup anymore after the emergence of Votto and Bruce.

Jay Bruce was able to bounce back from a rough 2009 campaign, as he raised his batting average by 48 points to .281 while hitting a career-high 25 home runs and 70 RBIs. Center fielder Drew Stubbs also gave the lineup some considerable balance by having decent power and good speed, hitting 22 home runs while stealing a team-high 30 bases. Left fielder Jonny Gomes gave the Reds some extra power in the outfield as well, hitting 18 home runs while driving in 86.

This lineup had a lot of great hitters up and down their order, and they were unquestionably one of the best in all of baseball.
Final Grade: A+

Pitching:
What was once a weakness for many years with the Reds finally became a strength in 2010, as they featured a deep rotation with several arms capable of putting the team in good position to win. The staff was led by veteran Bronson Arroyo, who continued to show off his rubber arm by logging the most innings on the staff with 215.2, while recording the most wins with 17.

Johnny Cueto proved to be very reliable last year as well, finishing with a 12-7 record with a team-best 3.64 ERA and 138 strikeouts. The Reds were also able to find reliability from two rookies, as Mike Leake and Travis Wood provided stability in the back of their rotation. Leake got off to a blistering start in the first half before cooling off, as he began the season with a 5-0 record with a 2.22 ERA before finishing 8-4 with a 4.23 ERA. Lefty Travis Wood however, was able to pick up where Leake left off in the second half, finishing 5-4 with a 3.51 ERA and a WHIP of 1.08 in just 102.2 innings.

Also giving the rotation a boost was Edinson Volquez returning from Tommy John surgery in the second half of the season to add more depth to the rotation. Although his numbers were fairly average (4-3 record, 4.31 ERA), his addition to the rotation during the second half eliminated the need for the Reds to go after a starting pitcher at the trade deadline.

In addition to the starting rotation, the bullpen was very effective for the second year in a row, finishing 15th in the majors in ERA at 3.97. The top arm out of the Reds' bullpen last year was without question, Arthur Rhodes, as his 2.29 ERA and 1.02 WHIP led all Reds relievers with at least 30-plus appearances. Nick Masset also proved to be pretty reliable last year as well, leading the team in appearances with 82 while finishing with a 3.40 ERA. Meanwhile, Francisco Cordero had a lot of heartburn-inducing moments in the closer's role last year (his eight blown saves tied for second-most in MLB behind only Washington's Tyler Clippard), but he still finished with 40 saves, third most in the National League.

The bullpen also received a boost late in the season with the September call-up of lefty Aroldis Chapman, who dazzled fans with his electric fastball, one which was clocked as high as 105 MPH on occasion. Although he only appeared in 15 games, he made the most of his appearances, striking out 19 in just 13.1 innings while recording a 2.03 ERA.

Overall, the Reds staff finished 12th in ERA, 11th in "batting average against" (.254), 13th in WHIP (1.33) and 10th in home runs allowed (158). While collectively the rotation seems average, Reds fans have been looking for merely average from their rotation for a long time.
Final Grade: B-

Wild Card: Fielding
The Reds committed only 72 errors last year, which tied San Diego for the least in the National League, and their .988 fielding percentage tied for the best in baseball. Cincinnati's outstanding defense didn't go unnoticed during awards season either, as Brandon Phillips, Scott Rolen and Bronson Arroyo all took home Gold Glove Awards at their respective positions.
Final Grade: A+

Overall:
The only thing keeping me from giving the Reds an A+ is their poor showing in the Division Series against the Phillies. Otherwise, there aren't too many things that you can find wrong with last year's Reds.
Final Grade: A

Check back soon for the report card on the San Francisco Giants!

The 30 Day/30 Team Report Cards: Day 12- Cincinnati Reds

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!