Last night was another hard one. Good starting pitching, a 5-1 lead entering the 9th, and looking like a much needed win and a chance to start turning the fortunes around.
Ryan Wagner was, of course, awful. Then Graves came in, and promptly gave up a bases clearing hit, and defeat was in the wind again. Danny Graves has been awful...dreadful. He will be out of this league in two years. Apparently, no one envisioned what a slender reed he was clinging to--but its gone. He can't get anybody out and he doesn't appear to be able to accept it. Maybe I couldn't either.
We're a much worse team than I imagined. Could we be the 2003 Tigers. At this point, its not hard to imagine. I'm bitterly, bitterly disappointed, but I'm not blaming in on small market. We spent money this time, and we just stink. There is no reason for us to have a not even remote chance at .500, and there's no reason to bring in guys who can't pitch in this park.
This is as bad as rooting for the Lions.
Surveying the reaction from the Nation:
Edskin kicked off this thread on Redszone (old-timer version) that pretty much spells out our feelings. We don't want to feel this way.
While the team unravels, the board seems to be coming together. Never before in my 5+ seasons as a board member have I seen the members in such agreement on the current state of affairs.
A few people are avouiding actually typing the words, but just by reading the threads, it's pretty clear that everyone from the most negative to the most bubbly fan agrees that this season is toast.
Sure, a few will pop in and say "it's only 31 games..........." but even they don't seem to be buying what they're selling.
Usually, the board is somewhat fractured. The "realists" battle with the "sunshine" gang, etc.....
But man, this year is TOTALLY different. I've never seen the fanbase so apathetic, sullen, and worst of all, hopeless.
Quite simply, there is nothing to be excited about when it comes to the Reds. Nothing.
Yes, yes, it's certainly not the worst thing in the world. At least we're alive and still able to "enjoy" baseball, blah blah blah....... There are greater tragedies in life of course.
But when it comes to rooting for the Reds, it seems time for a funeral. The Reds, as we once knew them, are DEAD. And ticket sales seem to reflect as much.
I feel sorry for MYSELF of course. Looks like I'll be searching for something to do for the next three months before I can really focus on football season. When your baseball team isn't competitive, and pretty much has no hope (read: youth) for the future, it really takes the "zing" out of following them.
The ONLY saving grace (notice I didn't use "saving" and "Graves" in the same sentence) is that it IS still so early that we can at least sort of lie to ourselves about that. I've even found myself thinking, "well, if we can get to .500 by the all-star break.............." I'm a total moron. But while I can normally trick myself a bit into thinking such a thing is possible, I'm finding myself lacking the energy this year. I fear a real enjoyable part of my summer is about to be taken away.
But reading the game thread, I really felt most sorry for my fellow fans. I could truly feel the heartache, frustration, and genuine sadness in those posts. Like me, many of you truly care about the fortunes of the Reds. Maybe it's a bit silly, or even a bit sick, but for whatever reason, it matters. And it sort of hurts to see it all splat on the wall so violently. I know some of you don't have much of a fallback (baseball fans only), and it must be even worse for you. I really felt bad reading the game thread.
Bottom line, I think good fans can pretty much give you the pulse of a team. The Reds have good fans-- especially the ones on this board. But the pulse is barely detectable.
JD at Redreporter has the same story to tell.
Redleg Nation has reports of Marc Lancaster on XM about the Reds striking out.
With a sigh, Red Leg Nation wonders how it all went bad so fast. Note links there to mainstream coverage as well.
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