CINCINNATI – The offense is adequate. The bullpen is fine. The defense is getting better. The only thing holding the Cincinnati Reds back is the starting pitching, their main concern since spring training.
Manager Bob Boone thinks it’s getting better.
The Reds haven’t been able to make a move in the NL Central because their starters keep letting them down. They spend most of their time trying to overcome an early deficit.
As a result, they’ve spent a lot of time stuck around .500. They’re 30-32 after an off-day Monday, stuck in fourth place, 5.5 games back. They have a penchant for last-inning wins, and a pitching staff that makes them necessary.
“It’s a team thing, really,” Boone said. “It doesn’t matter who gets the win, as long as the Reds do. It’s like making par in golf. There are a lot of ways to get there, but the idea is to get there.”
The Reds could get there a lot easier and a lot more often if their starters would shape up. In the last 22 games, the rotation is 1-11 with a 7.35 ERA. Danny Graves, who has the rotation’s only win during that span, is probably going to miss a start because of a blister on his middle finger.
Overall, the rotation has a 6.73 ERA – worst in the majors – and opponents are batting .307 off Reds starters.
Jimmy Haynes, who won a team-high 15 games last season and got to start on opening day, is 0-5 with an 8.91 ERA and has been bothered by a bad back. Ryan Dempster has gone 1-4 with a 7.96 ERA along with a stint on the disabled list because of an inflamed nerve in his neck.
Boone thinks the rotation will settle in as soon as Haynes and Dempster get over their ailments completely.
“As I sit here, this is the best I’ve felt about our rotation all year,” Boone said over the weekend. “Haynes’ back is better. I think Dempster is over his nerve problem. I feel as good about our staff as I have all year.”
Boone has few worries about the bullpen, which is second in the majors in victories and has more strikeouts (178) than the starting pitchers (169) despite throwing 116 1-3 fewer innings.
The offense has struggled in the last few weeks, but has provided most of the bright moments of the season. Sixteen of the Reds’ 30 wins have come in their final at-bat, including game-ending hits by eight different players.
The defense is last in the majors with 62 errors, but has gotten better lately.
“The biggest thing we’ve done is fix the defense,” Boone said. “We haven’t hit lately. We haven’t done it for almost three weeks.”
Some of their pitchers think they can fix their problems by fixing the mound, which has been called the flattest in the majors. The mound has been measured six times and found to conform to standards.
Starter John Riedling blamed the mound for his rough start on Friday. He lasted only two innings in a 9-2 loss to Toronto, then said his sinker won’t work at Great American Ball Park because the mound is too flat.
“I know it’s getting into people’s heads,” said Riedling, who is 0-3 with a 6.20 ERA.
Graves said the pitchers are just going to have to deal with it.
“You have to play with what they give you,” Graves said. “The parks are small, but we can’t complain that they’re too small. You have to make adjustments.”
