PITTSBURGH -- One month into the season and the Reds are all even.
Their record of 14-14 is one game better than they were a year ago (13-15) at the same time, although at least this season they've seen the positive side of .500 a few times. Last season the Reds didn't top .500 until June 23 when the season was 75 games old.
Thursday's 7-2 loss to the Pirates at PNC Park ended a stretch in which the Reds played 24 of their first 28 games (with one postponement) against NL Central division clubs. They faced St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee and the Chicago Cubs two series each. They went 1-5 against the Cardinals, 1-4 against the Cubs, 5-1 against Pittsburgh and 5-2 against the Brewers.
St. Louis is off to a 21-7 start and leads Chicago (14-13) by 6½ games. The Reds are seven games back at this point.
The Reds head back to Chicago this weekend but it's for an interleague series against the American League White Sox. The Reds won't play a division rival again until June 11 when they face the Cubs at Wrigley Field for four games. They don't have another division home series until the Fourth of July weekend when Milwaukee comes to Great American Ball Park.
Manager Bryan Price isn't a big believer in small sample sizes. One month of a six-month season is a small sample size.
"There wasn't a great deal of surprise," said Price. "It felt like this is the strongest division in the National League. Milwaukee's gotten off to a slow start but when they get completely healthy I think they have a very good team. The Cardinals are playing well. Everyone expected that, so I don't really see any surprises. I don't anticipate Milwaukee and Pittsburgh struggling. I think everybody is going to be beating the crap out of each other all summer."
So, what exactly have we learned so far about the Reds? Here's five things, in no particular order:
Marlon Byrd sure is glad the calendar has turned past April. Byrd is a notoriously slow starter (he's career .250 hitter in April with a .300 on-base percentage and .368 slugging percentage) and this April was no different. Or maybe a little more a struggle as he had a .168 batting average, .188 OBP and .273 slugging. Those numbers are up to .400/.471/1.067 through the first week of May. Three of his five home runs have come this month and he was moved into the No. 2 spot in the order for this past series in Pittsburgh. He had a four-RBI game in a 7-1 win Tuesday.
"I kept working, kept working, tried not to get frustrated. I kept swinging and tried to find that feel that I've had the past two years," said Byrd. "I've worked with (hitting coach) Don Long every single day. It's slowly coming where I feel more consistent as far as my moves at the plate, my approach at the plate, my mechanics at the plate."
This is the guy the Reds traded for in the offseason to solidify left field.
When the Reds get quality start they're 12-3. When they don't, well things haven't gone so well. Aside from closer Aroldis Chapman, roles in the bullpen coming out of spring training were undefined. Tony Cingrani and Jumbo Diaz have emerged as the primary set-up pitchers in front of Chapman but everyone has taken their hits, with the exception of Chapman, who has converted all six of his save opportunities and hasn't allowed a run going in his last 28 appearances going back to last season.
Of particular concern at this point are veterans Burke Badenhop and Kevin Gregg, who have respective ERAs of 13.50 and 10.13. Reliever ERAs can be misleading in that one or two bad outings can skew the entire body of work but that's not the case for these two. They have repeatedly been hit and hit hard. Gregg was touched up for three runs on three hits in 2/3 of an inning Thursday by the Pirates, taking the Reds from a one-run deficit to a 6-2 hole. Badenhop has had similar experiences.
Price has to get quality innings out other middle inning relievers besides J.J. Hoover, who is quietly having a solid bounce-back season.
"I refer to it a lot but these guys don't get any better sitting in the bullpen and never pitching," said Price. "Cingrani and Diaz are going to get us to Chapman in a game where we're tied or ahead but we've got to have guys that can come into those games and keep them close, too. We're going to have to be better at that."
The two young arms the Reds have in their rotation -- Anthony DeSclafani and Michael Lorenzen -- show a lot of promise through the first month. The big leagues aren't too bit for them. They're going to have their ups-and-downs but the Reds will live with those. They both have a dogged competitiveness about them on the mound. They're finding themselves at this level. They've gotten themselves into some jams, and they've worked themselves out of some jams so far. DeSclafani came to the Reds in the offseason when they traded Mat Latos to Miami. Regardless of how Latos does with the Marlins, this deal has the potential to turn into a big win for the Reds.
A healthy Joey Votto is fun to watch. That's something that's been missing for the Reds the last two seasons but Votto is clearly healthy and motivated this year. He's aggressive at the plate again while still maintaining his eye of the strike zone. His OBP is at .413 while his slugging percentage is .573. He's got seven home runs and 18 RBI and tied with Brandon Phillips for the team lead with 32 hits. Whether he's hitting second or third in the lineup, a healthy Votto gives the Reds a chance as the season moves along. This is a team that struggles to get on-base consistently as a whole and he simply was someone they were unable to replace last season.
Todd Frazier was an All-Star last season and he's picking right back up where he left off. Forget the .240 batting average. He's slugging .587 and has a .333 OBP. He leads the National League with 10 home runs. Frazier is proving that last season was no fluke.
