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The 2009 season for the Cincinnati Reds was another slightly under .500 season for the ninth straight season 78-84. The Reds finished fourth in the NL Central and can’t seem to remain a consistent team all season. The Reds are good starters, but they fade quickly once the bats in Chicago and St. Louis get going. The Reds managed 78 wins with the talent they had, which can be considered an excessive achievement.
The Reds have plenty of talented young players to potentially build a team with Joey Votto at the helm. Votto’s first two full seasons produced 49 home runs and 168 RBIs at a .309 average. Brandon Philips leads the team with 98 RBIs and has played in 153 games, which is even more impressive.
The Reds’ pitching was a lot to be desired, allowing 723 runs and scoring just 673. Bronson Arroyo led the team with 15 wins, but aside from him, the Reds’ pitching wasn’t great all year.
Dusty Baker, good manager though, has yet to sniff out the .500 plateau with the Reds. The last season Dusty Baker had a winning record was in 2004 with the Chicago Cubs. Dusty Baker will enter his third season with the Reds and it is still unknown how long Baker will be the Reds coach. Dusty Baker had previous success with the San Francisco Giants: he reached the World Series in 2002 and led the Cubs to two winning seasons in ’03 and ’04.
The NL Central division has 6 teams: Pirates, Cardinals, Astros, Cubs, Brewers and Reds, the most in the major leagues. This means it’s harder to win the division when you’re competing with more teams, obviously. The Reds have been on the brink for many years – time will tell when the Reds finally break the glass and have a winning record and challenge the Cardinals and Cubs for the division.