At least no Atlanta Fans doing the tomahawk chop all game. No more Jane Fonda sitting next to Ted Turner. As 1990's rival games.

I like Bauer, Castillo, Gray lined up to win 2 out of 3.

12 o clock Weds. Thurs and Fri times not listed yet.

Reds finished dead last in the majors in team batting average, and only 3 teams scored fewer runs. Wonder if any team has ever made the playoffs after doing that?

But our pitching is pretty good 1st in strike outs per inning, 2nd in opponents batting average, 5th in WHIP, 7th in ERA.

Reds also played good defense (5th in fielding %).

To me the biggest key to the Reds success in the post season is Raisell Iglesias. He looked like shit early in the year, but he has been almost unhittable lately. He has only allowed 1 earned run over his last 15 games (16 innings pitched). Over his last 8 appearances covering 8.2 innings he has only allowed 2 hits while striking out 12.

Lucas Sims had two bad games where he allowed 6 runs in 3.2 innings. But over his other 18 appearances his numbers are absolutely eye-popping. 22 innings pitched, 7hits, 1 earned run, and 30 strikeouts.

Amir Garrett also finished strong after a slow start. Over his last 14 games he only allowed 7 hits and two earned runs with 16 strikeouts.

If pitching really beats hitting in the postseason then we have a decent shot. But the Braves are a really good team.

Reds have a good chance of beating the Braves. Not sure we are World Series bound, but a playoff win would be great.

Wednesday will be probably be the only time I am cheering for the Cubs, Brewers, AND Cardinals to all win on the same day I am cheering for the Reds to win.

Something about the possibility of having an all-NL Central NLDS is amusing to me.

I also feel like if the NLDS is 100% NL Central, then it's less likely that they will keep expanded playoffs because not a ton of people want near-.500 and middling TV market Reds/Brewers/Cardinals teams kicking the Dodgers and Braves out of the playoffs.

Reds should have a shot at this. Their 1-3 rotation gives them a chance at beating anyone in a 3 game series.

I believe the Reds have a shot at this with the 1,2,3 punch from starters.

Round One Predictions

Rays over Blue Jays
Twins over Astros
A's over White Sox
Yankees over Indians
Reds over Braves
Cubs over Marlins
Padres over Cardinals
Dodgers over Brewers

I'm ready for some playoff baseball. Let's see how far the Reds can go!

(09-28-2020, 09:27 PM)Forever Spinning Vinyl Wrote: Round One Predictions

Rays over Blue Jays
Twins over Astros
A's over White Sox
Yankees over Indians
Reds over Braves
Cubs over Marlins
Padres over Cardinals
Dodgers over Brewers

If the Reds get past the Braves, they play the Cubs-Marlins winner.

How about the Brewers?   Hey, you got in.  Good luck with the Dodgers.

I've lived in Cincinnati long enough to know that I should never be confident going into a playoff series/game.

I hope they prove my skepticism wrong though :)

(09-29-2020, 10:26 AM)Crazyjdawg Wrote: I've lived in Cincinnati long enough to know that I should never be confident going into a playoff series/game.

I hope they prove my skepticism wrong though :)

This a team that barely broke .500 and finished dead last in MLB in hitting.  They only made the postseason because of special rules for the shortened season.

I don't think anyone is really "confident", but our top three starters at least give us some hope.

(09-29-2020, 10:54 AM)fredtoast Wrote: This a team that barely broke .500 and finished dead last in MLB in hitting.  They only made the postseason because of special rules for the shortened season.

I don't think anyone is really "confident", but our top three starters at least give us some hope.

I've seen a lot of people say that we're hot (which, admittedly, we are) and we have the pitching. I've seen "starting pitching is how you win in the post season" often comparing our elite starting pitching (which, admittedly, they are) to Atlanta's mid tier starting pitching. I've seen allusions to a 5-12 march madness upset, one of which happens basically every year in NCAAB etc.

I don't think people are supremely confident, but I don't know if the majority of Reds fans see us as underdogs going into this series.

Battle of offense vs pitching.

The Braves led the majors in OPS (.832) and BABIP, and ranked second in in batting (.268), runs (348), home runs (103), and slugging (.483). Had Acuna Jr. not missed two weeks in August with an injury, there would be three (!!!) players in this lineup who are legitimate MVP candidates. This is a very dangerous team. The Reds will have to keep up their recent good batting attempts if they have a shot. Simply put, the Braves’ offense up against that of the Reds is a mismatch. Cincinnati’s team wRC+ of 91 for the season puts it 30 points behind the Braves, and the gap only widens when more context is sprinkled in.

Hopefully Joey Bats has figured out his road woes, that should go a long way to helping the Reds offense keep pace.

Also worth noting that we'll be facing the Braves top 3 pitchers, and Fried was actually quite good this year.

Biggest differentiator in this series is the Reds ability to hit, especially if they can pull one out vs Fried.

(09-29-2020, 10:54 AM)fredtoast Wrote: This a team that barely broke .500 and finished dead last in MLB in hitting.  They only made the postseason because of special rules for the shortened season.

I don't think anyone is really "confident", but our top three starters at least give us some hope.

The special rules go in our favor finally. We got screwed in '81.

(09-29-2020, 02:05 PM)Hoofhearted Wrote: Had Acuna Jr. not missed two weeks in August with an injury, there would be three (!!!) players in this lineup who are legitimate MVP candidates. 

Acuna could be one of the greatest players of all time.   He is that good.

He was just 21 last year when he led the league in runs scored and stolen bases while hitting 41 HR and driving in over 100 runs.

And this year he raised his OPS by over 100 points. (+41 OB%, +63 Slg%).

Braves actually drew a 1976 Reds stat comparison, which you don't hear too often. The have 3 of the top 5 players in OPS. Reds were the last team to have that.

(09-29-2020, 03:01 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Acuna could be one of the greatest players of all time.   He is that good.

He was just 21 last year when he led the league in runs scored and stolen bases while hitting 41 HR and driving in over 100 runs.

And this year he raised his OPS by over 100 points. (+41 OB%, +63 Slg%).

He's definitely one of my favorite players. One of the best players in the MLB that gets so little attention for how good he is. I was even more shocked to see that his contract is sooooo team friendly. My dude is making roughly same as Mouse (at least til 2023, then it goes up to 17mil)! 

REDS VS BRAVES BEST PLAYERS IN 2020
USING ESPN FANTASY POINTS

BRAVES
FREEMAN-1st-251 points *****
OZUNA-OF-216 *****
Acuna-OF-154 ***
Swanson-SS-150 ***
Adam Duvall-OF-129- EX RED
D'Arnaud-C-108

Freid-P-164 ***

REDS
Votto-1st-131 points
Castellanos-OF-127
Suarez-3rd-125
Winker-OF-114

BAUER-P-238 *****
Castillo-P-151 ***
Gray-P-136
Iglesias-RP-110
Mahle-P-105

Braves have hitting .....Reds have pitching

I expect Galvis to be at SS but I would not be shocked to see Farmer there. Galvis is kind of on a hot streak but Farmer is the more consistent offensive player.

Neither is a liability on defense.

Pitchers battle today.