Reds' Season Wrap By State Champion Baseball Coach

Gary Yeats was the head baseball coach at Fairfield High School.  He won two Ohio State Championships with the Indians.  Now retired to Sedona, Arizona, Yeats serves Reds' owner Bob Castellini during spring training in Goodyear, Arizona.

Yeats has observed the Reds' putting a team together each of the last four years.  The following are his opinion of the 2013 season.

Hi there Reds fans! You have to admit you were surprised by this season. So much hope and yet the season was much like a toothache that kept coming back. I watched about 145 games and at times wanted to turn the TV off. But NO I hung in to the end. A bitter end? No! Just an end. A dull aching last week that finally came to a close. The Reds were "all in" for this season and an opportunity was lost. So lets look at some of my thoughts. Before the final out, the Dusty haters were already looking for a new scapegoat. Last year the Reds won 97 games games and this year 90. How in the heck did they win 90!. Blame Dusty if you want but the true answer lies elsewhere.
   
 TALENT WINS GAMES BUT TEAMWORK AND INTELLIGENCE WINS
                                        CHAMPIONSHIPS- Michael Jordan

http://www.wiedemannbeer.com/

The 2013 had talent. Teamwork was lacking.Yes they had injuries but no one really stepped up to overcome the injuries. (Cingrani and the bullpen being the exceptions).
No one on the Reds team had a career year to help to carry the team. The majority of the Reds players had years below their MLB averages. The bench was anemic again. The Leftfield position alone shows what a difference a year makes. in 2012, Ludwick and Heisey combined for 33 HR and 111 RBI's. This year 11 homers and 35 RBI's. They combined for 208 hits in 2012 but only 84 in 2013. A difference of 22 HR, 76 RBi's and an incredible 124 hits. Nobody stepped up.. The Reds had only 4 hitters over .260. (The Cardinals had 8, Pirates 7). Yet the Reds won 90 games.Pitching got them there until ultimately running out of gas in the last week. Now as far as intelligence goes. The baserunning by this team was worse than what you see in the lower levels of High School ball. To see the TOOTBLANS over and over again was beyond comprehension. Do you have to teach this to seasoned MLB players. No the responsibility is theirs. The baserunning applied to almost every single Reds player regardless of intelligence, ability or experience. In short the talent was there to win games but far from winning a championship.
Of course the blame will be directed towards the manager. Rightfully so in some ways because he is in charge. Personally, I choose 2 areas to focus on Mr. Baker. Allowing Joey Votto to play 162 games was not very prudent. Mr. Baker is always resting his players but the one who needed it after coming off serious injuries was out there everyday. Observe Joey Votto this year and you see a body language unlike any other year. You see mental mistakes and physical mistakes and a hitter that was lost at times. The second area was keeping Cozart in the second spot in the batting order. Cozart had a fine second half of the season batting seventh. Otherwise Dusty was typically Dusty with his management of the games and the bullpens. He is probably responsible for helping get this team to 90 wins but is part of the collective blame for this season. Dusty likes to say his teams finish strong but this team finished a week early.

       BASEBALL IS LIKE A POKER GAME. NOBODY WANTS TO QUIT WHEN HE'S LOSING, NOBODY WANTS YOU TO QUIT WHEN YOU'RE AHEAD.
                                                                                                                                                                                          Jackie Robinson

This season was not "Deja Vu all over again" like the Yogi observed. It was a Surprise. The Reds have been to the playoffs 3 of the last four seasons. They continue to give us a lot of entertainment. There will be some changes over the winter but the nucleus will be returning for years to come.
We have an owner that is committed to winning. Mr. Castellini and his family will not QUIT in trying to get the Reds to the World Series. When Carmen Berra asked her husband where he wanted to be buried, he responded "Surprise Me". There may be some surprises over the winter but by the time that Spring Training rolls around, Reds fans will be buzzing with anticipation and eager to watch and observe another season. Maybe they will really surprise us next year! Thanks for reading my blogs. I enjoying venting my exasperations and observations. YIB- G