Full of Schatz: Championship Baseball Coach Gary Yeatts Summarizes Reds' Season

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Two-time state champion baseball coach summarizes Reds' 2014 season.

Garry Yeatts won Ohio High School State Baseball Championships in 1985 and 1991 as the team's head coach.

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Now retired and livinng in Sedona, Arizona, Yeatts is one of Reds' owner Bob Castellini's assistance during the Reds' spring training in Goodyear, Arizona.

With a unique eye for the inner workings of baseball, Yeatts writes a summary of the Reds' 2014 season.

See Below...."There Is No Crying In Baseball"

Try telling Reds fans that there is no crying in baseball. A disappointing season ends with a 76-86 record and no playoffs in sight. An unprecedented meltdown after the All-Star game and a total of 38 games lost by one run. Despite that, the Reds fans turned out in impressive numbers at GABP. Final attendance was 2,476,664 and that was second best in GABP history. You got to hand it to them for hanging in there.

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Now, that I have your attention...let's look at this season. The Reds hit .238 on the year. Scoring runs was like my chances of meeting the girl in this picture. Nearly impossible. (Tell the truth Gary- OK- Totally Impossible and then there is the question of what I would do with her even if I met her.) Back to Baseball! 38 games were lost by one run. Enough to keep you watching and hoping but all too often going to be in a sleepless fit of lost opportunities and poor situational hitting. You can use whatever adjective your mind can project but for me, it was abysmal. Of course, offense was down throughout the MLB. Only 15 hitters were able to hit .300 and team batting average was about. .252. The Reds were next to last in all of baseball. When you add that to a bullpen that managed one win after the all-star game (Stop- LOOKING AT THE PICTURE!). Well, you know the result...no pennant race. No wild card game or playoffs for 2014. The last game of the season took a little sting away with Johnny Cueto winning his 20th. Quite an accomplishment with this team.

Reds fans will simply watch the playoffs and root for whoever can beat the Cardinals. We have become all too good at that. So, what about this season? Writers at the Cincinnati Enquirer are having a field day examining what went wrong with the Reds. Some fans are already upset with the rehiring of Walt Jocketty and Bryan Price. My friend Hal McCoy describes Jocketty's effort as having to be monumental to turn around the Reds. Let's make it a little more simple. I'm good at simple. Sure some changes have to be made. At least 5-7 current players will not be Reds next year. To me the simplest fact for the Reds' decline was Joey Votto and Jay Bruce.

This was a case of Blue J's for the Redlegs. Look at their major league average to date. JV .310avg..79 rbi's, and 23 Hrs. JB- .251 avg., 78 rbi's and 26 Hrs. BUT in 2014 they combined .229 avg., 89 rbi's and 24 Hrs. That's 22 million $$$$$$dollars of payroll for those anemic numbers. There is not a team in the league that can have their two superstars put up those kind of numbers and compete for a championship. I am not criticizing either guy. Sure there were injuries. But facts are facts. You lose 25 Hrs. and 68 rbis on the average and the result is 38 one run games that you lose. One can only wonder if these two fine gentlemen had had their normal years with the emergence of Mesoraco, Frazier, and Hamilton. I know there are 25 guys on a team and everyone accepts part of the blame for this season, but this is where you have to start.

So what about 2015? Is McCoy right about the monumental task for Mr. Jocketty? If Votto and Bruce are healthy and return to form, the Reds can again be a contender. A BIG IF but not unreasonable. The Opening Day lineup was together for only 12 games this year. Nine of the top 12 teams in starting pitching in MLB made the playoffs. The Reds have starting pitching. They are exceptionally strong up the middle of the diamond. They have some team speed.They are still relatively young. They can bounce back but not without Votto and Bruce. Make all the trades and changes you want, but Votto and Bruce have to produce.

Another cogent fact for future Reds' improvement is the Central Division. The Reds play 76 division games, almost half of a season. They posted winning records against everyone but the Cardinals going 40-36. To accomplish that while having such a poor overall year shows that the Reds can compete against the competition. I will wait for Goodyear to return to examine 2015 more closely. As I sat with Mr. Castellini and Mr. Wyler in September at GABP, their disappointment was palpable. Their determination was unmistakable. Cincinnati is so fortunate to have their leadership. Attendance at Reds games shows how the city feels about their baseball team. It's a great facility and downtown area.

Many thanks to all of those who read my musings. On a side note... while I was in Cincy , I had the privilege to visit the MIRACLE FIELD to view firsthand what Kim Nuxhall and his team have done with the MIRACLE FIELD program in Fairfield. If you ever get the chance to stop by and watchthose children. Ir will Rock your world!!!

It is impossible not to cry when you see what the facility has accomplished for challenged children. So there is crying in Baseball after all. For all of the right reasons!!