Bird fan comment of the week

[JohnU]

... taken from another fan forum

Ya know this is friggin sad to get fn beat at home (0 runs) by the fn Pirates. This is pitiful. They are not going to come out of this funk. I know this team to well and I have seen this team do this so many times. As well as they were doing I thought they would dominate this division.....WRONG!!! I should have known!!

 

[Redsfan1507]

Unusual from Cardinals fan. Molina will change that team, and that perspective, if he's healthy. They have a solid organization, I wouldn't count them out at all.

 

[JohnU]

To expect a team to run away and hide is folly. Playing .600 a whole season is folly.
Atlanta isn't THAT good, just that everybody else sucks worse.
The Dodgers are pretty close to that .600 threshold ... but they have no bench either.
LA probably won't hit a wall because they got hot in August, which is the best month to get hot.
It means you are facing teams that have ground it out for 120 and are getting weary. A team that survives August is the team to beat.


Reds are 8-3 so far in August. Dodgers are 12-1.

 

[Redsfan1507]

The Dodgers on paper, are loaded. The Braves not so much, but they know how to win, and even though they are a low contact team, they can move runners when they are on. They pitch. They don't make a lot of mistakes.

I am biased that the aura of the dugout staff effects players play. Davey Johnson as a lame duck, isn't the same Davey Johnson. Freddie Gonzalez as a 2nd year manager is better than as a rookie skipper. Don Mattingly is settling in, and what he's went through with the high priced underperformers will serve the Dodgers better going forward. Boche is a good baseball man, but the Giants are a good example of the short shelf life of a winning mix. Bud Black is a great pitching manager, but needs some offense to support him. I like Kirk Gibson as a manager. Matheny is a Cards way guy. Hurdle is a confidence builder and an ego lite guy.

 

[Ryanballa]

Cardinals are starting to get some of what the Reds went threw. All teams go threw it, its the good ones that come outta of it and find ways to win. I do not think this is a collapse I do think Cards will get a wild card, But I do think there is a collapse coming in the NL Central and its the Buccos. The Reds will starting running away with this division here soon.

 

[JohnU]

I don't think it's fair to evaluate the Cardinals based on one comment by a disgruntled fan. That was not the intent.

While the Reds pitching will prevent a long losing streak, it's folly to expect this to continue. Maybe 3 wins in Milwaukee, maybe 1, maybe zero ...

St. Louis will have to get some good innings from Westbrook down the stretch. He is fully capable.

 

[Redsfan1507]

At the risk of sounding like its over with 6 weeks left to play, I think there is little chance in the NL of ANY teams other than the Dodgers, Braves, Pirates, Cardinals and Reds making the playoffs.

The question, is who will win the right for a 5 games series in the NLC, and which 2 teams get the 1 game must win play-in game.

The Reds get head to head opportunities against both teams ahead of them, but have to keep winning series against every other team to avoid that not so attractive one game playoff. The Brewers have a terrible record, but haven't played bad at all after the break. No team is an automatic loss, especially with our Reds knack of making any particular pitcher look like a Cy Young candidate.

It's not impossible, but I don't like the Reds chances in a single must win game, against any team, least of all the Cards. A hundred things can happen, and only one result in their favor. Odds aren't good.

 

[bengaldoug]

It was ridiculous of Cards or Reds or Pirates fans to think their team was going to run away with this division. They are obviously closely matched clubs with differing strengths and weaknesses. I fully expect all three teams in it until the end.

 

[Redsfan1507]

Agreed. A few unanswered questions to be addressed down the stretch, with all 3 teams.

 

[Ryanballa]

Cardinals losing to the Cubs again as of right now, 3-0.

 

[Redsfan1507]

This can be a critical point for the Reds. I like a lot if what I saw last night, and they are on an undeniable roll. They need to play with a little emotion. Balls out. It's contagious. I often talk about the adrenalin magic that turns teams into unconscious miracles. They all start like this. They need to start getting a player or two fired up every game like Mesoraco was, and they can roll. The NL isn't that great this year, and this is the time of year everyone is tired, beat up. Defensive. Watch the scoreboard and try to be rational about their dwindling lead. The antidote to that is the runaway freight train. Headlong, aggressive, all in, no prisoners. Balls out. This team needs to turn up the burner and play with some fire, and they could blow this whole thing up. Now is the time. Now.

 

[Ryanballa]

Cardinals lost 7-0 to the Cubs today. With a Win tonight we can take 2nd place.

 

[JohnU]

I thought it was interesting that Matt Garza tried to rally the Cubs into some kind of Pisstoff attitude against the Reds and couldn't get it done. Reds came out against the Cubs like a headmaster at a boarding school. I talked to a lot of Cubs fans about the Cardinals and they just smile. It's like they know, there are two seasons at Wrigley. Cubs take this one seriously. The Reds? Not as much.

Don't let Birdos fans tell you that the Reds are the most disliked team in the NL.