Cincinnati Reds Playoff Push: Breaking Down The Final Week Of The Season | MLB News, Highlights

Cincinnati Reds Playoff Push: Breaking Down The Final Week Of The Season | MLB News, Highlights

All right. Pleased to be joined by my guy Mike Hart. Mike did an incredible job uh filling in for me while I was playing hookie uh last week. And uh Mike, I got to be honest, I did not think we’d be sitting here on a Monday night recording a special episode for Tuesday. I mean, I thought Tuesday morning there was no no chance we were recording a podcast like we’re playing out the strings. But here we are, the Reds holding a playoff spot with six games to play. One of the most unbelievable months of September with every high and low that you could imagine. But Mike, here we are. Everything in front of the Reds. The Reds control their own destiny. Yeah, it’s crazy to think. I think I did the Sunday show after we got swept by the A’s with Trace and we were just kind of like well you know this is I think we talked for an hour and 25 minutes about how not only this season feels terrible but next year feels bad too because we didn’t know what was going to change. So uh to see how in a week basically our fortunes have have changed because this team decided to sweep the Cubs and the Mets uh continued to allow us to go back in. Man, it’s it’s been great to see. I I’m just excited for what we’re going to be able to experience here in this next week. These are going to be absolutely playoff games that we’re going to It feels like we still got to win every single one of them. I’m excited. I’m going down to the ballpark hopefully on Thursday with my boys. I’m ready to go experience that uh that uh atmosphere for sure. Well, a lot of incredible energy. At least it felt like that on social media. Uh definitely a push from the Reds, from the players, from a lot of fans, a lot of a lot of good dudes out there like our our friend Greg Reds Daily uh I saw was uh uh starting a little ticket giveaway and I saw some other people have contributed in that and uh uh I really hope there’s great crowds Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Thursday a day game for the Reds. Uh hopefully there’s some good crowds because uh this is the biggest series in the history of Great America Ballpark in terms of the regular season. I had some people that that fought with me on that on social media, but they’re wrong. I’m sorry. This is the biggest series. I I don’t really People say in 2010, I mean, they had a five game lead, six game lead with six games to play. They could have lost every single game and still would have made it because the Cardinal would have lost. So, this is the biggest the most at stake of any series in the regular season in the history of Great American Ballpark. Um, Mike, let’s run through just because I’m sure there’s a lot of people that it’s it’s fine. I’m not here to judge. I’m sure there’s a lot of people that just checked out on the Reds uh that aren’t like us sickos that have been watching everything uh every single day all year long. Said, “Ah, the Reds are done. We’ll we’ll we’ll we’ll follow back up in spring training 2026.” Let’s kind of run through exactly where the Reds are at right now. So, the Reds are are officially tied with the New York Mets. Both teams 80 and 76 for the third and final wildcard spot. They do have the Diamondbacks one game behind them at 79 and 77. The Giants, as we record this, are three games back. They are actually playing right now. Um, so they could be two and a half or three and a half back as you wake up. the Marlins and Cardinal. They’re both four back. Oh, we’re not really going to spend any time focus on the Giants, Marlins and Cardinal, because if they somehow get into the picture, it’s because the Reds crap the bed. And so, we’re not going to waste our energy on that. But the Reds hold the tiebreaker over the Mets because the Reds won the head-to-head series. The Reds also hold the tiebreaker over the Diamondbacks because they won the head-to-head series. The Reds could, if everything went wrong, lose the tiebreaker to the Giants, but it’s unlikely. If any scenario where multiple teams end up tied, the Reds win that tiebreaker. So, the Reds are absolutely 100% in the driver’s seat. If the Reds go 6-0, no one can pass them. If the Reds go 5- one, the Mets would have to go 6-0 to pass them. The Diamondbacks cannot. If the Reds go four and two, the Mets would have to go five and one or better. The Diamondbacks would have to go six and 0 just to kind of give you an idea of the driver’s seat that the Reds are in. And Mike, how do you feel? So, let’s let’s go through the odds. The odds are very very sporadic. Um, Fan Graph says 42%. Baseball references 48%. But they really hate the Reds 38%. ESPN, the worldwide leader, 64%. And the one that I think is the most important, the sports books say minus 135. That’s about a 58% conversion. And I typically trust Vegas over just about anything else. So this to me, Mike, is a probably the first time all year, I’m talking after the game on Sunday. This is the first time all year that I felt that the Reds had a better than 50% chance of making the playoffs. Throw the odds away. Like opening day, I felt I I felt maybe like it was 40 45%. But I I don’t think I ever thought maybe they started off like 4 and two. Maybe I would have gone up then, but at least since April, I don’t think I felt the Reds were ever in a position where I felt more confident than not that they wouldn’t make the playoffs. Am I crazy? No, I I’m with you. I I always wonder, you know, what’s the difference here? I’ve actually I’ve done a little bit of digging into how some of these uh percentages have come about. So, there’s obviously they take into account their strength of schedule left, right? Uh but then they take into account where you stand, right? So, you know, the fact that we own a position right now is is definitely going to help our odds. But then still even all the way to the end so much of these percentages are kind of based on their you know the overall projections or their even their priors that they have for it. And so it would make sense the Mets who were projected far far more wins. I’m not sure how many more uh are still they’re still hanging on even with you know what we’ve seen them go through having lost two out of three from the Mets now having to or from the Nats and then now having to play another playoff team the Cubs. So there’s it’s um I think it where we see these variations is simply on um you know where they see us were projected wise. So, uh, like you said, Pakakota, I think every year or at least this year had projections for the Reds, maybe I think in last place, maybe even behind the Pirates, uh, going into the season. So, it doesn’t surprise me that they would have lower odds just because they their projections of the Reds don’t seem to be very high, but those to me those seem right with uh the what around that area that we’re seeing seems to be where I stand. Uh just because maybe it’s because I you say you’re about 50%. I’d say I’m like right at the middle 5050 just because I feel like the the injured the the hurt of 35 years of being a Reds fan is still in here like expecting the worst. I know you you read off all of the the tiebreers and things like that and that’s great. and we play this team that’s not in the playoffs, but it’s just like, oh boy, I’ve just I’ve seen this like I can very easily see it in my head. Uh the Reds, you know, uh lose it here and uh and we go in for another just unbelievably heartbreaking season. But I can also see, hey, this is a team that just, you know, four games swept a playoff team and it’s like we’ve put ourselves in a position where even if we say we go four and two, we win both series, like that puts us in a very very good position for making the playoffs because the Mets and the and the Diamondbacks are going to have to jump us in order to do that. So, I’d say I’m right at 50/50 because and probably logically I’d be above 50, but where my uh heart my heart’s pulling me back just because maybe I don’t want to get hurt again. So, um I I I think I agree with you right around that is right around your maybe the 58% is probably the more a more accurate projection I would say or one that I would believe the most. But boy, I’m I’m in no way counting my chickens for the for the playoffs because boy, uh there’s just there’s too many things that can change before the end of the season, even only with six games left. Yeah, it’s a six game. I mean, it’s a six game sprint and it’s six games in baseball, anything can happen. Uh we’ll break down, you know, who the Reds are playing, who the other teams are playing. We’ll do all that in in today’s show, but I mean, you throw a lot of it out the window. It’s just who plays the best over six games. Who gets the breaks? Um, and sometimes in six games things are out of your control. You could play a great baseball game and the ball bounces the wrong way or you have one guy that just makes an error, a bad air. Um, that could help you or hurt you. It could be one way or the other. But shout out to Pakakota. Uh, they projected the Reds to win 73 and a half games before the year. Uh, the Reds are at 80 right now. So, they can take that 37.5% playoff odds and shove it. Uh, shout out to you, Bakakota. Uh, but um, yeah, I I I typically I’m a guy who says Vegas, like if Vegas says 58%. That’s where my head’s going to be at. I think it’s probably close to that. Uh, Vegas is uh they make a lot of money on their odds for a reason. Um, so I’m I’m going to kind of uh uh stick with that. But yeah, I mean it is it is everyone’s get the one thing that it kind of and this is a little total side thing, but I’m a a college basketball fan and I root for the Xavier Musketeers. All right. And I remember like going into the NCAA this tournament selection show like Vegas had Xavier as like minus I think like 170 or something to be in the tournament and all the brackettologists were like there was less than 50% of them that had it in and I’m like looking at these I’m like it doesn’t feel like it’s this good and then sure enough selection show they were safely in the tournament. So, I’m hoping that that maybe the the the betting odds are better than maybe the emotion of this. Um, and that’s just kind of where I’m going to blindly say, but again, it’s six games. Winning the first one is a huge deal and then you keep going from there. 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That’s 50% off at omahastak.com and an extra $35 off with promo code chatterbox cher b ox at checkout. See site for details. All right, before we get into uh previewing this pirate series for the Reds, we’ll talk a little bit more about the Dex team. They play the Brewers. Um we had like a twohour show on Chatterbox Reds on Sunday night. We talked about literally anything and everything. One guy I didn’t we didn’t get to talk about um is Tony Santion and I wanted to spend a little bit of time talking about him and just an appreciation o of this guy this season. Uh he’s not going to be the MVP. A guy in a bullpen’s never the MVP of the team, but he’s not that far off. like he’s one of the top five, six, seven guys that that made that put the Reds in this position. Um, and an incredible story. He was obviously he was a a higher prospect for the Reds at one point. Thought he was maybe a potential um, you know, solid starting pitching option for the Reds. Had some injuries. Actually, at one point got designated for assignment. every team across baseball passed on Tony Santion and uh they’re regretting it right now because he’s just had uh an an incredible year. And Mike, I know you did a deep dive. And before you you I get give it give it to you on on on Tony Sante on. This is one thing little side tangent here that I think baseball gets wrong the most when we talk about the next collective bargaining agreement and we’re talking about players getting paid and all of that. Guys like Tony Santion are the guys that get screwed in all of these these talks. Buck Farmer is a guy too. Buck Farmer who pitched his tail off for the Reds the last couple years never has gotten paid for it. I mean he made a couple million dollars which I mean I know to us US us slums at home seems like a lot but in terms of baseball and you know these these guys a lot of times their their families and their wives have to travel or or don’t have to but they want to travel and there’s a lot of expenses that go into that. Um, but I feel like Tony Santon is the guy that gets screwed in that. And maybe Santion will end up being able to be a dominant reliever for 10 years and he’ll get to free agency and get a big contract, but the odds are that he won’t. So, I’m going to at least do my part to make sure that we appreciate a guy like him because baseball doesn’t appreciate him enough. Yeah, they’re very dependent on their some of those basic numbers, those big round like saves, right? So for a relief pitcher when you’re doing these arbitration evaluations as you get closer to your free agency they basically line you up and and they say well okay Tony Santion you know according to these raw numbers Ailio Pagan had a significantly better year than Tony Santion because he has a bunch more saves but I think from the eye test anyone that’s followed the Reds even if you haven’t really followed him closely have seen that actually Tony Santion’s the guy that I think Tito trusts the post in the biggest situations like we see him coming in in the eighth against their two, three, four guys uh to or hey, we got guy on second and third, one out. Tony Santon’s the guy that we’re bringing in because we need a big strike out and we need to get out of this inning. And um so I did a I did some kind of a deep dive on some of these numbers just to see if it backs up what I I think you and most Reds fans are seeing. Uh, and as we as we’ve kind of documented throughout this season, he’s tied for the league lead in appearances, which is like no small feat. And frankly, for a reliever is like should be a a bigger deal, right? Because just the availability because guys that have, you know, lead the league in appearances either, you know, you’ve been healthy and you that means you’ve had to be healthy enough and pitched a ton and still been able to be productive because if you get pitched a ton, think Fernando Cruz, right? you get pitched a ton and then you get run into the ground, then you stop being effective, then you stop being used. Uh we even see maybe Scott Barlo falling into some of this this year, right? So, the fact that he’s in the leading the league in appearances, I think is extremely impressive just to say, you know, just off the bat, but um I did a couple breakdowns of some of his splits. So on zero days rest, so this is Tony Santion having pitched the day before, which you know, we’ve seen some of these other relievers that the Reds have had struggle with this, but zero days rest, he’s done that 27 times this year out of his 70s something uh appearances. 27 times he’s come in on zero days rest. His ERA is 1.82, which is the league average is around 387 for zero days rest. So he has a 182 RA with 21 strikeouts and nine walks and a OPS against OPS plus against of 63. So remember with these plus uh um metrics 100 is average. And so when you’re below hund 100 that actually means the hitter is performing worse. So the hitter is performing what is that uh 37% worse than average when facing Tony Santon on zero days rest. And in my opinion, that’s extremely impressive. Like that to on having pitched the day before, you’re coming in and you’re, you know, having a 18 RA with, you know, almost double the number of strikeouts to walks. That’s impressive. Then then there’s also the high leverage situations, right? We talk about how he’s come in and has been able to get us out of of jams or comes in with a one-run lead or a two-run lead and is able to really hold it down and uh get us to the ninth or or give us the save in high leverage situations, which by the way leads he has the most appearances like of low, medium, high leverage. He has the most appearances in high leverage situations. He has 31 strikeouts to only third 13 walks, right? and an OPS plus against of 81. And to me, that’s even more impressive because look at the Red’s bullpen, right? Who do we send out in high leverage situations? That’s our best bullpen arms, right? Are and other teams around the league also do that. So when compared against his other peers, not only his other peers that are in the relie that are relievers, but other peers that are being put into high lever situation, he’s still 19% better than average when it comes to OPS against. Uh to me, that’s impressive. That’s it’s just like other things that just back up what we’re seeing that Tony Santon has been an invaluable piece to this bullpen. somebody who has been worked and worked and worked harder than anyone else in the league and he continues to deliver, including finishing off the save in the four-game sweep against the Chicago Cubs. So, I’m with you, Nick. Tony Santion deserves even more praise than he is going to get. He’s not going to get a high number in arbitration because he doesn’t have a bunch of saves. But boy, I am going to feel great about him coming into next year’s bullpen as potentially our closer or definitely as one of our high le high leverage relievers. Yeah. Uh Bob Castellini, if you’re listening, I don’t call you out very much. I want Tony Santi to get a bonus check this year. Give my guy a bonus check. He deserves it. Poor guy is going to hit free agency at 31 years old. uh he probably won’t ever get a big contract. Just the nature of it. So, we’re going to do our part to make sure he’s appreciated and give this guy a bonus check. At least buy him a car or something. He deserves it. Uh great research there, Mike. I really appreciate that. All right, let’s jump into uh previewing the Pittsburgh Pirates, the team that everyone wants to see with the Reds season on the line. Uh, one thing that we’ll talk about a little bit here on this is this time of the year, who you’re playing and when they’re playing is so interesting and there’s so many different dynamics that go into this. So, I I like to try to say take myself out of the Red’s shoes and try to put myself in the pirates shoes. How would they approach the series? and and Reds fans, we should know uh how how a team would approach a series like this because the Reds typically have been on the other side of this for most of our lifetimes. But for the Pirates, th this is it for them. This is their playoffs. They play the Braves uh this weekend and that series no one’s going to care about. Not a single soul is going to care about other than maybe Charlie Morton tipping his cap for the Braves if he pitches. Um that’s it. I mean, so so this is it. They have a chance to not maybe not knock the Reds out of the playoffs, but they have a chance to com put a big dent in the Red’s postseason chances. Um, they have a first year manager, Don Kelly. He’s a fiery guy. Played for the Tigers, is a Pittsburgh guy. I think he’s a native there. He’s going to want to finish the year strong. So, you’re not I don’t think you’re going to face a Pirates team that’s going to come in and and just be playing out the string. I think they’re going to play motivated in this series. Um, and for all the Pirates flaws, I I do feel like they have for the most part played pretty hard and haven’t been a team that that that is necessarily a team that’s just playing out the string um or anything like that. A couple notes here on the Pirates. Um, the Reds are 16 and 20 against the Pirates 2023. That’s a bad news, but they are nine and six at Great America Ballpark. Red six and four so far this this year. It’s been a roller coaster with the Pirates. They won the first four, lost the next four, but the Reds have won the last two. Pirates come in 67 and 89. They are just 3 and 13 in their last 16 games, but they won their last two games against the A’s, including an 11 nothing win on Sunday, but that is the exception to the rule with the Pirates. That was the first time they had scored more than five runs since September 2nd, and prior to that game were only averaging 2.4 runs per game. uh over the last 16 games. Um Mike, how do you feel about this this Pirates team? Do you agree like they’re going to come in fired up for this series? Oh, yeah. I I I think for sure this is a team that absolutely could not be overlooked. This is somebody that wants to play spoiler. They understand the gravity of what what we’re experiencing in Cincinnati and would love to spoil that. So, um, yeah, this isn’t going to be a team that’s checked out. I mean, the fact that we’re still getting we’re gonna get Paul Skins potentially in this in this series. You know, it to me shows that it’s like, hey, we’re still trying to win games here. We’re still trying to um establish something. And, you know, Don Kelly, uh, I don’t know, did he get named the official manager? Is he still the temporary manager? He’s the official manager. Yeah. But it’s just it’s one of those things where it’s like, hey, we need, you know, I want to put my stamp on this. I want to get some momentum moving into next year. Uh yeah, this is going to be a hard series. Like I would imagine I bet the pitching is going to be great in this series and it’s going to come down to the bullpens and we’re going to have some close games uh I think coming into it um for this whole threeame series. So, uh, it’s one of those where the Reds are going to need every edge they can get. And, you know, having homefield advantage, I think, is going to be helpful in that. you know, if we can really pack the stands, you know, if we can cause any bit of nerves, any issues with pitch cal, any whatever that’s going to give the Reds an advantage, boy, we’re going to need it because I think that this is going to be a pretty close series that hopefully the Reds will be able to um, you know, play up to their the standards that we know we can do. play up to a team that, you know, took two out of three from the Mets and from the Padres’s and not play down and lose, you know, like we did to the Athletics, right? So, it’s just like we’ve seen these fluctuations and boy, they’re going to need to be focused in here in order to be able to accomplish that for this series. Yeah, the Pirates can really pitch. I mean, this is a team that that pitching is not the reason they’re not playing in the postseason this year. They have a they have a postseason caliber pitching staff and you may look at their bullpen and be like, “Yeah, I don’t know who half those guys are or you probably don’t know who almost any of those guys are.” Uh, but they actually have the the best bullpen erra Mike in the National League in the month of September. Number one, uh, their closer, Dennis Santana, 1.06 RA in his last 17 games. uh Sunday when they shut out the A’s, that was the 19th time that the Pirates, a team that’s only won 67 games all year, the 19th time they’ve shut an opponent out. So, that team could really pitch. Uh I mean, what you have to expect in this series is you’re probably going to win some ugly games. So, if if if the Reds are like if the offense is scratches across two runs and they win two to one, don’t be like, “Oh, well, that’s a great win. That’s a great win. I don’t care if they win all three games, one- nothing. I mean, any way you can get it. Um, because the Pirates can really pitch that. They they they they have figured that aspect out. Uh, they have not figured out the hitting. If you think the Red’s offense is bad, the Pirates are on a entire another planet. Uh, in terms of just offensive futility, Pirates also making an interesting move. Before we talk about the pitchers in the series, they’re calling up a top 100 prospect, left-handed pitcher Hunter Barco. He’s the Pirates number four prospect, number 86 in all the baseball. 2.81 ERA, striking out 11 batters per nine innings and nearly 100 innings between double A and AAA. I’m assuming that he’s going to be using relief uh which is scary. A nasty uh left-handed reliever option because they did announce all their starters for this series. I I read that he had to be added to the 40man roster this off season. So, this is more of a move that you had to make in the next couple weeks. And I think they maybe had an opportunity to maybe they had an open 40man spot and say, “Hey, we’ll throw him on the roster.” So, it’s maybe not necessarily a guarantee that he actually for sure gets in a game, although I I would think that they’re probably going to want to. And they actually only have one lefty in their pin. Uh, so that’s another weapon for them. Uh, so he’s a wild card to see in this series um um to watch out for. But Tuesday’s starting pitcher, uh, if you’re listening to this on Tuesday morning, the pitcher that the Reds will see tonight, Johan Oedo, 2-0, 3.52 RA in seven starts. He returned on August 4th after missing nearly two seasons with Tommy John surgery. Um, had really been dominating his first six starts. Um, last start though did go up two home runs and four earn runs in five innings against the Cubs. But this is a guy the Pirates are very high on. Um, has a good fast ball, slider, and sinker. both effective. Uh the website pitcher list compared his recent profile to Zack Wheeler. Um which scares me. The Reds have hit him pretty well in his career, but it sounds like he’s made some pretty big improvements um of late. Odo is a talented pitcher and uh Brady Singer going for the Reds. A guy that I’m about as high on anyone except for Hunter Green obviously. Um I love what Singer has done down the stretch in RA. I think below three over his last eight starts. Um has pitched very very well for the Reds, but the Reds are going to get a big start out of Brady Ser because I I don’t think the Reds are just going to come out and and and beat around uh Johan Ovo. Yeah. Uh there is um all of these things that you’re bringing up kind of I think scares Red’s fans that have been paying attention. You remember Hursten Waldrip? Remember that guy? The guy who they called up Yeah. from in the middle of the night for the the makeup of the the NASCAR game that came in and threw six innings of uh shutout baseball against the Reds straight out of the minor league. So, uh you know, I think I’d be fine if I don’t see that that guy or see him in like one or two innings or the with the Hunter Barco guy. So, I yeah, I I uh the the pitching to me does it’s like they they are going to be a They’re going to be throwing pitchers that are going to be able to get people out and we’ve seen the Reds kind of snowball too, right? We’ve seen their offense go cold and go really cold, you know, and and and not be able to pull themselves out of it. I’m hoping um I’m hoping that there’s a just an urgency. I think there’s there’s something to be said too about playing uh more free and easy than And that’s what I think the the Pirates probably have the advantage of, right? is like they’ve got literally nothing to lose. Like they’re just like we’re here. We’re just trying to play our best baseball. And you know sometimes in baseball that’s enough to you know you’re gripping the bat maybe a little less hard and uh that’s enough to get you wins. But hopefully you know if you think about it the Reds are kind of playing with house money too, right? The Reds have been dead and buried seven times already and they’re now they find themselves with a playoff spot. So, um, hopefully with this this big crowd, it can be something that, you know, allows them to play a little bit more free and easy. Kind of like what we saw for with the Cubs, you know, obviously only scoring one run uh in two of those games that they still won, but it it’s just like being able to be free and easy and and produce offensively and kind of let not let the the the struggles get to the rest of the the lineup. I think will be helpful and and frankly necessary if they’re going to be able to win a couple games here against the Pirates because man, you’re right. They they’ve got some really good pitchers that we’re going to have to face. Yeah, I I 100% agree. I hope the Reds do play free and easy in the series. I hope that they don’t come into this and be like, “Oh, we got now we’re in a race, you know.” No, what playing you’ve been playing has been working. Um, and yeah, I mean, like again, you you you should approach this. We have no business being here. we’re playing with house money. And I think that’s the the she’s probably honestly almost always have that approach coming into a late season just because um you don’t want any added pressure um there. Obviously, the Red’s going to face Paul Skins on uh on Wednesday, Hunter Green versus Paul Ski. We we dissected uh that decision. The Reds could have moved uh Green up to Tuesday and then had him available on Sunday. They didn’t do that. Um we won’t rehash that. But then Braxton Garrett, another pitcher, he’s been in and out of the bullpen. Um, that’s another thing to kind of watch with this series is if you can get these guys pitch counts up, I don’t the Pirates are not going to push any of these guys. And I think skins included, even though it’s his final start of the season, I doubt they’re going to really, you know, push him to 120 pitches or anything. Um, so if you’re able to get these guys pitch counts up, um, I do I don’t think I think that’s that’s maybe the only thing that the Pirates will have their reigns on in this this series is is not, you know, they don’t they just don’t want any stupid pitching injuries late in the year. Um, but another factor, Mike, for this series, and and it’s eerily similar to uh 1999 uh for for Reds fans. Ironically enough, the Reds end the year in Milwaukee, but there’s now a dome uh so a roof, so you don’t have to worry about that anymore, at least in Milwaukee, unless, god forbid, that gets stuck or something though in the Red’s luck. Um, but 50% 57% chance of rain on Tuesday, 96% on Wednesday, and 88 on Thursday. So, I know there’s a lot of people, they’re asking me, well, what happens if a game gets rained out? Do they just not count those games? Do they then go to that? No, they will make sure these games get played if they’re needed in in in terms of um it mattering. Now, if if the Reds were up a game and a half and a game got rained out, they wouldn’t have to play that game. Um but if if the Reds were only up a half game, they would have to Well, I guess if the half game on the Mets, they actually still wouldn’t need to play that game because that h it would still be technically ahead. But hopefully you you get my point. So, they would play those games on Monday. Um, and if, god forbid, the Reds had two games rained out, they could have to play like a double header on Monday and have pure chaos, which will just be terrible because the next the wild card series starts on Tuesday and it’s Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. There’s no off day. So, you do not want to have to play on Monday. So, I’m sure the Reds will try to do everything they can um to get these games in. and Major League Baseball is gonna obviously want them to get those games in um as well. But that’s something to to watch and monitor and hopefully um mother nature uh gives the Reds a break and at least um when these games are scheduled to get played uh they get a break in the weather. Yeah, I might have some late late postgame shows like we’re doing uh West Coast even though it’s a game at home. I mean, we can also hope that hopefully the Cubs and the Dodgers kind of take care of business, too, because it maybe we do have a couple rained out, but you know, the Cubs take care of business against the Mets and the Dodgers take care of business against the the Diamondbacks and maybe it won’t end up mattering after that. I think that would be uh ideal. Um, if if that was the if we were save the bullpen, lose a game. Save the bullpen. They’ll have to go out to play a game. They supposed to play it on Monday, but hey, the Reds they they get to Sunday with uh they get to the end of Sunday with a halfame lead over the Mets, and you don’t even have to play the game. And hey, we will play 161. There you go. There you go. I wonder what happens to the to the uh the the betting overs and things like that when stuff like that happens. I mean, I I think the Reds are are above any of their lines that they would have had to get to um initially, but I would imagine Vegas would be thrown into uh a mess trying to figure out all of those things. Yeah, it’ll be something interesting to monitor. Maybe the Reds could somehow get lucky and uh Ski game gets rained out and he had to warm up and uh almost like uh Spencer Strider. Yeah, I mean, it didn’t work out for the Reds, so I don’t I don’t want to get too excited about it. Uh but but hey, maybe maybe the Reds can catch a break there. It’s just something we’ll have to we’ll have to monitor. And and something else that’s interesting um about this uh uh this series, uh is that the Reds play before the Mets all three games. So Tuesday is at 6:40 for the Reds, the Mets play at 7:40. Uh, Wednesday 6:40 for the Reds. The Mets play at 8:10 and then uh Thursday the Reds play a day game. The Cubs the Mets and Cubs play a night game. So, this is one of the weird spots where if you score early in a game, it has like a much bigger impact because these teams know they have these scoreboards up in the stadium. They’ll these guys all check those scores and if they see the Reds are up three nothing in the second inning when they take the field uh it adds an extra layer of pressure. Now on the flip side if they look up and see the Reds are down three nothing that gives the the Mets a bolt of energy as they take the field. So it’s it’s something to monitor because I it absolutely in my opinion has some sort of psychological effect. Yeah, I I agree with that. uh you you see on the broadcast, man, they’re showing that. It felt like like when we were I was watching some of the Mets national series, it felt like they were showing those those scoreboards about every other inning. Uh so, you know, they’re if not the players, the fans are also definitely paying attention to that and we know how uh you know, uh Mets fans can probably can easily get thrown into a tizzy. Um, I know that for this last series they will at least for that last game that I’m pretty sure for the last day they line up all the games so that you can’t really do that. We So it’s just like everything starts at the same time in maybe one or two different windows so that there isn’t any scoreboard watching or or not necessarily scoreboard watching in that they want the competition to be clear still. So you can’t manipulate your pitching. Yeah. Right. Right. Right. It’s like oh this game’s over. We see that, you know, we see that they lost earlier today, so we don’t need to win this game. So, here you go, Connor Phillips, you get to start the game for us. Or Chase Petty, you get to start the game for us. You know what I mean? So, it’s just like uh they want to prevent something from that like that happening. However, I don’t think that that’s going to come into play until uh the final series of the year. Yeah. Every game on Sunday starts between 3:10 to 3:20. So, it’s it’s pretty much everyone starts just about the same time. And uh yeah, I mean, borrowing a rain out, although I think the the the Reds and Mets uh are the Diamondbacks at home. I don’t I don’t know if the Diamondbacks are at home, but the the Mets are playing in Miami. No, San Diego. So, they Well, San Diego is not really a place you normally have to worry about weather either. So, uh, uh, there shouldn’t be any weather issues on the final day of the season for the Reds who will be in Milwaukee, for the Mets, who will be in Miami, and for the Diamondbacks, who will be in San Diego. Um, I don’t ever remember hearing a rain out in San Diego. But, you know what? That’ll end up happening now that I just threw that out into the uh into the world. Any uh final thoughts here, Mike, on this uh on this pirate series? Oh, just just one thing. I I was I was thinking back because this this was it felt like deja vu for some reason. And I looked back at the 2023 season and I want to take everyone back to September 22nd, same day as today. Well, I guess it will be yesterday for the people listening in the morning. 2023, the Reds are one game back on the wild card. Last home series of the year versus the Pirates. The 74 and 81 Pirates are coming to town. Average attendance was like 35 or 33,000 was about the average. So, good on you Cincinnati for coming out to the ball games. Uh, I’m expecting huge crowds this weekend, too. But the Reds lost two of three, culminating in that loss on Saturday that I think is just ingrained in my brain where the Reds were winning nine to nothing and ended up losing. I think Alexis Diaz ultimately blew the rest of it and the Reds would then go on to miss the playoffs by two games uh to the World Seriesbound uh Diamondbacks. So, I guess I’m not saying this as a I’m not trying to rain on everyone’s parade, but what I the reason why I’m saying this is that this is not I think some people are pitting this is, oh yeah, let’s just sweep the Pirates and move on. It’s like that’s not this isn’t going to be an easy series. Just just like then the team that supposedly had nothing to pay play for came in and ate our lunch. We need to do everything we can to prevent that from happening again because they will love to play spoilers. I went in and read the quotes from that that 11 or that that game. And boy, Clint Hurdle was laying it on thick of how great it felt to beat them. I was just like, uh, not only were they did they basically effectively make it so the Reds were, you know, I think a two and a half out by the end of that series, but like they relished it. So, you know, we can’t let them be there. They the Pirates want to be want to be spoilers here. And one thing for us is we have KBrian Hayes on our team now. He would he will uh, you know, he was a part of that team and now is a part of the Reds and can clue them in. And you know, frankly, this is where you also hope that you can get some benefit from a Hall of Fame manager. I know this program has been very critical of some of the in-game decisions, the lineup decisions that we’ve seen out of Tito. But where I think we can all agree or well I think we would like to agree the major major benefit that we would be able to get from a manager that has won a World Series that has led multiple playoff teams is that you would be able to hopefully get a team ready to play in a series like this. Not let down, not play down to your competition like we’ve done previously, but we would come ready to just get the job done against the Pirates. And so I think what the best I we we got to hope that he’s got some magic in there, some September Tito magic. We need that to rub off today or this week because boy, uh this could be a real big letdown just like 2023. But I, you know, I hope that it isn’t. I hope that they can come out and, you know, secure the series win against the Pirates that are, you know, not going anywhere this year. The one thing I like about the Reds versus where they were at in 2023 is in that series, the Reds started Andrew Abbott, who was absolutely toast in September 2023. Connor Phillips started game two, uh, and Brandon Williamson started game three. So, you’re you’re have Brady Singer, Hunter Green, and Nick Liddolo. Guys that you’re not only hoping can pitch well, but guys that have proven that they for the most part typically can pitch deep into the game. Um, so that to me is is what makes this me a lot more confident is that all three of those guys have the chance to go out and throw seven shutout innings. And it’s not even a surprise to anyone. Um, not say it’s going to happen, not saying we should expect it to happen. Like if Brady Singer gives up two runs in the second inning, don’t come out with pitchfork support Brady Singer. Um, but yeah, I mean, but that that’s what what is different in my opinion. Yes, I I agree with the Tito effect to some degree, but the starting pitching to me is what makes me more confident. Um, and the Reds have it lined up here, you know, and uh um it’s lined up here and it’s not really lined up in Milwaukee, which is kind of why you you really just want to take care of business now um and get to Milwaukee in a good spot. Deep South Commodities is a proud supporter of Chatterbox Reds and our deep drive of the day. And DSC is a leader in renewable commodities for bofuel production, specializing in used cooking oil collection, aggregation, and sales. Visit www.deepsouthcommodities.com for more information. Thanks as always to our friends at DSC. And we also want to remind you that you can call or text 988 anytime, day or night. The 988 suicide and crisis lifeline is a place to get support for anything related to mental health. Whether it’s in a media crisis, simply wanting to find out how to connect with care, or anything in between, it’s a 100% confidential, secure, and anonymous way to reach out for help when you don’t know where else to turn. To connect, call or text 988 or visit mantherapy.org to get help. It’s okay not to be okay. Speaking of Milwaukee, um we’re not go too deep into that, but the Red’s next series was three games in Milwaukee Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. uh Saturday picked up by national Fox. Uh so the Reds uh uh Red’s winning ways uh got them on national TV on uh on on Saturday night. The Brewers are in an interesting spot. They currently are up three games. They’re actually playing as we record this. Um they’re up three games on the Phillies for the number one seed, but they also do win the tiebreaker. So ideally, Mike, I think you’d want the Brewers to have everything wrapped up before that series starts against the Reds. they have absolutely nothing to play for. Not that they’re even if they lost all three games. Um with a three-game lead now, they’re probably still going to be in a good spot with the tiebreaker. Um but um yeah, you would like them to have nothing to play for and um just really be running out the strings. They’re not planning on running. It doesn’t sound like they’re going to play put any of their top starters in the game. Um, but they have a nasty bullpen and they’re going to want to use all of those guys at some point this weekend because they’re not going to play again until the the following Saturday. So, after they they finish up the season on Sunday against the Reds, uh they have uh uh five days off before they play again. So, they’ll want all their bullpen guys to at least get an inning, but no one’s going to be pushed. And um the one thing about the Brewers, the Brewers screwed the Reds a couple times uh in 2021 and 2023 uh because they like clinched early and uh they were playing teams that that the Reds were chasing and they just completely uh crapped the bed. I’m hoping that that that we get this on the other side because the Brewers have not really come into the postseason um playing great because they’ve wrapped up their season so early. So hopefully um they’re not, but they also might want to feel like they’re playing good. I that’s the weird thing about this week is it’s just who you’re play it’s not who you’re playing as much as it’s who you’re playing and what is their motivation for the week. Yeah. I I also man going into games against the Brewers and do or die against the Brewers feels like my worst nightmare. It’s just like, can we please get the job done against the Pirates so we don’t have to do that? Like the Brewers, the biggest Red’s nemesis that been out there for the last five years, haven’t won a series against them in like 13 series. Yeah. It’s just like, can we can we go into that series uh just needing one or or or you know having it basically wrapped up because uh because of of some of the you know the the Marlins decide that you know they they want to get one over on the Mets like I don’t I can just see like oh yeah we’ve got it wrapped up. We’re not going to play Christian Yelich. we’re not going to play Contraras. And we get, you know, uh, bopped around by Blake Perkins and Andrew Monisterio and Caleb Durban, you know, these guys that are, you know, their their utility guys come in and absolutely, you know, still hit great. So, I just like I I really don’t want it to come down to that. Uh, you know, maybe that’s my shell shocked Reds fandom coming into play here, but I really want them to take care of business here in uh against Pittsburgh so that we don’t aren’t going to be dependent on these must-win games in Milwaukee because even though they aren’t going to have anything to play with, they just they just seem to have our number. They just seem to have our number and uh yeah, it’s that that’s how I feel about I’m just like scared to death of that series. just please hope that it doesn’t matter. Yeah, I’m looking at last year, it looks like actually on the final day of the the the season. Um, now they played in the wild card round last year, so it was a little bit different of a scenario. They had to play two days later, but in the final game, they actually uh rested quite a bit of players in their lineup. Um, so again, it’ll be interesting to see. My my guess is they probably give every one of their starters a day off this weekend, but maybe during the series maybe they want, you know, two guys are off Friday, two guys are off Saturday, two guys are off Sunday, kind of rotate through. Um, but that’ll be interesting. I don’t know. I’m more nervous about the Pirates and the Brewers. I kind of feel like if you if the Reds get to a position where they hold a playoff spot going into the Brewers series, I I don’t I I’m in the house money stage and I’m like, you know what, just let’s go ahead and win this series against the Brewers and that. Um I I’m more nervous about just getting there. If they get there, I I think I could be at peace with whatever happens. I don’t know. Maybe I’m maybe I’m weird in that, but I they get to that after everything that the Reds have been through this year. I I I’ll be disappointed if the Reds don’t make the playoffs at this point, but I don’t think it’s going to be anywhere close to like that 2023 disappointment where you felt like the team really played played not hard. I think the team played hard all year, but the team played like great all year and did so many amazing things and just fell short at the end. Like this team like we’re not supposed to be here. So like I don’t know. I don’t know. It’s hard to judge how you you’ll feel in that moment with whatever happens, but I don’t feel like I’ll necessarily I would have that same level of like just absolute despair. Um just because I thought 10 times this year this was never even a possibility to even have a chance. Yeah. No, I I understand that. And uh I’m just of the fact that it’s like just get in. You know, if we can play well, getting in there and going I think uh being hot going into the playoffs is almost more effective in what you’re going to be able to do in the playoffs. You you mentioned you mentioned some of the last night I think you mentioned some of the um the roster changes that would be for what you would do for a a regular season to what the bullpen is or what the uh you would see in a postseason game because you have spread out uh because you have spread out games. I guess not necessarily in the first round but if you were to make it to the divisional series or even the championship series like you have spread out games. It almost feels like the Reds are like more built for that, at least pitching wise, right? You have three very good starting options that you would feel good about, plus starters that aren’t bad that you would feel fine throwing in the bullpen, plus maybe like three or four really good relievers that are going to get days rest in between. And we’ve seen their issue be underproduction when they don’t get enough rest. So, it’s like pitching wise, you know, you feel great about being able to go into a series uh and it’s just can your offense come alive? Can can Ellie uh get hot? Can Mart get hot again? Can somebody continue to carry us to hit enough to let this pitching carry you deep in the playoffs? And boy, if that’s the case, man, that’s going to be exciting to see. Like because I I wouldn’t, you know, if we do sneak in, we got the Dodgers two out of three in Los Angeles. It’s like to me that doesn’t feel like that doesn’t feel like an impossible task. Like that doesn’t feel like something that we wouldn’t be able to do. I know we’re getting ahead of ourselves. We got to get in the playoffs first, but just like once we get there, man, I like our squad, specifically our pitching squad up against almost anybody else. Yeah, and I mean like I was thinking like the Dodgers, who would they rather play, the the the Reds or the Mets? And yeah, I mean the Mets obviously you have Juan Sto and Francisco Landor and Pete Alonzo that can flip a series with a three-run home run and the Reds don’t really have that. Um, but I mean, you put the Reds pitching, especially if somehow the Reds were able to get there and they like don’t have to. They have Singer uh Green and and Lollo available and then you could have Abbott in the bullpen and Latell and Martinez and Burns and Santion and Pagan in the bullpen. I mean, over a three-game series, I mean, the Red’s pitching compared to the Mets, like when you could stack those arms. I mean, I know they have Noah McClean who’s pitched incredible for them, but like the Reds pitching is like so far superior to the Mets, especially if you condense it down to where the Reds can just throw all of their best guys. Mets only have like a couple guys in Edwin Diaz and Mlan that probably they feel good about right now. Yeah, you’re I mean you’re starting rookie Jonah Tong or Brandon Sprro in game two, you know, it’s just like there career innings limits that are way past and Yeah. Yeah. It’s uh it’s it’s definitely I it’s definitely a a tossup for it. And so I once again I feel good if we can just sneak on in. And I think this all just comes back to boy, we got to take we got to take care of business here in Cincinnati against a last place team. Like we need to go and we need to at least take two out of three. Um so that we can hopefully have an edge going into what would be, you know, the last three games of the se season because, you know, it’s uh this is it’s out in front of us now. It’s like these are the last six games. You called it a sprint. It’s just like, let’s go win each game. Uh, I’m I, you know, you mentioned earlier the the ticket giveaways. It’s been really cool to see different people, you know, offering up tickets and talking about, let’s get down there. I, you know, I’m not going to lie. I was scared because I I’m just like my my uh my natural instinct was to be like I want to avoid the disappointment of of going to like, you know, getting one hit by Paul Ske or like going and Braxton Garrick go six perfect innings on me or something like that, you know? Like that is my initial reaction, but then I had to just like I had to like psych myself up. I you know, you guys last night were helping me just like, “All right, guys.” is like we’re never going to have this chance to be. It’s like I’m pulling my kids out of school because they get to go and experience this too. It’s like this is not something that comes along. It’s never come along at Great America Ballpark and I want to experience it. I want my kids to experience it. I cannot wait to go down there. And maybe I’ll leave heartbroken, but you know, we’ll have done it together and it we’ll we’ll be able to talk back on it just like I was at the oneame playoff loss in 1999 against the Mets. I can say that I was at this at this game as well where, you know, maybe the red season was cemented in a good way or in a bad way. Uh, so I’m excited. I’m excited to get down there on Thursday for the day game and I’m excited to see how full the stadium’s going to be full of Reds fans cheering on this team coming in for the rest of this week. Yeah, there’s zero chance the kids will learn anything more important on on Thursday than what they’ll remember about going to uh uh that game on on Thursday. You know, like the symmetry is here. Reds were in Milwaukee this weekend. That’s where they were in 1999, the final series. I mean, let’s end the year tied with the New York Mets in Milwaukee and they don’t get a 163 because they lose the tiebreaker. that that’s like putting all your demons to bed, you know, of at once. All right, let’s talk about those stupid New York Mets and the Diamondbacks real quick. Just kind of give everyone a rundown of what they’ve got this week. So, let’s start with the Mets. They have six games on the road against the Cubs and the Marlins. Uh the Cubs have a three-game lead as we record this on San Diego. That could be two and a half or three and a half depending on how that game uh shakes out for the first wildard spot. Why is that important? because the first wildcard spot hosts that best of three series that the Reds are trying to get into, that’s Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. Um, so the Cubs after losing four in a row to the Reds, uh, they kind of need to win and not screw around and lose homefield advantage. Uh, because there’d be nothing worse for the Cubs than to instead of playing at Wrigley Field those three games. They don’t they don’t switch cities. It is in one city. they would have to go to Petco Park and the Padres’s are a completely different team at Petco Park in that atmosphere versus Wrigley versus going on the road to Wrigley Field. Um the good news for the Reds, uh they caught a break because Kade Horton was supposed to pitch against the Reds. They bumped him back to kind of give him extra rest. The guy has a 0.93 erra and 11 starts post Allstar break. So he’ll start game one. The not as good news, Matthew Boyd and Shoto Ibanaga in game two and three. Both are having good years but struggling of late. They have not pitched very well of late. Um and then looking ahead to the Mets last series. Looks like the Reds might catch another break because the Marlins completely adjusted their starting pitchers from what we were seeing. It looks like they’re going to go Sandy Alcantara, Yuri Perez, and Edward Cabrera for the final series. Three definitely capable starters. Um they’ve all three guys have been inconsistent, but they’re capable starters, especially against a Mets team that that will have a lot of pressure on them. Well, hopefully will have a lot of pressure on them. Um any any thoughts kind of on the Mets? It’s it’s uh they’re playing two interesting teams. The Marlins feel like the Pirates to me, like it feels like almost the exact same situation there. the Cubs. I think that the Cubs are gonna have to play well, but who knows what the Cubs real motivation is coming into this series. Yeah, it’s I think that the Cubs just got embarrassed and are uh ready to, you know, get back up from that. So, I Matt Boyd and and Sha Imanag, I believe, are both lefties, correct? So, I think that potentially helps as well. Obviously, Juan Stoodto left-handed. Um, Brandon NMO left-handed. Uh, McNeel left-handed. I think Lindor is worse from the right side than the left side. So, uh, you know, I guess in a vacuum, you prefer lefties against the Mets as well. So, that that’s helpful. Um, and then the Marlins I was trying to find there’s the the Marlins there’s people on X. Obviously, there’s delusional people on X all over the place, but just like are like, “Oh, no. We’re four games out and we got three in front of the Mets. Like, let’s go. we got go time. Like we we got a shot to, you know, run the table here. So, I don’t think we’re going to have rollover Marlins here at all. I think they’re like, “Hey, we’re hot right now. You know, it may be slim, but like let’s go for it.” And it would be great. They came in, you know, maybe maybe win two out of three from the Mets. It’s not It’s not enough to catch the Reds because they’re they’re four games back, but boy, that would be awesome. and just like give the Reds some breathing room because the Marlins had delusions of grandeur to get in here. So, uh yes and no because the the only way the Mets can still be the Marlins can still be alive but the Reds have to lose. Oh, I guess that’s fair. That’s fair. So, this is what makes thread a needle here. This is what makes this week so crazy is there’s like so many factors into everything because the the Marlins are four games behind the Reds. So, the only way the Marlins are still alive on Friday is if the Reds lose one game. And the only reason way the Reds the Marlins are still alive on Saturday is if the Reds lose two games. And the only like so it it’s crazy. Um and and that that’s the only thing that could be because the Marlins could Mike almost get defeated. Like if they really have this mindset and they get eliminated on Wednesday because the Reds, you know, won two or three and they lost or whatever, uh then they might, you know, have it’s it’s a crazy week. There’s so many factors that go into this. Yeah. And I we we talk about this kind of glibly of like, oh, they gave up or they won’t do this. I don’t think that there’s too much actual like, oh, we don’t, you know, maybe the Rockies have turned it in. I I I wouldn’t I wouldn’t expect that any of these teams that we’re talking about have in any way quote unquote given up, right? They’re obviously still playing. They’re playing for future contracts and and in some of these cases, they’re playing for playoff seating. So, we would expect there to be like even the Brewers who potentially won’t be playing for anything. we’ll have the number one seed locked up are still like they’re not going to, you know, s fully surrender these games. Uh, of all the teams though, like the vibes around the Mets are just awful right now. Like if they lose two out of three to the Cubs, I could see them just kind of saying, “All right, season’s over. Pack it in.” Like, uh, just because, you know, of how how it’s been so far. So, uh, you never know with all these kind of things. We’re we’re kind of reading a lot into how they’re going to feel or how they’re going to I I don’t know how much that actually has an effect on how they play, but you know, when the Reds are in a situation now where they kind of control their own destiny, you’ll take every advantage that you can get, right? Because every break is one closer to you, you know, securing a playoff spot. So, if the if the Mets want to have bad vibes on the road for the rest of the year, you know, maybe uh Pete Alonzo played his last game as a Met uh in uh in uh City Field and now it’s it’s it’s all downhill from here. I’m fine with that. I’m fine with that taking over and uh let their implosion be complete. Yeah, the Mets are a hard team to figure out. I mean, if that team went 6 and 0 this week, I don’t think it would be the craziest thing in the world if they went 0 and6 this week. I don’t think it’d be the craziest thing in the world. They’ve just been a volatile team. And um, you know, I think in some ways, man, like that’s what makes like Tuesday so important is that you don’t let the Mets creep right back in. Because if you lose, if they pick up a game, if they are ahead, if they pick up a game and they’re ahead of the Reds going into Wednesday, all of a sudden the Mets just were resuscitated and they have a whole lease on life and they get to look at the whole week differently. So, uh that’s what does kind of make Tuesday feel um very important and the Reds could lose and the Cubs could help the Reds out and nothing really changes anything and and the Mets are still in the same spot. Um but yeah, just you really you don’t want to lose a game at any point, but you really don’t want to lose it on Tuesday and kind of let the Mets kind of c catch their their breath. Um the Diamondbacks, uh an interesting team that just they’re a scrappy team that just has continued to hang around. They won a series against the Phillies. Um they have a toughish schedule. Maybe, maybe not. Again, who you’re playing at the time of the year is interesting. They play three against the Dodgers. They’re facing Otani Snell and Yamamoto, which looks terrifying on paper. Dodgers do, however, have a three-game lead in the National League West. They hold a tiebreaker over the Padres, so I think their magic number is down to two and could go down if the Padres’s lose as we’re recording this. So, how motivated are the Dodgers in that series? They can’t, I don’t think, catch the Phillies or the Brewers for the the the buy. So, yeah, it’s the Dodgers who are who are the Dodgers, but I don’t think you’re you’re not going to get the full out because the Dodgers are planning on having to play next Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and are kind of trying to rest people. And then it gets even more. I I I think I think the the Diamondback series over the weekend might be the easiest series of anyone because they’re playing the Padres’s who will have clinched almost assuredly and they’re at the spot of the rotation where it would be King and Paveet’s turns in the final two games, but they’re not going to pitch because they’re going to be set up for the wild card game. So, you’re not only facing a Padres’s team that is going to be resting guys, you’re facing them at the spot of the rotation with the guys that they’re going to have to replace with someone else like a minor leager or so. The Diamondbacks, you can’t count that team out, Mike, because they have the one series at the end of the year that I think has the potential to be the easiest just out of the fact that they’re playing a team that has might have nothing to play for that has to rest guys. Yeah. And I mean, you you essentially have a twoame lead on them now, too, because you own the the tiebreaker, so that is helpful. like uh I can see him going crazy and then just not having enough just because it you know it’s it’s seeming it’s seeming like you’re going to have a hangover game for the Dodgers in one of those their first series, right? We saw that what happened with the Cubs, right? They clinch the next day. They go out and get one hit by Hunter Green, right? So, it’s just like I think that there’s potential for one of those games in here as well uh in that series with the Diamondbacks where hey, we clinched because we it may not even be because they won, right? Maybe they lose two, but because the Padres’s lose or something like that, they’re able to clinch and then, you know, so yeah, I’m with you. It is it’s definitely a scary situation. You feel a little bit better because you have a little bit more of a cushion there. Um but but man uh you really want the Dodgers to take care of business here. And this is a team that sold at the deadline, sold bullpen, soldio Suarez, and just came back and and has, you know, come back from the dead back. I think at one point they won eight or nine in a row to get back into this. uh their third base at least last like when when I checked when we played them their third baseman since the traded they traded uh uh Suarez was doing almost 100 points better than Suarez was OPS plus-wise they call it Bla1 Anderson and one other guy and they’ve been better than what Suarez has been. So, it’s just like that’s kind of how baseball works sometimes. And boy, uh, you know, I I’m just kind of hoping with them it’s like a little too little too late. Uh, which would be uh helpful. But you’re right, we may see at the end there that our biggest push might be from the Diamondbacks and not the Mets. Yeah, I would really not want to be tied with the Diamondbacks going into the final weekend. I want to at least have a oneame lead on them, which is essentially, as you pointed, a twoame lead. um because they are in my opinion the um um the they’re as dangerous as anyone just because of who they play. Uh that that last weekend I just I have a hard time believing you’re going to get a lot of help. Um um now you could still win games because things just go quirky in baseball. You know, the Padres’s could run out a lineup and it still win. Um but uh yeah, I I I you don’t want to lose games. Hopefully the Dodgers play well. Hopefully they take that seriously. I would love just to have the Diamondbacks out of the equation and at least it’s just you’re only worried about the the Mets, but they’re a team that you do have to still worry about as as crazy as that that sounds. Um so hopefully they can continue. Uh one final parting thought here, Mike. Uh I want to ask you this week, who is one key player that you are watching? If you want me to go first, I can go first. Uh, well, you go first. All right. So, my guy is Tyler Stevenson. Tyler Stevenson is the only player on the Cincinnati Red’s roster that was on the 2020 playoff team. He’s it. Tyler Stevenson is like the veteran of this team. He had some big hits this last week. Uh, Tyler Stevenson is kind of like a veteran. He’s a free agent after next season. I think Tyler Stevenson is the guy that’s going to have a big week this week and uh he’s the guy I’m looking I mean there’s a whole lot of other obviously LV Cruz and my guy Will Benson and Sears played well. You could go down all of them, but Tyler Stevenson is the guy for me that I don’t think a lot of people are thinking about, but I think could be the guy that has that that big week um and kind of has that that veteran type leadership. Yeah. All right. I think my guy that I was actually contemplating whether to bring him up earlier is Matt Mlan. Uh Matt Mlan uh obviously this has not been a year that we’ve we will look back fondly with Matt Mlan, right? Uh you know, took some real real had some real lumps at the beginning, some really low lows. We were batting him second for a long time and just really didn’t work out. but has started to put it together in September. And while there are still some bumps in the road and we still got him batting ninth, man, I think that he has really been able to wind into somebody that’s able to contribute at the bottom of the lineup and turn it over to the top of the lineup to be able to produce runs, right? We obviously had the home run. I think he had a home run in the second game against the the the Cubs. and uh he’s he’s starting to walk a little bit more as well, getting some better swings on on pitches, driving the ball to the right side. Um he’s he’s I think somebody that, you know, I I think we could very easily uh look back and it’s like, wow, he had a you know uh you know, a 412 series or whatever with, you know, four RBI including the gamewinner in one of them, you know. So I he is somebody under the radar that I think has been surging a little bit, has been coming in and uh obviously still playing pretty good defense at second base and is somebody that could uh could really have an effect uh on you know on this Red’s team. I actually I have a bonus one too. This is and this isn’t even this is all intangibles and it’s KBrian Hayes, right? I mentioned earlier he was on that Pirates team. He’s against his old team who traded him away, who basically uh salary dumped him. Salary dumped him. Uh was having the worst offensive season. Like you thought M I think OPS-wise Kebran Hayes was having a worse OPS season than Matt Mlan was before he got traded over here. Has come over has been uh incredible defensively. He’s been very good offensively. Struggled recently and he’s over his last 19 or something like that. uh having some back issues, but uh I think intangibly we might be able to see him be able to bring something that’s going to help us be able to uh you know crack the code of these late late late uh late season pirates and understand and and get this team in the right headsp space to go out and beat his his old team. He’s going to be properly motivated to it. It’s like, hey, you traded me away to a team that’s now in the playoffs. Look at me now. It’s like let’s let’s see a nice little revenge series out of K Brian Hayes as well. All right, I’ll do a bonus one, too. You suckered me in. Uh, a guy that I haven’t necessarily think has had a great season and it’s kind of in some ways been a disappointment. Gavin Lux. Uh, Lux is 4 for8 with two doubles against Paul Skins. I don’t think Lux’s game is necessarily what I love over 162 games, but over a sixgame stretch when there might be games where like a base hit is really what you need. like Lux does kind of have a shorter swing that against dominant pitching I think he has a better chance sometimes than than some other guys. Um he’s a guy that I think could he seems like a guy that kind of embraces those those big moments too. So um he’s another guy that that that I would watch this week that I think could have some some sneaky really really really big hits. Um and we’ll see. You’re right. I mean, played in a World Series last, won a World Series last year. Also, uh, great eye at the plate. You mentioned earlier how the Reds are going to need to put together some good at bats against their starting pitching that might be have a short leash. You know, you can see Gavin Lux going up and having six, seven pitch at bats where he goes 3-2 and maybe he doesn’t end up having a productive out, but ultimately uh set the table for uh maybe a shorter outing or maybe, you know, the Cowboy talks about how a one 10 pitch at bat can shorten an a starter outing by a whole inning if you know, if in the right spot. It’s just like that is the the the unseen stuff that you might be able to get out of Gavin Lux, especially with good pitching. So, I’m with you. I’ I’d love to be able to see that, even if it means no South Stewart. Well, Mike, this has been a lot of fun. I think we said we do about 20 minutes while we’re well past an hour. Uh, it’s impossible when you get talking Red Space in this time of the year. Um, you you you got to be excited. And, uh, my my last words as we wrap this up is, uh, just embrace this week, man. No matter how you felt about this team, where you feel about all the external factors about the Reds, just embrace this this opportunity that the Reds have, try to enjoy it. If they lose on Tuesday, don’t they don’t don’t don’t have throw a temper tantrum online. Like, just try to let’s move on the next day. They’ve actually in a spot where if they lose on Tuesday, the season doesn’t end. Like, that’s what’s so crazy about what they’ve done to get here. So, try to enjoy this week. Um, and uh, let’s see if our Reds can can do something crazy. Never in the history of this entire franchise, had the Reds trailed a series. Had the Reds trailed for a playoff spot after September 10th and come back to make the playoffs, this could be the first year. And, uh, we’ll be here on Chatterbox Reds to, uh, break it down every step of the way. I’ll be on every single postgame show, Lord willing, this week. Um, and we’ll have a lot of fun and if they are in the playoffs, we’ll have lots of content, lots of other content here on Chatterbox Sports, Chatterbox Bengals, which Mike is a big part of. Uh, they have a lot of content on that. The Stone Shield show off the bench. Links to all that is in the episode notes below um in, uh, in your podcast feed. If you’re watching on YouTube, you’re already on Chatterbox Sports. So, click around and find all the other great content. New FC Cincinnati podcast episode, Flying Lion. They did a live show Monday night, so be sure to check that out. And uh yeah, we’ll be here along for the ride. Well, appreciate everyone tuning in. Appreciate you, Mike. Talk again soon. Go Reds. [Music]

Nick Kirby and Mike Hart break down the final week of the regular season as the Cincinnati Reds chase their first playoff berth since 2020. They preview the crucial series against the Pittsburgh Pirates, analyze the Reds’ path to the postseason, and take a close look at the schedules and scenarios involving the Mets and Diamondbacks. Plus, they highlight the key players who could make or break the Reds’ playoff hopes—and much more.

As the 2025 Major League Baseball season enters its final week, the Cincinnati Reds find themselves in a thrilling, if precarious, position. With a record of 80-76 through September 22, the Reds sit third in the competitive NL Central, trailing the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals but locked in a heated tie with the New York Mets for the final National League Wild Card spot.

Just six games remain, and Cincinnati’s playoff hopes hinge on a late surge that has transformed a middling campaign into a potential triumph. Under new manager Terry Francona, hired on a three-year deal with a club option last October, the Reds have channeled youthful energy and veteran savvy into a team brimming with potential.

Francona’s arrival marked a pivotal shift for a franchise mired in mediocrity. The 65-year-old Hall of Fame skipper, who briefly played for the Reds in 1987, brings five World Series appearances and a reputation for nurturing talent. His influence is evident in the Reds’ second-half resurgence: after hovering around .500 through June (15-11 that month), they’ve won seven of their last 10, including a crucial three-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs last weekend.

Highlights included Spencer Steer’s scorching hot streak—four homers in four games—and Hunter Greene’s one-hitter masterpiece, a 1-0 shutout on Thursday that evoked echoes of the Big Red Machine era.

These victories not only boosted morale but narrowed the Wild Card gap, with the Reds now just three games back of a postseason berth as of September 19.

At the heart of Cincinnati’s revival is a dynamic young core. Shortstop Elly De La Cruz remains the electrifying spark, blending 40-40 speed-power potential with highlight-reel defense, though his strikeouts persist as a bugaboo. Outfielder Will Benson and third baseman Noelvi Marte have stepped up, contributing to a lineup that exploded for a season-high 24 runs in an April rout of Baltimore.

Steer, now a reliable middle-order bat, has been the hottest hitter in baseball lately, mashing five homers in a single series against the Cubs. Behind the plate, catchers like Tyler Stephenson provide stability, while the infield boasts Gold Glove-caliber play from Ke’Bryan Hayes.

Chatterbox Reds is your home for coverage all season long for the Cincinnati Reds with LIVE post game shows after EVERY game on YouTube, and NEW podcasts the morning after every game (including weekends)! SUBSCRIBE to the channel and turn on notifications to ensure you never miss a thing!

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Andrew Abbott, Scott Barlow, Hunter Greene, Zack Littell, Nick Lodolo, Nick Martinez, Zach Maxwell, Emilio Pagán, Connor Phillips, Tony Santillan, Brady Singer, Jose Trevino, Elly De La Cruz, Santiago Espinal, Ke’Bryan Hayes, Noelvi Marte, Matt McLain, Spencer Steer, Sal Stewart, Miguel Andujar, Will Benson, TJ Friedl, Austin Hays, Gavin Lux, Rhett Lowder, Graham Ashcraft, Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Frank Robinson, Barry Larkin, Tony Perez, Joey Votto

Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Guardians, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, Washington Nationals, Louisville Bats, Chattanooga Lookouts, Dayton Dragons, Daytona Tortugas