REDS POSTCAST: The Cincinnati Reds Are ELIMINATED by the Los Angeles Dodgers ENDING the 2025 Season

REDS POSTCAST: The Cincinnati Reds Are ELIMINATED by the Los Angeles Dodgers ENDING the 2025 Season

[Music] This is the Reds post, your instant game reaction for the Cincinnati Reds, part of the Locked On Network, your team every day. [Music] Well, for the final time in 2025. Hello Reds fans and welcome to another edition of the Reds Postcast brought by Locked on Reds and the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. I am Tim Daniel. I am a lifelong Reds fan. I’ve been podcasting about this team for five years now, six years, I guess you can say, at publications such as Late Night Reds, The Riverfront, and now Locked on Reds. And I want to thank you for spending some time with me late tonight, early to this morning as we discuss the Cincinnati Red season ending by the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers 8 to4. Thank you all so much for spending some time with me tonight. As you know, you can hit that here on YouTube. You can hit that notification button and the subscribe button so you can only get me well I guess now not till March after every Reds game, but you can get Jeff and Steve Monday through Friday on Locked on Reds as well. This episode is brought to you by Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, and use code locked on MLB for $20 off of your first purchase. Well, on tonight’s show, we’re going to get into the Reds, whatever that was. Um, between the hitters, between the pitching, and between the coaching decisions, we’re going to dive into it. I’m going to talk about the fact that Nicoladola only got to throw 14 pitches in the playoffs. 14. And then uh I’m going to pay tribute to all of you guys for sticking with me through this all. I got a lot of I I prepared a statement. Um but all that and a whole lot more and uh we’ll get to it. This is what you’ll be talking about. Well, it’s over. The Cincinnati Reds will no longer play baseball in 2025 as they take a loss night to the Dodgers in game two of the National League Wildard Series, continuing the longest drought in professional sports of not being able to advance in the postseason. And tonight, you know whose fault it was? The Cincinnati Reds. Now, last night I talked about the Dodgers are the Dodgers. They are who they are and they continue to always find ways to be very good. And tonight they were very good again, don’t me wrong, but the Reds gave them the game. And I know some people will go on here and they’ll be like, well, you know, the Reds had their chances. The Reds 100% had their chances. 100%. And they couldn’t get it done. Bases loaded twice tonight. one point, no one run, no outs. You uh you you can’t win like that. Um you know, six hits is not going to get the job done. And they had three errors, the Dodgers did. So, they were basically asking the Reds to find a way to win this game, and they couldn’t do it. They get off to a two nothing lead, and you’re feeling really good about it, right? Salto has the huge hit in the in the first inning. You’re like, “All right, here we go. This is rolling. Let’s get ready to play on Thursday. And Terry Francona leads Zack Latell in through the third inning. He gives up a run and he goes back out there for the fourth and gives up the lead. And you’re, you know, I get that ball was really close to the um to the to the chalk, but still had no business being in there. Um and then from there, just the decision- making just unbelievably irritating. Um, man, you know, between uh, you know, I’m going to go pretty nuts on in the next segment, so I don’t want to dive too much in that, but Nick Martinez goes out there and he’s atrocious. Uh, and then you have Tony Santion. You use Chase Burns when it’s too little too late. There’s just a lot of bad decision-making here. And let’s not even get to the fact that one ball and two strikes, the Dodgers take out their pitcher, Shiion, Emma Shien. And with two strikes, Miguel Andhar has to go up there and make something happen. Who? Why? How? Who went through that thought process and was like, “This is the strategy.” I don’t know if Terry Franone is the answer. I think he had some really nice moments. I’m not saying fire him. I don’t think that’s rational. You know, if we just keep firing people every year, you know, everyone wants a new hitting coach, and they certainly have to change some things, but if they fire Chris Fleck and bring in a new hitting coach, that’s the sixth hitting coach in eight years. I don’t think that’s really good. Um, we’re not doing this. No, nope. Nope. No politic talk and the postcast. Sorry. Thanks for coming by. And for me, tonight you have a night where, you know, your first three hitters get on the base five times and you do nothing with it. Um, it’s been, you know, I don’t know if I’d say the season was fun, but I certainly would uh say that it gave us some really good moments and to see it crash out the way it did was definitely heartbreaking. Man, bases loaded. No outs. Yeah, you’re getting Yamamoto to throw a ton of pitches. You’re down one. I feel like they should have won that game. That one’s going to sting. Yeah, that one’s going to sting as a Reds fan. But, you know, the goal is that a young team got their first postage experience and maybe they can build off this even though it’s not in their hands. Um, but we shall see. Now, we have to move forward. And one of the questions we’re going to be asking ourselves for a very long time before March of 2026 is why the hell did Nicoladola only get to throw 14 pitches? There’s nothing like catching a baseball game live. 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You can link all your accounts in minutes. See clear data visuals, get smart categorization of your spending, and finally feel in control of your money without ever touching a spreadsheet. You can identify that you aren’t saving as much as you thought. Monarch helps you notice an inefficient investment allocation and discover forgotten 401ks from previous jobs. Maximizing investments, increasing your savings rate, easily reviewing finances with your partner and financial adviser, keeping a clear view for financial health week to week and long term. Don’t let this financial opportunity slip through the cracks. Use code lockonmlb at monarchmoney.com in your browser for half off your first year. That’s 50% off your first year at monarchmoney.com with code lockdown MLB. For the last time of the year, I get to shout out all my everydayers. Thank you all so much for spending some time with us here on the postcast throughout the season. It’s been very awesome. And even though I will not be here on a nightight basis, Jeff and Steve will be for sure on Locked on Reds Monday through Friday. And I’m sure I’ll drop by and say hello as long as they’ll have me. And by the way, I know that they will have me. And once you’re done listening to them, if you still want to see what’s going on in the world of baseball, be sure to check out Locked on MLB and Locked on MLB Game Night. They’ll watch every game so you don’t have to. Let’s get to the turning point. Time to reveal where the game was won or lost. It’s the turning point. Top of the let’s see what’s it top of the fifth bases loaded no top of the six bases loaded no outs no run score the red plan their trips to Cancun and Terry Francona will be playing on playing has a tea time tomorrow in Tempe Arizona that I’m sure he has to get to. So that is probably where this game really went wrong. One thing though that is immensely irritating besides the fact Zack Latella got to go out there and pitch as much as he did is Nicolola and Andrew Abbott threw a combined 14 pitches in the National League wild card series. Nicolo threw all 14. And by the way, in case you’re wondering, because you know I have it, he was dealing. He was low dealing. ending in two/3s with a hit. Why is he pulled? I mean, you know, you have Otani coming up and you know, Otani is like Lola has pitched pretty well against Otani in the past, so I don’t understand why he’s not getting the chance to get him out there. Nick Martinez goes out and he’s just, man, awful. Just so bad. and your highest paid player going against the almighty Dodgers is so unbelievably frustrating. And then that’s doesn’t even mention the fact that like Logan says like why is why didn’t why did they make the switch? Why is Latell starting this game? Like that’s not how you win this series. It should have been Abbott then you can go. You use Chase Burns way too late. You’re relying on guys like Tony Santon who like is just like, you know, the Winter Soldier as we joked all uh all season with how much he threw. It was flat out awful managing. It was terrible. And like I said at the first segment, I don’t necessarily think that the Red should get rid of Terry Francona, but next year this has to change. A lot of these things have to change. And a lot of that’s not his fault. A lot of that is, as I’ve said often, the ingredients he has to make the recipe. Um, but it’s up to him to make those ingredients taste a little better, right? And leaving having Nicolo come out is like putting in some very old cayenne pepper that has lost its spice. That’s what Terry Franco did with today with Nicolo. And especially, you know, you’re coming after, you lose yesterday, you’re in a do or die, all or nothing game. And that’s what you do. I just don’t understand the thought process here. I’m just going to go and dive more into what the H were the decision thought process today of Terry Francona. One, Austin Hayes has not played right field since Baltimore. Not like when he played for the Orioles this year. That was like in May, right? The 24 run game. Why is Miguel Anderhar coming up for one swing hoping for the best in the playoffs? I get it. They went to a lefty. Will Benson struggle against lefty. Stupid. And look, I love keep Ryan Hayes. Jeff loves keep Brian Hayes. We know it. We talk about all the time. If you We think that he’s an unbelievable defender. There’s a reason this war’s so high. If he just gives you a 600 ops, he’s certainly worth the contract you’re giving him. But if Matt Mlan’s not going to get better, you cannot have lineups where both those guys are playing and must win games. Yeah. Where’s Where’s traveling to says Austin should not have started over Benson. I completely agree. Completely agree. Like I get no Mark taking a day off. He hasn’t swung the bat very well of late, but no. I mean, the only thing that went right today was probably South Stewart. Well, and their first three hitters did a lot, but just a lot left on the table. It’s going to be one of those things that when we look here in a couple weeks and we digest everything, we’re going to go, man, they had it. But you know what? Who was really the star of this all were you guys, all of our everydayers. And we’re going to talk about that to end the season right after this. The NFL season is here. Unless you’re a Bengals fan, then it’s gone. And FanDuel has an offer you don’t want to miss. Right now, new customers can bet just $5 and get $300 in bonus bets if you win. That’s right. Pick a bet, put down five bucks, and if it hits, you’ll unlock $300 and bonus bets to use across the app. We all know it. Because this red season starts winding down, I am in basketball mode. I am getting my futures bets in for MVPs, award winners, finals winners. I’m doing it all on FanDuel. It gives me so many ways to play. Building parlays, player props, and following live lines during games. It makes watching football even more exciting when you’ve got a little something writing on the action. Whether you’re a casual fan or love diving into the stats, FanDuel makes the experience even better. So, what are you waiting for? Visit FanDuel to download the FanDuel app today and get started. Once again, just make sure to shout the reminder. Jeff and Steve will still be here Monday through Friday covering it all. And I saw a comment when I was flipping through as I was uh listening to my ad there from the Cowboy who always does a great job of having his finger on the pulse. And this is what he said when the game ended. I think there going to be some changes, some very surprising changes. 83 wins in a normal season is not going to get you here. So, I really wonder what Cowboy means by that. And I did see some comments and I 100% agree. This team made the playoffs and I think that can be something that we can at least hang our head on and hope to God they can build off of. No gap years like 2010 to 2012. No Edgar Renteras, no Paul Yannishes. Actually, I really like Paul. He’s a really great guy. Um, but anyway, before I get to you guys and just give you all the I’ll give you all your flowers, let’s get to our locked on player of the game. This is the locked on player of the game. How about the rook Sal Stewart? Three RBI tonight. Man, if anyone looked like they were ready for the moment, it was South Stewart. And that was incredible to see. So, I cannot wait to see what he brings the next year. By the way, if you’re keeping tabs at home, South Stewart did not hit 130 plate appearance at bats. So, South Stewart will be eligible to be National Rookie of the Year next year. So, if you want to start thinking about your futures, that might be a name you want to keep up with. All right, folks. So, at the beginning of every postcast, I mentioned I’m a lifelong Reds fan. So to be able to work on such a big platform as locked on Reds and discuss the Reds, let alone support my family doing it is a dream come true. My first year at Locked On, all of you every day became part of my everyday life. We celebrated fun wins. We vented over frustrating losses. I think at times I lost my voice. And we even survived a baseball game being played on a NASCAR track. I can’t thank you all enough for being here with me through the good and bad. You guys are all awesome and you guys made coming on here every day worth it. I got to thank a few other people because without them this all is not possible. And of course I got to start with Jeff and Steve. Uh you two are two of my best friends in the whole world. So the fact that I got to work with you guys this year and we got to really build a really really great platform where we have a ton of people who come and listen to us every day. Um it was awesome. And you guys went to bat for me. I’m not here if you guys don’t go to bat for me. So, I really appreciate that as well. Uh, and that was really awesome to everyone at Lockdown who coached me, whether it was on how to make a better thumbnail, whether it was look at this in your segment, try this, uh, you guys made me better at this each and every day. And, um, to be able to come here and talk like like I said, just be part of this company is unbelievably awesome. And it’s something that I don’t take for granted. And it’s something that every single day I wanted to get better at. and you guys helped me do that. So, I’m really really grateful for that. And of course to my wife, Grace, my daughter Iris. Um you’re the ones who had to sacrifice the most while I did this. You’re the ones that had to have the TV on baseball every night. You’re the ones who, you know, my daughter’s two and uh she got to the point where she loves sitting there and watching games with me. And that was really the highlight of the 2025 season for me was to be able to share this with my kid and my wife who tough through it. Uh baseball is not exactly her favorite thing in the world, but you know, she knows how much it meant to me. Um and so that was really cool. I’m beyond grateful for the season. I appreciate all of you. Thank you all so much. And I’m going to close this out with one message. Bob, Phil, do not sit on your feet this offseason. Do not sit on your hands. Do not let this roll out. You guys have something to build off of. You guys have the opportunity to get this team better. You have an opportunity to build off a core. You have a manager who’s done it. Let’s get rolling. I don’t want to be here next year having the same conversation the first week of October. I want to watch this team get better. I want to see you actually make an effort to get outfielders. I want to see you build off this success and I want to see you find a way to win because us as Red fans, we deserve it. We absolutely deserve to see a good baseball team. We put our heart into it. Let’s roll. No sin waiting around anymore. Been there, done that. We’ve done it for 12 years now. It’s time to go out there and try to put put a winning team together. Everyone here in the post guest can tell you how much we want it. So, Bob, Phil, let’s get to it. Everyone, thank you so much for everything. This has been such a fun year. I’m Tim Daniel. Have a great great off season. I’m sure I’ll see you guys with Jeff and Steve every so often, but we’re gonna roll. Let’s get to it, guys. Take it easy everyone.

The Cincinnati Reds’ 2025 season came to an end with a tough loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, as they fell after giving up eight unanswered runs. Cincinnati jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but a series of costly mistakes opened the door for the defending champions to take control. Despite flashes of resilience, the Reds couldn’t recover and saw their postseason hopes dashed once again. Still, the young roster showed significant growth throughout the year, offering plenty of promise for 2026 and beyond.

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