Cincinnati: In The Red

With the worst record in the Major Leagues (at 31-51), Cincinnati desperately needed changes for the better. On pace for a seventh straight losing season (as well as a chance to wind up with 100 losses this season alone), the Reds higher-ups fired Jerry Narron on Sunday, & Pete Mackanin is filling in Narron's shoes as interim manager.

If there were any kind words to say to Mackanin about the situation he's presently in, they wouldn't just be, "Now it's your turn to see how losing feels." No, folks would also be saying, "It's not too late to turn this boat around." The question is no longer about maintaining stability to a team which has home run fever way too often, a bullpen which is one of the Major League's worst in losses, a team that can't do the fundamental things they need to do in order to win games. It's about change in every aspect of the organization, & if it means boosting sagging morale (as well as game attendance), so be it then. But is it too little, too late to turn things around back in Cincy?

For a good 25 years, the Reds have been going off-course like a wrecked ship without any rudder or sense of direction whatsoever. (The only exception to this was when they won the 1990 World Series.) The last time they ever were in the playoffs was back in 1995. So far, they're 16 1/2 games or so behind Milwaukee in the NL Central division. If Cincinnati ever found a bad time to hit rock bottom, that time is now.

And yet, and yet it's not too late to pick up the pieces & salvage what is left of this season; the Reds already sense that there are still games to be played, that there is still hope, however much hope is left to redeem their season. The question is, will Mackanin make the one difference which Narron never made for not only his team but also the Reds fanbase? Only the Reds GM knows for sure, & in an organization which could be termed as a revolving door for managers & General Managers to pass through at will (& at one's own risk), it's hard to say just how long he'll stick around to make that difference possible.