LOVELAND MAGAZINE

News and Events from the Loveland, Ohio Area

Without fear or favor
Since 2004

Tag: hunter greene

  • Quick Facts About The Reds Newest Pitcher: Brady Singer

    Quick Facts About The Reds Newest Pitcher: Brady Singer

    by Chris Ball

    Loveland, Ohio – for those that are late to the party, Jonathan India’s time in a Reds uniform has come to a close. The fan favorite was traded this past week to the Kansas City Royals along with outfielder Joey  Wiemer. It was a trade that no doubt came with a wide array of emotions for fans.

    After winning the Rookie of the Year award in 2021 there was a lot of belief that India could take the next step and be a potential all star in the following seasons. However, he never was able to match his award winning output and most of his numbers declined with each successive year. Despite those struggles no one in Cincinnati questioned India’s dedication to this city and the team as he consistently played through injuries and gave everything he could.

    Despite his popularity there were significant calls to trade him in the offseason. Given the Reds’ surplus of infielders it was an understandable reaction. But the devastating early season injury to Matt McLain changed that very quickly and thrust India back into the starting lineup.

    While it wasn’t a perfect 2024 campaign for him, India was extremely solid. He hit .248 and his on base percentage, OPS+ and BWAR were the highest since his rookie season. It was a much better season than most expected and certainly meant that his potential trade value was the highest it might realistically have been.

    While we all love and will miss Jonathan India, it’s clear that it is now the Matt McLain era at second base is here to stay. It’s time to remember all of the great memories that Jonathan India gave this team, but also recognize that the Reds got a solid pitcher in return.

    Brady Singer might not have dominant numbers, but he brings a lot of what the Reds need on their pitching staff. As MLB.com points out, “In 32 starts and 179 2/3 innings for Kansas City last season, Singer was 9-13 with a 3.71 ERA and 3.1 bWAR. He had more starts and innings than anybody on Cincinnati’s pitching staff in 2024.” This league is all about pitching and establishing depth. Singer provides that for a team that saw a flurry of injuries to its starters all year. He is primarily a ground ball pitcher, something that will be a significant benefit at the hitter-friendly Great American Ballpark.

    Charlie Goldsmith also notes that over the last three years, Singer ranks 24th among big league pitchers in total WAR. There was a real chance that Jonathan India was going to spend a good chunk of the 2025 season on the Reds bench. Now, because of this trade Cincinnati added another decent arm for its pitching staff, something they clearly needed based on what happened in 2024. Time will tell if this trade was a “win” for the team, but at first blush, when you take out the emotion of trading away a fan favorite (struggles or no) and look at the objective reality of it, the move makes good baseball sense.

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    Hey readers… have an opinion about sports? How about a topic you’d like to see written about in Loveland Magazine or a thought about one of our articles?

    Just need to vent and get out your frustration about the Reds, Bengals, or any other sports issues?

    Feel free to share with an email to lovelandmagazinesports@gmail.com!

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    Christopher Ball is a longtime Loveland resident and an attorney. He graduated from Loveland High School in 2003 and was a member of the football team before going on to become a coach’s assistant at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. He has been following and rooting for the Reds and Bengals since the early 1990s and has been through the many ups and downs that fandom has wrought over the years.

  • The David Bell Era Is Over. So What Now?

    The David Bell Era Is Over. So What Now?

    by Chris Ball

    Loveland, Ohio – the Reds’ disappointing 2024 campaign is soon to draw to a close, and David Bell couldn’t quite make it until the end. Cincinnati chose to fire Bell this past Sunday night with a full week of games left to be played. Bell has been the Reds manager since 2019 and during that time has posted a 405-456 record. Under his watch Cincinnati made the playoffs once in 2020. They were close to returning to the playoffs in 2023 (after many predicted them to lose more than 100 games) but fell apart in the second half of the season to come up just short. The optimism from last season led to an extension of his contract, but even that extension wasn’t enough to save his job after underachieving in 2024.

    For his part, Cincinnati’s president of baseball operations Nick Krall discussed that parting ways with Bell came down to problems that Reds fans are all too familiar with. These included their poor record in one-run games, defensive miscues, and costly baserunning mistakes that seemed to cost the team in so many key games this year. While not naming anyone specifically, Krall also pointed out how several players were not playing up to their potential, and this was something that (rightly or not) was laid at the former manager’s doorstep.

    Reds beat writers are already discussing numerous candidates for Bell’s replacement. These include former Cincinnati players like Barry Larkin, David Ross and Skip Schumaker, among other big names like Aaron Boone and Terry Francona. There is also a chance that the front office could choose to promote someone from within the organization. In that case, Freddie Benavides might be the main option as he’s the current interim manager and was the bench coach prior to Bell’s departure.

    Whichever prospective managers the Reds might end up pursuing, they would be taking the helm of a team with as much young potential as any in major league baseball. Elly De La Cruz is already one of the most electric players in the game. Spencer Steer, Matt McLain, Christian Encarnacion Strand, and Edwin Arroyo are all in the early parts of their careers and are primed to make huge strides in the next few years. Established players like T.J. Friedl, Jonathan India, and Tyler Stephenson stand ready to help shepherd the young guns along the way. And most importantly, the rotation is anchored by an ace in Hunter Greene, talented arms in Nick Lodolo and Andrew Abbott, and up and coming flamethrowers like Rhett Lowder.

    Put simply, it’s a job that should be easy to fill based upon the stable of starts and talent the Reds possess.

    The one stumbling block, as always, will be the front office. After promising sweeping changes and a path to success in the past, those at the helm of this franchise have had precious little actual success in terms of attracting and/or signing impact free agents to fill in some of the most glaring holes in the lineup. Finding the right manager and making a genuine investment in that person (no matter the price) gives the ownership and management a clear chance to prove to fans that they are actually serious about turning around the track for this team. As everyone knows, the window for small market teams to make deep playoff runs can be crushingly small and so the time for excuses has come to an end.

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    Hey readers… have an opinion about sports? How about a topic you’d like to see written about in Loveland Magazine or a thought about one of our articles?

    Just need to vent and get out your frustration about the Reds, Bengals, or any other sports issues?

    Feel free to share with an email to lovelandmagazinesports@gmail.com!

    We would love to hear from our readers, and we thank you for your support and engagement.

    Also, don’t forget to follow us at The Loveland Sports Desk at the below links:

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    Christopher Ball is a longtime Loveland resident and an attorney. He graduated from Loveland High School in 2003 and was a member of the football team before going on to become a coach’s assistant at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. He has been following and rooting for the Reds and Bengals since the early 1990s and has been through the many ups and downs that fandom has wrought over the years.

  • Royal Sweep: Kansas City Crushes the Redlegs

    Royal Sweep: Kansas City Crushes the Redlegs

    by Chris Ball

    Loveland, Ohio – There are some series in baseball that tell you exactly what a team is made of, and what it they are capable of doing. This weekend’s set with the Kansas City Royals was one of them. With the Reds inching within 2 games of .500 it was yet another in a long line of chances for them to both beat a quality team and finally show that they could string a series of wins together when it mattered most.

    But as we have seen all too often this season, they not only failed to win the series, but they also looked absolutely overmatched by a far superior baseball team. The numbers are enough to make even die-hard Reds fans green around the gills. They were outscored 28 to 3, outhit 41 to 18, and they struck out 32 times. The games were not competitive and if you didn’t know any better, you might be forgiven for thinking that the Reds had given up on the season as opposed to a team that was actually still within striking distance of a Wild Card birth.

    Elly De La Cruz picked an unfortunate time to go ice cold. He was 1-11 in the series. Spencer Steer was 1-9. Noelvi Marte only played the first two games but was 0-6 with 2 strikeouts.

    And the pitching, which had been so promising this season, crumbled right alongside the Reds’ bats. Fernando Cruz once again was rocked in game 1, giving up 4 earned runs in the top of the 9th to ensure the game would be far out of reach. In game 2, we saw more of how Nick Lodolo’s post-injury return has turned into a nightmare. He managed just 2.1 innings and gave up 8 earned runs. In his last 7 starts his ERA is 7.05 and he is giving up hits at a .264 clip. The Reds called on Andrew Abbott to stop the bleeding in game 3 and perhaps salvage a win, but he could only muster 5 innings, giving up 4 runs in the process. Once again the Reds bullpen, this time in the form of Casey Legumina, watched the game go completely out of control as he gave up 6 hits and 4 runs in his 2 innings.

    Make no mistake, the Kansas City Royals are the real deal. They are 7th in the major leagues in batting average, 12th in on base percentage, and 2nd in strikeout rate. They put all of those metrics on display in this series and made the Reds pitchers look as though they were throwing beach balls down the heart of the plate. It was unfortunate that Cincinnati, whose bats managed 25 hits and 19 runs against the Cardinals, simply could not match such an offensive output.

    This pattern is one that is all too familiar to Reds fans. In early July the team swept the New York Yankees in impressive fashion just to turn around and be swept by the Detroit Tigers. The Reds then won two games in Atlanta only to lose 2 out of 3 to the Tampa Bay Rays. It has been a story of promise and hope, followed by inexplicable losses in embarrassing circumstances.

    Another note on Lodolo, with Hunter Greene being put on the Injured List with elbow soreness, he is the starting pitcher that the Reds will look to take the mound and face the opponents’ best and not flinch. The time for him to “figure it out” or “get right” is now. He has shown that he has the talent and ability to be a very good pitcher in this league and the pressure is now on to prove that he can do that when his is the staff’s number one option.

    The Reds are now in a very familiar position. 60-64, 4 games under .500 and 6 games out of the last Wild Card birth. They are in 4th place in the National League Central, 12 games back of the Milwaukee Brewers. They go on the road to Toronto for a series against the Blue Jays, who sit at 58-66. This is yet another stretch of winnable games for this team, but if they cannot take at least 2 out of 3 from our friends from the country up north, it may be the end of what little hope remains in Cincinnati.

    ———————-

    Hey readers… have an opinion about sports? How about a topic you’d like to see written about in Loveland Magazine or a thought about one of our articles?

    Just need to vent and get out your frustration about the Reds, Bengals, or any other sports issues?

    Feel free to share with an email to lovelandmagazinesports@gmail.com!

    We would love to hear from our readers, and we thank you for your support and engagement.

    Also, don’t forget to follow us at The Loveland Sports Desk at the below links:

    For Facebook, click here.

    For X, click here.

    For Instagram, click here. 

    Christopher Ball is a longtime Loveland resident and an attorney. He graduated from Loveland High School in 2003 and was a member of the football team before going on to become a coach’s assistant at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. He has been following and rooting for the Reds and Bengals since the early 1990s and has been through the many ups and downs that fandom has wrought over the years.

  • Red White and Swept: The Reds Fall to Nationals in Stumble to Start the Second Half

    Red White and Swept: The Reds Fall to Nationals in Stumble to Start the Second Half

    Photo of Stuart Fairchild by the Cincinnati Reds on X

    by Chris Ball

    Loveland, Ohio – For the Reds the All-Star break was supposed to be a time to regroup, recharge, and focus on making a run at contention. They have several injured players hoping to make a comeback but who need time to recover. An opening series against the Washington Nationals seemed like an excellent opportunity to start the second half of the season on a positive note.

    Those hopes all fell apart in the nation’s capital this past weekend as the Washington Nationals swept Cincinnati in three games.

    In the first matchup of the series, Frankie Montas struggled mightily, giving up 7 earned runs on 6 hits in just 4.2 innings. The Reds could only muster a single run on 3 hits against Patrick Corbin, whose ERA over his last 20 starts is 5.35. Cincinnati attempted to rally and scored 4 runs in the top of the ninth, but the rally ultimately fell short. In the second and third games the Reds had razor thin leads but in game 2 Fernando Cruz blew a lead by surrendering a double to Lane Thomas before Justin Wilson allowed the game winning run via a single to Jacob Young. The bullpen again fell apart for Cincinnati in game 3 when, in a tied 2-2 in the 8th inning, Lucas Sims allowed 2 hits (one a bunt single) before being replaced by Justin Wilson once again. Wilson promptly served up a belt-high fastball that James Wood launched for a 404 foot 3-run home run that put the game out of reach.

    It was an ugly sweep that has become a hallmark of a Reds team that has lost ugly games it needed to win, against teams that were (on paper at least) statistically less talented. The usual suspects struggled once again this series. Frankie Montas is 1-4 with a 6.17 ERA in his last 7 starts and is trending in the wrong direction in almost every statistical category. He is a lock for the number 4 position in this rotation for this team and he is not going anywhere as of yet, but he is below the league average in several important categories including ERA, FIP, and WHIP. Fernando Cruz, once known as a high-level stopper who could be dropped into crucial situations to defuse them, has now lost 7 games on the year. Over his last 9 innings pitched he has allowed 10 hits and given up 8 earned runs.

    This was a series that the Reds could ill afford to lose. But to be swept, and to play so poorly at a point in the season when they had a real chance to make up ground in their attempt to get back to .500 is yet another frustrating episode in a season full of them. The Reds are not mathematically eliminated and there are still games to play, but it’s understandable to question whether Cincinnati has the players, the focus, and the drive to make a real push towards postseason relevance in 2024. An upcoming series in Atlanta against the Braves, who currently stand at 54-44 and have the best pitching staff in all of baseball, is hardly an environment conducive to getting back on track. Although the Reds play up to the toughest competition in the league, it’s not a recipe for sustained success. The last thing this team can withstand is a losing streak of any length, and if they leave Atlanta losers of 5 out of their first 6, or heaven forbid 6 straight games to start the second half of the year it might be a hole that is simply too deep to climb out of.

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    Hey readers… have an opinion about sports? How about a topic you’d like to see written about in Loveland Magazine or a thought about one of our articles?

    Just need to vent and get out your frustration about the Reds, Bengals, or any other sports issues?

    Feel free to share with an email to lovelandmagazinesports@gmail.com!

    We would love to hear from our readers, and we thank you for your support and engagement.

    Also, don’t forget to follow us at The Loveland Sports Desk at the below links:

    For Facebook, click here.

    For X, click here.

    For Instagram, click here. 

    Christopher Ball is a longtime Loveland resident and an attorney. He graduated from Loveland High School in 2003 and was a member of the football team before going on to become a coach’s assistant at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. He has been following and rooting for the Reds and Bengals since the early 1990s and has been through the many ups and downs that fandom has wrought over the years.

  • A Look Ahead to the Reds’ Second Half: A Path to the Post-Season

    A Look Ahead to the Reds’ Second Half: A Path to the Post-Season

    Photo of National League All-Stars Elly De La Cruz and Hunter Green in Arlington for the All-Star game by Cincinnati Reds on X

    by Chris Ball

    MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard: Tuesday on FOX (8 p.m. ET)

    Loveland, Ohio – As the first half of the 2024 Major League Baseball season is in the books, the Cincinnati Reds sit at 47-50, 8 games out of first place in the division and 3 games out of the last wild card spot in the National League. Its certainly not the half season that most Reds fans were hoping for, but then again, the circumstances have been far from ideal. When you factor in all of the adversity this team has gone through, sitting just 3 games under .500 and still within striking distance of a postseason birth may not be all that devastating.

    Injuries have undoubtedly played a role in the team’s struggles. TJ Friedl has just 97 at bats, Christian Encarnacion Strand had just 116 before being injured. Ian Gibaut has not yet pitched this year, Matt McLain has not seen the field, and Nick Lodolo has missed several starts. All of this is on top of Noelvi Marte’s suspension, which has unquestionably impacted his ability to contribute positively to this team.

    While it is true that teams like the Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers have also been negatively impacted by serious injuries to key players, the Reds are honestly a step behind both those contending clubs in terms of roster depth. A great deal of things were going to have to go right for Cincinnati to be towards the top of the division this year, most of that focusing on staying healthy and having players perform at or above their 2023 numbers. The Reds simply have not been able to do the former this year and with their bench players underperforming and their younger players (for the most part) not yet ready for the major leagues, they have struggled to be consistent, especially hitting.

    The Reds are 26th in batting average, 20th in on base percentage, and 16th in slugging. Their ability to hit the baseball hard has helped them to score 432 runs (good for 14th), and their speed on the basepaths (they lead the major leagues with 134 stolen bases) have kept them in many games this year. Although we all remember the various base running issues that have also cost them at times, the speed of this team is an important component of their success that cannot be ignored.

    You cannot mention speed without acknowledging the potentially generational talent on display in the Reds’ All-Star Elly De La Cruz. At just 22 years old he has an astonishing 4.4 WAR and WRC+ of 127, which is very good in terms of comparable major league players. All of this has resulted in a .256 batting average with 17 home runs (with 42 total extra base hits) and 43 RBIs. And he leads the league with 46 stolen bases and has made plays at shortstop that most players can only dream of executing (he is an amazing 8 outs above average on defense). We are truly watching the creation of a legend for this team if Elly’s progress continues on this trajectory, and he is perhaps the most electrifying Reds player to wear the uniform in the past 20 plus years.

    Photo: Cincinnati Reds on X

    There have been other aspects of the Reds offense to be thankful for, none other than Jonathan India. Many thought it was the same story on Cincinnati’s second baseman to start the year as he filled in for Matt McLain. India batted just .228 in March/April and then .220 in May. But no one could imagine the June that he would have, batting .380 with 16 RBIs. He raised his average over 40 points during the course of his first half, and currently has a 2.4 WAR and a 125 WRC+, numbers that are excellent for a guy many expected to be a platoon bat and not an everyday player.

    There are a lot of honorable mentions to be made, including Spencer Steer (.242/.337/.441) and Tyler Stephenson (.245/.317/.438). Both have shown flashes of great offense at times though they’ve also had their fair share of struggles. Getting a healthy TJ Friedl and Jake Fraley back will no doubt have a huge impact as well.

    But the major wild card in all of these is the level at which rookie phenomenon Rece Hinds can continue to produce in the outfield for the Reds. You’ve heard all the stats and records, but here it is again in brief. 7 games, a .423 batting average, 11 hits, 3 doubles, a triple, and 5 home runs. 11 RBIs and a 1.192 slugging percentage. These are unreal numbers that have generated a 341 WRC+ in that small sample size (as a reference, Aaron Judge has a WRC+ of 207 over the entire season). If Hinds can capture even a small fraction of that lightning in the second half of the season Cincinnati’s major problems in the outfield might get a little less complicated to solve.

    Photo: Cincinnati Reds on X

    Another saving grace of the 2024 Reds’ first half has been its starting pitching. Overall, they are 12th in team ERA and 11th in batting average allowed. Hunter Greene is leading the way in establishing himself as the team ace. Greene is 6-4 with a 3.34 ERA. His advanced metrics show a WAR of 2.6 and FIP of 3.63, both very solid numbers that show he is improving over prior years. His whiff rate (30.1) and strikeout rate (27.6) are very good and not surprising given how powerful he is. Andrew Abbott is right there with him, posting an eye-popping 9 wins in the first half of the year. Nick Lodolo has also made a very strong showing, going 8-3 with a 3.33 ERA.

    The 2023 Reds went on a tear prior to the All-Star break and that break may have cooled them off a bit. In 2024 the story is different, as injuries abound and the rest as a result the Midsummer Classic may aid in their return. When the season starts again, the lineup and rotation are relatively set in terms of the major players who will be there to contribute. The health of those players and whether they can remain consistent from game to game or even series to series will be the most important building blocks of getting back into contention.

    Getting back to .500 is in reach, and getting above that number is absolutely possible if the Reds avoid prolonged losing streaks that plagued them at times in the first part of the year. With so many great starters it means that Cincinnati should almost always at least have a foundation to be competitive on any given day. If the bats can do just enough to get runners on, the team’s speed and power should be enough to get the wins we need to get back into things.

    The Reds face the 15th ranked remaining strength of schedule, in the middle of the league. Their opponents have a .502 winning percentage. While it’s no cakewalk, it does mean that there are favorable matchups ahead that could help them creep back towards a wild card spot.

    Let’s hope the Reds take the rest they need because the second half of this year is calling, and it’s time to throw caution to the wind and go for broke in 2024.

    ———————-

    Hey readers… have an opinion about sports? How about a topic you’d like to see written about in Loveland Magazine or a thought about one of our articles?

    Just need to vent and get out your frustration about the Reds, Bengals, or any other sports issues?

    Feel free to share with an email to lovelandmagazinesports@gmail.com!

    Christopher Ball is a longtime Loveland resident and an attorney. He graduated from Loveland High School in 2003 and was a member of the football team before going on to become a coach’s assistant at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. He has been following and rooting for the Reds and Bengals since the early 1990s and has been through the many ups and downs that fandom has wrought over the years.

  • Can the Reds Save Their Season?

    Can the Reds Save Their Season?

    by Chris Ball

    Loveland, Ohio – The Reds season isn’t over, but after being swept by the Detroit Tigers this weekend, the outlook certainly felt bleaker than ever. After taking three straight games from the New York Yankees, one of the better teams in all of baseball, expectations were high that this Reds club had perhaps turned the corner (yet again) and could reach .500 or better by the All Star break. Detroit was 1-6 in its last 7 games prior to this series. But once again the Reds showed that they simply were not up to the task and could not string together any sort of momentum.

    The Tigers beat the Reds in a variety of ways. Whether it was the long ball or hammering the bullpen Cincinnati simply could not find a way to close out Detroit and win any of their three games in the series. Multiple Reds comebacks fell short in those matchups which made each losses all the more frustrating, including Blake Dunn being thrown out at home plate in what was ultimately a very questionable call to send him in contact in the bottom of the ninth.

    Hunter Greene pitched another gem (7 innings, 3 hits and he gave up no earned runs) after struggling in his previous two starts only to see Fernando Cruz and his bullpen implode shortly thereafter to take the loss. Cruz has really struggled of late. In his last 26 innings prior to Monday night’s game against the Rockies he allowed 23 hits and 17 earned runs for an ERA of 5.88, going 2-5 in that stretch. He’s gotten the Reds out of some jams that is true and he’s sent in for very high pressure situations, but the performance just hasn’t been there overall recently. He pitched a 1-2-3 8th inning against Colorado which was a welcome relief and something of redemption as he protected a gem turned in by another young Reds starter in Andrew Abbott who went 7 innings, struck out 8, and allowed just 3 hits, giving up no runs.

    Even Graham Ashcraft did his part in his start in game 3 against the Tigers, giving up just one earned run before the Reds relievers once again let the bottom fall out. This time the culprit was Alexis Diaz who allowed three runs (although none of them ended up being earned) which ultimately put the game out of reach on Sunday.

    It’s been one step forward and two steps back for so much of this 2024 season.

    And yet, at this point the Reds have a lot to be optimistic about. Spencer Steer is having one heck of a July. Going into Sunday he had 3 home runs and a 1.214 OPS in July. But he also hit .280 in June and had a .783 OPS.Elly De La Cruz is an All Star and an absolutely electric player at just 22 years old. He has posted a .251 batting average with 15 home runs, 40 RBI and an .804 OPS. He also has 45 stolen bases. Jonathan India is another bright spot. In his last 30 games the Reds second baseman is hitting an insane .369 with a .451 OBP and a .583 slugging percentage. With the potentially season ending injury to Matt McLain, it’s tough to imagine a better scenario than India stepping in to do as well as he has.

    On Monday night we got to see the stellar debut of Reds outfielder Rece Hinds who did nothing less than launch a galactic 449 foot home run after making an athletic play in the outfield and legging out a hustle double. Elly De La Cruz scored a run on a contact play from third base, a series of events that was nearly identical to the out made by Dunn just a few days ago. It’s a microcosm of this season for Cincinnati: two of the same plays, with an entirely different result.

    The concern is that the flaws in this team are growing too large to reasonably ignore. Injuries or not, Stuart Fairchild, Nick Martini, and Will Benson have been staples in the outfield for large chunks this season. Unfortunately they are batting .224, .212, and .187 respectively. There is simply no way to be a serious playoff contender with those numbers in your lineup on a regular basis. Though trading for a reliable outfield bat would be an important way to show fans that this team is serious about trying to contend, but to be honest one bat may not be nearly enough.

    Things have not gone to plan in 2024, that is an understatement. But this season has shown that the Reds cannot win without more help in the outfield/the bottom third of their order, and significant development from their young players. The good news is that there are two more series against the two worst teams in the National League (Colorado and Miami) before the All Star break that could stop the bleeding.

    And the Reds big win on Monday night could be the start of some good things for this ball club. It had everything that is electric that the fans love to see: breathtaking speed by Elly, home runs by young players just called up, lights out pitching, and an offense that scored when it counted most. In the end though, Reds fans have seen wins that got Great American Ballpark rocking, and they’ve seen sweeps. But they’ve yet to see a real, sustained turnaround from this club. Let’s hope one still might be in the cards because games like last night’s win against the Rockies was the type of baseball this city and its fans truly deserve on a consistent basis.

    ———————-

    Hey readers… have an opinion about sports? How about a topic you’d like to see written about in Loveland Magazine or a thought about one of our articles?

    Just need to vent and get out your frustration about the Reds, Bengals, or any other sports issues?

    Feel free to share with an email to lovelandmagazinesports@gmail.com!

    Christopher Ball is a longtime Loveland resident and an attorney. He graduated from Loveland High School in 2003 and was a member of the football team before going on to become a coach’s assistant at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. He has been following and rooting for the Reds and Bengals since the early 1990s and has been through the many ups and downs that fandom has wrought over the years.

  • Special Announcement: The Loveland Magazine Sports Desk!

    Special Announcement: The Loveland Magazine Sports Desk!

    by Chris Ball

    Loveland, Ohio – Loveland Magazine is very excited to announce that we are expanding our sports social media experience to encompass Facebook, X, and even Instagram.

    After you are done browsing our hard-hitting sports articles at Loveland Magazine, head on over to The Loveland Magazine Sports Desk. There, across all three platforms, we will be bringing you some more concise and up-to-the-minute updates on all of the sports teams you follow every day. Whether you’re watching a Reds or Bengals game in real-time and want to weigh in, or if you drop by the day after the game to check in on what happened and give your thoughts, you now have three more ways to get into the game and get the discussion going! We also look forward to bringing you local Loveland sports stories about all your hometown teams, including Loveland football and more.

    We appreciate your ongoing support and comments, so look forward to seeing you across the social media universe!

    To follow The Loveland Magazine Sports Desk on Facebook, click here.

    To get into the game on X, give us a follow by clicking here.

    Instagram is also a great way to post pictures of local Loveland sports, and we hope to have more content there very soon, but for now feel free to check in on our progress and give us a follow at this link.

    However you get in contact with us, we are happy to have you and look forward to a lot of fun together this summer and onward.

    Hey readers… have an opinion about sports? How about a topic you’d like to see written about in Loveland Magazine or a thought about one of our articles?

    Just need to vent and get out your frustration about the Reds, Bengals, or any other sports issues?

    Feel free to share with an email to lovelandmagazinesports@gmail.com!

    Christopher Ball is a longtime Loveland resident and an attorney. He graduated from Loveland High School in 2003 and was a member of the football team before going on to become a coach’s assistant at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. He has been following and rooting for the Reds and Bengals since the early 1990s and has been through the many ups and downs that fandom has wrought over the years.

  • The Reds Drop Another Series but are Still In Contention

    The Reds Drop Another Series but are Still In Contention

    by Chris Ball

    Loveland, Ohio – The Reds have had a difficult time closing out the month of June. Since their 7 game winning streak they are just 4-8. They have lost winnable games against the Brewers, Pirates, and most recently the Boston Red Sox for a variety of reasons. Whether it was a cold offense or base running mistakes Cincinnati has once again found several different ways to lose a baseball game.

    Even with the tough losses there have been bright spots. Elly De La Cruz was 2-5 against Boston on Sunday and is now hitting .320 with a 196 wRC+ over his last 30 plate appearances. Jeimer Candelario had another RBI against the Red Sox and and he’s also playing well, in his last 46 plate appearances he is hitting .333 with a 202 wRC+ over that span.

    Though Nick Lodolo took the loss on Sunday the Reds have had so much production from the top 3 spots in their rotation, including Hunter Greene and Andrew Abbott that there is so much to be exited about. Against the Red Sox, Abbott looked very good, pitching 5.2 innings while allowing only 4  hits and amassing a career high 10 strikeouts. Over his last 7 starts, Hunter Greene is 4-0 with a 3.32 ERA and 45 strikeouts in just 43 innings.

    Reds fans should undoubtedly have patience with this young team. It is peppered with young players who have the potential to lead Cincinnati to the playoffs or beyond, given the right amount of time and experience. It will take time to get them the right amount of innings and at bats to mold them into a consistent contender. And so the failures in June of 2024 are not necessarily the portents of doom that many would make them out to be. This team, for all their struggles, remain just 2.5 games out of contention for the wild card spot with more than half the season left to play.

    Tonight, the reds begin a crucial 3 game series against the Pirates. It is a perfect opportunity for this team to reverse course and get back on the right track heading into the July 4th holiday, especially since it would appear that they will not have to face the Pirates’ fireball-throwing ace, Paul Skenes. The first pitch tonight is at 7:10 PM, and the pitching matchup is below:

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    Hey readers… have an opinion about sports? How about a topic you’d like to see written about in Loveland Magazine or a thought about one of our articles?

    Just need to vent and get out your frustration about the Reds, Bengals, or any other sports issues?

    Feel free to share with an email to lovelandmagazinesports@gmail.com!

    Christopher Ball is a longtime Loveland resident and an attorney. He graduated from Loveland High School in 2003 and was a member of the football team before going on to become a coach’s assistant at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. He has been following and rooting for the Reds and Bengals since the early 1990s and has been through the many ups and downs that fandom has wrought over the years.

  • TJ Friedl Returns to Action for the Louisville Bats

    TJ Friedl Returns to Action for the Louisville Bats

    by Chris Ball

    The Reds Outfielder Is A Step Closer to Rejoining the Reds And Giving Them Much Needed Help in the Lineup

    It’s no secret that the Reds are not playing with a full deck. Their offense has been frustratingly inconsistent this year. They are 28th in batting average at .218, 26th in on base percentage at .299, and 28th in hits per game. Luckily for them, they are in the top 13 in the league in doubles, triples, and home runs, all of which has lead them to the 7th best offense in terms of runs per game, posting 4.8 per contest. Each of their current impact players have struggled at various times this year, though the likes of Elly De La Cruz and Spencer Steer have done their parts to carry the team on offense. There’s also signs of life from Jeimer Candelario who looked almost unplayable at times early this season, but banged out 5 hits in the Padres series including a home run and two RBIs.

    But the rest of the Reds offense has come up largely empty so far this year. Only a handful of Reds are hitting above .230 and many are below the Mendoza Line. Although it is still early in the season, this pace is clearly unsustainable long term and won’t bring this team any closer to a playoff birth or even a winning season. What’s made it all the more frustrating is that the offensive woes have only worsened as the Reds pitching has blossomed, with Nick Lodolo dominating and Hunter Greene throwing much better.

    The hope is that with Friedl’s return, should all go well, the Reds will get a much needed increase in their offensive firepower that they’ve otherwise been missing. Friedl suffered a fractured wrist during spring training. Nick Martini, Stuart Fairchild, and Bubba Thompson simply are not getting it done in the outfield. And in Thompson and Martini’s cases, it looks unlikely that they ever will be able to have long term success at this level.

    Friedl hit .279 last year with 18 homers and 66 runs batted in, and those are numbers that the Reds would absolutely take in a heartbeat over what most of their outfielders have given so far this season. Most importantly, he hits left handed pitching at a .354 clip, which is exactly what this team needs as they have looked baffled against southpaws so far in 2024.

    In his first rehab start for the Louisville Bats on Thursday night, Friedl went 1-3 with a double and a walk, and looked good at the dish with several hard hits. Though it is just the beginning of TJ’s rehabilitation stint, Reds fans are ready to see one of their favorite players return and perhaps give some more pop to the bats at Great American ballpark.

    Watch the video of Friedl’s double by clicking here.

    Christopher Ball is a longtime Loveland resident and an attorney. He graduated from Loveland High School in 2003 and was a member of the football team before going on to become a coach’s assistant at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. He has been following and rooting for the Reds and Bengals since the early 1990s and has been through the many ups and downs that fandom has wrought over the years.

  • How Are the Reds’ Most Important Players Performing So Far?

    How Are the Reds’ Most Important Players Performing So Far?

    Spencer Steer photo by Major League Photo Day

    by Chris Ball

    There Are Plenty of Interesting Players To Watch As the Reds’ Season Gets Going

    Loveland, Ohio – There was no question that this year, the Reds’ success would hinge upon the progress made by some of its youngest members. Although the average age of the Reds players is 28 years, good for 17th in Major League Baseball, perhaps no other team has asked so much of its newest major-leaguers. With so much pressure and the highest of expectations on their shoulders, it’s going to be important to be patient with the likes of Elly De La Cruz, Andrew Abbott, Hunter Greene, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand. The hope was that additions of veteran players like Jeimer Candelario and Frankie Montas, and the retention of Jonathan India would provide a stable core that might lead this team while its young players fought to adjust.

    While the results have been wildly varying across the board, the sample sizes are exceedingly small in terms of the entire big-league season. It’s therefore impossible to draw any lasting conclusion about how various players will perform based on the statistics as they stand now, but it is very interesting to see just who is starting off the season strong and who might be falling behind.

    Elly De La Cruz, for example, is one of the most polarizing players on the Reds’ roster and will likely remain so for quite some time. Early on, many fans noted his inability to hit any sort of breaking ball, and his reluctance to swing the bat at all. His inexplicable errors in the field at shortstop didn’t make his critics any quieter. However, it almost seemed to go unnoticed that during the course of this perceived struggles he consistently got on base (albeit not with flashy homeruns) and continued to create chaos on the basepaths. As of the writing of this article he’s been on base in 18 straight games and has a .318 average with 3 home runs and 7 runs batted in. In recent games he’s started hitting for power once again with several home runs and even one inside-the-park that showcased his exceptional speed. Many of De La Cruz’s loudest critics on Twitter and Facebook have suddenly gone very quiet as he’s improved with each week of the season. Elly’s talent and the hype surrounding hm will unquestionably lead to overreaction (both positive and negative) to every play he makes (or doesn’t make), but the most important factor to remember is that he is a young player with immense potential, and who deserves fans’ patience as he works to unlock his full potential.

    Hunter Green photo by Major League Photo Day

    In much the vein, Hunter Greene is a pitcher who faces tremendous expectations after being drafted second overall in 2017. He was awarded a 6 year 53-million-dollar contract in 2023 and while that deal is but a drop in the bucket compared to other marquee pitchers in the league, for a team like the Reds it is still a significant investment that shows how the Reds value Greene as a key part of their rotation going forward. Over his last 33 starts, Greene has pitched 175 innings with a 4.01 ERA and 240 strikeouts. While that is not necessarily “ace” material it is the mark of a solid starter at the major-league level and shows tremendous improvement over the prior seasons Greene has had. Even though he has been pitching for a few years, he is only 24 years old and has much to learn and plenty of time to develop. The pitcher Hunter Greene is now is not necessarily the player he will be in years to come. If he continues to improve as he’s shown so far, he could be a key piece to the Reds’ rotation in the future, despite the occasional rough outing.

    On the flip side, Jeimer Candelario has struggled mightily to start the year. He’s batting only .152 through 12 games and has not looked comfortable at any point since signing a 3 year 45 million dollar contract this offseason. While Christian Encarnacion-Strand has also had his difficulties at the plate, he has at least shown some signs of life. Candelario has shown no such flash thus far, and Reds fans are understandably worried. The team will need much more from Jeimer if they are going to contend this year.

    Spencer Steer photo by Major League Photo Day

    No early season discussion about the Reds would be complete without lauding the play of Spencer Steer. Of all the Reds’ young players, Steer seems to get less consideration than others, but this year he has outperformed them all. He was named the National League Player of the Week recently and is currently batting .372 with 3 home runs and 15 runs batted in. He’s been a consistent MLB leader in WAR and has also proven that he can play left field very well given that it is not necessarily the position where he’s most used to handling. He’s a threat to get a big hit any time he steps up to the plate, and he’s carried the Reds in games where others were underperforming at the dish. There is simply no question that without Steer, the team would be nowhere close to where they are in the standings.

    The first few weeks of the Reds’ season has provided plenty of highs, highlights, and frustrating moments. This team is going to have to fight and scrap for every win while the likes of McLain, Friedl, and Marte are unable to play, and that is exactly what the Reds are doing. If players like Candelario can get hot, this team can become even more of a threat to make a big push before they get some of their best players back on the diamond.

     

    Christopher Ball is a longtime Loveland resident and an attorney. He graduated from Loveland High School in 2003 and was a member of the football team before going on to become a coach’s assistant at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. He has been following and rooting for the Reds and Bengals since the early 1990s and has been through the many ups and downs that fandom has wrought over the years.