By the time many of you read this, it will be Opening Day Eve for Major League Baseball. In many MLB cities, that means hope and optimism for their team having a successful season, playoff berths and possibly World Series titles. In many that is not the case, a lot of that being because of the large payroll disparities that MLB possesses. In baseball, the rich get richer while for the most part, the “small market” teams get left by the wayside. I don’t totally but that small market teams can’t compete, but in Cincinnati, it seems to be the foregone conclusion for 2023.
I’ll be in the crowd at Opening Day on Thursday, both for the parade and the game itself. Why you ask? Well for one, I like baseball (even if it might be bad baseball). Secondly, it’a a day away from worrying about any work to enjoy a tradition that has been around far longer than I have. Even with the promise of a rough season, Opening Day in Cincinnati is something special, one day with a glimmer of hope that in recent years has been diminished rather quickly…but for that one day baseball is king of the Queen City. We’ll enjoy the fun of the parade, the pageantry of the pregame, indulge in a good bit of ballpark food, and hopefully see a decent ballgame with a Reds win.
As Reds Country has hear over and over, the Reds are a team with an overload of young talent, only most of it is not major-league ready yet. Most of the so-called “stars of the future” will start their seasons in the minor leagues, maybe because they have been deemed not ready for the big show or maybe because the Reds want to save that service time money. A number of young players such as first baseman in-waiting Christian Encarnacion-Strand had blistering springs, but keep in mind that most of that did not come against major league caliber pitching. How long until we see some of these youngsters at GABP? Your guess is as good as mine, but if the season spirals downhill quickly, the calls for youth will be echoing throughout the Tri-State area.
I think the thing that disappoints Reds fans the most is that the team has not been transparent about the fact that they have given up on the 2023 season before it even begins. That’s not what most of us remember as Cincinnati Reds baseball. Maybe the best example of that is the pitching staff. Maybe the so-called “Big Three” of Greene, Lodolo and Ashcraft will be serviceable, but what about the fourth and fifth starters? As of now, the fourth starter is Conner Overton, who just gave up nine runs in four innings in his final spring training start and has a spring ERA near 15 but earned a spot in the rotation. Isn’t that the Reds in a nutshell? What happens if one of the “Big Three” is injured? Hopefully there will be an arm in the minors that can make a splash but are you confident in that?
Of course, there is still the dinosaur and his contract at first base. Reds fans hope that Joey Votto can return to form, but gain, how confident are you in that? The Votto to Toronto trade talks have already begun, but the Blue Jays are a contender and likely won’t need to take on a 39-year old with a huge contract. Votto stated recently that he would retire if he couldn’t perform at a high level, but he didn’t distinguish between in-season or after the season.
On the positive side, it will be entertaining to follow the likes of India, Stephenson, Barrero, Steer, Fraley and the others, even though this has the makings of a very pedestrian offensive team. And with a suspect rotation plus a very suspect bullpen, the pieces are in place for another 60-win season. I’ll still see my fair share of baseball at GABP, hopefully to see teams like the Yankees, Rays, White Sox, Rangers, Mets Blue Jays and Mariners when they come to town.
And oh yes, there will be Chick-Fil-A this year at GABP and thankfully the games are going to go much faster. Play Ball!