First Month Observations

As the first month of the baseball season comes to a close, the Texas Rangers look to be the early favorite in the American League, St. Louis is surviving just fine without Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton is trying to show he's worth $200 million, and the Dodgers Matt Kemp has lived up to his promise in that MLB commercial to "let Beast Mode off it's leash."

Meanwhile, Pujols is without a home run as his Angels continue to struggle and much of the young promise in Kansas City has been quickly dashed with a 12-game losing streak.

But it's only one month.  Much can change.  Just ask the Braves and the Red Sox what can happen over 30 days.  I am not ready to concede -- after a month -- that the Rangers are World Series Champs, the Cardinals will run away with the NL Central, that we should just hand the MVP to Hamilton or Kemp, or that Pujols will still be homerless come the end of May.  Even the down-trodden Royals can rebound in a month.

As for the Reds, it's been a month of ups and downs leaving them with a record close to .500.  While it's not setting the world on fire, at least there isn't the panic among the fan base that's going on with the Angels, Red Sox and Royals.  There's been plenty to be excited about... the play of Johnny Cueto, Zack Cozart, Aroldis Chapman and Jay Bruce.  And there's some concerns... Mike Leake, Chris Heisey, Scott Rolen and Joey Votto.  Now to be fair Rolen looks to be making better contact and has come through in key situations lately all while playing stellar defense.  And count me among those who don't think Votto will continue to strike out at this rate.  The guy is too good and works too hard, I don't care how much he just signed a contract extension for... check is numbers in another month and then we'll talk.

What has concerned me is the injuries to the bullpen, some poor base running and the lack of offense (at times.)  Not much can be done about injuries.  The Reds just hope guys like Bill Bray and Nick Masset start getting healthy and can stay healthy.  The base running mistakes can be fixed and my sense is it's something Dusty Baker will not stand for.  In case you're wondering what I'm talking about, there have been plenty times through the first month where a Red has been doubled up by straying too far off the bag or just flat out picked off trying to steal.  They still go 1st to 3rd as well as any team in the league, which has become a trademark of the Reds.  I do wish they would steal more.  I think Bruce, Votto, Heisey and Cozart could do a better job of picking their spots and steal bases, but it seems like it's an art they are still learning.  And with Brandon Phillips still nursing a hamstring injury, Drew Stubbs is really the only threat to run.  One day that might change if and when minor leaguer Billy Hamilton reaches the big leagues.

So we'll see what the next month holds, not just for the Reds, but for the rest of the baseball world.
For now, I'm curious is Mat Latos can follow up on his last performance and start to string together dominant starts like fellow starter Johnny Cueto.  Afterall that's why the Reds traded four prospects for Latos... to be a compliment to Cueto.  Sunday's game with the Astros is big.  A win means the Reds will be 4-2 on this 9-game homestand with 3 more with the Cubs on the horizon before heading on the road to face NL Central rivals Pittsburgh and Milwaukee.

After a start and sputter first month, it's important this team start kicking things into gear.  Reeling in St. Louis will not be an easy task.