No Respect for the NL Central Champs, Semesters Sucking, and More


Before I get into some other bits of goodies, I thought I'd share a column I wrote for The Lantern about the Cincinnati Reds that I sent on Thursday. It's a little outdated now because they clinched the division last night and are playing on ESPN tonight. Whoops.

Lack of Respect for the Cincinnati Reds

I have always been an avid supporter of the Cincinnati Reds.

The countless memories of going to the ballpark to watch them play with my dad and going to as many Opening Days as my schedule allowed are very dear in my heart.

For the majority of my life the Reds have never given me much hope for a winning team on the field and thus the opportunity to watch them play deep in October. That changed in 2010, when thanks to Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips and Co. the Reds made the playoffs for the first time since 1995.

After taking a step back in 2011, the Reds are well on their way to another playoff berth. As of September 17, they sat at 88-59, first place in the National League Central, and a Major League best eleven games ahead of the team in second place of their division, the St. Louis Cardinals.

And yet, it as if no one is taking notice.

I have seemingly lost count of how many times the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers, or Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are on ESPN or some ESPN affiliate. The national media is in a love affair with the American League East, citing that it is without a doubt the best division in baseball. I am not disregarding the fact that at this moment the race for that divisional pennant is very exciting because the Yankees are trying to fend off the upstart Baltimore Orioles. The two teams are currently tied for the lead in that race, and make for an exciting finish to the last three weeks of the season.

But it is time to look at the beasts of the NL Central. The Reds are the only team in baseball who hold a double digit game lead in their division. They have two bona fide Cy Young contenders in starter Johnny Cueto (17-9, 2.92 ERA) and closer Aroldis Chapman (35 saves in 40 chances, 1.60 ERA, 119 K’s and only 20 walks), a former MVP in Joey Votto who would again be considered for the award had he not missed nearly two months with a knee injury (.338 BA, .468 OBP, 1.049 OPS), a Rookie of the Year candidate in Todd Frazier (.284 BA, 18 HR, 62 RBI), and despite popular belief a Manager of the Year candidate in Dusty Baker.

Even when the 2010 NL MVP Votto was shelved in the middle of the summer the Reds never lost ground. They gained it. When Votto went on the Disabled List on July 16, the Reds were one game ahead of Pittsburgh in the division. Upon his return on Sept. 5, they lead the St. Louis Cardinals by 8 1/2 games.

This is yet another indication of how good the Reds are this season. But did ESPN give much time to discuss this? Nope.

The concern is not with the Reds not ever being on TV. I know I can watch them every night on Fox Sports Ohio. The concern is that one of the best teams in baseball is not getting the national love they deserve.

It feels like every episode of SportsCenter only allows for a 30 second piece of Reds coverage. The quick highlight they show is just like any other team in baseball except for those in the AL East and other races that are closer. ESPN has no problem analyzing those further, doing a “By the Numbers” explanation of them, and asking their “experts” their thoughts on how they feel things will end up.

Sure, you probably feel like I am biased when I give all this information which is certainly the case. I will not deny it. All I am looking for is a little more respect for the boys from the Queen City, that way everyone knows who they are when it comes playoff time. Is that too much to ask?


Back to business. Hope that didn't bore you all too much. As a bit of a continuation from that column, I am having a good time switching back from the Sunday Night Football game on NBC and the Redlegs on ESPN. It's pretty great.

I am sure every Reds fan in the nation will agree with me when I say I am just all giggity about the fellas from the Queen City being 92-60 and the first team in the majors to win their division. It's pretty awesome.

On the other hand, semesters suck. I'm sick and tired of all my professors still going at the speed of quarters even though the university assured us that this would not be the case. It is getting really annoying, and the fact that if we were still on quarters our first day of school would have been Wednesday is rather disheartening.

I do not have too much to say in this post other than the fact that I am happy the Buckeyes are 4-0 despite struggling past the University of Alabama-Birmingham 29-15 and that the weather is finally feeling like fall. It's finally football season!

Proud Buckeye and Sports Enthusiast,

Eric Seger

Daily Segs

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