What went wrong with the 2009 Cincinnati Reds

The season ended when the Reds got swept by the Dodgers July 20-22. So what went wrong? It's time to do a post mortem autopsy.

The Outfield

The Reds gambled that sophomore Jay Bruce would continue to grow and be the stud he was projected to be. For some reason he refused to adjust. Pitchers would throw breaking balls away and Bruce would try to pull these pitches only to strike out or roll the ball over. Signing Willy Taveras seemed like a good idea. Except it would have been a good idea for a team with two other solid outfielders. Taveras doesn't get on base enough to steal, he can't carry a team for any period of time and he needs a strong cast around him to succeed. The Reds lack of success of obtaining the right hand bat also hurt the offense. They tried to get Bobby Abreu but were outbid by the Angels. I bet they are kicking themselves about not getting Raul Ibanez. Perhaps, the Reds may need to overpay next time to get a quality free agent to play here.

The Pitching

This started out as a strength. Later, the starting staff melted down like an UDF ice cream cone sitting out on the sidewalk on a hot summer Cincinnati day. Johnny Cueto still needs seasoning. Aaron Harang has a tendency to let one big inning in every game kill him. He needs to keep the ball down. Bronson Arroyo is no stopper but his ability to keep the team in the game will likely get him dealt.

The Future

There is no short term future for this team. The Reds are reluctant to spend the money that the Cubs did to win. It's time to wait for five years from now.