The first month of the 2022 MLB season is in the books and for the Cincinnati Reds it is only the beginning of what will prove to be a very long season.
The Reds own the worst record in MLB at 3-18 having lost five games in a row and 16 of their last 17 games. They are already 11.5 games back of the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central. They are 5 and 6 games back of the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates, respectively.
Needless to say, Cincinnati fans are seeing red. A year ago, the Reds were contenders. At the All-Star Break in 2021, the Reds were only four games back of the Brewers but would ultimately fade. Although they finished with a winning record of 83-79, they were 7 games of the surging St. Louis Cardinals for the second NL Wild Card spot.
During the off-season, the Reds blew up the team trading the likes of Tucker Barnhart, Eugenio Suarez, Jesse Winker along with pitchers Sonny Gray and Amir Garrett while losing Nick Castellanos to free agency. Poor Joey Votto is left with virtually no protection in the lineup. While rookie pitcher Hunter Greene can throw 100 MPH plus he is still quite raw and will have some growing pains. These pains are aggravated by having three starting pitchers on the IL (Luis Castillo, Mike Minor and Nick Lodolo).
Reds fans knew it would be bad, but even they couldn't have imagined this result thus far. It didn't help matters when Reds President Phil Castellini saw fit to mock fans for which he would have to apologize.
To put into some perspective, the Reds have only had one season where they lost 100 or more games and that was 40 years ago when they went 60-102 during the 1982 season. Not only are the Reds on track to lose 100 plus games they have a chance to eclipse the 1962 New York Mets' 120 loss season. The Reds have dug themselves a deep hole from which they are not likely be able to climb out.
At this point, the NL Central is a two team race with the Brew Crew, having won 5 in a row and 8 of their last 10 games, leading the St. Louis Cardinals by three games.
By contrast, the NL West is a four team race thus far. The San Francisco Giants lead the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres by a half game. Also in the mix somewhat surprisingly are the Colorado Rockies who are only two games back. The Arizona Diamondbacks, who lost an MLB worst 110 games in 2021, have a losing record but are only 4.5 games off the pace.
The New York Mets have a two game lead in the NL East over the Miami Marlins who have won 7 in a row and 8 of their last 10 games. The Philadelphia Phillies won 7 of their last 10 games to finish April at .500 and four games back of the Mets. The defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves had a so-so 10-12 record in April and are missing Freddie Freeman. However, Ronald Acuna has returned to the lineup so the Braves cannot be counted out. The same cannot probably be said for the Washington Nationals who have lost 9 of their last 10 games and are 8.5 games back of the Mets.
Both New York teams are doing well. The New York Yankees finished April with an 8-game winning streak and have a 1.5 game lead in the AL East over the Toronto Blue Jays and a three game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays. Both the Jays and Rays have won 7 of their last 10 games. Conversely, the Boston Red Sox have lost 7 of their last 10 games and have fallen back to Earth after an unexpected post-season run in 2021. The Bosox are only 1.5 games ahead of the grounded Baltimore Orioles.
After many years of underachievement, the Los Angeles Angels have a 2.5 game lead in the AL West over the Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners. With reigning AL MVP Shohei Ohtani and a healthy Mike Trout could the Angels make their first post-season appearance since 2014? The Oakland A's had a similar fire sale as the Cincinnati Reds with the departures of Mark Canha, Starling Marte, Chris Bassitt, Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, Josh Harrison, Andrew Chafin and Sean Manaea. Even manager Bob Melvin headed south to San Diego. Yet despite this and the fact that feral cats nearly outnumber fans at the Oakland Coliseum, the A's are only a game under .500 and 3.5 games back of the Angels. The winner of the AL West will probably be determined by who can beat the Texas Rangers the most.
After finishing in last place in the AL Central in 2021, the Minnesota Twins are the only team in the division with a winning record. Of course, the additions of Sonny Gray, Carlos Correa, Gary Sanchez and Gio Urshela have helped. It isn't much of a surprise the Cleveland Guardians, Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers are playing sub .500 ball, but it is for the Chicago White Sox who won the division last year by 13 games. Although only 3.5 games back of the Twins, the Chisox have struggled losing 8 of their last 10 games.
So where will we be at the end of May? Will the Red Sox and White Sox continue to disappoint? Can the Angels continue to soar? Will the Rockies be able to hang with the Giants, Dodgers and Padres? Can the Mets continue to win without Jacob deGrom throwing a single pitch? Will the Cincinnati Reds climb their way out of the cellar? We'll see what things are like after Memorial Day.
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