Why is That?

We all know that Twitter has its pluses and minuses. The minuses are obvious. People tweet things that they don’t really think about until after they hit the “send” button.

The pluses are that you have the ability to see what others are thinking. Sure, that can also have pluses and minuses attached to it, but in this case, it presents a point. Take this tweet that John Fay retweeted from Tracy Ringolsby of Baseball America and FOXSports.com:

The number of responses to the question/comment posed by Ringolsby would be numerous. Let’s take a look.

1. The Milwaukee Brewers upgraded their starting staff.
Adding the likes of Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum were considered major upgrades for the Brew Crew. Even with Greinke to miss a few weeks and Marcum nursing a boo-boo, the Brewers figure to make more than their fair share of noise within the division. The offense did not take a step back with all the off-season moves, but it didn’t really need that. That offense is as good as any in baseball.

2. The St. Louis Cardinals are always considered a contender.
Say what you will about the loss of Adam Wainwright and how that will hamper the Cards chances. I’m not buying it when you have a 3-4 punch like Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday. The staff still possesses the likes of Chris Carpenter and Jaime GarciaThey also added the bat of Lance Berkman who could see a revival of his swing in St. Louis.

3. The Cubs are sneaky contenders.
This conversation has somewhat taken its own legs within the comments of different posts here. I think I’m in line saying that the staff here at BRM aren’t convinced of this notion. A primary reason is that too many thing have to fall into place, but don’t completely rule them out. They did make a move or two that did provide minor upgrades. Maybe that’s all they needed. Then again, maybe not.

4. The Reds made no major acquisitions during the off-season.
Yeah, kind of get tired of hearing this, too, but that’s the public’s valuation of Cincy. “They got to the playoffs last year, but they didn’t really do anything”. It’s a bit of a misconception. The team with the most talent and tons of payroll won’t necessarily win it all. And that’s not a direct slam on the Yankees. It happens with other teams as well.

It’s a team that plays as a team and the Reds are just that. One thing that gets overlooked at times is team chemistry. It’s a thin line, and the Reds have to ponder this question: How does a particular guy fit within the team’s dynamics? There are talented players on other teams that would not fit in with the Reds. Not to say there isn’t a certain player or two that wouldn’t be viewed as an upgrade, but I think Reds GM Walt Jocketty said something along the lines of we like our team the way it is.

I’m sure there’s other reasons. I’m sure there a list of 10 reasons why the Reds aren’t getting any love. I’m sure you have a reason or two, also.

Then again, no one really gave the Reds any respect last year either.