Cincinnati Reds demonstrate they are bad, getting swept in San Diego

The Cincinnati Reds have a bigger problem than getting swept by the San Diego Padres in that they are a bad team.

The Cincinnati Reds saw their offense be truly offensive in San Diego.  The Reds only scored 7 runs over three games in San Diego against the 26th ranked pitching staff in MLB.  Only the Reds are Philadelphia Phillies are worse in the National League.

Teams average nearly 5 earned runs a game against the Padres.  They average well over five runs a game thanks to mediocre defense.  That means the scored 7 instead of 16 runs in a three game series.

The Padres have surrendered the third most home runs in the NL behind only the Phillies and the Reds despite playing in spacious Petco Stadium.  The Reds only hit two home runs all series long.  They were both in the last game off of starting pitcher Jhoulys Chacin.

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The Reds are two games ahead of the Padres in the standings,  but it means little when the Padres can sweep you.  The Reds rank fourth in defense in MLB, while the Padres rank sixth worse.  Even this could not help the Reds.

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Taking defense a step further, the Reds have the best Defensive Efficiency Ratio in the NL.  The Padres, meanwhile, are the sixth worse.  How do you lose three in a row to such a bad team?

The Cincinnati Reds are a superior team to the San Diego Padres in every way, except for head to head.

In defense and pitching, the Reds are only a little better, but it is no contest in offense.  It could be argued that the Padres are the worst offensive team in the majors.  The Reds by contrast have been in the top ten for most of the season.

The Padres have the worst team batting average in MLB.  The Reds rank 11th.  This is reflected in the Reds’ tenth place ranking in runs scored compared to last place for the Padres.

The Reds lead the NL in steals thanks primarily to the best defensive center fielder in the history of the team, Billy Hamilton.  Of course, he overcame a calf injury before his recent swoon.  They also own 10 more home runs and are ranked six spots higher in the home run rankings.  The historically impatient Reds even have more walks than the Padres this season.

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It’s easy to put too much emphasis on a three game stretch.  For the Reds though it has come in the middle of a season long losing streak. The Reds need to play Reds’ baseball and get their rotation back in one piece to return to competitiveness in 2017.