Cincinnati Reds continue to ride the offensive roller coaster

The Cincinnati Reds have an offense that goes up and down as the number of home runs go up and down.

Early in the season it appeared that as center fielder Billy Hamilton went, so went the offense for the Cincinnati Reds.  As the season wore on, it became apparent that something else led the offense.  That thing was home runs.

The Reds ranked fourth in MLB in runs in August.  They led the National League in home runs in August.  They also ranked third in MLB in Augustin home runs.

So far in September the Reds rank 18th in MLB in runs scored.  With only sixteen home runs in the month so far, they rank fourth worst in the NL.  Of course, this is a little bit of a small sample size.

So far this season, the Reds rank 11th in MLB in runs scored.  They rank 10th in home runs so far.  They have also improved their OBP to 10th for the season.

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It isn’t a phenomenon that just started in August, either.  The Reds had an awful July, finishing last in the NL in runs scored.  Only the Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Angels scored fewer runs in the month of July.

In July the Reds ranked 23rd in MLB in home runs.  Three NL teams hit fewer home runs.  With the All-Star break, no other complete month has few games as July,

The Cincinnati Reds have offensive woes that are more than a team accumulation of home runs.

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In September the Reds rank 22nd in MLB in batting average.  They also rank 20th in OBP.  Combine that with a 21st ranking in slugging and the Reds are neither getting on base nor driving the ball well enough this month.

The Reds rank a surprising 17th in walks.  That is darn near average.  They have struck out the third fewest times of anyone in the NL, so they have really improved in the area of pitch identification throughout the season.

Of course, even with Hamilton out for the remainder of the season, the Reds maintain their calling card.

They lead the NL in stolen bases.  They are led by bench player Jose Peraza with four.

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The Reds have had an up and down season.  The downs unfortunately outweighed the lows.  If they can solve the offensive reliance on home runs, they could be successful next season.