Are Emilio Pagán's comments an indictment of absent leadership in the Reds clubhouse?

Much has been made of Emilio Pagán's comments following the Cincinnati Reds loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday afternoon. After an early-exit, Pagán spoke with reporters following the game and addressed the team's mindset following a 3-7 record over their 10-game West Coast road trip.

"There’s some guys on this team that have been on teams where you’re supposed to be good. You say, ‘It’ll come, it’ll come, it’ll come,’ and then it never comes," Pagán said (via MLB.com), "We do need to play with some urgency, for sure. But we’re not panicking by any means. We know what we’re capable of and we’ll go on our run. Hopefully soon, but it will come.”

There's tremendous wisdom in those words from Pagán, but there's also an underlying issue that seems to be present in what was said. Where is the leadership in the Reds clubhouse?

Are Emilio Pagán's comments an indictment of absent leadership in the Reds clubhouse?

Now, don't take this to be an indictment of David Bell — though he definitely deserves some measure of criticism for the team's poor performance of late — but rather the so-called team leaders that Reds fans have heard so much about.

While one of those leaders (TJ Friedl) has been out of the lineup due to injury, it's not as if there aren't others who can take hold of the reins and help guide the Reds out of the mess they find themselves in.

Why is Pagán, a relief pitcher, having to be the one speaking up and talking about the team's struggles. Where's Jonathan India? Wasn't half the reason Cincinnati kept him around due to his leadership? Or how about Jeimer Candelario? Didn't the Reds sign him because of the need for veteran leadership in the clubhouse?

To be fair, nobody knows what's being said behind closed doors in the clubhouse. But as Pagán mentioned in his postgame comments, continuing to say, "It'll come, it'll come, it'll come," isn't going to bring results. The Reds need to go out and make it happen.

Cincinnati gets a chance to right the ship with a homestand that begins with a three-game visit from the San Diego Padres. The Reds are not out of the NL Central race — not by a long shot. But the losses cannot continue to pile up or else it's going to be a long summer for the Reds and their fanbase.

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