College football analyst (and Reds fan) has laughable reaction amid team's recent slump

Kirk Herbstreit does a great job on Thursday Night Football, College Game Day, and almost anything football-related. But his most recent social media post regarding the Cincinnati Reds' latest slump is a bit misguided.

Herbie is a known Reds fans and has supported the team for quite some time. But the ESPN analyst allowed his passion for his favorite ball club to go a bit too far this weekend. Herbstreit wrote, "May 5, 2024-got a month out of baseball season. Gonna be a long summer-onto football prep for the fall."

This followed a previous post from Herbstreit just a day earlier that lamented the Reds' four-hit performance against the Baltimore Orioles. Herbstreit, like so many Cincinnati Reds fans, is upset at the team's recent five-game skid. But this is baseball, not football.

Reds' fan Kirk Herbstreit's baseball take is laughable

The Reds are 2-8 in their last 10 games and have looked like a train wreck at the plate. Cincinnati was embarrassed by the O's during their three-game series over the weekend and looked like a shell of the team that started the season 14-10. Whether it's poor execution, injuries catching up to them, or an uptick in competition, the Reds are flailing at the moment. But baseball is a marathon, not a sprint.

The Reds' 2-8 stretch is the equivalent of about one loss during the NFL season. The Cincinnati Bengals were boat-raced by the Cleveland Browns during Week 1 of the NFL season last year, but did anybody panic? While the Bengals ultimately fell short of the NFL Playoffs, it wasn't due to the team's first loss of the season. While even a three-game losing streak is troublesome in the NFL, baseball fans will see a lot of ups and downs over a 162-game schedule before the MLB regular season comes to a close.

None of this is to suggest that fans should be excited about the Reds most recent slump, but there's no need to abandon ship barely a month into the season. Injuries to key players and a tough schedule at the outset have the Reds off to a rough start. But Cincinnati didn't have a stellar beginning to the 2023 season either and were in the playoff hunt until the final week of the regular season.

It's still early, Reds fans. There's no need to panic. Now, if the Reds' upcoming West Coast road trip yields similar results, then Herbstreit might have a legitimate gripe. Cincinnati has 10 games out west with upcoming contests against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers, and San Francisco Giants on tap. If the the Reds go 2-8 during that stretch, then Herbie might be best served to start prepping for football season.

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