Reds holding team meeting before Brewers series reveals unexpected NL Central narrative

Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell called the meeting more of a conversation, but the message was clear - the Milwaukee Brewers can't just beat us down the way they did in 2023. Cincinnati lost 10 of 13 to Milwaukee last season.

Mark Sheldon of MLB.com released some the details from the Reds team meeting that took place before this week's series against the Brewers began. According to Reds outfielder Will Benson, Bell wanted his team to set the tone.

The Reds did that and more on Monday, but Cincinnati let off the gas on Tuesday, and after a two-hour rain delay on Wednesday, Bell's club dropped two of three to the defending NL Central champions. Thursday's game was postponed until later this summer.

Reds holding team meeting before Brewers series reveals unexpected NL Central narrative

Longtime professional wrestler Ric Flair famously said, "To be the man, you've got to beat the man." Surely Flair added a "woo" or two in there as well, but the point is sound. And even though many folks throughout Reds Country, and even those fanbases in St. Louis and the North Side of Chicago don't want to believe it, the path to the NL Central title runs through the Cream City.

After trading away Josh Hader in 2022, the Brewers were still the class of the division last season. Milwaukee traded Corbin Burnes away this past offseason and lost manager Craig Counsell to the Chicago Cubs, but new Brewers' skipper Pat Murphy has his ball club playing well at the outset of the 2024 season.

Reds fans, Cardinals fans, and Cubs fans alike all thought their favorite team was going to reign supreme in 2024. But to date, it's the Brewers fans who are having a blast at the start the season. Will it be short-lived? Maybe. But the Brew Crew is one of the better hitting teams in the National League this season. If Devin Williams returns healthy, every team in the NL Central will likely be chasing down Milwaukee later this season.

It wasn't supposed to be this way, but that's why they play the game. Kudos to Bell and the Reds for recognizing who the big bad wolf in the NL Central really is. Now it's just a matter of whether or not they can take the wolf down. The early results are not in their favor, but it's a long season.

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