Reds' team meeting was pointless if Terry Francona doesn't fix this obvious blindspot

Following a three-game sweep at the hands of the Athletics, Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona called a team meeting. After three straight losses, the Reds now trail the New York Mets by 2½ games in their pursuit of the final NL Wild Card spot with just 13 games remaining in the regular season.

The Reds are not out of it by any means, but after watching the Mets and San Francisco Giants both lose 2-of-3 over the weekend, Cincinnati missed out on a golden opportunity to gain ground in their chase for a spot in the postseason.

Francona said the team meeting was focused on belief in each other. "I just told them, we don’t have to play perfect. We've just gotta pick each other up, play baseball the way we know how," he said. That's all well and good, but it's been Francona's lack of belief in some of his players — specifically Will Benson — that has Cincinnati in mess.

Reds' team meeting was pointless if Terry Francona doesn't keep Will Benson and Sal Stewart in the lineup

Far be it from me to disagree with a future Hall of Famer, but Francona's lack of trust in one of the team's most potent bats is absolutely mind-boggling. Benson was one of the only reasons Cincinnati was even close during their series loss in Sacramento, and Francona pulled him from the lineup midway through Sunday's loss.

Benson had already mashed a two-run bomb during the second inning — his second home run in the last two games — that helped give Cincinnati a 3-0 lead. The Reds fell behind 4-3 heading into the sixth, and with a left-handed pitcher on the mound for the A's, Francona chose to pinch-hit for the red-hot Benson with Austin Hays.

Bringing in Hays to face the lefty instead of Benson isn't the issue. Not pinch hitting for Gavin Lux — who led off the inning ahead of Benson — is a problem. Lux is hitting just .150 over his last 15 games and has zero power to speak of. Against southpaws this season, Lux is hitting .185/.279/.204. Francona had a bench full of right-handed bats — Tyler Stephenson, Miguel Andujar, and Spencer Steer.

Francona has resisted trusting players like Benson and Sal Stewart despite the fact that Lux, Steer, and others continue to underperform. Frankly, even his determination to send out Elly De La Cruz every day, despite an obvious need for the shortstop to get some much needed rest, has been a blindspot for the Reds skipper all season long.

There are 13 games left in the Reds season, and Cincinnati probably has to win 10 or 11 games to have a chance at the postseason. Francona can preach about picking each other up and digging deep, but if he doesn't put the appropriate players in position to succeed, the Reds' chances of playing into October look rather grim.

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