Chill out people...

Hearing people complain about the Cincinnati Reds' season is making me sick. It has been thirteen games. The Reds are 5-8. You know what that means? NOTHING. The 2010 NL Central Champion Reds were also 5-8. After thirteen games last year, the World Series Champion Cardinals were 6-7. I know that every game counts, but we've seen it the last two years that whoever is hot at the end of the season is the team that makes the splash ('11 Cardinals, '10 Giants), and what's really more important? You can complain about Latos, or Dusty, or Willie Harris, that's all legitimate. But with the Reds as my second-favorite team and my general fandom of all of baseball, it disgusts me to see the comments like, "I thought the Reds were supposed to be good this year," and "Looks like the Reds wasted a lot of money and talent on this team," on Twitter and Facebook by people who consider themselves "fans" of the Cincinnati Reds. Must be on the bandwagon because they don't understand baseball.

Want to look at another example? How about my Cleveland Indians. Last year they were a MAJOR LEAGUE LEADING 21-9 after thirty games, and had a 4.5 game lead over the Kansas City Royals. At the same point in time, the Detroit Tigers were 13-17 and 8 games out of first place. The Tigers went to the ALCS, won the division by like 15 games, and the Indians finished with a glamorous 80-82 record. The Reds have an EXTREMELY talented team; things will absolutely turn around.

I briefly mentioned Mat Latos and would also like to dish out some facts on him. For those of you who are worried that this was a raw deal for the Reds, keep in mind the following facts:
(1) Latos' career record in April is 1-8 **including this year** - His overall career record is now 27-31 (2) His career ERA is 3.54 (including an 8.22 mark in 2012)
(3) In 2010, the 14-10, 2.92 ERA year (and the year Reds' fans got excited about) he was 1-4 to start the year and 0-5 to finish it.

There are bigger problems than Mat Latos on this team. To make a deep run into the playoffs and make a serious push for the World Series, you have to have a deep bench. The Reds don't have that. Chris Heisey and Ryan Ludwick in the outfield is working right now, and hopefully it continues... but if Willie Harris keeps getting all the playing time he has, that is a recipe for disaster. There's going to need to be someone to play third base too if you want Scott Rolen for the playoffs. It's completely unrealistic to expect him to play every game anymore. Having a deep and reliable bench to get you through the regular season is one thing, and it becomes the most important thing when you're making a double-switch in the 8th inning against the Phillies in the NLCS... Right now the Reds have to choose between Harris and Wilson Valdez. (I just mentally pictured all 45 of the readers of this column shuddering).

If Cincinnati is still 3 games under .500 and trailing by 4 games at the end of May we can revisit all of these things and try to figure out how to right the ship. For now just remember, it's April, chill out people.