The Reds Report: October 2

by:Eric Roseberry•10/02/16
[caption id="attachment_208197" align="alignnone" width="600"]Denny Medley-USA TODAY Denny Medley-USA TODAY[/caption] With the conclusion of today's game against the Chicago Cubs, the Cincinnati Reds season came to an end. Most analysts and fans knew it would be a struggle for the Reds to compete in 2016, and for the most part they were right. The Reds finished the season last in the NL Central with a 68-94 record. In spite of that finish, fans were able to see some progress from the Reds this year. While it might not have shown up in wins and losses, there were some good signs out of the club, and there are several reasons to think the club can take another step forward in 2017. For one final time this season, let's get to this week's Reds Report. 1. The biggest news of the week in Cincinnati was the announcement that Bryan Price would return as manager in 2017. Not only did Price receive an offer to return, but the entire coaching staff will be back next season. The deal includes a team option for 2018. As Zach Buchanan notes, the team assessed Price on more than wins and losses because they're in the midst of a rebuild. 2. Wick Terrell of Red Reporter spent some time this week looking at the ups and downs this season in Cincinnati. The team might not have had as much on field success as fans wanted, but there were still plenty of reasons to be hopeful for the future. 3. One of the reasons Reds fans had to be excited was Adam Duvall, who joined a fairly exclusive club this week. 4. The final week of the Reds season did include one of the most controversial finishes in Major League Baseball this season. On Thursday night the Reds were facing the Cardinals, and the game was tied in the 9th inning. Yadier Molina hit a ball into left field which should have been ruled a ground rule double, but the call was missed by the umpires on the field. Instead it was ruled a live ball, and Matt Carpenter scored the winning run. The umpired ruled that the Reds had not challenged the call in the allotted amount of time. While the rule was correctly applied, it's still worth asking if MLB should leave end of game challenges up to coaches. Price noted that he was unable to hear the phone ringing in the dugout indicating he should issue a challenge because of the noise in the stadium. Jesse Yomtov of USA Today recapped more details from the confusing night. The outcome of the game could have mattered for the MLB playoff picture. Thankfully, the Cardinals were eliminated from the post-season on Sunday. 5. Joey Votto officially accomplished something that had not been done since 2004. The Reds first baseman hit over .400 in the second-half of the season. Ichiro Suzuki was the last player to reach this accomplishment. This was the icing on the cake of an incredible few months for Votto at the plate. 6. Not everything went well for Votto this week. He did catch a baseball in the chin, and it required several stitches to close up the gash. 7. One rookie making a "good impression" in the final week of the season is "Stone Cold" Steve Selsky. C. Trent Rosecrans wrote about the 27 year-old's impressive week at the plate which included a five hit game. Selsky likely won't become a regular in the Reds lineup, but he could become a quality bat off the bench. The nickname originated during his time at Triple-A Louisville. 8. Sunday brought the conclusion of the MLB regular season, and fans will now turn their attention to the post-season. In the American League the Red Sox will face the Indians, and the Rangers will host the winner of the AL Wild Card game (either the Blue Jays or Orioles). In the National League the Dodgers and Nationals will square off, and the Cubs will take on either the Mets or Giants (NL Wild Card game). The AL Wild Card will be contested on Tuesday night, and the NL Wild Card will take place on Wednesday. On a personal note I want to thank Matt and Drew for giving me the chance to write for KSR this season. I've been a daily reader of KSR since the Jai Lucas/Patrick Patterson recruitments, and it's been an honor to contribute to the site in a small way. Thanks for reading everyone! You can follow the Reds all offseason long at Red Reporter.

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