In the 2013-14 off-season the Cincinnati Reds made several moves that were signs that a rebuild was starting. GM Walt Jocketty said that it was to let more explosive young talent play, but that doesn’t bare fruit. The end result was a non-competitive season despite a starting rotation that included Johnny Cueto, Mike Leake, and Homer Bailey.
The first sign that the 2014 team wasn’t going to be competitive was replacing the veteran manager Dusty Baker with the first time manager Bryan Price. The last first time manager to win the World Series was Mike Scioscia of the Los Angeles Angels in 2002.