For the first time since I can remember, conjuring up predictions about the Cincinnati Reds has been a complicated task. In each of the winters that preceded inevitable last-place finishes during this deep, dark rebuild, the writing was more or less on the wall.
You knew which players were going to play all the time, and pretty well knew how they’d hit. You knew the pitchers that were going to pitch, and had seen their ERAs and walk rates spike to comical levels in previous seasons. The cast was the same for each and every production, if you will.