Its a Red October

I never thought I would say this in my lifetime, and I am still in my early 30's; It is good to be a Cincinnati sports fan! Normally, this time of year, we would all be hanging our heads in agony. The Bungles would be looking like a high school team every time they took the field, the Reds heartbreaking season would be over, and no matter how good UC played, they would never get any respect. We would shake our fists to the sky and collectively scream, "Why? What have I done to deserve this fate??"

Don't blink now, Cincinnati fans, but the clouds are opening in the Queen City! There may even be a sunny ray of light shining down us. It is good to be in Cincinnati right now. UC is playing great and people are taking notice, the Bengals are 3-1 and putting up points like a real professional football team, and the RedLegs are in the post season! I would pinch myself, but if this is a dream, I don't want to wake up.

The Reds didn't just make it to the postseason, they did it with a 97-65 record. That was the second best in all of baseball. They managed to play through big injuries, with rookies, and players having to play unfamiliar positions to keep the the machine moving. Sometimes it wasn't pretty, but they scratched and held on and fought there way to wins. But sometimes it was beautiful, like just a few nights ago when Homer Bailey threw the first no hitter in Reds history since Tom Browning did it in 1988. 

With home field advantage, the Reds are going to open their postseason play in San Francisco on Saturday night. Though, the official roster is not set, Dusty Baker intends on taking 28 men into the postseason with him. The unofficial line-up looks like it will remain close to the same as the line-up we saw at the end of the season with Phillips leading off, followed by Cozart, Votto, Ludwick, Bruce, Rolen, and then Hanigan. After a break out season with the Reds, Frazier will be making the trip, working from a bench position. Cueto has already been announced as the starting pitcher in Game 1 on Saturday. The official playoff roster will be released Friday.

The RedLegs are 4-3 this season against the Giants and 37-36 since 2002. Three of the seven games this season were decided by one run. This year the playoff format is a little different than past years. Each playoff series will be played in a 2-3 format. The team with home field advantage will play their first two games away and then come home to play the final three games. Home teams stand to really prosper with this new set up, especially those that get off to slow starts.

See ya at the ballpark, Cincinnati. This is a season to savor!