Matt’s Take: How could I forget about the Rally Reds?; Claiborne Snowden joins Matt's Take

By Matthew McAdow
HCP columnist

CINCINNATI – With two outs and nobody on base and Jonathan India approaching the plate, I posted a tweet that losing a series to the Nationals was not ideal to begin the season – and boy did I hear it from some fans!  

How could I forget that this Reds roster doesn’t stop until that final out? What a finish and what a nice Easter surprise for Reds Country. In all honesty, this should’ve been a sweep, but I will take a series win to begin the year.  

On to the Phillies to continue stacking some victories…

Key takeaways from the first weekend of Reds baseball

• Nick Martini, have yourself a weekend: 4-for-8, two home runs, clutch at-bats and more.  
    
• Will Benson continues to exceed expectations. He is batting .417, made contact with left-handed pitching, had a huge game-tying home run, and had six balls over 100 mph in exit velocity. Sheesh!
    
• Jake Fraley looks to be consistent as ever, as he is 5-for-8 to begin the season.  

• Jonathan India deserves more credit for his incredible at-bat that led the rally with two outs in the 9th on Easter. Bounce-back year incoming.
    
• Jeimer Candelario’s six strikeouts in 11 at-bats is a bit concerning. 
    
• Montas looked phenomenal and if we can get six innings and zero runs from him regularly, this team is going have a deep rotation.
    
• Hunter Greene looked better than what his stat line showed, along with some very poor defense that occurred during his outing. However, his inability to reach five innings pitched without 100-plus pitches continues to be an issue.  
    
• Brent Suter has four strikeouts with a 0.00 ERA in his two games pitched. The Cincinnati kid is a great addition to the bullpen. 
    
• Alexis Diaz blew the game for the Reds first loss of the year, along with some other bullpen woes. He failed to find the zone and continued his struggle from Spring Training. I will say that we need to not overreact just yet and allow him time to figure things out. I trust in Diaz as the closer for now.
    
• The amount of people who blame David Bell for pitching woes baffles me. He can’t pitch for people. He also can’t immediately pull people in the beginning of the year and ruin their confidence after three batters. It’s a marathon, friends.
    
• The defense without Friedl, Marte and McLain is a bit concerning.

Upcoming

With the Phillies and Mets upcoming on the road, Cincinnati needs to take advantage of easier games before a 4-game series against the Brewers. The Brewers are 3-0 and losing to them has certainly hurt Cincinnati’s chances of making the playoffs in years past.  

The “May gauntlet” of a schedule will be here before we know it and it is crucial for Cincinnati to not be “fighting from behind.” Keep battling, keep winning close games, and enjoy the ride. Man, it feels good to have Cincinnati baseball back.

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Q&A with Claiborne Snowden

If you keep up with the Reds on “X-Twitter,” then you certainly know who Clay is by now. He has an honest view on the game and contributes greatly to the Reds community. He has been covering the league and specifically the Reds for quite some time now and has been featured on ESPN 1530 to talk about Cincinnati on multiple occasions. 

I was kindly joined by him this week to discuss Reds baseball: 

Q: Outside of Nick Martini, who have you been most impressed with to begin the 2024 season and why?

A: “I’d have to say Will Benson. When I think back to how uncomfortable he looked to begin the season compared to now, it’s night and day. He’s turned on some balls I don’t think he had the confidence to turn on last year and he’s been rewarded. Putting together some good swings and loud contact. Could see a legit breakout season.”

Q: What is your level of concern with Cincinnati's defensive struggles? 

A: “I still value defense. Maybe I’m just old school to an extent but defense is important and the Reds lack defense in several positions. Ultimately, it will put more pressure on the pitching staff who already have to worry about pitching in Great American Ballpark. Friedl and McLain will hopefully come back healthy and help in the field.”

Q: If Lodolo stays healthy and returns, do you think this Reds team has the best rotation in the NL Central?

A: “The rotation has that level of upside. I’m a big believer in Lodolo and think he has the stuff to be the best pitcher in the rotation. That’s how high I am on him. I see Montas as a very solid option and it comes down to how good Greene can be. If he makes another step forward, watch out. Time will tell.”

Q: After a weekend of baseball, who do you predict will lead this team in the following categories: home runs, walks, doubles, and OBP? 

A: “Home runs, Christian Encarnacion-Strand. A lot of power in that bat. I think Steer could lead the team in doubles. Heck, he could lead the team in several categories. Let’s go India for walks and obp. Predicting a big bounce back for India.” 

Q: What is your honest record prediction for this Cincinnati team?

A: “I’m going with 85 wins. Hard to say for sure with a couple of injuries early on, but I think the Reds have enough talent to keep them alive. We’ll see if they are aggressive at the deadline or if we get a taste of playoff baseball.”

A photo from the Reds Opening Day game is pictured below.

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