Congratulations to the Cincinnati Reds on a new MLB record 163 consecutive games in a single season without a shutout.  Way to go, Reds!

Campys' Cincinnati Reds Page

So long Jack!  We will miss you, too!

The 2000 season will be remembered as the year the Reds made maybe the best and worse personnel moves in recent history.  It is true that adding Ken Griffey, Jr. is probably one of the best moves this organization has made since reacquiring Pete Rose in 1984, but letting manager Jack McKeon go after what he has accomplished with this team is almost as bad as sending Tony Perez out of town not once but twice.  (Almost.)  As any fans who went to Reds games before this season can tell you, Jack Mac has done wonders with what the organization has given him through his brief stint as manager with the Reds, and this is the thanks he gets?!?  

Bad move Jim, bad move. 

291-259 Record for the Cincinnati Reds

1999 N.L. Manager of the Year

So long Jack!  Thanks for everything!!!

From:  August 29, 2000

Lighten up, Reds Fans!!!

It's true that right now, our Cincinnati Redlegs are having their problems.  After several disappointing series against not so stellar opponents such as Milwaukee, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, the Reds are in serious danger of falling completely out of contention in the National League Central.  The team's problems are rarely the same from game to game, which makes the situation all the more difficult to diagnose.  One thing is clear, the players don't seem to be having fun like they were this time last year.  And Reds fans, for that some of us may be partly to blame.  (And I think anyone who's been to a few games this year knows which "fans" I'm talking about!)

Ever since the Reds signed Ken Griffey, Jr. last February, the expectations for this team have soared.  Coming off of a 96 win season in 1999, and adding the Player of the Decade in 2000, everyone in Cincinnati was talking World Series.  When the team stumbled out of the gate, right away people began to question if this team had what it takes.  Slow starts by Griffey and Dante Bichette caused many in the media, and even some fans (once again, you know who you are), to start to question whether bringing them aboard was really a good idea.  Many Reds fans reacted to the team's slow start by booing loudly any time players did not meet their expectations.  I know, I was there.  Yet through all this the team remained resilient, and by the first week in June, the Reds were in first place.

And then they fell.  And fell.  And fell.  After a stretch of 11 losses in 12 games, the Reds found themselves 8 1/2 games behind the first place St. Louis Cardinals, and wondering just how they got there.  It was by no means time to panic, but many fans did anyway.  People began to write the Cincinnati Reds off even before the All-Star break.  Fans stayed away from the ballpark, blasting Griffey, Bichette, Steve Parris, Sean Casey and other players who were struggling as well, with the same vigor which they had cheered them with at the beginning of the season.  When Denny Neagle was traded to the Yankees, many people took it as a sign of surrender and quickly jumped off the bandwagon.  Yet somehow the Reds stayed in contention, soon creeping back to within 4 1/2 games of the  division leading Cardinals.

Still, the sideline circus would not completely go away, and the Reds began to slip once again.  The injury bug reared it's ugly head against solid contributors like Osvaldo Fernandez and Aaron Boone.  Trade rumors were running rampant, especially concerning team captain Barry Larkin.  With the entire clubhouse wondering who was the next to go (One report even had Junior mentioned in a possibly trade.  Ridiculous, we know!), team chemistry was certainly becoming hard to establish.  Credit team owner Carl Linder for stepping up and putting the Larkin issue to rest.  Then once the July 31 trade deadline safely passed and the team remained intact, the Reds once again focused their attention on the first place Cardinals.

After taking two out of three from the Atlanta Braves, then sweeping the red hot Chicago Cubs at Wrigley, the Reds found themselves back to within 4 1/2 games of first place.  Many began to think that this was it, this team was finally ready to live up to the lofty preseason expectations made by many fans and many in the media.  Yet when they returned for their next home stand, they were met with a resounding yawn by Cincinnati sports fans.  Granted, they returned during the weekend Paul Brown Stadium opened, and they had just been swept by the cellar-dwelling Brewers, but this team still deserves better.  (Just over 20,000 fans showed up for a Wednesday night game against the Phillies.  20,225 to be exact.)  Maybe the reason they are playing better baseball on the road the past couple of seasons is because they enjoy it more on the road, when they are playing in front of bigger, more enthusiastic crowds and under far less scrutiny.  

What people need to realize about building a winner is that it doesn't happen overnight.  This team did win 96 games last year, but they did it in a season during which many players had career years and remained relatively injury-free, feats which have been tough for the team to duplicate this season.  Nonetheless, there is enough talent in that clubhouse to field a World Championship team.  We here in Cincinnati are fortunate enough to have not one, but two future Hall of Famers in our lineup, as well as a host of talented young ball players like Casey, Dmitri Young, Scott Williamson, and Danny Graves just to name a few.  Yet fans have rode this team hard all season long, especially Griffey.  People rip Junior for his batting average this season, but his power numbers are right where they need to be, and that's what we got him for. (Besides, that batting average will come up.  Believe it!)  Not to mention the fact that we all have front row seats for Griffey's assault on Hank Aaron's home run record.  Remember how special it was watching Pete Rose chase Ty Cobb?  We get to experience it all over again. (Make no mistake, if Griffey can remain healthy, he will break the record.) 

In fact, if you really think about it, Cincinnati fans have it pretty nice as far as baseball is concerned.  The team has been able to remain competitive with a limited payroll, which gets harder to do every season. (Just ask the Brewers, Pirates, Expos, Twins, etc., the list gets larger every year)  Ticket prices for the Reds remain among the lowest in the league, and I bet you they will still be among the lowest even after they raise ticket prices this next time.  Reds fans are fortunate enough to have the greatest broadcasting duo in all of sports, Marty and Joe, giving the fans a perspective on the ball club that you certainly won't get from some lame sports talk show or newspaper column. (Those two are a big part of the reason Reds fans are among the most knowledgeable in baseball.)  The team is preparing to move into its own brand new state of the art ballpark, and they have already begun putting together a team that will be on par with baseball's big boys by that time.  In the meantime, we as Reds fans are lucky enough to be able to watch what is still one of baseball's most exciting teams.  We all need to appreciate these things a little more than we currently seem to.

As we enter the last leg of the season, no one is quite sure what to expect from the Cincinnati Reds, but one thing is certain.  This team needs its fans to get off its back and get behind them for one final push at the Division.  And if the unthinkable happens and we fall short this season, we have been in the race all year, and this has been an exciting team to watch.  And its only going to get better from here, because this team will win! 

Congratulations!

Click on the pictures for a tribute to each of these Reds Hall of Famers.

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