CINCINNATI • There's something happenin' here, and what it is — with apologies to the Buffalo Springfield — is increasingly clear.
Twenty-three days have passed since "the fight" and "the sweep."
After being insulted by Cincinnati's Brandon Phillips, and injured by a kicking Johnny Cueto, the Cardinals appeared to impose their will on the Reds during an Aug. 9-11 series in Ohio. Applying some old-fashioned comeuppance to the oldest franchise in baseball, the Cardinals swept the Reds in three lopsided games at Great American Ball Park.
When the dust settled, the ramifications seemed profound. The Cardinals were in charge, the Reds were chum, or so it seemed stated. Not everyone was listening.
"I've never been a big believer in 'statements' or momentum," Cincinnati third baseman Scott Rolen said. "This isn't football. It's not like you can go out there and play 'better' defense, or play more physical or something like that. You don't bang on the table at halftime and charge out of the locker room. Baseball isn't like that.
"You can have all the momentum in the world and go out the next night and face a pitcher who shuts you out. Then where's your momentum? The game is played on the field. All that other stuff off the field doesn't matter once you hand the ball to the guy on the pitching mound and the other guy steps to the plate. That's how the game is."
After being swept by the Cardinals, the Reds played the next night. They lit up one of the best pitchers in the National League, Josh Johnson, to beat Florida 7-2. They went on to win seven in a row. That's how the game is.
"If you look at the past several series, it turned out (the one with the Cardinals) was the most unimportant series," said Reds outfielder Jonny Gomes. "I mean it was the most hyped series, but it turned out it was the most unimportant series if you look at where we're at now and where they're at."
Statements? Momentum? Rolen and his mates might be bigger believers in energy, the intoxicating kind that was on display Tuesday and Wednesday at their home park.
On Tuesday, the Reds beat the Milwaukee Brewers 8-4. In the eighth inning, 22-year-old Aroldis Chapman made his major league 1-2-3 debut with 102 mph fastballs and wicked sliders. "Chapmania" erupted in the stands on every pitch.
"We've got the Usain Bolt of baseball," Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo commented.
In the ninth inning, first baseman Joey Votto threw out a runner at second from the seat of his pants. "Joey V! Joey V!" the crowd responded. Rolen then stole another hit and threw to second backhanded for the third out. Roars, fireworks, energy.
The next night, Ryan Hanigan pinch-hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh as the Reds won from behind for the 39th time. More roars, more fireworks, more energy.
Something's happening, all right. Something that hasn't happened in Cincinnati since a division title in 1995. Something that includes more wins than losses for the first time since 2000. Something even Chad Ochocinco couldn't make up. And what it is seems abundantly clear — Pennant Fever.
the fork in the road
That contentious Aug. 9-11 series truly was a fork in the road for two teams, but in diametrically different directions.
The Dusty Baker Boys have gone 14-4 since the series against the Cardinals, climbing a season high 23 games over .500 and gaining nine games in the standings. The Cardinals have traveled a more southerly route at 5-13. Now eight games clear in the standings, the Reds look forward to this do-over date.
But this time, there's no name-calling, no extra-curricular nonsense. There's just baseball.
"I think we were a little bit embarrassed (by the previous series); I think we took on a little too much and we did a good job of collecting ourselves and turning the page," said Votto, a leading MVP candidate in the NL. "We did a really good job of learning from that. And we learned that out there, taking care of business on the field, is priority No. 1. We've got a job to do and it's all on the field."
Last time, business off the field made headlines after Phillips' crass comments about the Cardinals. This time, expectations are different.
"To say you dislike someone, a rival, is OK," said Reds Hall of Famer and current network broadcaster Joe Morgan. "But I think there was some added stuff (Phillips) put in there that he probably shouldn't have said."
Does that 'stuff" still have legs? "From my perspective, and from everybody's perspective, it better be over with," Morgan added. "All that matters now is a pennant race."
'we're a good ballclub'
It now seems evident the significance of the early August set between the Cardinals and Reds — a matchup that happened with 52 games remaining on the schedule — was oversold. Cincinnati has lost three or more games in succession on five occasions this season, including a five-game skid in April. Each time the club has stumbled, it has re-established sound footing.
Crucial to the resiliency has been the calming influence of pragmatic veterans such as Rolen. While the inexperienced types on the roster tend to see the sky falling during demoralizing stretches, the veterans have preached a 162-game mantra. Tomorrow brings another day, another game, another story line.
"I think it's important you make guys realize the game is played between the lines, not anywhere else," Rolen said. "We're a good ballclub. You win because you have good players, and we have good players. I don't care about all that other stuff, if you don't have good players, you're not going to win. We have good players. So let's just play baseball. If we play baseball the way we are capable of playing, all that other stuff takes care of itself."
As good as he has been this season — among league leaders in the most important offensive categories — Votto says the Reds' veterans have been integral to the team's bounce-back ability. "Important in terms of just simplifying things, taking things slow," Votto said. "You know, 'It's only one game, it's only one series, one week, one month. Let's turn the page, let it go and move on to the next team, the next challenge.'"
looking ahead, not back
The Reds are excited about the series in St. Louis, but at this point payback value carries much less meaning than possible postseason preparation. A sizable portion of the roster has never experienced meaningful dates in September. They have never reached this point of the season as a threat, a target or a rival. They have never been good enough to be the enemy.
"It was good for them last time when St. Louis was here," manager Dusty Baker said, "and it will be even better for them this time. Even though we lost (last time), I think there was some lessons to be learned from that sweep. You usually learn more through failures and adversity than you do through successes."
The atmosphere at Busch Stadium will be amped up. Seats will be filled and the shenanigans that took place last month will be acknowledged with thunderous boos and uncongenial crescendos.
On the heels of their ruptured road trip, the Cardinals are hemorrhaging and desperate. Nothing short of another sweep of the Reds might dramatically improve their lot. The Reds, on the other hand, are excited but contained. Thirty-one games remain, no postseason tickets have been punched, and any such thoughts are suppressed in the Cincinnati clubhouse. But there will be a distinctly October feel to the environment in St. Louis.
"It's going to be good for these young guys to create and experience a nice playoff atmosphere," said Gomes, who spent six seasons with Tampa Bay before coming to Cincinnati last season. "I was in the World Series in 2008 and I mean, in the top of the first, a walk, and people are on their feet. It's like, 'OK, here we go.' Everything really gets exposed in those types of situations."
The Reds allow the Cardinals taught them a lesson a few weeks ago in Cincinnati. It's a lesson they since have taken to heart, a lesson the Cardinals have been unable to practice.
"I think I'm looking forward to the series to see just how the Reds react," Morgan said. "I think the Cardinals were ready for a series like that, I don't know if the Reds were. I'm anxious to see if they learned a lesson. The Cardinals certainly taught them one, now let's see if they learned it."
Gomes is convinced his team took proper notes. "We're not putting all our eggs in one basket," he said. "We're not going to fall into all the hype. What's between these doors is 25 strong guys and a nice staff leading us in the right direction. We're just doing a good job playing Cincinnati Reds baseball and not paying attention to the hype."
Something's happening around the Cincinnati Reds, something that has nothing to do with hype, something one game or one series can't define.
Clearly, these Reds are real.
