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As Bob Lemon said, the two most important
things in life are good friends and a strong bullpen. |
For the better part of the season, Reds fans have called attention to the lack of production out of the first two spots in the batting order, which are usually occupied by rookie shortstop Zack Cozart and centerfielder Drew Stubbs. Many reasons have been given for the Reds' woeful offense: Dusty Baker's lineups, the inexperience of the rookies, and the fact that Drew Stubbs has looked blind at the plate for much of the season. Given the fact that the Reds, who are currently sitting atop all of baseball with a 62-41 record, have accomplished so much without a good top of the order is both astounding and perplexing. With Tuesday's trade deadline looming, it only made sense for the Reds to pick up some help for their offense, right?
But they didn't. Instead, they went with the hard-throwing right-hander Jonathan Broxton to be the Reds' setup man down the stretch run. He isn't coming in to help with the offense, so clearly the Reds' front office missed something here, right?
Wrong. Here's why.