I’m going to tell you a secret, something that’s made me a happier Reds fan than I have any right to be given the evidence of the last three decades: I have resolved never to let this organization bum me out. The Cincinnati Reds—and here I’m talking about the players, the games, the history, the men, and the moments—can absolutely bum me out, at least in the moment. I admit it. But the organization? The ownership group? The front office? I stopped handing them that kind of power over my emotional life years ago. It was the best decision I ever made as a fan.
Let me explain. Local radio sports talker and big Knicks fan* Mo Egger said something last week about the current state of the Reds from a slightly different angle. (I encourage you to go watch the short video once you’ve finished reading this.) Mo has run out of patience, and his main point is that this season doesn’t feel merely disappointing; it feels like the failure of a long-promised payoff. The Reds entered the final weekend of June at 37-42, in last place in the NL Central, coming off a sweep at the hands of Milwaukee.
(*Mo may have run out of patience because his New York Knicks recently won a championship, something we never see here in Cincinnati. I’m a Sixers fan, alas. But it reminds me that it’s time for the NBA to return to Cincinnati.)
You know the history of the Reds’ never-ending rebuild. They lost 98 games in 2015, 94 in 2016 and 2017, and 95 in 2018. We were told to be patient, that the rebuild was coming, that better days were ahead. They lost 100 games in 2022, and again we were told that this was the necessary bottom before the ascent.
Along came the 2023 team, which was genuinely exciting and missed the playoffs by two games, after then-GM Nick Krall decided not to make a meaningful move at the trade deadline and later said he had no regrets. (I regret it on his behalf.) At the trade deadline, the Reds were 59-49 and in first place. In the nearly three seasons since, the Reds have gone 222-238.
Sure, the 2025 team made the playoffs and lost in the Wild Card round. But now here we are, approaching the midpoint of 2026, with a team that was 20-11 after one full month and is now looking up at four other NL Central teams in the standings. This was supposed to be the payoff. Mo is right.
My suggestion, offered after years of practice, is you just have to separate the organization from the game. Stop letting one ruin the other.
Reds ownership and management care about this franchise only in the way that a business cares about a revenue stream. You, on the other hand (and me!), care about the Reds because, for most of you (and me!), they’re woven into your actual life: your memories, your family, your city, your sense of who you are. Those are not the same thing, and they never will be.
When Phil Castellini asked fans where they were going to go instead of supporting the Reds, he revealed the whole philosophy in a dispiriting handful of words. When Nick Krall told Charlie Goldsmith that the team just needs to “put it all together at the same time” after years of rebuild promises, prospect hype, and deadline inaction, he’s not speaking your language. He’s speaking the language of someone managing a business that’s underperformed while facing limited accountability.
You are not managing a business. You are a fan. Act accordingly.
Practically speaking, I encourage you to stop outsourcing your joy to people who clearly don’t share your urgency. The Castellinis are not going to suddenly decide to spend like the Dodgers. Krall is not going to wake up tomorrow with the talent and skill of a Brewers executive. The farm system that was supposed to produce a wave of impact bats has, with the notable exceptions of Elly De La Cruz and Sal Stewart, produced more questions than answers. The worst team in baseball against 95-plus-mile-per-hour fastballs is going to remain the worst team in baseball against 95-plus for the foreseeable future. It is what it is.
But that’s the organization. Give up on them. Focus on what’s fun about baseball and about the players wearing the wishbone-C.
Chase Burns is having a glorious season, and you get to watch him pitch every fifth day. On many of those days, he does things we’ve rarely seen a 23-year-old do. Hunter Greene will be back in the coming days, and whatever you think of his injury history there’s no question he is an ace when he’s on the mound. I can’t wait to see him again. And we have Elly De La Cruz!
When Eugenio Suárez hits a bomb the other way to beat the Pirates in the eighth inning, like he did this weekend, that moment is yours. There are fun players to watch on this club, even if it’s an absurdly flawed roster. Enjoy the fun stuff. Try to ignore the rest.
Nobody in the Castellini family can take those moments from you, and neither can the standings. When the Reds play another clunker, turn the channel. Watch something else. Come back the next night and see if something fun happens.
I’ve been watching this franchise my whole life. I’ve seen the best it can be, and I’ve seen some of the worst. The one thing I’ve learned is that the real joy with baseball is in the game and in the players who are playing their hearts out for you. It’s in the community of people who love it with you. At this point, just accept that the Reds are not a serious professional sports franchise—they’re a lifestyle brand. Let’s treat them that way.
Reds ownership doesn’t love this team the way you do. They never have. They never will. Stop waiting for them to prove otherwise, and go find other ways to enjoy this beautiful game.
Chad Dotson helms Reds coverage at Cincinnati Magazine and is co-author of “The Big 50: The Men and Moments That Made the Cincinnati Reds.” His newsletter about Cincinnati sports can be found at chaddotson.com.
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