First Posted: 2/27/2015
Chemistry is tough to define.
It seems the good teams have it. The bad ones never do.
So it was interesting last week when former Reds right-hander Mat Latos came out and blasted the Reds on several fronts. His chief complaints centered around the team’s lack of leadership and chemistry, as well as questioning the medical staff in getting him back too soon after knee and elbow surgeries.
In effort to store up vats of money for Johnny Cueto’s, the Reds dealt Latos to Miami this winter.
In surprise to no one, the Reds general manager Walt Jocketty denied the lack leadership. He also quickly rejected the idea of the medical staff ordering Latos to the mound when he wasn’t ready.
Latos said that since Scott Rolen left, players would routinely hang out in the clubhouse and the video room during the games. He said the dugout was like a ghost town.
There’s no way of knowing how many teams have players in the clubhouse during games, but certainly it came up in Boston in the famous “chicken-eating’’ incident. During the 2011 season, The Boston Globe said Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and John Lackey were often hiding out in the clubhouse during games drinking beer, eating fried chicken and playing video games.
This is not high school, however. As long as the players are ready to go when called upon, does it really matter if they watch the game from the bench?
Latos didn’t come out and say whether he felt the Reds were properly prepared each day and had gotten in their needed work, including video.
But he implied the worst.
And if Latos was indeed upset about players hanging out in the clubhouse, why didn’t he talk to Phillips, Votto or Bruce about it? Or Latos was in a full lather, why didn’t he tackle the issue himself
All in all, this isn’t a big issue.
Instead, a much bigger concern is right-hander Homer Bailey not being ready for Opening Day. Bailey underwent surgery for a torn elbow flexor tendon on Sept. 6. His timetable for return is “sometime in April.”
Without Bailey, the rotation shapes up with Cueto, Mike Leake and Tony Cingrani, who was sent to AAA on June 20 last year and didn’t pitch again because of shoulder issues. Cingrani is ready to go this spring.
Signing former Locos and Bowling Green State right-hander Burke Badenhop should help solidify the bullpen set-up role behind Aroldis Chapman. Kevin Gregg, a former closer for the Cubs, was also signed.
That should open the way for Cuban signee Raisel Iglesias to fill one of the starting roles. Another could come from the mix of Anthony DeSclafani, who came over from the Marlins for Latos, Jason Marquis, Dylan Axelrod and David Holmberg.
Either way, if the Reds win this year, their chemistry will be fine.
However, if they duplicate last year’s 76-86 season, chemistry will be a hot stove issue again.
