Thrice is Nice

1. Sitting only 3.5 games out certainly feels nice considering the Reds were 7 games out as of Thursday. It is not often that you can make up 3.5 games in less than a week. If the Reds can win today, they will be either .5 games out of the first Wildcard spot or only 2.5 out of the division lead. Basically, they just need to win and let other things take care of themselves. If you remember, as discussed on a recent "Thrice is Nice" this stretch of games is where the Reds can and need to make up a lot of ground and put a lot of wins together. They have started this 17 game streak of games, with 13 against sub .500 teams off 4-1. That's what it takes to climb back into a race.

2. The Reds bullpen has shown itself to be one of the most reliable in the game for nearly the entire season, but recently it has taken off and become quite possible the best. Over the last three game, the bullpen has thrown 11.2 innings while giving up only 6 hits, 0 runs, and struck out 17 batters. J.J. Hoover has not given up a run in his last 21 appearances and Manny Parra has become a shutdown lefty (remember at the beginning of the year when everyone wanted Hoover sent down and Parra DFA'd?). This bullpen should only get stronger as Broxton gets his arm strength back and gets in a groove. Consider this: at the beginning of last season Broxton was closing for the Royals and Shawn Marshall was closing for the Reds. Now, Marshall has been hurt the majority of the year and Broxton is not even the 8th inning setup guys anymore. This is not a shot at their skills, but rather an eyeopening way to view how strong the bullpen has become. The Reds have at least three guys (Chapman, Hoover, Broxton) who could close for most ballclubs, which is why they can shorten a game to 7 innings. You win in September and October when you have strong bullpen (if you do not believe me, check out the 2012 San Fran Giants)

3.  How does the NFL fix the preseason injury issues that are really hammering some teams right now? They have already cut back on the number of days you are allowed to hit and even practice, but it seems almost daily that we hear of another player going down with a season ending injury. Could it be that all of these "precautions" taken by the NFL are actually counterproductive? When a player is not in top fitness shape and tries to complete in an athletic event, injuries tend to happen more and since the new CBA shortened off season workouts and lessen the intensity of the workouts you are allowed, perhaps the players bodies are just not ready for training camp and are breaking down more easily?