Once-Swaggering Reds Feel the Heat of a Pennant Race

The Cincinnati Reds learned how to swagger in the first half of the season. In the second half, they are remembering how to sweat.

A National League West title appeared inevitable for the Reds two weeks ago, when they opened an 11-game lead over San Francisco. A two-week nose dive has turned the runaway into a race, and the Reds feel it.

“We’re going through as bad a stretch as anybody can go through,” pitcher Norm Charlton said. “Most of the guys are still holding their heads up.”

They have taken to burying their heads in their hands these last two weeks, trying to forget about mental lapses that made them fall flat on their faces in what was expected to be a second-half victory lap.

“Now it’s a period to forget,” Manager Lou Piniella said.

It started July 24 in San Diego. The Reds had beaten the Padres, 9-2, the previous day to go up 11 games, their biggest lead of the season, at the start of an 11-game West Coast trip. One columnist dubbed the trip a mop-up mission.

The Reds got mopped up instead, losing their next eight games before winning the final two of the trip. They returned home and lost three of four over the weekend to San Diego, allowing the Giants to get within 3 1/2 games before falling back to 4 1/2 on Sunday.

So much for a quick knockout.

“It’s a new season,” Piniella said. “It’s down to a 56-game season. What happened to date is history. It depends on who plays best the next 56 games.”

Some Reds fans figure it should not have come to this. They fear yet another summer swoon like the ones under former Manager Pete Rose, who led the Reds to four straight second-place finishes.

The Reds insist this year will be different.

“Everyone acts after every loss now like we’re in a state where we’re going to lose this thing,” pitcher Danny Jackson said. “There are two months left. It’s going to be two months of hard-fought baseball.

“We’re going to win it. There’s no doubt in my mind we’re going to win it.”

There was little doubt in anyone’s mind when the Reds got off to their best start this century, going 23-7 with nine season-opening victories. They are just 39-37 since, including 12-15 since the All-Star break.

The swoon brings to mind the 1982 Atlanta Braves, who opened the season with 13 victories to build a large lead but let it slip away by later losing 19 of 21. They won the NL West title by one game on the final day.

The method to the skid has been as maddening as the results.

No one area of performance can be blamed for the slump, which has included five one-run losses. Key shortcomings have been a lack of clutch hitting, poor baserunning and inconsistent relief pitching.

“The team that stays away from mistakes wins,” Piniella said. “We’ve made too many mistakes the last two weeks.”