Bass: Reds are not division favorites, but what if that is a good thing?

The Reds are not expected to win the division, and what if this is a good thing? They might reach the playoffs as a wild card, maybe the last one, and what if this is better?

Just get in, baby!

The National League’s last two sixth seeds – the only two under the new playoff format – won the pennants. Last season, both World Series teams were wild cards.

Think this is a fluke?

Go back another year. The 2021 Braves won a division, NL pennant and World Series with the worst regular-season record (88-74) of the 10 playoff teams.

Just win enough, baby.

Welcome to Major League Baseball today, when the regular season has turned into a glorified qualifier.

Goal now is to just get into the playoffs

Is it just me, or does this feel convoluted, uncomfortable . . . and a bit unfair? I am struggling with this.

I coach sports fans, but I also am a fan, and I don’t always like what I see. I try, I really try, not to contract Old Fan’s Disease, because what worked yesterday might not today. I try, I really try, not to pine for a time when every game meant more in every sport, because there is a bigger payoff and demand for bigger playoffs today.

But have we gone too far in this sport?

I am thrilled Major League Baseball is trying to speed up the pace and time of games, and I would love more experiments and changes to add more excitement. The sport was graying, shooing kids off the grass. You could water your lawn between pitches. Baseball must hold your interest for 162 games, so it helps if each game matters.

Chasing excellence all season is entertaining, but what if the pursuit of pretty, pretty, pretty good is better? And cheaper? Do you care? Does MLB?

Before Game 1 of the wild-card World Series last year, commissioner Rob Manfred said the playoff format would be discussed in the offseason, but he liked the “anyone can win” setup now. Nothing has changed.

I liked the wild-card game because it honored the regular season, but it was clearly a stopgap. More wild cards and actual series were inevitable, and we are not stopping here. Now baseball is like other everyone else. It is all about making the “tournament.” Are you peaking when you enter? Will a bye disrupt your momentum?

In the end, what the fans think is all that matters

Do you like this? Because, in the end, that is what matters. We as fans can feel powerless, but we decide whether to watch, and that can make a difference. You have choices.

I do, too. I can keep an open mind and try to reframe all this. I can be curious how teams will adjust. Do you build for the regular season, the postseason or both?

The smart teams always approached playoff series differently, when games tended to be closer and lining up your pitching was critical. Today, a deeper rotation might be fine in the season, but do you have those two or three key starters to anchor multiple playoff series? Are your top position players and relievers healthy and rested?

Are you hot at the end?

If I am a Reds fan, how can I look at this season differently? I don’t want another start like the last two, but what if the Reds just play competitively during the first half while the pitching coalesces, TJ Friedl heals and Noelvi Marte serves his suspension? Look at what happened last season when Elly De La Cruz first arrived. And what if he can play like that all season this time?

Why not the Reds for a playoff run?

The Central is winnable, the Cardinals and Cubs are favored ahead of the Reds, but what if winning the division is not the point anymore and the Reds are exactly where they need to be? What if I need to pay more attention to the wild-card standings all season? The Reds finished two games behind Arizona last year, and look at how the Diamondbacks soared all the way to the pennant.

Texas and Arizona made the World Series last year, two years after each hit the 100-loss mark.

Why not the Reds?

Seriously, if I am a Reds fan, I don’t want to enter 2024 rooting to be the next sixth seed to make an unlikely World Series run. I probably want to see months of winning baseball and a division title. Mostly, I want to see David Bell manage this roster and Nick Krall bolster it so the Reds can make a postseason that is not COVID-inflated – and win a playoff series for the first time this century.

But what if I did not care about the division title?

Maybe it is better if you don’t need a huge payroll to make the expanding playoffs, then still have a chance at a magical run. Maybe this will make the regular season more interesting in more cities, including Cincinnati.

I am not there yet. But I am open to the idea.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Bass: Cincinnati Reds are not division favorites, but what if that is a good thing?