Billy Hurst-USA TODAY SPORTS
The Cincinnati Reds have a roster littered with All-Star talent. Former National League MVP Joey Votto leads the way, but the Reds also boast the likes of Aroldis Chapman, Johnny Cueto, Todd Frazier, Devin Mesoraco and Brandon Phillips.
With that kind of talent, one would figure that the Reds would annually be in contention for the National League Central championship. However, there is one major obstacle standing in the Reds’ way each and every season.
To put it simply, the St. Louis Cardinals own the Reds. The Cardinals continued their domination on Sunday by completing a weekend sweep of the Reds with a 2-1 win at Busch Stadium. That follows a series last weekend at Great American Ballpark where the Cardinals took two of three from the Reds in the Queen City.
As long as the Reds continue to struggle beating the Cardinals, there is no way they can win the Central division. There are too many games against divisional opponents for the Reds to overcome losing so often to the Cardinals.
Cincinnati has not won the season series against St. Louis since 2011, when the Reds won nine of the 15 games between the two teams. In 2012, St. Louis won the season series 8-7. In 2013, it was the Cardinals winning 11 of 19 games between the two. And last season, St. Louis won 12 of the 19 contests between the two teams.
St. Louis has been one of the better teams in the National League over the last five years. The Reds seem to have the talent to hang with them, but until Cincinnati can prove they can beat St. Louis on a regular basis, there is no way the Reds can get to the postseason.
Tim Letcher is a Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TimLetcher , on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
