Terry Francona and the Reds Need Ownership to Have Their Backs

CINCINNATI -- While at Redsfest this weekend-- which, if you haven't been, I highly recommend going. I paid close attention to the mood and vibe amongst the fans. Coming off an 83-79 season where the Reds backed into the Postseason as the third and final Wild Card, before being swept 2-0 in a best-of-three series against the eventual champion Los Angeles Dodgers, I wanted to know and see how fans felt about the team going into 2026 at the organization's biggest offseason event.

I got to Redsfest just as the entire organization and roster were being introduced on stage at the Duke Energy Convention Center. The reception was awesome for all the players, especially the most notable ones like Elly De La Cruz, Chase Burns, TJ Friedl, Noelvi Marte, and Sal Stewart. Manager Terry Francona also got a great reception from the fans.

In that moment, I had an epiphany. Seeing how much the players loved being there, especially their interactions with the numerous kids in attendance, made me think that rooting for the team is all about the players. Why should I spend so much time complaining about and blaming anyone or multiple people in the front office for what they do and don't do, rather than focusing more on rooting for the players to do well on the field? Players, at the end of the day, are the ones who win games. They're the ones controlling the outcome.

Baseball is unique in that it's every day. We get to watch the Reds' players play every day, and a team with De La Cruz, Friedl, Marte, and Stewart should be exciting to watch throughout the spring and summer. That's what I vow to do this season: focus on the players and root for them to win enough games to play in October. I root for the Reds every game and every season they play, but I'm going to focus more on that than spinning the wheel of blame when it comes to this front office. As I have come to realize, the wheel of blame has no landing spot.

That said, I wish the front office would have as much passion as the players when it comes to putting the best possible team on the field. Listening to Hunter Greene and Matt McLain, in their Q&A's, talk about their approach to their respective crafts and how much time, energy, and commitment they put into them, it made me wish the front office would reciprocate by doing whatever they could to ensure this team could contend for championships.

I kept hearing about how making the Postseason last year was just the first step, and how they're excited about the potential this club has going into 2026. They sense that they can compete and truly contend for the NL Central this season. That should get fans excited. It does for me.

But given the state of the overall organization, there are just some doubts about what this front office does and doesn't do, and what it has and hasn't done in recent seasons. It shouldn't be that way, but not winning a Postseason series in 30 years is a big reason why Reds fans are skeptical to buy into high expectations.

The first time I went to Redsfest was in December of 2012, following the Reds' most recent NL Central title. I remember the energy surrounding the club and organization was awesome. There was genuine belief, even after blowing a 2-0 lead in the NLDS, that the Reds could contend for a World Series in 2013. That team had so many great players that fans gravitated towards, and they had a general manager, Walt Jocketty, who was instrumental in building the club to compete at the top of the National League and Major League Baseball.

I also went to Redsfest in December of 2023. That was just months after De La Cruz, McLain, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand were called up to the big league club. It finally felt like, after some really lean seasons, that the Reds had a strong young corps that could contend for a Postseason berth.

This past weekend, I felt a similar way. Something is in the air with this club. The players seem really confident. Terry Francona seems confident about this club's potential. I really hope the organization sees that and goes the extra mile to help this club win and go on a deep Postseason run. Cincinnati would go crazy if that happened.

Reds fans love the players. Francona loves the players, and the players love playing for him. Now, it's on this front office. They owe it to the players, Francona, and Reds fans to make this team a true contender. It's long overdue.

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