Gather ‘round, kids. It’s story time!

When the Reds made the postseason in 2010, my brother and I decided that we could simply not be apart to watch their playoff games. So, I took off a few days of college classes and flew all the way to Virginia to watch games 2 and 3 on Joe’s enormous HDTV. My friends thought I was crazy for doing this, but if you’ve been following this blog, you already know that I really don’t give a damn what other people think about me when it comes to my Reds. The Reds ended up getting swept by the Phillies that year, but Joe and I still had a blast watching the games together.

Last year, Joe and I set our sights a bit higher. Just days after the Reds clinched their second NL Central Division title in three years, Joe called me with a proposition. Here’s how that conversation went. Keep in mind that since I didn’t go all NSA and record our talk (too soon?), I’m only paraphrasing here.

Joe: “I can get us tickets to games 3 and 4 [of the Reds’ Divisional Round postseason series against the San Francisco Giants] in Cincinnati. What do you think about this plan? You’ll fly down here and we’ll watch games 1 and 2 together at my house. Then, we’ll wake up at the crack of dawn and drive eight hours to Cincinnati and GO TO the next two games at the Great American Ball Park. Then, if there’s a game 5, we’ll either find a way to get tickets or we’ll drive back to Virginia in time to watch the game at my house. This all may sound crazy, but what do you think?

Me: “I think that’s the greatest plan EVER.”

Joe: “Here’s the thing though: you’d have to miss about a week of school to do this. Would that be a problem?”

Me: HYSTERICAL LAUGHTER (I sure have missed a lot of school in my life due to the Reds, huh? I should really get a job with the team.)

The plan was set. I packed up my Reds gear – and a few regular sets of clothes – and hopped on a flight to Virginia. Once there, it didn’t take long for the baseball gods to crush our poor souls. In the first inning of game 1 in San Francisco, Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto – the staff ace – left the game with an apparent injury. Keep in mind that the Reds’ regular starting five had pitched in 161 out of the 162 regular season games. Johnny Cueto, Mat Latos, Bronson Arroyo, Homer Bailey, and Mike Leake had virtually no injury issues all season, but we don’t even get one inning into our first playoff game and we lose our ace in Cueto for the rest of the postseason. It was a tough pill to swallow. But have no fear, because two other pitchers came to the rescue.

Reliever Sam LeCure came in and got the Reds out of the first inning with runners on. After LeCure got through the second inning, Mat Latos, who was slated to start game 3 in Cincinnati, came in and pitched four incredible innings with hardly any mental or physical preparation. He immediately became one of my favorite guys on the team. The Reds ended up winning game 1 and beat the Giants handily in game 2. When Joe and I hit the road the next morning for Cincinnati, things were looking pretty good.

Things looked even better when, as we were closing in on the Queen City after over seven hours of driving (read: over seven hours of Joe driving), a sign appeared on the highway: “Skyline Chili, next exit.” Now, let me tell you something about Cincinnati’s signature chili: it’s the best chili out there. You know what’s even better? Skyline chili coneys. What’s that? You don’t know what Skyline chili coneys are? Allow me to blow your mind for a second. They are mini hot dogs topped off with Skyline chili, diced onions, mustard, and shredded cheese in a tasty bun. They will knock you out with their tastiness. My mouth is watering just writing this. Anyway, Joe and I decided to reward ourselves for all that driving (read: reward Joe for all that driving and me for all that co-piloting) and took that exit straight to the comfy confines of Skyline. We promptly ate four coneys each, saved our awesome Skyline bibs, took some ridiculous pictures, and got back in the car. This was the first of many highlights of our trip.

Despite what you may think after reading that last paragraph, we did not drive all the way to Cincinnati just to go to Skyline. We came for Reds postseason baseball, and after checking into the beautiful Cincinnatian Hotel, buying some more Reds gear, and making the obligatory trip to the Reds Hall of Fame, it was game time. We knew going into game 3 that if the Reds won the game, they would have swept the Giants and we would have ended up only being able to go to one playoff game as opposed to two. But we tried not to think about this. We tried very hard.

Perhaps the baseball gods decided to punish us for even considering this, because the Reds wasted an impressive start from Homer Bailey and lost the game in extra innings. We were disappointed, but we were still fired up from just being at that game. The atmosphere in Great American Ball Park was electric. We arrived at the game early just to be able to walk around the ballpark, and I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. That place felt like home to me, and despite the crushing loss, I couldn’t wait to return for game 4.

Game 4 was a nightmare from the very beginning. Giants center fielder Angel Pagan hit a leadoff home run off Reds starter Mike Leake in the first inning, and Cincinnati was only able to get one run across the plate with the bases loaded in the bottom half. The Giants scored two more runs off Leake in the second inning and never looked back. They won the game, 8-3. Joe and I were understandably devastated after, and we were also left with a serious dilemma.

Basically, we had two choices. It wouldn’t have been too hard for us to secure tickets to game 5 in Cincinnati.  All we had to do was get to the ballpark early and scalp them. So that was option 1. Option 2 was to get up at 4 a.m. the next day and drive back to northern Virginia in time to catch the first pitch on Joe’s TV. It was tough for us to turn down the chance to catch game 5 in person, but there was just too much downside to that option. If the Reds lost the game, we would have had to hit the road immediately after because Joe had to get to work the next day. So, we would have had to drive eight hours back to Virginia in post-game traffic and likely not get back before 1:00 in the morning, with the crushing end to the Reds’ season eating away at us the whole way home. Looking back, I am very happy we made the decision to watch game 5 at Joe’s.

Joe and I were cautiously optimistic when we got back to Virginia. Sure, the Giants had the momentum with their two wins in our home ballpark. However, the Reds had game 1 hero Mat Latos on the hill. Something about the way he performed in San Francisco had us feeling good about our chances, and he delivered early in the game – holding the Giants scoreless through the first four innings. But the wheels came off in the fifth. After San Francisco scored two runs to start the inning, Giants catcher Buster Posey hit a soul-crushing grand slam to put his team ahead, 6-0, and chase Latos from the game. Our spirits sunk to a new low, but we would never give up on our Reds.

To the Reds’ credit, they kept things interesting. Thanks to a two-run double by second baseman Brandon Phillips and a solo home run by left fielder Ryan Ludwick, the Reds went into the ninth inning only down by three runs. After Phillips popped out to start the inning, a walk to shortstop Zack Cozart and a single by Joey Votto started a rally. Ludwick delivered again with a run-scoring single to left field. All of a sudden, the Reds were only down by two runs. With two runners on and only one out, Jay Bruce stepped up to the plate. I kept having flashbacks to Bruce’s division-clinching homer in 2010. Something told me that Jay Bruce was about to hit another heroic walk-off home run, this time sealing an impressive comeback and a trip to the NLCS. I don’t think I have ever been so nervous during an at-bat in my life. I couldn’t even sit down.

In the end, my premonitions were unfounded. Jay Bruce flew out to left field, and clubhouse leader Scott Rolen struck out to end the Reds’ season. Joe and I turned off the TV immediately after the last out and sat in silence. We were stunned.  Surprisingly, however, it didn’t take us long to look on the bright side. The Reds still had an incredible season, and most of the team would be back in 2013 to give it another run. This wasn’t a fluke season; the Cincinnati Reds were finally good after all these years. Joe and I sat out in his backyard and talked baseball for a long time. Then, we got our baseball gloves and had a catch, because we knew that this sad moment as Reds fans wouldn’t last long.  After all, Opening Day was just six months away.