Breaking down Cincinnati Reds' 2-13 start, and comparing to 1931

The Cincinnati Reds' first 15 games of the season have produced just two wins - the team's worst start since the 1931 Reds started 2-17.

The hometown Enquirer was pretty rough on the team 87 years ago. Per Newspapers.com, a subheadline from a loss to the Cardinals on April 22 read, "Foe, As Usual, Comes On In Final Sessions."

Zing.

In the game story, Jack Ryder wrote, "Those champion Cardinals continue their relentless authority over the Reds ... no matter how hard they fight, or how well they play, it just seems that our boys can't get the edge on this Mound City gang. ... It's just too bad about the way these champions manhandle the seventh-placers. ... They have lost 17 straight games to the champions, 13 last year and four so far this season. There is poison in the air for them over here. They are beaten before the game begins."

Ouch.

The Reds' win May 3, 1931, in the second game of a doubleheader against the Pittsburgh Pirates was just their second of the season, and Ryder's game story and headline - "Where's That Guy Who Said Reds Wouldn't Win Another Game?" - were dripping with sarcasm. Also from Newspapers.com:

Subhead: THESE BOYS ARE STARTING OFF WITH A BANG! "Well, those surprising Reds resolutely refused to lose both games of the double-header, at least up to the present time. After tossing off the first half of the bargain attraction ... the boys just took the bit in their teeth and cut loose with a hefty flock of bingles off four Pirate pitchers, which enabled them to smash their long losing streak into flinders. The even break did not advance the Reds in the standing, as too many terrible exhibitions had preceded it, but it did show that the team can win once in a while, which was something that had become rather doubtful in the past two weeks. Small favors are thankfully received in these dull days.

The 1931 Reds were 58-96 in their 154-game season - a .377 winning percentage. Only three teams in Cincinnati's long history have finished the season with worse winning percentages - 1901 (.374), 1937 (.364) and 1934 (.344).

Some numbers related to the disappointing start for this year's team:

44: Runs scored by Reds, ranked 29th of 30 MLB teams

92: Runs scored by opponent, most in MLB

11: Home runs by Reds, ranked 26th

41: RBIs by Reds, ranked 29th

.224: Reds' team batting average, ranked 26th

5.83: Reds pitchers' ERA, ranked last

1.45: Reds pitchers' WHIP, ranked 28th

26: Home runs allowed by Reds, most in MLB

And some good ones from statistician Joel Luckhaupt:

The Reds are in Milwaukee to face the Brewers starting Monday, hoping to smash the current losing skid into flinders.

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