Explaining Reds' offensive woes is as easy as RISP

I've always subscribed to the theory that what you hit overall is much more important than what you hit with runners in scoring position. That's largely because most players tend to hit about the same with RISP as they do overall.

Tony Perez was known as Mr. Clutch on the Big Red Machine. Perez hit .279 overall and .284 with RISP. The overall average in the majors this year is .252. The average with runners in scoring position is .260.

You expect that kind of spread with most teams.

Right now, though, the Reds are hitting 44 points worse with RISP (.194) than overall (.238). They're last in the majors in average with RISP. No other team is below .205.

That discrepancy is probably the biggest reason the Reds entered Wednesday 18-21.

Nine teams in the National League are hitting higher with RISP, and six teams are hitting lower.

Hitting well with runners in scoring position is no guarantee of offensive success, however: The Colorado Rockies are hitting .302 with RISP, 41 points higher than overall – but they're 14th in the NL in runs.

It's not isolated to one player, either. The Reds are struggling up and down the lineup with RISP. Joey Votto's hitting .313. Brandon Phillips is hitting .297, but then it falls off the table.

The rest of the current regulars: Brayan Pena (.222); Marlon Byrd (.188); Jay Bruce (.184); Todd Frazier (.161); Zack Cozart (.143); and Billy Hamilton (.107).

While there are other problems people may point to, those numbers have to get better for the Reds to stop treading water.