Bass: Did you hear the one about the Cincinnati Reds being back?

When I asked recently what you would give up or do for a Bengals Super Bowl title, some of you aimed elsewhere.

I should have known.

“The Reds,” @aknight4788 tweeted.

I felt like your straight man.

“I will happily give up the Reds 😁,” @toledodan1 tweeted.

Be sure to tip the wait staff.

“Quite frankly when it comes to the #Bengals(,) I don’t think you have to give up anything. ... It’s the #Reds that I’d give up a lot to see,” @Just_A_Reds_Fan tweeted. “They seem to be in a well with only fishing line to get them out.”

If you see the Reds as a punch line, imagine if you had been with me at a Chicago collectibles show. I saw a signed Bob Castellini business card going for $20, marked down from $25. I started to imagine what you would have wanted to tell the innocent seller.

“Is that what YOU will pay ME to take it off your hands? ... Where are you gonna go to sell it? ... Did Bob make you do this, Phil?”

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Would those be fair shots at a cheap and the city’s worst team? Or cheap shots at a rebuilding team with an intriguing future? What do you see?

The Reds are back, Thursday is Opening Day, but the narrative is yours. What works for you?

* * * * *

A season-ticket holder received a group email from the team, less than two weeks before Opening Day, asking the “Friend of the Reds” to spread the word about available tickets for the game.

Is this laughable?

About the same time last year, Phil Castellini said home-opener tickets were available and he couldn’t remember that ever happening so close to the game. Must be the lockout changing the schedule, the COO said.

Was that a joke to you?

Some of you are reeling over what now is a $50 million payroll slash since 2021. You find dark humor in 2010 retiree Ken Griffey Jr. being the fourth-highest-paid Reds player at $3.59 million (almost $5 million a year, if you count interest). You still cringe over “Where are you gonna go?” You foresee more misery after a 100-loss season.

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This is understandably hard for some of you, which came though this week on Twitter when I asked Reds fans how you are feeling about this season (with a retweet assist from Enquirer baseball writer Bobby Nightengale).

“I'm still smarting from the MLB lockout and the Reds management ‘could care less’ attitude towards the fans,” @tscinti tweeted. “I can't seem to get in the mood. They've piddled away JV's (Joey Votto’s) career and they've got 3 young pitchers who are exciting and I find myself just ‘meh.’ I'm sorry.”

“I relate Joe,” @ou_country replied to @tscinti. “I was ‘all-in’ in 2020, 2021. I planned my evenings around the Reds. When they firesold that team, and tried to sell me on yet another rebuild, I lost interest. Only real commitment to trying to win, or a new owner will realistically get me ‘all-in’ again.”

“There is absolutely nothing to be positive with the current owners,” @aaarrrrrgggggg1 tweeted, “if we have some breakout stars this season what does it matter? They'll just be traded because Bob doesn't want to have to pay players anymore. The team will continue to be a joke.”

Some of you are not seeing a punch line.

Some of you are smiling.

* * * * *

You can choose to look closer at the Reds and see a different picture and context.

You know that cut-rate autograph I found for the Reds owner? In fairness, it was in a display with other encased autographs at the same price (or six for $100) on the show’s last day.

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And soliciting help to sell Opening Day tickets? The Cubs group-texted me Monday about theirs being available, and I buy tickets only once or twice a year.

And Junior’s contract? The deferred money though 2024 allowed the Reds to bring one of the game’s most dynamic players home at below market value.

And whether the Castellinis have destroyed the future of the franchise? Some of you see hope, after all.

“All about expectations,” @CincyBuckeye tweeted. “They will not contend. You are seeing the beginning of the next generation of Reds. Go to the park, enjoy nice evenings, enjoy a ball game W or L and make the most of that.”

We entered 2022 knowing the Reds would be a lot worse than the previous two years (although not necessarily the worst in 40 years). We enter 2023 figuring the Reds can be at least a little better than last year.

“No pressure,” @ChrisSchloemer tweeted. “Don't expect much. Hope we get to see how some of these young prospects do in the majors.”

“I don’t have too high of expectations, especially coming off of last season,” @redsgirlterry tweeted. “I’m not going to throw out a record, I’m just looking to see how the rotation performs & how long it takes for (Elly) De La Cruz & (Christian) Encarnacion-Strand to be called up.

Maybe Nick Krall is onto something. Maybe the Castellinis will be toasted one day. (Hey, it happened to Mike Brown.) Maybe the Reds will be worth watching.

“Curious,” @kevin6234 tweeted.

Ted Lasso would like that.

“He would,” @kevin6234 agreed. “And I'm definitely not being judgmental. Curious i(f) the young pitching will make big strides. Curious if attendance will improve. Curious when EDLC will make his debut. Curious about JDV. Let's just say I'm curious not judgmental.”

Are you?

* * * * *

You have every right to ignore the Reds, poke fun at them or remain angry with them. You feel what you feel.

You might see the Reds as the loser in a city of winners. In the last year or so, the other major men’s teams have brought a Super Bowl, College Football Playoff, Sweet Sixteen, NIT quarterfinal and MSL postseason. The idea of celebrating a projected 90-something-loss team as improving might seem funny to you. No judgment here.

Actual humor can be therapeutic. It can help you detach and stop taking the Reds’ struggles as personally. Being a Reds fan might be part of your identity, but they are not you. Stop watching, if it helps you. Or stay angry, if it serves you. Keep ripping the Castellinis, if you find it a healthy outlet. Just know if you see only the negative, it can wear on you and cloud your view of reality.

The Reds are who they are. You get to decide what to make of the Reds.

“There will be sorrow and euphoria,” tweeted @cammillerfilms (documentary filmmaker Cam Miller, who has produced content for the Reds Hall of Fame). “We will see hope, and sometimes feel hopeless. And a day at the old ball orchard will be a most splendid thing, no matter the place in which the home team resides. And what if...what if we just win the whole thing?”

Or not.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Mike Bass column 3-29