Wittenmyer & Williams: Are Cincinnati Reds still America's team? Or American Horror Story?

Welcome to Wittenmyer & Williams – a point/counterpoint column from Enquirer Reds reporter Gordon Wittenmyer and sports columnist Jason Williams. Each week the longtime friends, reunited after covering baseball together in Minnesota earlier in their careers, pick a hot baseball – or sometimes, non-baseball – topic and debate it.

Williams: Hey, GDub, what’s with the gloom-and-doom around the Cincinnati Reds these days?

Wittenmyer: Have you been watching the last few weeks? America’s team is starting to look like an American Horror Story. That six-game losing streak after the trade deadline was their second in a month.

Williams: Your point? Despite their struggles, they’re still in the thick of the playoff hunt.

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Wittenmyer: My point? You asked about doom-and-gloom. You don’t think fans have a right to be concerned where the season might be headed right now?

Williams: Of course they have a right to be concerned. Whether they should be is a different story. It’s baseball. You have to look at the bigger picture. This young team is streaky, for better or worse. Seems to me like they’re weathering the storm, given where they are in the standings and the fact they’ve been without Jonathan India this month. They’re expected to get India, the heartbeat of the clubhouse and lineup, back this weekend. Pitching reinforcements are on the way. They don’t play the Brewers, Dodgers or Braves the rest of the way. Trust the process.

Wittenmyer: Trust this, pal. You’re right about India, and Jake Fraley’s injury doesn’t help. But don’t get me started on the pitching.

Williams: Bring it on. Hunter Greene is coming back Aug. 20. Nick Lodolo should be right behind him. Got a problem with that?

Wittenmyer: They might be fine. Very talented young pitchers. My only two problems with that are (1) can you count on both at full strength and in full stride and (2) will it be too little too late.

Williams: The Reds should be able to hang on until we see what the pitching reinforcements can do. Starting with Pittsburgh this weekend, eight of the next 11 games are against teams with a losing record.

Wittenmyer: How’d that weak schedule work out when the Nationals came to town last weekend? Your optimism might come with a point – and I’m not talking about the one on top of your head.

Williams: At least I have a point – to my argument, that is.

Wittenmyer: Look, the only things I’m saying is the fans have a right to be concerned, especially with this team being so young. One of the biggest keys to the season will be how they play after they’ve had three out of eight days off as they face a good Toronto team at home next week.

Williams: Reds fans should look forward to seeing how these young guys respond to the grind of August and September. Time to stop dwelling on the Reds’ inactivity at the trade deadline. We’d still be having this conversation even if the Reds had gotten Michael Lorenzen or some other middle-of-the-rotation guy. Hell, even Justin Verlander.

Wittenmyer: Maybe Luis Castillo? How would that look right about now?

Williams: One pitcher wouldn’t have solved the plethora of problems the Reds have had this month. But if you’re going to dwell on a trade deadline, that’s the first good point you’ve made since our first version of this column. Reds fans have every right to still groan about last year’s deadline trade. Castillo should still be here, given he would’ve been under club control this year.

Wittenmyer: It certainly would have made a difference. Alexis Diaz thought so – enough that he joked with his old teammate at the All-Star Game to go back to Cincinnati with him because the Reds need him. But that’s not the point. I’ve moved on.

Williams: Seriously, it doesn’t sound like you’ve moved on.

Wittenmyer: Yeah, seriously. I don’t know what’s going to happen these final weeks of the season. Maybe they’re too young to pull this off. Maybe they don’t have enough pitching. But it’s going to be worth watching every minute of it.

Contact Gordon by email at gwittenmyer@enquirer.com or on Twitter @GDubMLB. Reach Jason at jwilliams@enquirer.com or @jwilliamscincy.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Are Cincinnati Reds still America's team? Or an American Horror Story?