The Reds will end 2014 the same way they did in 2013: against the Pittsburgh Pirates. This time around there will be no big do-or-die game. There will be no hope of the Reds still playing baseball next week. It has been a long, painful, frustrating, and mostly full of disappointment 2014 season for the Cincinnati Reds, but it is finally just about to conclude. For some it will be a relief that the season is mercifully over, and others will be sad there will be no more Reds baseball this year.

Pirates Chasing Division Title

The Pirates are just one game out of first place in the NL Central. The Cardinals are playing three games this weekend at the Arizona Diamondbacks. This is a huge series for the Pirates, as they obviously want to avoid playing in the wild card game.

What might be even more intriguing for baseball fans would be if the Pirates and Cardinals end the season tied. If that was to happen, the two teams would play a game for the NL Central title on Monday night in St. Louis (the Cardinals would host the game because they went 11-8 vs the Pirates during the regular season). The winner of the game would advance to the NLDS. The loser would then play in the wild card game against the Giants. If this were to happen, it would be the first of this type of 1-game playoff that wasn’t an elimination game in baseball history. Even more crazy, the two teams would play with the expanded rosters in that game, because it counts as a regular season game. That is certainly something interesting to watch this weekend.

Reds Individual Accomplishments

1. Johnny Cueto

• He will go for win number 20 on Sunday.

• His current 2.29 ERA is the best by a Reds pitcher that qualified for the ERA title since Gary Nolan (1.99 ERA) in 1972.

• His 0.97 WHIP is the second best since 1901 by a Reds pitcher (only Tom Seaver’s 0.96 WHIP in 1977 is better).

2. Devin Mesoraco

• His 25 home runs are currently the 9th most ever by a Reds catcher (min 50% of games played as a catcher).

• His 149 wRC+ and .910 OPS are the best among all MLB catchers with 400+ PA in 2014. Russell Martin is next with a 143 wRC+ and .843 OPS.

• He looks to become just the 6th Reds catcher with 400+ PA in a season to have a .900+ OPS (last done in 1972 by Johnny Bench).

3. Todd Frazier

• Todd Frazier currently has 27 home runs. Only two players have hit more home runs while playing 50% or more of their games at third base in Reds history: Tony Perez did it twice, 1968 (38) and 1970 (40), and Deron Johnson hit 32 HR in 1965.

4. Billy Hamilton

• He is currently 11th all-time in Reds history with 56 SB. If Hamilton steals 5 bases this weekend, he would be tied for 8th all-time.

• He is currently tied for 9th all-time in MLB history among rookies with 56 SB. If Hamilton steals 2 bases this weekend, he would be tied for 7th all-time.

5. Aroldis Chapman

• He has faced 195 batters this season, striking out 101. That strikeout-rate of 51.8 percent is the all-time best for any major league pitcher with more than 50 IP in a season (previous record 50.2 percent, Craig Kimbrel, 2012).

6. Joey Votto

• Will Votto play in the final three games? It sure seems like he won’t, but Price has still left the door open for Votto to play again in 2014.

7. Final games in a Reds uniform?

• We will assume this weekend will likely be the final time we will see Ryan Ludwick, Jack Hannahan, and Ramon Santiago in a Reds uniform. There are certainly others who we could be seeing for the final time in a Reds uniform. Will the Reds trade a starting pitcher (Cueto, Latos, Leake)? Trade their closer Aroldis Chapman? Make a big shakeup and trade a position player? John Fay said yesterday that “while Jocketty and Price are safe, the source acknowledged that changes are coming in the offseason as far as the roster. “We’ve got a lot of work to do this offseason,” said another Reds insider said.”

Pitching Matchups