This was originally published in The Athletic...

The surge of optimism that’s accompanied the recent run of winning Reds baseball may have reached its crest on Tuesday night when the Reds scored seven runs with two outs in the ninth inning, overcoming a 4-zip hole to stun the Indians.

No matter what you think the Reds’ recent success means in the big picture, you could be excused for getting caught up enough in their stirring Cleveland comeback to start thinking about the playoffs. Not necessarily this year, of course, but sometime sooner than the abstract “future” we spend so much time talking about without much specificity.

Like, maybe as soon as next year.

To read the entire piece, go to The Athletic.

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