Scoreboard watching is a waste of time for Cincinnati Reds after losing to New York Mets

NEW YORK — It wasn’t intentional, but on Saturday night Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell found himself doing some scoreboard watching, with wild-card rivals playing a late game in Arizona on TV after his Reds won earlier.

“My son and I were watching that game,” said Bell, whose son Gus is on the trip. “What a game, extra innings, DBacks and the Cubs.”

So he actually does scoreboard watch?

“I was just enjoying it as a fan,” Bell said. “I didn’t know who to root for.”

That’s the thing about this National League wild-card race that has stirred memories of the 1967 American League pennant race among baseball old-timers – when the Boston Red Sox finished one game ahead of both the Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers, three ahead of the Chicago White Sox, after jockeying in a tight, four-team pack throughout the final month.

Bell still wasn’t sure who to root for among his rivals after thinking about it Sunday morning

“Not really,” he said. “Us. Let that play out.”

Exactly.

Even as the Reds’ remaining schedule ticked down to 11 games as they headed out of New York Sunday night, it became even more obvious how little sense it makes to hang onto the results of other teams in other cities – no matter how impactful it might seem in the moment.

"At the end of the day, if we just win, we’re going to be in," said Spencer Steer, the leadoff man for a day who reached base twice in an otherwise ugly, 8-4 loss to the New York Mets on Sunday at Citi Field.

"I think it’s just as simple as that."

When some of these guys use terms like “roller coaster” to describe the emotions of their long-shot September thrill ride, they’re talking about days like Sunday – which opened with the Reds in the third wild-card playoff position on the strength of five wins in six games and trailing the Cubs by just a half-game for the second spot because of the Cubs’ loss to Arizona.

And then the New York Mets beat them in a game marred by three errors by rookies and a seventh inning that got away from first-month big-league pitcher Carson Spiers.

Just like that, the Reds went from eyeing a possible move up in playoff position to getting knocked out of playoff position altogether – for now – with the Miami Marlins routing the Atlanta Braves to pass the Reds.

Unlike their status against the Cubs and Diamondbacks, the Reds do not hold the tiebreaker advantage over the Marlins for a playoff spot.

See where this is headed?

Of course not. That’s the point.

“Especially this time of year, it’s more about every single game,” Bell said.

Every single one of 11 that are left.

Every single game, for now, looking like an opportunity to swing the entire playoff picture for the Reds.

Just 4 1/2 games separated the Phillies in the No. 1 wild-card spot and the Marlins four spots back as teams took the field Sunday. It was a four-game separation at the end of the day.

With the San Francisco Giants lurking with a late lead against Colorado on the verge of moving to a game and a half behind the rest of the pack.

“Day by day,” said veteran Joey Votto, who singled and doubled Sunday, advising against the scoreboard gaze. “Long way to go. Too long to go.”

How long?

How much impact each game?

Here’s the rest of the schedules for the six teams vying for three NL wild-card spots, starting Monday (remaining games in parentheses):

Phillies (13) — Monday-Wednesday at Atlanta Braves (3), Thursday-Sunday vs. New York Mets (4), Sept. 26-28 vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (3), Sept. 29-Oct. 1 at N.Y. Mets (3).

Cubs (12) — Tuesday-Thursday vs. Pirates (3), Friday-Sunday vs. Colorado Rockies (3), Sept. 26-28 at Atlanta Braves (3), Sept. 29-Oct. 1 at Milwaukee Brewers (3).

Reds (11) — Monday-Wednesday vs. Minnesota Twins (3), Friday-Sunday vs. Pirates (3), Sept. 26-27 at Cleveland Guardians (2), Sept. 29-Oct. 1 at St. Louis Cardinals (3).

Diamondbacks (11) — Tuesday-Wednesday vs. San Francisco Giants (2), Friday-Sunday at New York Yankees (3), Sept. 25-27 at Chicago White Sox (3), Sept. 29-Oct. 1 vs. Houston Astros (3).

Marlins (12) — Monday-Wednesday vs. New York Mets (3), Friday-Sunday vs. Brewers (3), Sept. 26-28 at N.Y. Mets (3), Sept 29-Oct. 1 at Pittsburgh (3).

Giants (12) — Tuesday-Wednesday at Arizona (2), Thursday-Sunday at Los Angeles Dodgers (4), Sept. 25-27 vs. San Diego Padres (3), Sept 29-Oct. 1 vs. Dodgers (3).

“Every single game is obviously huge for us,” Steer said. “But if we take care of our own business and win baseball games, we’ll be in no matter how many teams are right in the thick of it.”

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Reds out of MLB playoffs for now after loss to Mets