Reds off to worst start since Great Depression

The last time the Cincinnati Reds were this bad, Herbert Hoover was the President, William Shatner was a newborn, and Joseph Stalin was general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

With the club's 6-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday, the Reds dropped to 2-12 on the season. The Reds have not been this bad since 1931, when the team opened the season 2-17. Cincinnati wound up finishing the 154-game campaign with a 58-96 record, and in last place in the National League.

Prior to the season beginning, the Reds were not favored to make any noise in the NL Central, and were expected to finish well behind the Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, and Milwaukee Brewers - all seemingly vying for postseason berths. However, in the midst of a seven-game losing streak, the rebuilding Reds have been even worse than expected, setting a historically bad win-loss record through their first 14 contests.

While the team lost Eugenio Suarez to injury, the Reds have been healthy otherwise. And, despite employing one of the generation's best hitters in Joey Votto, the club ranks 28th in the league by wRC+.

Compounding matters, coming into Saturday, Reds pitchers had combined to post a 6.04 ERA and be worth minus-0.8 WAR - the worst in the major leagues.

Pro-rated over the entire season, the Reds' record would close the season at 23-139 with their current win percentage - a pace that will certainly be rectified. By Baseball Prospectus' third-order win percentage though, the Reds have been only one win better than their record suggests and, based on run differential, should be closer to 3-11. Although it's a small sample, the Reds - who lost 94 games last year - could wind up with their worst record in franchise history (101 losses in 1982).