CINCINNATI — On the same day the Cincinnati Reds opened their home schedule at Great American Ball Park, one radio interview sent shockwaves throughout the fanbase.
"Where are you gonna go? Sell the team to who?" asked Reds president Phil Castellini in an interview on 700 WLW with Scott Sloan and Mo Egger.
Egger asked Castellini why Reds fans should maintain faith in the ownership group after some polarizing offseason moves.
"I thought it was a fair question," said Egger this weekend as he reflected on the interview on WCPO's weekly sports show, Sports of All Sorts. "I thought it was a question that he would've been prepared for."
Castellini, though, mentioned the idea of moving the franchise to a different city.
"If you want to look at — what would you do with this team to have it be more profitable, make more money, compete more in the current economic system that this game exists?" Castellini said. "It would be to pick it up and move it somewhere else. Be careful what you ask for."
"It was, to me, directly pointed at people's fears," said Egger. "'Be careful what you wish for' — That's a warning."
Since that interview, the Reds have lost six consecutive games; two at home to Cleveland and four on the road against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Cincinnati is 2-8, the worst record in Major League Baseball heading into Monday's series opener against the San Diego Padres.
"I think most of us understand the point he was making. We get that there are some financial inequities in this sport that do not help teams like the Cincinnati Reds, in markets like Cincinnati. We understand that, and we really don't even need to be told that," Egger said. "The tone was antagonistic and standoff-ish."
Egger said he was surprised by that tone.
"It's taken 15 years for Reds ownership to really be in the public's crosshairs. There are really good reasons for that," said Egger, who went on to cite Redsfest, Reds Caravan, the Reds Community Fund and the MLB All-Star game's trip to Cincinnati in 2015. "I can count on both hands the amount of times somebody has called [my radio show] to complain about ownership. [Fans were] on your side for 14, 15 years. [Fans] haven't complained about you ... and now we're finally questioning you, and you're coming at me?"
You can see the full interview in the video player on this page.
Mo Egger also wrote a column, published by the Bearcat Journal, where he echoed some of the same sentiments.
