They're trying to sell people on the fact that the team exceeded expectations and is clearly headed in the right direction.

All they wish to focus on is what they perceive to be the good while conveniently ignoring the bad.

To them, the glass is more than half-full and the future looks promising. Their belief is that much was accomplished in '06.

In their viewpoint, the pluses vastly outweighed the negatives.

It must be nice to be that delusional. It must a trip to be able to create your own reality and then overlook the cold, hard truth.

Don't let facts get in the way when you can engage in a campaign of spin designed to put you in the best possible light.

Perhaps if you constantly repeat the company line even the most cynical among us might begin to buy into the propaganda.

Tell a distortion often enough and there are those who will probably come to accept it.

But not this reporter.

The Reds' spin just doesn't wash. It can't clean what turned out to be a soiled season. The stains just won't come out.

Here are the realities that very few if any in the Reds' family are willing to admit;

The Reds ruined what had the potential to be a special and memorable year.

Cincy suffered through it's sixth straight losing campaign, a streak of ineptitude that is both unacceptable and downright embarrassing.

From a season high of 12 games over .500 in June, Cincy proceeded to unravel from that point on, losing 14 more times than they would win. That amounts to a colossal nosedive.

When it came to producing under pressure, the Reds proved themselves to be lightweights.

For a club that was suppose to have a formidable offense, the Reds were basically pushovers when it came to delivering hits with runners on base. 

Beyond stalwarts Bronson Arroyo and Aaron Harang, the starting pitching was inconsistent and iffy.

The Reds' defense was way too leaky and was a genuine liability at times.

On balance, the relievers were awful. And even after Krivsky made a flurry of moves that definitely upgraded the situation, the bullpen still struggled more often than you'd like.

That, in a nutshell, encapsulates the actual situation  confronting the Reds. Those are the facts they simply can't avoid no matter how rosy a picture they may wish to paint.

Their future looks to be composed of just as much black as it is white. The outlook is decidedly cloudy.

And it would be refreshing if the Reds, particularly Narron and others, would acknowledge that truth instead of trying to sell the public a bill of goods.

Their overly optimistic perspective in both irritating and disingenuous.

Some straight talking would be welcomed rather than this self-serving bull that too many in the Reds organization are handing out.

Now, that's not to imply that the team doesn't have some real hope and legitimate upside. Cincy has some talented components upon which to build. The cupboard is hardly bare.

And it would be dishonest not to admit that. A foundation is being laid.

Arroyo and Harang are two quality hurlers that can anchor your starting staff for years.

Young infielders Edwin Encarnacion and Brandon Phillips are gaining in experience and show signs of becoming first-rate major-leaguers.

Seasoned vets like Rich Aurilia, Scott Hatteberg, Ryan Freel and David Ross demonstrated that they are dependable performers who appear to have some good years left.

Outfielders Ken Griffey and Adam Dunn are still capable of monster seasons if one can stay healthy while the other avoids confounding slumps.

Hard-throwing youngsters like Todd Coffey and Homer Bailey could be studs if they continue to develop and mature.

And budding players like Chris Denorfia and Norris Hopper have shown some glimpses that offer encouragement.

But none of that changes what happened this year.

Any way you slice it, 2006 rates as a major disappointment. It was a grand opportunity wasted.

To put it bluntly, the Reds blew it. To say they choked or gagged might seem a little bit harsh but it nonetheless rings true.

It was more than coincidental that when the stakes meant the most, the Reds faded badly. It could be forcefully argued that the pressure got to them.

Advantageously positioned in August to win either the Central Division crown or the Wild Card berth, the Reds did neither. The came up empty on both accounts.

Instead, they finished third in arguably baseball's weakest division and didn't come close in the Wild Card chase.

They imploded at the worst possible time. A complete disintegration on a pivotal West Coast swing did them in.

It was particularly revealing that the team went into a collective funk when the postseason was there for the taking. When the heat got turned up, Cincy went stone cold. They simply bombed out.

And no amount of fast-talking or gibberish can alter that stark reality.

One would have much   more respect for the Reds if they simply made that admission. Just fess up to the fact that you let the season get away and flubbed a golden chance. In other words, be men about it and take your medicine.

Instead, we have apologists like Narron who infer the season was a success because the Reds didn't finish dead last as some had predicted.

They seem to be proclaiming with some warped pride that because they weren't as bad as projected that rates as some sort of accomplishment.

To them, being mediocre qualifies as a kind of victory.

No wonder that with a mindset like that, inferior performance took place. Settling for not being as bad as anticipated is not a goal to which real competitors aspire. They set they sights on something much higher.

So let's just cut to the chase and spell it out.

By and large, the Reds' season was a downer. After a splendid start, Cincy experienced an eventual descent that made them nothing more than an afterthought.

On the field, they failed more times than they succeeded.

As a team, they didn't distinguish themselves in any meaningful way.

In the end, they proved to be more also-ran than contender. Deep down inside, they just didn't have enough substance or grit.

And nothing can change that, not Narron's ramblings or even a heavy dousing of Spray-and-Wash.