Votto on Reds' playoff push: 'We expect this'

MIAMI -- Supreme confidence. Having just too much fun. Or, perhaps, it’s simply too early to feel the pressure of a playoff race. Any way you slice it, the Reds are about as loose a bunch as you’d want from a team fighting for the last spot in the postseason.

That successful formula has gotten them to this point, holding a slight lead over slumping San Diego and surging St. Louis for the second National League Wild Card berth entering play Sunday.

Reds manager David Bell has his hands full with the daily routine of keeping it all together, but he still admits to taking a peek at what the other teams are doing.

“We have so much to take care of here, but I keep an eye on it,” Bell said. “I think that’s healthy. I think that’s normal. I don’t think it’s an issue or a problem to do that. I think it’s part of just a normal reaction to being in a position we’re in. And it’s fun to watch.”

Bell said that after the Reds’ game Wednesday, he got caught up in the Dodgers-Padres extra-inning marathon that went 16 frames before L.A. pulled out a 5-3 win.

“I started watching it because it was the Padres,” Bell said. “But then it was just a great baseball game to watch. It took my attention almost to the end. I didn’t quite make it to the end. I actually turned it off when it was still 1-1, so quite a bit happened after, but what a game.

“I did check [the results] in the morning.”

Team leader Joey Votto is just enjoying the experience of a good season, personally, as well as the team’s success.

“I’m having fun because we’re a winning club,” Votto said. “I don’t feel any pressure when it comes to playoffs. We’re a good team. We expect this. I haven’t sensed [the pressure] from my teammates. We put on the uniform and we feel joy when we play.

“I don’t want to speak for everybody, but I don’t get the sense that there’s any panic or any pressure, we just expect to play well. We expect to be a playoff team. We’ve got really high expectations for our club this year.”

Not that the Reds appear to need any mentoring when it comes to staying loose, but as the season turns into a September stretch, it sure helps to have a veteran like Asdrúbal Cabrera in the clubhouse. Picked up off waivers Friday, Cabrera is already starting to fit right in.

“I’m so happy to be part of a team that’s in the race for making the postseason,” said Cabrera, who joined the Reds from the D-backs, who sit in last place in the NL West. “That’s where we want to be at the end of the year. I’m going to try my best to help the team.”

How can he best do that?

“I’m going to bring my best game," Cabrera said. "I’m going to try to help the young guys to enjoy the game. This is a pretty nice game, but at the same time, it’s tough. You have to stay strong in your mind."

That’s what it will take for Cincinnati to complete its impressive run towards the postseason.