When Elly De La Cruz walked back to the dugout after his third strikeout of the night, you could see it in his eyes—frustration, sure, but something deeper. Isolation. In a week where the Cincinnati Reds made the wrong kind of history, all eyes seemed to land on the electric, 6’5” mercurial shortstop who once lit up the city with hope. Now? He’s being painted as the problem.

But let’s set the scene. Three games. Three losses. All by the same score: 1-0. Not since 1960 has a Major League team gone silent this dramatically across three straight contests. This wasn’t just an offensive slump but an offensive vanishing act. The Reds, once promising with their youth and speed, have instead served up futility on a platter. And despite lights-out efforts from their pitching staff—games started by Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, and Graham Ashcraft—the bats have gone cold, the clubhouse colder.

How does that even happen? It takes more than just poor hitting. It demands near-perfect pitching from your opponents—and that’s exactly what the Cincinnati Reds faced. Nathan Eovaldi twirled a complete-game shutout for Texas. Rookie Jack Leiter, in just his second big-league start, carved them up for six scoreless. Then, Nestor Cortes, freshly traded to Milwaukee, flummoxed Terry Francona’s club with a barrage of cutters and deception. So, why the heat on De La Cruz?

He’s flashy. He’s young. And in baseball, when a team underperforms, the lightning rod often has the most electricity. Critics have latched onto his high strikeout rate and aggressive base running as signs of immaturity. But that ignores a deeper problem: this team, built on upside and youth, lacks veteran poise in big moments. Francona, known for steadying ships, seems frustrated, even shell-shocked.

Blaming Elly might feel convenient. But it’s a lazy excuse too. The Cincinnati Reds have scored zero runs in 27 straight innings. That’s not on one man. It’s on nine hitters, a bench, and a front office that bet on young talent coalescing quickly. So, Reds fans have to be asking: is Elly the problem—or is he just the brightest light in a power outage? Because if Cincinnati wants to stop scripting the wrong kind of history, scapegoating its stars won’t flip the switch.

Bats cold, takes hot: Cincinnati fans fire back

The Reds fans’ frustration didn’t simmer quietly—it exploded across airwaves, message boards, and social media feeds. Long known for their loyalty, Reds fans are now demanding answers, not apologies. From bars on the Banks to couches across the Queen City, the mood has shifted—this isn’t early-season overreaction. This is a fanbase fed up with being asked to trust a process that keeps collapsing under pressure.

In the swirl of online backlash, one jab stood out: fans dubbing the Reds’ shortstop “Elly De La Whiff”. It’s a sharp pun that reflects the growing impatience in Cincinnati, turning Elly De La Cruz’s name into a critique of his recent struggles at the plate. As the Reds continue to go scoreless, each strikeout by their star shortstop feels magnified, feeding the perception that he’s become more flash than function. For some fans, the nickname isn’t just about his whiffs—it’s about a larger disappointment with a team that promised fireworks but delivered silence.

One fan left a remark dripping with sarcasm and frustration: “But I was told Elly was a top 5 player?” It doesn’t question De La Cruz’s talent outright—it mocks the hype. Fans once might’ve bought into or at least heard the national buzz around Elly being one of MLB’s most electrifying young stars, touted as a potential top-five player because of his rare combination of speed, power, and defensive tools. Now, amid a brutal stretch of strikeouts and scoreless team efforts, they call that praise into question.

In fact, just weeks ago, Elly De La Cruz looked like he was ascending into the MVP conversation. His electric start to the season included towering home runs, stolen bases that seemed to defy physics, and highlight-reel defense that made him the face of the Reds’ resurgence. But suddenly, that momentum has evaporated. He’s fallen into a slump, striking out in big spots as the Reds’ offense completely stalls. One fan pointedly remarked: “What happened? Wasn’t Elly playing himself into MVP conversation? Damn”. Instead of leading the charge, he’s become a symbol of missed opportunity. The shift is stark—and painful.

One user’s comment reflects a sharp mix of sarcasm and skepticism, poking holes in the earlier narrative that Torpedo Bats were somehow giving Cincinnati Reds hitters, especially Elly De La Cruz, an unfair edge. They said: “i was told that the torpedo bats were cheating how come one of the best hitters in the sport can’t do anything with them“. If those bats were truly a cheat code, the fan argues, then how is it that one of the sport’s most explosive hitters suddenly looks lost at the plate? It’s a pointed way of highlighting just how far the offense—and Elly in particular—has fallen.

Fans aren’t just criticizing Elly De La Cruz; many are rallying around him, realizing he’s shouldering way too much of the offensive burden on a team that’s gone completely quiet at the plate. He’s 22 years old, expected to carry a lineup that, over three straight games, couldn’t muster a single run. That’s not an Elly problem—it’s a Reds problem, and one fan knows it: “get elly some help man“. When you’re asking your youngest star to be the spark, slugger, and savior every night, it’s a recipe for burnout and backlash. The lineup lacks depth, the veterans aren’t stepping up, and the front office hasn’t provided enough high-contact bats around him.

Fans pinned hopes on Elly to be the cornerstone of a turnaround, but as the team continues to unravel—most recently with a historic string of 1-0 losses—it’s become clear that star power alone won’t save a roster lacking support, leadership, and depth. One disappointed fan mustered up: “Elly not saving our trash franchise sadly“. It’s less about Elly De La Cruz himself and more about the painful realization that even a rare talent can’t fix what feels like a chronically broken franchise.

The scene is bitter, but underneath it is heartbreak—because fans wanted to believe Elly could change everything. Elly De La Cruz may be the Reds’ brightest star, but he can’t outshine a team lost in the dark.