Brandon Phillips reflects on the Reds chances of winning the NL Central

Immediately when I tried to come up with an idea for what I wanted to do with the Reds, I circled the name Brandon Phillips at least a few times. The way I saw it, he seemed like an outgoing person that can talk to the media. As a fan I always wanted to meet him as well, so I jumped at the opportunity to interview him.

Phillips is one of those second baseman that is solid both offensively and defensively and is right up there in Reds history. His twitter account @DatDudeBP earns constant praise for its interaction with the fans. Once last season during an off day, Phillips showed up at a twitter follower’s baseball game. Phillips squeezed this interview in right before the team did their stretches.

Zachary Weiss: Does having the chance to knock the Pirates below .500 motivate you?

Brandon Phillips: “To tell you the truth I haven’t thought about it, it’s still early. They’re a great team and we always have trouble with them but all we need to do is go out there and play small ball, try to get things done the Reds way and not worry about the record because there is a long way to go.”

ZW: What do the Reds need to do to continue to stay atop the division?

BP: “We just need to keep worrying about ourselves instead of worrying about other teams. Just go out there and pitch better, play better defense, get key hits in key situations and just believing in ourselves to keep our swag on.”

ZW: What are things you can work on to avoid losing the lead?

BP: “I feel like we have holes in our lineup. We’re just the type of team that’s just battling injuries. Scott Rolen is a guy that we really need, and we have some holes and just need to fill in those gaps. I feel that if we fill in those gaps, that no team can really beat us.”

ZW: Is there anything you would like to add?

BP: “Follow your boy @DatDudeBP on Twitter [Laughs].”