Brandon Finnegan impressive in return, Reds still thumped by Oakland

Photo by Alex Trautwig/MLB via Getty ImagesThe Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

The adage of ‘pitchers are ahead of hitters’ as spring training games begin is mostly a true one. Pitchers report early, and from a purely theoretical perspective, it’s usually easier to return to throwing 95 mph heaters than it is to return to turning them around.

Heck, Hall of Fame hitters when ‘caught up’ to pitchers still fail 70% of the time, after all.

That might not be routinely true with Brandon Finnegan, however. The former 1st round draftee and one-time would-be Cincinnati Reds rotation stalwart has had an absolutely brutal go of things since his breakout 2016 season, with a pair of shoulder…