In Congress, as in baseball, there's always another chance.

It is often claimed that politics and sports should not be combined.

Politics and sports are intertwined with each other.

The intersection of politics and sports is where I find myself as the end of the regular baseball season approaches. The Cincinnati Reds, my team, have just fired their manager, David Bell, after a disappointing season. With a few games left in the season, other teams may soon follow suit and let go of their skippers. Keep an eye on Colorado, Miami, Toronto, and the Los Angeles Dodgers for possible managerial vacancies, depending on their postseason performance.

The Reds were expected to be a force with star players Hunter Greene and Elly De La Cruz, as well as a strong starting rotation.

Since 2013, the Reds have been stuck in a perpetual "rebuilding" phase, failing to make the postseason playoffs since 1995 and missing out on the World Series since 1990.

Wait till next year, they say.

Which brings us to Congress and its appropriations bills.

The government's fiscal year ends on September 30, while the baseball season concludes on September 29. A few teams will make it to the playoffs, but most, like the Reds, will finish the season early and head home for the winter.

Such is the case with Congress.

Despite constant promises from bipartisan lawmakers, Congress has failed to pass its 12 spending bills on time since the 1990s, resulting in political standoffs, government shutdowns, and little success.

Sound familiar, Reds fans?

The House of Representatives narrowly avoided a government shutdown last fall by passing a bill to fund the government at current spending levels until early November. Despite former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's criticism of Democrats for not passing individual spending bills, Republicans also struggled to pass them. In Fiscal Year 2023, the House approved six individual spending measures while the Senate passed zero. In Fiscal Year 2024, the GOP-led House passed seven bills while the Senate passed three. For Fiscal Year 2025, the House approved five bills while the Senate passed nothing.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., aimed to follow proper procedures by working on individual spending bills when he assumed the Speakership in October. However, Congress, with his approval, continued to pass stopgap bills to fund the government until April. Johnson announced that he would continue to advocate for the passage of individual spending measures for Fiscal Year 2025, which begins in October.

The House passed five appropriations bills, including Defense, Energy & Water, Interior, Military Construction-Veterans Affairs, and State/Foreign Operations, with moderate success.

On July 11, the House rejected the "Legislative Branch" appropriations bill, resulting in Congress failing to fund itself. This sparked amusement among politicians at the Capitol, with some suggesting that Congress was receiving its comeuppance. Perhaps the House's decision was a just punishment for its past actions.

Conservatives are again heckling McCarthy for not keeping Congress in session during the August recess to tackle appropriations bills.

"Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga, expressed her dissatisfaction with the Speaker's strategy, stating that the failure was complete. She pointed out that the House was not in session for the entire month of August, which could have allowed them to complete the 12 separate appropriations bills."

Johnson is now in the same position as McCarthy was last year, with the House voting on an interim spending bill to keep the lights on. Despite wanting a bill to run through next spring, Johnson could only manage a measure that lasts until December 20. One reason for this was to avoid a "Christmastime omnibus" spending bill.

If lawmakers are unable to pass some bills before mid-December, it may still happen.

The same movie repeats itself when it comes to appropriations, like McCarthy. There could be calls from some conservative quarters to remove Johnson, especially if Republicans maintain control of the House. The mid-December funding date puts Johnson in a bind, as he stands for re-election as Speaker on January 3.

This is where we find a nexus of politics and sports.

Devon Mesoraco, the Cincinnati Reds' promising catcher, suffered a debilitating hip injury after making the All-Star game in 2014.

During a rebuild, the Reds traded ace starting pitcher Johnny Cueto to Kansas City. In return, the Reds received two pitchers who went a combined 4-24 with ERAs of 5.44 and 6.25.

In 2015, the Cincinnati Reds traded flamethrower Aroldis Chapman to the New York Yankees, who gave up Caleb Cotham. Cotham is now the pitching coach for the Philadelphia Phillies, but a knee injury forced him to retire. In return for Chapman, the Reds received Rookie Davis, who demonstrated that he was best suited for rookie league ball and not the bigs. Davis compiled a 1-3 record and an 8.63 ERA for Cincinnati.

You get the idea.

Although we are uncertain about who the Reds may hire as their new manager, past performance is a reliable indicator of future results. As a result, despite some promising players, Cincinnati fans remain skeptical that things will improve under new leadership next season.

We return to the House and spending bills.

Despite the promise to improve next year and pay bills on time, the political realities may hinder this. There may also be a shift in management, such as Johnson's removal or the Democrats gaining control of the House.

It is widely known among those who study Congress that there is little hope that the upcoming fall and winter of 2025 will bring any significant change in the timely completion of spending measures and the avoidance of a government shutdown, compared to previous years.

As they say in baseball, there's always tomorrow.