It's been a long season for fans of the Cincinnati Reds and it's not over yet , at least not on the calendar that is.

I’m not sure if this qualifies as a vote of confidence or simply delaying the inevitable, but Reds owner Bob Castellini told John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer that manager Bryan Price will not be fired before the end of the season.

His exact quote: "Bryan is our manager. We’re not making a change this year. You look at everything after the season. But that’s not something we’re going to get into now. Bryan’s our manager."

Castellini could have just as easily taken things a step further and said Price’ job is safe for 2016 as well, but he didn’t do that and … well, it seems like a decent bet that the manager will be let go after the Reds finish their disappointing season.

Price is 128-160 (.444) since taking over for Dusty Baker last year and the Reds are in full-on rebuilding mode, trading away Johnny Cueto and several other key veterans. Price is under contract for 2016, but he’s received little praise for the job he’s done, clashes with the local media over silly issues, and is currently in charge of a team that’s lost 12 of the last 13 games and doesn't look to be changing it's non-winning ways anytime soon.

Being a Chicagoan, I'm used to hearing this line when friends have talked about the Cubs in years gone by but this year it looks like us Reds fan that can say, there's always next year...