Even with a sweep, the Reds gave Cincy what it needed:

The Cincinnati Reds appear to be on their way out of the playoffs quickly due to the dominance of Roy Halladay and the ineptitude of Reds' fielding.  The Phillies' were the best team in the National League in the regular season so it is not all that surprising that they should take the Redlegs out so easily.  This season, however, was never about the World Series for Cincinnati.  Many people look at their early exit, stage right, I believe, to be disappointing.  The fans wanted more, they wanted a winner, but the Reds gave Cincy what it needed: Baseball relevance.  Cincinnati has been a baseball town since 1869 and used to be the place for baseball.  Back in the early days, Cincinnati was revered as baseball's center, everyone wanted to play for Cincinnati and Cincinnati always had the best team.  Recently, the MLB has been doomed by the lack of a salary cap which has led to big-market dominance.  Small market teams can sneak up on people, but the playoffs this year are a fine example of the fact that money still wins in the MLB.  Not to mention (but obviously I am going to anyway) the last "small-market" champion was the Florida Marlins in 2003.  Since then, it has been: Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, and the New York Yankees.  It is a sad day when the smallest market on there is St. Louis...sigh.  Back to the Redlegs, it goes without saying that the Reds have been on a mission to return to baseball relevance.  It has shown this season that if the Reds are relevant, the fans will show.  The Reds completed more than they had hoped to at this point.  They most likely won't win the World Series or even make it out of the division round of the playoffs, but the Redlegs made Cincinnati appreciate and even love baseball again.  The Reds have their town back, for a short while.  If they keep the core intact, it is not Utopian to think the Reds can be back to the playoffs next year with a little bit better results.

In Conclusion: Read the article above.