Reds Raise Hopes Then Dash Them Quite Expertly, Padres 3-1

Dusty reminded us over the weekend that's he's running this team. 'Whoa, there Reds fan, this is moving a little fast for me here. I don't need you getting all, you know, supportive. Dusty needs his space, so give it to him goddamnit.' After sweeping the Snakes in dominant fashion, the Reds went into San Diego and lost three straight to the Friars.

Friday night the team was up early but Harang tired and ended up giving the Pads a full 5 runs to work with. Those are not Harang-like numbers, especially in front of Mama Harang who was in the crowd. She doesn't respond well to poor performances as the bite marks on Aaron's left arm will illustrate. Where do you think he got the blood lust? Saturday's marathon featured a couple of early exits. Votto with continued vertigo and Volquez with a spasming back. Still, the team was up 5-2 when those guys took off. Weathers melted down and then everyone decided that they wanted to play for 10 more innings, with no offense. 15 hits combined over 16 innings? That's good baseball. Wilmy Taveras, like Dusty, reminded us that he'll hit when he feels like hitting. After a 14-game hitting streak, he went 0 for 13 versus the Padres and even sat out yesterday.

Speaking of yesterday, the Reds, other than Chris Dickerson, wanted no part of Peavy, who hasn't even been that great this year, comparatively anyway. The team needed a quick game, so they took their swings then headed for the terminal. They were all very tired from Saturday night. And on a day that Arroyo, since he was on the road, wasn't all that bad. But I guess the offense typically supports him, so screw you Bronson.

So, in conclusion, who knows about this team. They return home to play the Phills, who just took a series from the Nationals which means they're pretty hot. Cueto has been good all year, so I don't know if that means he's due for a poor start or he's just going to continue dominating. I'm pretty sure it's the latter. He'll be striking people out, laying down push bunts and applying ghost tags to runners crossing home plate. It'll be sweet.