Reds Reach Maximum Victories in a Row, 6, Lose Finale 3-2

I like how my posts have been starting for the last month or so, more good play by the Redlegs, or something to that extent. The Reds took the first two of the series before dropping yesterday's game. But even in the loss, Cueto looked pretty sharp, like Roxette, throwing 7 and a third and giving up three.

Games one and two featured identical scores, Reds 10 - Aholes 4. Votto hit four more doubles in those two, he's like a mechanized double-hitting machine, literally. Those things can hit doubles all day long. Ray Jay went deep both Friday and Saturday, collecting 4 hits in 7 at bats. Hopefully this is what his hitting is going to look like going forward. I like this approach better than looking foolish on breaking balls and swinging and missing at fastballs in hitter's counts. And the offense was just generally good. Juan Francisco continues to rake, though with Rolen at 3rd, he's going to have a hard time breaking through and seeing significant time next year. There has been some talk of him moving to the outfield, based upon generally poor defense at 3rd. Though, this is all premature, I suspect he may struggle a bit once the scouting reports start circulating. And as all the readers know, I am quite knowledgeable.

Reds get the day off today before playing the Cardinals, who have nothing to gain, at home Tuesday. That, hopefully, means some rest for some of the starters. Don't want Carpenter to have a sore shoulder going into the post season which would be a real pity, not seeing him dominate the Reds again. Maybe Pujols needs a couple of days off to relax and find a place in his garage for the MVP trophy. The Reds Rocket would be in favor of both activities. Regardless of the loss yesterday, nice series Reds. Glad to see you guys turning it on long after everyone lost hope.

Pirates No Match For Quality Reds Team, Reds 4-1

Arroyo was once again dynamite, shutting down the Bucs for 7 innings with the only blemish being a solo homer to Lastings Millidge. Jeff Brantley brought to my attention that since July 10, Arroyo has the second best ERA in the majors behind Adam Wainwright. Yesterday was his 12th consecutive quality start and not of the 6 inning 3 run variety, he has been consistently soloing for 7+. As I've said many time, that's some quality salad.

The Reds offense slowed but only compared to the previous two days where they were putting up double digits. Votto had another double, Phillips drove in two more to set his career RBI mark and the team was 3 for 3 with runners in scoring position. I can't remember that ever happening. Willy Taveras even contributed two hits. That guy can flat out rake. The broom team above was commissioned by the Reds and is being kept on standby as there remains one more series with the Pirates, who can officially be considered a joke. Reds! Reds! Reds!

Votto Picks Up Four Hits, Treats Fans to Slow Motion Stream of Saliva, Reds 12-2

Reds continued their dominance of the Pirates with a blistering offensive performance. Double digit runs in two consecutive games? Unheard of. But, Dusty seems to have found the solution. In looking at the lineup card, someone named Tavares is listed at the top of the order. Apparently he's hitting a shade under .238 and playing mediocre defense. I look forward to seeing what the kids has to offer.

Votto raked four hits yesterday, including two double, giving him 5, as the pros say, two-baggers in the first two games of the series. Phillips, Rolen, Bruce, Nix and Cork each knocked in two runs. Stubbs stole a couple of bases at the top of the order, Bailey was solid, the Reds Rocket got a BB gun for Christmas; everything was right in the world. Hey Jared Burton even looked pretty dominant. The Reds Rocket is readying a picture of a broom, perhaps having consensual relations with the wives of several of the Pirates. That would really be something to see. Arroyo keeps the Reds train rolling today against the underwhelming Pittsburgh offense. Reds! Reds! Reds!

Reds Show Continued Ability to Beat Pirates, Reds 10-4

Reds, on the heals of a big 5th inning, evened Cueto's record and beat Pittsburgh for the sixth time in a row. It's too bad that these Pirates games didn't occur earlier in the season when, you know, they meant something. A Reds victory is a thing of beauty, regardless how irrelevant it may appear to the uninformed populous.

Cueto gave up a bomb to the first batter he saw, McCutcheon but then cooled out and threw 101 pitches over 5 innings, the majority of which were pretty alright. The Pirates should have been out of the 5th inning, with no runs allowed, but Doumit fired a potential double play ball down the first base line and things continued. Votto ended the day with three doubles, Rolen with two. Rolen knocked in three of the 10. Yesterday, we also saw the activation of Ramon Hernandez, whose contribution to this season, compared with that of the three times DFA'd Ryan Freel, are probably about equal. The Reds will likely go into 2010 with Paul Bako back opening the season behind the plate.

Also, to less fanfare, as he doesn't and shouldn't play, was the return of Wilmy Tavares. Apparently he's healed from the leg injury and ready to "contribute", meaning provide the lead off out to begin each and every game he's in there. At least he's only making $4 million next year, that's more or less the going rate for a pinch runner. Juan Francisco continued to illustrate that he is much more comfortable coming off the bench. He hit his first career double, to go with the first career home run from last week, that I forgot to mention. That's just the type of coverage you'll get here from the Reds Rocket.

Reds undoubtedly continue their dominance of the Pirates today. I look forward to the merciless beating.

Cork's Moustache Outscores Fish By Itself, Reds 8-1

After two late inning losses to the Fish, courtesy of a Coco meltdown Friday night and a late bomb by Ross Gload Saturday, the Reds salvaged a sweep with the Floridians with a nice offensive showing yesterday. Cork, who seems to be getting an awful lot of time behind the plate, which the Reds Rocket is undecided about, hit his first bomb of the season, a three-run shot, and then it was all downhill from there. The Kipster, in usual fashion, dominated for 7+, to pick up his second win of the year. Votto added a bomb and the offense, in one of those rare games, seemed almost competent. Nice way to finish the season with the Marlins.

Friday night, however, was a bit of a disappointment. Bailey was absolutely dominant for 7 innings of shut out baseball. Masset worked a scoreless 8th but Coco, trying for his fifth save in five days, was unsuccessful. He wasn't helped out by the defense, Balentien lost a fly ball when his mole obscured his vision but that's not really a very valid excuse. The loss was on Cordero, who needs to continue his dominance if there is any hope that the Reds can unload his salary this offseason I mean, set the tone for a strong 2010.

Arroyo pitched real well on Saturday, going into the 8th with a 2-1 lead. However, a home run allowed to Ross Gload instantaneously transforms a quality start into a disappointment. And it did. Tough break son.

Reds get to beat on the Pirates some more starting Tuesday. I'm sure everyone, like me, will be tuning in to watch the excitement.

Reds Kill Fish, Share Experience with Children, Reds 3-2

As the league is starting to recognize, there's just no beating the Reds at home. They waited this long to get things together, so they're just going to continue playing well. Baloney, in the place of Cueto, who's out with dysentery, picked up his first career win, with 5 pretty good innings - 4 really good innings, if you don't count the number of people on base anyway.

The offense featured some early hitting then a lot of relaxing. McDonald led the game off with a bomb, which has been a nice theme for the Reds the last few weeks, lead-off home runs. Then Anibal loaded up the bases and Bruce knocked in two with a powerful broken-bat flare into left. It still counts and it's nice to see him back in the lineup swinging (mostly) and missing. The tail end of the bullpen, Rhodes, Masset and Cordero were rock solid again. Not much else to talk about. Reds win, no big deal. I'm sure there will be three more to follow. Reds! Reds! Reds!

Reds Play Astros 'Clean Sweep' By Bobby Broom, They Enjoy the Guitar Work, Dislike the Message, Reds 6-5

The Reds continued their late season surge at home, sweeping away the Astros despite started Justin Lehr allowing 5 home runs, two to Keppinger. Not that Keppinger is a bad guy or necessarily a poor bat, but I'm not sure he hit two in his time with Cincinnati. That is an exaggeration used for humorous effect. I am aware that he hit more than two.

The Reds scored first when Jonny Gomes hit his 20th bomb of the season. As I've stated, if he could play a little defense and the Reds didn't have so many outfielders, he'd probably be approaching 30. Or, maybe the opposition would have determined how to pitch him and he'd be hitting .215. Hard to say but using my superior speculation skills I'll put the total number of home runs for Jonny Gomes playing everyday, 162 games, at 97. That would have been a solid year.

The Reds rallied again, scoring the winner on a wild pitch after consecutive singles by Votto and Phillips. The late inning bullpen, Masset and Cordero, was solid and the A-holes go home with nice statistics and three losses. On an aside, it appears the Houston's were so discouraged by Oswalt giving up 4 runs to the Reds yesterday that they've shut him down for the year. When you're 6-30 games under .500 at this point in the season that isn't necessarily a call you hate to receive. Now he can go back to the farm and drive his earth mover around. I hope he remembers that the Reds broke him last year when he's thinking about improving that winning percentage.

It was Cueto's turn to start today against the oversized fish but he's got a case of the shits and was sent home for swine flu precautions. Don't want him drinking out of your Gatorade bottle while you're out on the field. So, Baloney takes the hill, hopefully that blister has healed. They're a son of a bitch. Reds! Reds! Reds!

Paul Janish Yanish's Big Day, Reds 5-4

Reds took game two of the series with the A-holes running their home winning streak to, seven? That's a hot team. They didn't hang the L on Oswalt but at least won a game that he started. That is happening more frequently as he ages but I believe his career record is still 22-1.

After the Kipster allowed many singles and many stolen bases in the first, the Reds' bats did the tighten' up, Stubbs hit the first pitch he saw out of the yard then old Janish Yanish doubled and later scored on a sac fly by Rolen. Kippy, who was recently voted the least popular player on the team due to unfriendly personality/venereal disease, battled through 6 and put his team in the position to win. At least that's what the paper said. He seemed to be having a battle with the strike zone and if 4 earned over 6 can be considered a success, we'll give him that.

The above-pictured Janish, celebrating one of the many big hits of his career, doubled in the go-ahead in the 7th and the bullpen finished things up with a nice couple of innings from Masset and Coco, with Masset striking out the side. Janish Yanish had three hits, which is likely a career high. Maybe not but I don't remember a lot of multi-hit games from the shortstop. And as everyone knows I have a photographic memory and never misstate facts which could be easily researched but are not. Nice win team, sweep today. Reds! Reds! Reds!

Ray Jay Back With New Ability to Roll Singles Through Infield, Reds 3-1

The Reds added two players to their roster before the start of yesterday's game, Juan Francisco who may be a legitimate power threat, and activated Ray Jay Bruce from the disabled list. Bruce, as you likely recall, nearly ripped his right hand off attempted to play a sinking line drive in right. The Reds Rocket had missed his stretching him elbow out behind him while he waited for the pitch.

Last night, announced as a pinch hitter, Bruce rolled one through the right side score runs number one and two and making a winner out of Bronson Arroyo. That now gives him a winning record and an ERA which continues to creep down towards 4.00. He had a nice outing last night, scattering 6 hits over 7 with just the one run allowed on a Panamanian special, which means a double by Carlos Lee. Phillips added his 20th bomb of the season to put things out of reach. The Astros aren't going to be scoring two runs in an inning any time soon.

The team fully intends on sweeping the A-holes, just so they know. Stay tuned, Reds baseball is just now getting exciting.

Reds Drop Series to Poorly Trained Bears, Cubs 5-2

Though, in comparison to the Rockies series, the team looked pretty good, winning the one game and all. Yesterday, Bailey continued in his quest to see how many pitches he can throw and still make it through 6 innings. Yesterday he got up to 115, not bad. And he didn't even make it to 6. The offense offered little support.

Saturday, the Reds did get a victory but it was of the infuriating variety. Jumped out to a 5-0 lead, they handed it all back and had to rely on Carlos Marmol being terrible in the 9th to pick up the win. Cueto was pretty good again which seems to indicate that he was suffering from a bit of fatigue before his vacation on the DL. All starts since coming off has been decent which is an improvement over the 10, where he went 0-6, before he hit the shelf. And Drew Sutton, thank you for your positive contribution in the 9th. I believe a future utility player may be in your future after all.

Reds come back home to play the Astros whose season is equally pointless. Even more so because, since they're the Astros, no one cares about them. At least for you Cincinnati fans, you got to see some fine play from the Bengals. I tuned out a little early but the game was firmly in hand. Kyle Orton and the brutal Broncos offense had the ball on their own 20 with 38 seconds to go. No way they're going to move that the length of the field. And since the Bengals are so well coached, don't have to worry about db's knocking the ball up in the air or trying to intercept it. Just knock it to the ground, game over.

Reds Complete Reverse Sweep, Rockies 5-1

After turning in a couple of pretty good outings, the Kipster hit a bump in the road yesterday in Colorado, namely the 3rd inning. But, despite the bad outing, he has still performed above expectations for a player who was not good enough to stay on the Nationals' roster. Nice jersey, Kip.

The offense which appeared poised to not be terrible in the first inning, only pushed across one run and that proved to be the only one they'd get for the rest of the day. They loaded the bases on Contreras and after Phillips knocked in a run, Balentien and Rosales started the streak of 6 consecutive strikeout between the two of them and that was, as they say, that. No one should be especially surprised by the sweep, as the Reds followed the same pattern they have utilized all season. A Reds sweep, immediately followed by an opponent's sweep.

For those of you losing interest in the season, for reasons unknown to the Reds Rocket, another sport opened its season last night with a low scoring game and lots of pre-game festivities. So, you are no longer required to watch the Reds, at least on Sundays, Mondays and occasionally Thursdays. Though Dusty will be very disappointed if you're not tuned in. He knows, he always knows.

Oh Coco, Rockies 4-3

Reds fell to 0-6 against the Rocks on the season last night Seth Smith drove in the tying and winning runs with two outs in the 9th off Reds closer extraordinaire, Coco Cordero. I know he's been pretty reliable all season, but when you're the highest paid player on the team and the majority of your appearances are in very specialized situations, you'll need to close things out. The walks to Giambi and Spilborgh on 4 pitches apiece weren't a big help. Well, you'll get them next time, you fat piece of crap. Just kidding Coco, we're big fans.

Reds offense was dormant again until the 8th last night where they scored 2, to let Arroyo off the hook. Speaking of, another quality start for the Velocinator. This is a very similar pattern to last year. Good begining to the season, bad/awful middle of the season, followed by two months of outstanding starts. Then Rolen gave the team its first lead of the game with a bomb in the 9th. After that things unraveled but for a while, the team was looking good and feeling good.

Afternoon delight for the Reds today as they say so long to the Rockies for the season. Hopefully they remember to take a dump on the clubhouse floor before heading out to catch that plane.

Thieves Break Into Reds Office and Steal All of Their Vitamins, Offense Suffers 3-1

The team after looking strong for a week has fallen back into the hole in which they have been trapped for the majority of the season. Struggling to get things going offensively isn't something new but at Coors? Against Jason Marquis? Rolen didn't even manage a hit against the guy who tried to crack open his skull. He must be waiting until it means something, like when the Rockies are in the middle of a playoff race and a loss would really hurt them. Next time maybe.

Baloney wasn't bad at all last night. He left after the 5th with a John Lennon-like blister on his finger. Only the one run allowed, nice outing Matt. He was followed by Pedro Viola, making his major league debut. Pedro was greeted by the powerful Eric Young, Junior who took his third big league pitch out of the yard. Not an ideal start, but he settled in and got some people out. Viola is another guy that I saw in the Fall League last year, so can pretend to know a lot about. Just ask me for my analysis, I dare you.

Team has two more chances to beat the Rocks this year and are planning on taking advantage of both. Reliable Arroyo on the hill tonight. Expect the best.

Reds Treat Braves as General Yard Waste, Lose to Rocks

Reds went all seven straight wins on the Braves before losing a late lead yesterday. As I've stated before, the team appears to be peaking at the right time. They have second place in the Central firmly within their reach and the key seems to be not having Willy Taveras in the lineup or maybe it was having too few Willy-Taveras-type players in the lineup. If you're going to have one slap hitter who doesn't really like stealing bases that much any more, you should probably have an entire lineup full, which would be pretty sweet. Get Dave Roberts and Brett Butler out of retirement. See about acquiring Luis Castillo. Now that would be a lineup that doesn't clog up the bases.

Reds hold a particular grudge against the Braves, because of the trickle down of Mr. Redlegs racism and the team doesn't care for the city of Atlanta. So, they welcomed the Braves to town by crushing their spirit with a three-game sweep while Atlanta's vying for a playoff spot. Doesn't look good savages. Game three ended with Owing's sacking up and taking one off the dome with the bases loaded. That's a teammate. So, regardless of his limitations as a starting pitcher, he's a pretty solid guy and everyone likes him.

We also got to see another strong start from Arroyo. Looks like he has responded to all of that pre-trade deadline talk of his middling stuff and replacement-level peripherals. He's going to top 200 innings again and if he doesn't have to go back to Toronto, maybe, we could see an ERA dropping into the 3.00's. That would be a pretty nice season for someone who lists his main occupation as rock & rolla'.

Reds dropped the first game of the series with the Rocks yesterday but we won't spend too much time on that because of the seven wins that preceded the loss. The team was in position to take home the victory but Bailey had thrown 200 pitches through 5+ and Dusty claims that's the reason for the loss. Masset was in too early. So, nice to pile on your starter for turning in 5 solid innings. Offense was limited but Gomes took number 18 out of the park. Good power for a non-roster invitee. Maybe he'd like to return next year on a similar one-year deal so he has something to play for.

Despite the loss, Reds take next two. Mr. Redlegs bets his moustache on it.

Reds Sweep Up Pirates, Popcorn and Cat hair, Reds 5-3

The Cincinnatians wrapped up a very nice home series today against the Pittsburgh Shitbags. And by all indications, they will continue with the winning in Atlanta and Colorado. They owe the Rockies retribution for the disrespect from earlier in the season.

I didn't have time to write this morning on account of a very important appointment with my psychic. She predicted that I will eat a very delicious dinner within the next month. She is quite good. So, I didn't have an opportunity to comment on the win from yesterday. Reds attacked Maholm with swords and bandannas early and Lehr pitched adequately well through 6. Eleven runs in one game is something to which Reds fans are not treated to very often. Especially with the one reliable member of the offense, Votto, taking a day off to get his shit straight. Apparently, pitchers have found a way to attack his immense talent. I think he was just a little down after reading about the death of the world's oldest dog. That will get to anyone, depression diagnosis or not. Kevbo Barker filled in admirably with a couple of hits and everyone was quite pleased.

Homersexual was pretty good again today, setting a career high in strike outs and picked up a third consecutive win. He's starting to look like a legitimate major league starter with an ERA right at 5.90, which, if you will bear with me for a moment, is better than the 7.90-ish he was sporting 5 starts ago. Everyone able to follow that? Phillips looked good again today, removing a ball from the field of play, with use of the bat and driving in three runners. That RBI total, which everyone knows is of little, statistically anyway, value is making a strong march towards 100. Reggie Sanders never reached 100 rbis in a season and he is one, if not the best, player in the history of baseball. So, that will be quite an accomplishment should B.Phill be able to get there. He's going to treat himself to an extra piece of garlic toast tonight.

Finally, Stubby picked up three more hits and another bomb. Looks like I should take some time to denigrate the power numbers of some of the other players on the team. Four bombs in 15 games is pretty hot. The next couple weeks, once the league starts to find the inevitable holes in his approach should give us an idea of what kind of player he is going to be. If he keeps this up, no reason opening day center shouldn't be his job. Baseball Prospectus finds the greatest comparison to Stubbs' future game in Mike Cameron. I suppose that would be considered a compliment to be compared to a long time major league regular, if the comparison wasn't to Mike Cameron.

Reds finally expanded the roster today adding Pedro Viola. I had a chance to see Pedro throw a few times in the Fall League and he looked pretty subtastic, similar to those numbers, with the exception of the strikeouts, at Louisville. Regardless, nice to get all of these young guys up so we can go into next season optimistic. For those of you ingrates who've given up on this season. Only 13 games under .500, nothing that a trip to Hotlanta won't cure. Reds are great, that is all. Reds! Reds! Reds!

Reds Play Two, Win Two

Reds did a convincing impression of a solid baseball team yesterday. The Kipster went 6 strong innings in the opener. The 5 fans who were in attendance at the early game were treated to a Pirates-special form of victory, walk-off wild pitch/passed ball, I haven't seen the official score, sure looked like a passed ball, with two outs in the 9th. Tough break for the Bucos.

Game two saw the return of Cueto from the DL and he looked like he's been revitalized. The three weeks of drinking green tea on the disabled list had him all jacked up. He threw 5 solid innings and picked up his first win in about 6 months. In both games we saw bombs from Stubbs at the top of the order. He's still striking out every at bat but his average is climbing and he's showcasing a little power and making Wilmy totally expendable/DFA-able. Phillips, fresh off a story about his sore wrist, pledging vengeance against the guy who hit him, went 3 for 4 in the second game with a bomb and a second bomb which was taken away upon review. He wrote the name of the home plate umpire in his hat too and is 'going to get him back.' Maybe he'll sleep with his wife.

So, the Reds are peaking at the right time, 20 games back of the Cardinals. They still have multiple games remaining with the Pirates so let's set the goal of catching the Cubs and adding more public embarrassment to their season. Not that finishing behind the Reds is embarrassing. Reds! Reds! Reds!