Reds Disappoint Dodgers and the Legions of Borderline-Retarded Fans, Reds 5-2

Reds continued their fine play in Chavez Ravine, a place they don't win very often, with 2 out of 3 against the fading Dodgers. Today it was Arroyo and his variety of breaking pitches and of course Joey Votto's big bat provided the margin. Arroyo lasted 7, Masset threw the 8th and Coco appears to be lulling us into a pattern of effectiveness. I have a feeling that he's saving it up for an unprecedented meltdown but I'll take the 1-2-3 innings while they last. After Hanigan knocked in two in the first, the Dodgers rallied but Votto provided what ended up being the deciding margin, with a bomb to left in the 6th.

Yesterday, Cueto returned from his kicking suspension and pitched not so good. However, he did knock LaRue out for the year with one of those kicks, at least that's what the Cardinals are alleging. Sure, LaRue was a Red for a long time and by all accounts is a great guy, but that doesn't mean he doesn't deserve to be kicked in the head because he rarely plays for the Cardinals. The team appreciates Cueto's team spirit. Back to Cueto's start yesterday and it being not that great. He give up four bombs, two sets of back to backers and didn't last very long. Leake made his first relief appearance with mixed results. I'm still not sure what the strategy is for him going forward. Dusty will have to explain it to me during out weekly conference call. Though the team made an attempt at a comeback, it fizzled and the 7 game winning streak came to an end. Too bad, I was pretty sure they were going to win out.

Friday, Homeboy was pretty good again - making that two in a row. He went 7, gave up one run and picked up his 3rd win of the year. Scully was calling him David. So, I'll call him David. David appears to be a little more coachable than Homer, as opposed to simply relying on the fact that he is exceedingly good at baseball without having much interest in fixing things which may go wrong.

Phillips had the strongest series of the group, three hits Friday, four today. His average is back up in the .290 region which is very impressive as he seems to fall down 0-2 in every single at bat. Reds' traveling salvation continues to San Francisco tomorrow, getting Matt Cain who was a real asshole in Cincinnati. Complete game with singular hit allowed. Reds haven't forgotten that and he, Cain, hasn't been as sharp as of late. That seems to fit right into Volquez's plan of attack. Allow the other guy to be bad. Reds! Reds! Reds!