Reds Are Comfortable With Their Lead in the Central, Snakes 3-1

With a 8 game lead and a magic number at 10, the team just couldn't muster the effort necessary to beat a very bad team with an even worse starting pitcher on the mound. Volquez had one bad inning, the 5th, but looked pretty good otherwise. He kept lots of runners on base with intermittent bouts of wild-itis but his change looked pretty darn good. He's really been hitting the iron in the weight room, or the Pump Station as the team likes to refer to it. Is it too early for Dusty to start talking about his post season roster? He doesn't think so and adds Volquez to the list.

The offense wasted all of their effort yesterday, putting up just enough runs, 7, to keep Coco from ruining things for everyone. That was some catch by Bruce to end the game. That guy is big time. If he's not careful, the fans are going to get used to him raking and playing strong defense every day and, if he's proven anything, that's not really his cup of tea. Back to today, the Reds started the game off well with Stubbs singling and Gomes driving him in with a double off the glove of Chris Young. They had some more opportunities but didn't do much of anything with them. Phillips got a break today, with Janish-Yanish taking his spot and Rolen was nowhere to be found with a bit of the old arthritis keeping him firmly planted on the bench. That was good news for all of you Juan Francisco fans out there, which the Reds Rocket is lucky enough to be included within.

So, the teams leaves home for 9 on the road after series with Pittsburgh and Arizona with a very fine 4 and 3 record. Great job guys, way to keep that emotion high as you approach the playoffs. The Cardinals actually picked up a win today, so the lead is down to 7. Looks like I was a little premature in jumping off the Willie Bloomquist bandwagon. That guy is going to be an important cog in the Reds Machine as we approach the end of the season. Reds pound Wandy tomorrow. You're going to love it. Belated Reds! Reds! Reds! for yesterday's win.