What a fantastic contest of skills! It's so nice to finally have a change of pace from what we've been seeing these last seven games. There were so many shining moments that it's hard to pick out a few to talk about:

- Paul Wilson demonstrated that he is not in need of any kind of medical or psychological examination by throwing every single one of his pitches over 90 mph to make short work of the Dodgers' lineup in the first inning.

- The bullpen took control of the game, with the new guy, Ricky Stone quelling any jitters over being the one and only roster addition intended to “shake up” the Reds. The rest of the bullpen also rocked, with the notable exceptions of Kent Mercker, Ryan Wagner, and Danny Graves, who continued their ineffectivity. Despite his performance in his last appearance, Graves was welcomed to the field by the entire stadium cheering wildly and doing the wave.

- The incorrect call of Rich Aurilia out at second with the defender catching the ball a solid two feet away from the bag was certainly not the most blatantly miscalled play of the season. Even though by that point the Reds were really in a comfortable position to give away outs, Dave Miley came out to argue the play and really fired up the team.

- The offense looked powerful and confident until the seventh inning when they utterly failed to make a push that was not in the least bit too late.

Tomorrow's game is likely to be equally spectacular. Ramón Ortiz is coming off a great start against Milwaulkee. You won't want to miss a single second.

I guess I must be naïve because I kinda thought there might be some Reds news today for me to write about. Yet, here I am, after midnight Cincy time, with nothing in particular to say. I guess the club is hoping that a good night of Must See TV will be just the cure for their baseball doldrums.

That being the case, I'll make a few minor announcements:

• I will be out of town on business Sunday through Wednesday. We haven't decided exactly what will go on at Red Hot Mama while I'm gone. If I can get my act together in time, I'll leave some ever-green content to be posted at regular intervals during my absence. If that doesn't happen, you might be treated to some guest posts by Red Hot Papi, or whatever other ridiculous name I can come up with to call Jon, my husband. Or maybe there just won't be content for a few days. But worry not! You'll be able to get your Mama-fix when I return on Thursday.
• I am pleased and honored to be linked to from Popo's Sports Blog, the only blog out there with a name better than mine.
• I have a very strong feeling that it's important for me to go to the game on Saturday, so I'm working out the details. As a woman, of course, I have a very acute intuition, but I can't always identify why I'm compelled to do a thing. In this case, for example, I might need to go to the game because I'll suddenly be called on, last-minute, to sing the national anthem, and my performance will launch my highly lucrative music career. More likely, I need to go because if I don't get out of the house for a game, I will become permanently fused to the keyboard at a molecular level. Either way.

Befuddlingly, that's all I've got. Maybe an evening full of Joey, Will and Grace, and The Apprentice really will have done the trick. Or maybe I'm being naïve.

Well, that does it. The Cardinals become the second straight team to sweep the Reds. But that old familiar numbness that I remember from last season, every season I've ever watched, is settling in, like the gentle buzz of a fine red wine, and suddenly free from the anticipation of winning, I can see the high points in even a 7-2 loss.

Let's visit them now, shall we?
- I had a fantastic time talking smack with Bellyscratcher, though tonight my jabs had a sort of desperate air about them. I hope to have better material by the end of June.
- Brandon Claussen actually wasn't awful up until that point when he started being awful. If he can just cut out the second part of that sentence, we're in business.
- I got to watch Ryan Freel in center field, which is my very favorite place to watch him, though he's obviously a little rusty. Maybe he'll ditch that shaved head look after his day in court (just 6 days, right?) and then all will be right with my world.
- Felipe Lopez, for the first time this season, looked less like highly talented little punk with an overdeveloped sense of entitlement and more like a grown-up baseball player. A whole lot of people are going to be lining up to kiss his ass after his performance tonight, so I'll be watching to see whether he can keep his humility. If impetuous Lopez is really gone, I too might be ready to get on his bandwagon.
- And finally, what I see as the biggest story of the night, Danny Graves finally doing what he should have done all along: shut up and pitch. A 1-2-3 ninth inning. Isn't his silence great?

I'm starting to lose my buzz, and though I've got that feeling that I might suffer the headache and nausea of another defeat in the morning, I'll be right back at it on Friday. Who's coming up? Dodgers? Bring 'em on.

Go Reds!

Remarkable! It really DOES make him look years younger!

Cross posted at bellyitcher.

Last night's win by the Cardinals was improbable AND totally unreproducable.

It's going to be cold tonight; I hope the Cards brought their long underwear because the Reds are gonna beat the pants off 'em.