Just after midnight on a young Monday morning, and I have just gotten home. The weekend trip to meet up with Bellyscratcher in St. Louis to smack a couple games in person and drink obscene amounts of beer was a huge success.

A lightening storm on the trip home had us driving 40 mph for a good chunk of Illinois, but I'm just glad to have made it back without incident. On the drive, I saw more than one car's hazard lights blinking morosely at a wholly inappropriate angle from the roadside ditch.

I hope that the Easter bunny was good to everyone. I see that he's left me eggs filled with comments about such things as Sean Casey's fractured back and why Little Eddie ought to be allowed to knock the team out of contention in the name of player development. I can hardly wait to enjoy their gooey goodness.

I've got something like six hours of audio smack talk for my crack technical staff to skim through and try to assemble a respectable podcast or two. It might take a couple days, but I think it'll be worth the wait.

I don't want to spoil it for you, but I will tell you that Ms. Scratcher is cuter'n hell, even sassier in person than on-line, and as good a host as you could possibly ask for. I think you'll enjoy our in-game conversations, despite the fact that they were losing efforts for the Reds.

Tomorrow it's on to the Marlins. As close at the Reds came to taking today's game from the Cardinals, I think there's real hope. Consider: St. Louis had to wring multiple home runs from Pujols to beat the Reds by one. That's like the United States whipping out the nuclear weapons to subdue Grand Fenwick.

And with that, I'll try to grab a few hours' sleep before it's time to go to work. But not before cracking a couple of those comments in my Easter basket. I just can't resist.

Looks like Sean Casey is out for 6-8 weeks for my Buccos after taking a flying elbow in the back from John Mabry last night on a funky play at first. Thought you Reds fans might like a heads up and a “You told me so.”

Casey Out 6-8 weeks

They decided to close the office at 1 pm today, but I don't have a ride home until 3 pm, so for the first time ever, I'm openly blogging at work. It could be worse: even if I were at home right now, I'd still be in front of the computer.

Cubs' Stuff
Joe at The View from the Bleachers wants his team to stop giving hits to opposing pitchers. Apparently the Cubbies weren't prepared for the offensive might that is Eric Milton. Last season, that was one of them few good things you could say about him.

Death at GROTA think I live in an alternate universe if I think there are ten reasons the Cubs will lose to the Reds. Welcome to my world, Death!

The Onion has hope for the Cubs.

Reds' Stuff
Jacci at We Heart the Reds doesn't like the beard. I think it's kind of rugged myself. Heck, whatever keeps him pitching like that keeps me happy.

J.P. at Reds & Blues wraps the game. Oddly, he's less inclined to talk about things like facial hair.

Shawn at Cincinnati Reds Blog notes that winning series is a good way to have a good season. You realize that we're three series in, and not only have the Reds won two of them, they've failed to lose a single one.

JD of Red Reporter wonders whether it's a problem that Coffey's our only hard-throwing reliever. I dunno. I haven't seen any trouble with the bullpen so far.

Redleg Nation doesn't wrap games, but they've got some other stuff. A draft tracker, a big board, and a salary chart. Nifty, if you're into that sort of thing.

Marc has the scoop on Griffey's injury. What the heck is a stim?

JinAZ didn't like the decision to bench Encarnación after his three-error game. What the heck ought to earn you a spot on the bench then?

Cards' Stuff
Daedalus talks some trash about the Cards. You go girl!

lboros of Viva El Birdos discusses many things including how opposing teams aren't letting Pujols hit (and it seems to be working) and how Isringhausen is having the worst stretch of his career as a Cardinals (you think?) And all this without the benefit of a Shift key!

birdbrain at redbirdbrain has completely changed her site. When the heck did that happen? I've been spending too much time on Cubs blogs…

Scott at CardNilly compares Busch Stadium to new shoes. So this is how Cardinals fans deal with losing. I feel honored to have seen it.

And last but not least, our beloved BellyScratcher, whom I'll be meeting in person this very evening, calls for captions. How about “Make RHM stop with the Smack Talk!”

The Reds handed the Cubs an 8-3 loss to take the game and the series this afternoon at Wrigley Field.

The bearded Eric Milton allowed just three runs (two earned) on six hits through six and two-thirds innings to get the win. Todd Coffey held the Cubs hitless in the next inning and a third. Kent Mercker, the strike-out king of late, struck out three in a scoreless ninth.

Adam Dunn started the Reds' scoring with a solo shot in the first. Score: 1-0.

In the third, David Ross walked but was erased on Milton's fielder's choice. Milton went to second on a balk before Ryan Freel was hit by a pitch. About that time, Felipe Lopez thought it was time for his third home run of the year. Score: 4-0.

The Cubs got on the board in the fourth when Matt Murton hit a lead-off home run. Milton went on to retire the next three he faced. Score: 4-1.

The fifth inning was the only one in which both teams scored. The Reds added another run when Milton tripled and came in on Ryan Freel's ground-out. The Cubs scored in the bottom of the frame when Henry Blanco and Carlos Zambrano singled, Juan Pierre sacrificed them over, and Murton singled them in (with the help of a fielding error by Dunn) three batters later. Score 5-3.

That's all the Reds would need, but they'd get three more in the eighth when Dunn walked with one out, Scott Hatteberg singled with two out, and Austin Kearns homered them all in.

The win brings the Reds' record to 6-3. Aaron Harang and the Reds travel to St. Louis tomorrow to face Chris Carpenter and the Cardinals at 8:10 pm, about the time I'll be somewhere in Illinois on I-70 on my way to meet up with Bellyscratcher for a weekend of baseball fun. I hope to post from the road, but I may be too drunk to type.

10. They stayed up all night watching Golden Girls reruns.

9. Griffey's out, giving them a false sense of security.

8. Milton's in, giving them a false sense of security.

7. If they won today, what would be their motivation going into the Pittsburg series?

6. Adam Dunn hasn't had a home run in two days. He's due for a few.

5. Deep down, they want to lose. Otherwise they'll never get better.

4. They need a time out to kiss Aramis Ramirez' ouchie.

3. Encarnación has had a three-error game before. He's good at bouncing back.

2. Contrary to popular belief, mooses can't pitch.

1. The Cubs have a date with destiny. She asked them to meet her in the cellar.