The family and I won't be watching the Reds game today or tomorrow because the Louisville Bats are in town visiting the Indianapolis Indians. We'll be sitting near the visitors' bullpen, so maybe we'll get lucky and catch of glimpse of Ryan Wagner.

And you know I'll be snapping photos of Chris Denorfia, if the camera works.

So, good luck Reds. May you have a brand new winning streak going by the time I'm able to watch again.

The Reds offense failed to overcome some bullpen mismanagement and ended up going down to the Cubs 4-2.

Brandon Claussen, who can't have failed to have noticed that veteran starter Joe Mays was brought into the Reds' bullpen after Claussen's last crappy start, gave up three runs (earned) on five hits through six and two thirds for the loss. But that so doesn't tell the story.

In fact, Claussen had a shut-out going through the first six innings. Two-thirds of the way through the seventh and with a pitch count over 100, he loaded up the bases. Manager Jerry Narron didn't want to hang the poor kid out to dry with as well as he'd done, so he took him out in favor of a fresh arm.

No, in fact, that's what he should have done. Instead, Narron took Claussen out in favor of the almost-31-year-old, untested-in-high-pressure-situations guy who'd already pitched two consecutive games, Esteban Yan. Ooh, sorry Narron. The correct answer was Todd Coffey. Coffey.

Yan promptly gave up the grand slam, which gave him one run (earned) over a third of an inning. I stormed out of the room in disgust just long enough to write this post, and when I returned, he'd loaded the bases again before getting out of the inning.

Joe Mays held the Cubs hitless through the eighth. David Weathers allowed zero runs on one hit and two walks in the ninth.

Disappointed as we are in Narron and Yan, they did allow just four runs. The offense was welcome to come to the game at any time and put in their two cents, but didn't do much to defend their pitcher against Carlos Zambrano.

Ken Griffey, Jr. was the only Red to have more than one hit, going 2-for-4 with a walk. Brandon Phillips and Griffey provided the Reds' two RBI.

The loss brings the Reds' record to 36-26. They try to split the series this afternoon at 1:15 p.m. when Eric Milton faces Carlos Marmol, the rookie called up in place of Kerry Wood.

The Reds saw the end of their winning streak as well as their reign in first place on Friday when several team miscues led to a 6-5 loss at the hands of the Cubs.

The first mistake was sending Elizardo Ramirez, the unluckiest man in the rotation—not to be confused with the unluckiest man in the lineup, Brandon Phillips, up against Greg Maddux. The Lizard allowed three runs (earned) on six hits and a walk through six innings pitched for the loss. He outlasted Mad Dog, who was pulled after five and a third, but ended up kibble nevertheless.

Yeah, that was horrible. Sorry.

Chris Hammond, he who had previously been doing so well, allowed three runs (earned) on four hits in the seventh. Rick White pitched a scoreless eighth, while Kent Mercker and Esteban Yan combined to pitch a scoreless ninth.

Adam Dunn and Scott Hatteberg each hit solo shots. Felipe Lopez, Javier Valentín, and Ryan Freel provided the other RBI.

The two official errors of the game both belong to Valentín, who was looking downright rusty behind the plate on Friday. In the fifth inning, Juan Pierre reached on his fielding error. Two batters later when Pierre was stealing second, Javy threw the ball straight into center field and allowed him to advance to third.

By the grace of the suckitude of the Cubs, they didn't score off that display. And it does seem to have been practice for Javy to throw out Cedeño in the sixth inning, so I guess no real harm there. But it still smarts like hell.

And that's not even counting stranding Ray Olmedo on third, Lopez failing to turn the double play, or Austin Kearns losing the ball and pulling his hamstring while falling on his ass trying to catch it. But I'm already tired of talking about it.

The loss brought the Reds' record to 36-25. They would continue the humiliating losses against the Cubs on Saturday, sending Brandon Claussen out to face Carlos Zambrano.

After pitching 6 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball, Brandon Claussen loaded the bases. Jerry Narron took him out in favor of Esteban Yan, who promptly gave up the grand slam.

To everyone who vowed not to question Narron after some unconventional moves he's made have worked, you are now free to go back to calling his ass out. That was just stupid.

OUR MISSION
Buy LaRue a Hit is an organization of Reds fans dedicated to ending the suffering of Reds' catcher Jason LaRue by helping him to return to form as an offensive non-liability.

THE NEED
Any color announcer can tell you that Jason LaRue couldn't buy a hit these days. At the time of this writing, the Reds' proud number one catcher was 1-for-his-last-30 at-bats. It's time for someone to step up and buy this guy a hit.

You might wonder why LaRue can't buy his own hits. The contract he signed this off-season gives him $3.6 million this year after all. Unfortunately, Dan O'Brien had worked a special clause into the contract to try to ensure his own job security.

14(b). Monies from said contract cannot be utilised for the purpose of acquiring helicopters, wolverines, hits, and/or lawn furniture without the express written consent of one Mr. O'Brien, hereafter known as THE EMPEROR.

HOW YOU CAN HELP
With your generous donation of just $750, you can help Jason go 2 for 4 in a game. Just $1400 will give him a double and 2 RBI. That's less than a dollar a day for four years.

So please, won't you look into your heart today and open your wallet for the team and the catcher that you love? Every little bit helps. Even just $20 will let Jason foul off a good pitch.

You have the power to make a real difference in the outcome of the Reds' season, but you have to take action. It's up to you.

UPDATE: Plans are in the works for Buy LaRue a Hit Day at Great American Ball Park! Watch for details!