We get our first look at Aaron Harang this spring training today as he goes up against the visiting Twins. Now that Kyle Lohse has taken Torii Hunter out of the picture, this ought to be easy, right?

Speaking of Lohse, they said that he came out of yesterday's game with a mild hamstring strain, not emotional shaken-upness like I first thought. Either way, here's hoping he's OK.

The Reds visited the Minnesota Twins in Fort Myers last night and brought them the unhappy hostess gift of a big, fat L as they extended their massive spring training winning streak to 2 with a 5-2 victory.

It was the battle of Twin-turned-Red Kyle Lohse versus Red-turned-Twin Ramón Ortiz, and having seen them both in action, I expected those first two innings to be a much more lopsided affair. Amazingly, Ortiz failed to commit any errors, while Lohse knocked Torii Hunter upside the head to knock himself out of the game two outs into the first. Hunter's OK, but Lohse doesn't look so hot with that earned run, two walks, and a HBP in 2/3 of an inning.

Brian “I'm Brian Meadows!” Meadows took over to complete the two innings that Lohse was supposed to work, and he fared better, allowing zero runs on just one hit. Mike Stanton and Bill Bray each worked a hitless inning to take us through the fourth.

Matt Belisle got the blown save and the win when he allowed the tying run in the fifth by virtue of the offense taking a two run lead in the top of the seventh. Hardly seems fair.

Elizardo Ramirez put in a couple scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth to set up Jason “You had to look up my first name, didn't you?” Kershner for the save in the ninth.

The pitching part of these wrap ups takes so long in spring training. It reminds me of when Ortiz used to pitch for the Reds.

In the other halves of the innings, the Reds came up with fewer home runs than the day before, and even fewer errors. The one homer came from little Edwin Encarnación in the fourth inning. The zero errors were a group effort.

Also knocking in runs were:

• Bubba Crosby, with two on a cheap shot, but who cares?
• Mark Bellhorn, who also had the distinction of a caught stealing
• Chad Moeller, whose guaranteed major league contract seems to be fitting in less and less as closers are signed and outfield prospects prove themselves

Latin Love Machine Javier Valentín started off behind the plate and contributed a walk and a strike out in his ABs. The Twins broadcasters I was listening to mentioned how the LLM came up with the Twins but hadn't been popular there because of some of his “mannerisms” on the field. Sounds pretty stupid to me. Their loss, I guess.

The win brings the Reds' spring training record to 2-0. The Twins return the favor by travelling to Sarasota today to pit Boof Bonser against Aaron Harang.

The Reds made a move to address this “hole” at closer that everyone seems to think they have by signing one Dustin Hermanson to a minor league contract with an invite to spring training on Thursday. From Reds.com:

Veteran right-hander Dustin Hermanson was signed to a Minor League contract on Thursday and invited to Spring Training as a non-roster player. Hermanson was scheduled to fly to Sarasota on Thursday night and be in camp Friday.

“He's a good guy to take a chance on, in our opinion,” Reds general manager Wayne Krivsky said.

Hermanson, who will earn $500,000 this year if he makes the team, had 34 saves and a 2.04 ERA for the White Sox in 2005. Lower back inflammation forced him out late that season during Chicago's run to a World Series title.

More importantly, from HMZ's diary:

I think it's a good deal. This is a guy who was arguably among the game's best closers as recently as 2005 (the last time he was healthy), and has pitched in the NLCS twice and in the World Series. If he makes the 25-man roster, he'll make $500,000 according to Trent's blog. If not, there will be one more arm for Rick Sweet to wave in from the bullpen in Louisville.

And if he returns to his 2005 form with the White Sox, the Reds will become the most recent team to pull their closer off of baseball's scrap heap, surpassing last year's Marlins (Joe Borowski) and Mariners (J.J. Putz), Kriv-Dawg will look like a genius, and all it will cost them is half a million recycled lithographs of George Washington.

Like they say, you can't have too much pitching, right?

Starting pitcher for the Reds is former Twin - Kyle Lohse, and pitching for the Twinkies is former Red - Ramon “the barber” Ortiz.

Game time is 7:05 EST

I can't even tell you the thrill I get from filling in the ol' boxscore again.

Ya know, when I was a kid, my family didn't follow any sports. My parents were more into yoga and making their own yogurt than sports.

When I was 11, my younger brother Matthew first took an interest in basketball, and soon I and my hippy parents were cheering right along with him as he watched his favorite team, the University of Michigan Wolverines, take the championship in 1989.

My college years were the reign of Drew Brees at Purdue University. Though I have never once set food inside Ross-Aid Stadium, the CTS and I used to get up early on Saturdays (yes, it was early for us) to make up a bunch of taquitos and chili dip before settling in to watch the game.

It wasn't until the return of Griffey to Cincinnati in 2000 that the CTS let show his baseball fandom that had lain dormant since the strike of 1994. Good thing I was OK with it, because I'm pretty sure that secret baseball fandom is grounds for annulment, even after six years of marriage. Pretty soon I was an enthusiast myself, and before you know it, Red Hot Mama is born.

Well, not so much “born” I guess. Perhaps more “spawned.” Whatever.

The point of all this nostalgia is to say that I can't believe how excited I am for the season to start. Here I am, a woman who regarded baseball as “boring” and “too long” well into my adulthood, suddenly realizing that Marty's voice on the radio represents something that feels like it's been missing from my life forever.

So, it's with a goofy grin and a contented sigh that I say the Reds won their first spring training game against the Pirates in Bradenton this afternoon.

Eric Milton took the mound and didn't suck, though some wind-aided home runs make his line a little ugly. Paul “and you thought I'd never pitch again” Wilson got the win. Kirk Saarloos, Rheal Cormier, Todd Coffey, and Brad Salmon each took a turn as well, and all of them were adequate.

Ryan Freel stole a base successfully once and unsuccessfully once. Adam Dunn, Brandon Phillips, Mark Bellhorn, Jeff Keppinger, and Josh Hamilton each hit a home run, with Hamilton's being the subject of some discussion. C. Trent says that the majority of the sportswriters in Sarasota now believe that the Reds will break camp with Hamilton, when before they weren't so sure. Personally, I never doubted that Hamilton would head back to Cincinnati, I just wondered whether he'd deserve it. Wouldn't it be great if he did!

The win brings the Reds' spring training record to 1-0. They'll go on to play the Twins in Fort Myers on Friday at 7 p.m. Kyle Lohse will take the mound against Ramon Ortiz.