I'm sneaking in a game thread from work, so there won't be any commentary on the line-up construction. I'll leave that to you guys. C. Trent has the line-ups for us.

The Cubbies
Alfonso Soriano CF
Matt Murton LF
Derrek Lee 1B
Aramis Ramirez 3B
Jacque Jones RF
Michael Barrett C
Mark DeRosa 2B
Cesar Isturis SS
Jason Marquis P

Your Redlegs
Ryan Freel CF
Adam Dunn LF
Brandon Phillips 2B
Ken Griffey Jr. RF
Edwin Encarnación 3B
Scott Hatteberg 1B
Alex Gonzalez SS
Javier Valentín C
Kyle Lohse P

The Reds hot streak was sapped by the cold streak tonight when they dropped the second game of the season to the Cubs, 1-4.

Bronson Arroyo pitched seven innings, and was excellent for about three of them. Other than getting himself into trouble in the fourth and allowing two runs on a botched defensive play and running out of gas at the end of his tenure, Arroyo was adequate. He would end up allowing four runs (earned) on eight hits.

After Arroyo, Mike Stanton got an out, and it only took him one walk to get it. Todd Coffey finished out the eighth, and allowed a hit but no runs. Jared Burton was crummy in his major league debut, walking three on his path to one out. Victor Santos put in a strong performance to finish out the ninth.

Ryan Freel scored the Reds' one run on a hit to the wall by Adam Dunn. Like several Reds' hits tonight, it looked like it should have been out of the park, but nothing was carrying this evening. This offense could be quite scary come the middle of May, but till then, Dunn, Ken Griffey Jr., and Arroyo were the only ones to notch hits against Ted Lilly.

The loss brings the Reds' record to 1-1. Tomorrow, the Reds send Kyle Lohse into battle against Jason Marquis at 12:35 p.m. I'm liking Lohse's chances.

For the Cubs perspective, see View from the Bleachers.

Today, Red Hot Mama turns 2, and though I post under that same name, I really think of her as her own separate entity, complete with her own stages of development. And like a child of that same age, RHM sometimes drives me crazy, sometimes keeps me up at night, but always has a special place in my heart.

That being the case, I've gotten her a little birthday card. Enjoy!

Finally, the off-day is over and baseball is back. It's even in the evening time, so I can watch on t.v. Too bad the t.v.'s in a different room from the computer these days.

For the Cubs:
Soriano - CF
Jones - RF
Lee - 1B
Ramirez - 3B
Floyd - LF
Barrett - C
DeRosa - 2B
Izturis - SS
Lilly - P

And Now…Your Cincinnati Reds
Ryan Freel - CF
Brandon Phillips - 2B
Adam Dunn - LF
Edwin Encarnación - 3B
Ken Griffey, Jr. - RF
Jeff Conine - 1B
Alex Gonzalez - SS
David Ross - C
Bronson Arroyo - P

Dunn's out of the two-hole, apparently because Griffey's dropped to fifth. Gotta love Narron's inability to leave the line-up alone!

Hey, today's a special day: Red Hot Mama is 2! More on that later, but let's win one for the birthday girl, fellas.

Go Reds!

Lovable Losers Perspective
Mastrick at The View from the Bleachers is already running into problems with blackouts. Will it take bloodshed for baseball and cable companies to learn?

Ever wonder how Cubs fans keep hoping despite the near-century of losing? Jason of GROTA shares the Guide to Hope.

Al at Bleed Cubbie Blue reminds fans that the Cubs won the last two Opening Day games and had lousy seasons, so this year's loss isn't something to get worked up over. And he's right. It's not worth getting worked up until after their next 95 losses.

Rob G. of The Cub Reporter analyzes the impact of Lou Piniella, if you're into that sort of thing.

Reds Perspective
Jacci of We Heart the Reds had to go to work and so missed Josh Hamilton's first at-bat. You can find it on this page at Reds.com. Of course, stupid MLB site doesn't let me actually link to the video, but it's the first link in the list just before the story begins.

OMG, this is the first time I've actually visited Redus and Weep. Damn my commute eating up my time; I need to get Internet connectivity in the car.

Chad at Redleg Nation has the video of the worst ceremonial first pitch ever. Man, I bet that stings. I don't think I could remotely throw a strike, and I'd be terrified that I wouldn't make it all the way to the plate, but I'd like to think that the boundaries of the batter's boxes wouldn't be too much to ask of my arm.

Jeff at Reds Rally likes the new uniforms, as do JD of Red Reporter, Clint of The Olde 320 Pub, and JinAZ of JOBAR. And me too. They look like romantic heroes in them: our knights in white satin. Or something.

Admin of The Cutting Edge says maybe the Reds aren't going to be as bad as people thought. I think, with the 1 win, they're already better than some people thought. Throw in the beautiful unis, and the season's already a success.

Amen, sister!