Josh Hamilton, Cincinnati's favorite feel-good story of 2007, got his first major league hit tonight against the Diamondbacks with a home run off Edgar Gonzalez in the third inning. It's only the seventh inning as I write this, and Reds.com already has a story about it:

Hamilton batted leadoff and played center field on Tuesday for the Reds against the D-backs. Regular center fielder and leadoff man Ryan Freel was given a rest.

“I'm excited about it,” Hamilton said. “I don't want to get too excited. But I don't want to get too not excited either, you know? I don't know what to feel.”

Man, who could have guessed that this kid whose addictions nearly killed him, who never played a minute above A-level ball before this season, would be doing anything at this level? I mean, I guess we haven't seen him long-term. Those shin splints could always come back.

However Hamilton continues to work out this season, it's so nice for the Reds fans to have someone to get excited about.

The forces of the universe are aligning against me posting for Red Hot Mama.

On Sunday, the CTS was trying to adjust the settings on the iMac, the computer I primarily use at home, and now any time you press any of the keys, the letter repeates like, six times. So if you press, for example, X, what appears on the the screen is XXXXXX. Makes for difficult blogging.

So we've been sharing this computer, but my time with it has been limited, thanks to the Crack Technical Staff's yearly stint as our Crack Tax Preparation Staff.

Of course, Red Hot Mama herself has been up and down. Our current hosting service is actually much more reliable than our previous ones, but I think that mostly just says something about our previous taste in hosts.

Not that I have much time, anyway, since we're shopping for a new house and trying to figure out how in the world we're going to handle two mortgages until this house sells. I think I've got that one figured out, at least. It's the latest fad in home decoration for those with no disposable income: milk crates.

So now, the computer is free, I've finished my house-researching tasks for the evening (“Just how much *will* it cost for us to fix all the holes in the wall around the dart board?”), and the only responsibility I'm shirking is sleeping, what do I see on the game but darned Kyle Lohse can't hold onto a lead.

I drifted off in the midst of Bronson Arroyo's start last night, and woke up to find out that they'd lost. What the heck, guys?

It's the universe. It's probably telling me to go to bed.

Jeepers, I'm about ready for bed and the Reds are just about to get started. I see that it's Thom and Chris on FSNO tonight. It's a homecoming of sorts for Thom, except that his return to Cincinnati was also a homecoming. I think this homecoming is more like the kind you had in college, when maybe your parents come out for a visit to see how you're doing and fail to mask their disgust at the state of your dorm room.

Yeah, I'm tired.

Don't know how long I'll be able to stay awake/use the computer before the CTS has to work on the taxes, but I'll ramble in the comments as long as I can.

The Reds put themselves back into a tie for first place with the Pirates yesterday with a 6-3 loss.

Eric Milton came off the DL just in time for this first start of the season, and he was truly mediocre, which is an improvement over some of his performances in spring training. He allowed four runs (earned) on ten hits in 5.2 innings and struck out six. In some ways, Aaron Harang's performance the day before was even worse, but the offense came through.

Victor Santos was his reliable self and pitched his one and one-third innings without giving up so much as a hit. Todd Coffey allowed a run (earned) on two hits in the eighth and Jon Coutlangus allowed a run (earned) on a hit in the ninth. It all added up to a big fat L for Milton.

But the bats weren't entirely quiet. Adam Dunn had a couple RBIs as he continues his hot April. Juan Castro knocked in the other Reds' run.

The loss brings the Reds' record to 4-2. They face the Diamondbacks in Arizona tonight at 9:40. Bronson Arroyo faces Doug Davis in the first non-freezing game since Opening Day.

Got this press release from Michael with the Hoxworth Blood Center. Give a pint!

Give Blood in April to Win Reds Tickets

Hoxworth Blood Center is offering Cincinnati Reds tickets as an incentive to give blood during the month of April.

The springtime can bring warmer weather, but also increased blood usage at local hospitals due to more accidents and traumas.

All donors who give blood at any Hoxworth blood drive or donor center between April 1-30, 2007 will automatically be entered in a raffle to win four tickets to an upcoming Cincinnati Reds home game.

One winner will be selected each week in April and will win four tickets to an upcoming Cincinnati Reds home game. The group of four tickets are in section 128, located ten rows behind the Reds dugout and have a retail value of $125.

For ticket raffle details, visit www.hoxworth.org/reds.

About Hoxworth:
Hoxworth Blood Center at the University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center needs to collect from 350 volunteer blood donors and 40 volunteer platelet donors each day to keep up with the demands of tri-state hospitals and their patients. Hoxworth, founded in 1938, serves 28 hospitals in 17 counties in Southwestern Ohio, Northern Kentucky and Southeastern Indiana. Annually, Hoxworth collects over 94,000 units of blood from local volunteer donors.

Hoxworth operates donation centers in Anderson, Blue Ash, UC, Downtown, Ft. Mitchell, Ft. Thomas, Mason, Tri-County and Western Hills. Operating days and hours vary with each center.