The games at Ed Smith Stadium always sell out when the Red Sox come to town, but today was even specialer than that because one Daisuke Matsuzaka was taking the mound for the Sox. He pitched five innings of no-hit ball with six strike-outs, but there were plenty of baserunners thanks to an error that allowed David Ross to reach in the second and FIVE walks. He was pretty good, but not the kind of dominator that you'd expect for $100 million, which also seemed to be the sentiment of the Sox' fans in the stands all around us.

Later in the game, Daisuke attempted to bunt, and didn't look so hot doing it. It prompted one guy sitting near me to ask his friend whether they have the DH in Japan. He also walked once, which is unbelievable to me. It was the only walk issues by Livingston.

Meanwhile, taking the mound for the Reds was Bobby Livingston. In his five scoreless innings, he gave up just one hit and one walk with four strikeouts. All this for the league minimum!

Since the Internet connection was down yesterday and I wasn't able to post, I ought to clarify that this is the game that was going on at the same time that Eric Milton was getting smacked around by the single-A Pirates in the adjacent practice field. The CTS and I now consider Milton the fifth starter, with Kyle Lohse moving up to third and the big competition being for the fourth spot. He's a little overpaid for a fifth starter, but then again, he's just overpaid in general, so there you go.

There were no home runs this game, which is always a surprise when you watch the Reds, especially when they score five. Jeff Conine, Brandon Phillips, and Paul Janish each contributed an RBI, with the other two coming from the Latin Love Machine himself, Javier Valentín.

It's not too often that you see a line score with five runs and three hits. I guess seven walks, one error, two HBP, and a passed ball can add up.

The win brought the Reds' record to 16-8. Yesterday they went on to send Kyle Lohse to the mound to face the Phillies in Clearwater.

As we pulled into the Ed Smith complex today, we noticed a minor league game going on in one of the practice fields. It looked like the Pirates.

In fact, it was some guys from the Pirates' organization. A-level, I guess. However, Eric Milton was pitching for the Reds, getting his work in. John Fay has the details:

Eric Milton gave up five home runs in six innings to the Single-A Pirates. He gave up 11 hits and threw 93 pitches. The wind was blowing out, but it was less than 100 mph.
…
You can't put much stock in the spring stats, and Single-A players swing from the heels against a big leaguer, but Milton is becoming PR nightmare for the Reds. Matt Belisle has a 2.08 ERA; Bobby Livingston has a 1.23 ERA and one of them is going to start the year in Triple-A. Milton is 16-23 with 5.89 ERA in two years with the Reds and he's getting a spot on track record.

Rumor has it that the Reds are still actively looking for pitching (yeah, but who isn't?). Maybe they're not looking for yet more competition in the fifth slot, huh?

We're just about to head off to the game, so be on the lookout for more photos forthcoming. Josh Katzowitz filling in for C. Trent has the line-up:

CF Ryan Freel
LF Adam Dunn
2B Brandon Phillips
RF Ken Griffey, Jr.
3B Edwin Encarnación
1B Scott Hatteberg
SS Alex Gonzalez
C David Ross
P Bobby Livingston

I guess Hatteberg is feeling better, and I'm glad to hear it. We do not need Dunn trying to fill in at first again.

In other news, Mark Bellhorn was cut today and has a couple days to decide whether he wants to accept minor league assignment. Also cut were Ryan Jorgenson, Anderson Machado, and Dewayne Wise.

Yesterday the Reds were in Dunedin facing the Blue Jays, so, like the seasoned reporter I am, I skipped the away game and screwed around in Sarasota instead.

After putting up several photos from the game on Saturday, we headed to The Broken Egg for brunch and it was off to the Mote Aquarium to go on a nature boat ride. The ride didn't leave until 4:00, so it was off to the Smuggler's Cove miniature gold course for some wacky putt-putting fun before our boating adventure.

It's our annual tradition to putt putt at Smuggler's Cove, but this year was something special because that's where we spotted Marty Brennaman. He's working on his short game, I guess. I said hi and mention it here and now it's a business expense. Gotta love it.

Today and every day from here on out we're back to the baseballing. I'll continue to post photos about them, though my unbelievably pathetic showing in the Sports Illustrated poll has me wondering whether anyone even cares. Oh well--it's an honor just to be nominated, right?