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Rich Harden made his second start for the Cubs last night, and he was impressive. Harden went 7 innings and allowed only one run while striking out 10 batters. Unfortunately, Randy Johnson rose to the challenge and bettered him, shutting out the Cubs and allowing only 2 hits over his 7 innings.

The Cubs never scored, even after Johnson left the game. Perhaps those bats are missing Alfonso Soriano, after all. He made his first rehab start last night, so barring any setbacks, he’ll be back with the team soon. We’ll see if that’ll be enough to hold of the surging Brewers and the 100 year drought.

The Red Hot 7-year old was scared tonight, as even non-red-hot children are known to be while lying in bed at night, so with one out in the top of the ninth inning with the Reds enjoying a one-run lead against the woeful Padres, I went to guard against the unidentified noises with the expectation that I’d miss the rest of the game.

What the heck should I find when I return but another freaking Cordero blown save. Is he hurt? He’s hurt, right? This can’t just be poor management or the realization that the team isn’t going anywhere this year. Give that man an MRI!

Listening to the commentary tonight, Chris Welsh expressed concern over the Reds trading David Weathers at this point, lest the team give the fans the message that they’ve given up on the season.

Really? I know that John Fay thinks the Reds still have a chance, but do most fans really think the Reds can achieve the minor miracle it would take to contend this season? THEY ARE 11 1/2 GAMES BACK.

On a completely different topic, yesterday I made my first-ever attempt at mountain-biking on an “intermediate” level bike trail near my house. I was not a natural. My first major crash occurred when my bike hit a tree root, causing me to hit the tree. The scrapes and bruises are gruesome, but thankfully, only on my right side. The CTS was making his second-ever attempt at mountain biking, after an initial attempt much like mine, but escaped yesterday’s ride without so much as a scratch, so I’m hopeful about next week.

Which is a common sentiment around Reds country these days. And I see the bottom of the inning that never should have happened is now over, with the Reds leaving the bases loaded to lose. Poo.

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Kyle Lohse responded to not being picked to the All Star team by dominating the Padres and beating Jake Peavy, to boot.

Lohse pitched 7 innings, allowing only 2 runs on 7 hits. He struck out 4. That was enough on a day when Peavy was home run happy.

Peavy allowed 4 solo shots. Two to Troy Glaus, who opened the second half with a far stronger bat than he’d shown in the first half, one to Rick Ankiel, and one to pinchhitter Joe Mather.

The Cardinals picked up a half game on the resting Cubs.

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Adam LaRoche knocked in a pair of runs with a double to give the Pirates an early 3-run lead last night, but it wasn’t enough.

Paul Maholm could not hold the lead. Although perfect through the first 3 innings, things derailed quickly, and he ended up leaving the game after pitching 6 innings and allowing 5 runs on 8 hits.

So the Pirates, like the Reds, started the second half of 2008 like they have spent the vast majority of the last two decades: losing. However, I actually have a more positive feeling about the future of the Pirates than the Reds. I mean, the Pirates don’t have Dusty Baker.

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The Reds launched the start of the second half of the year with a loss. So things weren’t really all that different for them.

One thing that was new was the team battled back from deficits multiple times. The most exciting was when Javier Valentin pinchhit with the bases loaded. He launched a double into the outfield that cleared the bases. I haven’t seen Great American Ball Park that excited in some time. Glad to see the LLM get some love, even when it’s not latin.

Of course, the game didn’t end there. The Reds headed to the 9th with a 2-run lead, so they trotted out their expensive closer, Francisco Cordero. As he started pitching, the TV announcers, Jeff and George for those of you keeping track at home, gushed about how he’d been better than expectations and well worth what it took to bring sign him. Really?

Before last night’s game, Cordero had blown 4 saves in 23 chances this year. That’s a success rate of 82.6%. Last year, David Weathers blew 6 saves in 39 chances for the entire year. That’s a success rate of 84.6%.

Weathers earned $2.25 million last year. Cordero is earning $8.625 million this year. Well worth it, indeed.