Well, that was teh suck.

Our Milwaukee trip did include one day of running for 20 minutes on the treadmill (by far the longest amount of time I’ve run continuously) but then we decided to take the next day off for sightseeing. Then the next day was a travel day and we weren’t home till 10:30. Then the next day we had to catch up on work and got home late. Three days of “rest” only without the actual rest part.

So, wouldn’t you figure after just 8 minutes of running this morning, someone would jab a nail through the right knee of my voodoo doll, rendering the rest of our badass run a pathetic walk? Tomorrow, ibuprofen all the way.

If you haven’t been following this category of content for the last couple weeks, I should let you know that all this bitching and moaning about running, while seemingly misplaced on a sassy baseball blog, is actually intentional and not entirely narcissistic as we are training for the Blog Jog. You, too, can sign up for the Blog Jog and get in on all the bellyaching-about-running fun. All you have to do is:

1. Go to http://reds.com/5k to register for the Redlegs Run.
2. Email blogjog@reds.com to say you’ll be at the Blog Jog events before and/or after the run.
3. Go to Cafe Press to order your Red Hot shirt, in styles for women or men.

That last step isn’t strictly required, but it’d make me super-happy. You pay to register for the run, but there’s no additional charge for hanging with the bloggers.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Brewers (30-26)	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	3	9	1
Reds (29-28)	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	-	4	6	0

Boxscore

Well, it’s nice to see that the Cincinnati Reds can still take a series from the Milwaukee Brewers.

This time, the win wasn’t nearly so dominating, requiring late-game heroics from Joey Votto and Jay Bruce. But they came through, each with their own 2-run homer. Votto’s was the one that gave them the lead.

And then Francisco Cordero came on for his 300th career save.

The game started off shakily, with starter Mike Leake giving up yet another home run to start the game. That makes it sound like it’s been Leake doing all of that for the Reds this year, but I know Volquez has done that at least twice. That first inning continues to be a problem.

But the offense came back and the Reds have some hope as they enter their first off-day in 20 days. And I grouse a bit when I have to work late every so often. At least I get weekends off.

Here at the Red Hot Household, there are several phrases you hear during Reds games, such as:

• Damn, Joey Votto can hit!
• Shut up, Thom

and

• Why is Scott Rolen hitting fourth again??

For, you see, we do not approve of having the guy who hasn’t been able to hit the broad side of a barn since he returned from injury batting clean up. Love the guy, and he’s a great presence. All I’m saying is a guy can demonstrate his intangibles from the 6 hole.

You’d have to be in a coma since April not to realize the Jay Bruce is on-freakin’-fire right now. Not only was the dude the player of the week, but he’s also been the massive bright spot on a team that’s been pretty much in the dark lately. He’s the clear choice to protect our reigning MVP.

But that would put two lefties next to each other in the order, you might say. You might, like Dusty Baker, think that the two will be easy prey for the opponent’s lefty specialist. But here are three reasons that doesn’t matter here:

• Both Votto and Bruce can hit lefties. Like, better than anyone can. John Fay says, “Votto was leading National League in hitting against left-hander at .426 going into Tuesday. Bruce was fourth .381.” (Baker’s response to that was to not understand it and pretend it wasn’t said, which is his typical response to statistics.)
• Which, for those of us who have difficulty following a line of reasoning to its logical conclusion, means that it would NOT be effective for the opposing team to use a left specialist against them. The opposing team would either realize this and not even try, or they *would* try and would ineffectively burn through a pitcher. And given the number of extra innings games the Reds seem to be getting themselves into lately, baiting the other team to burn an extra pitcher can only be a good thing.
• Finally, even if it did work in the opposition’s favor to put in the LOOGY (even these studs get out more than half the time), it would have worked in ONE inning. A team that leaves an average of 7.2 runners on base per game gets plenty of ABs (if not so many RBI), making that one inning less that pivotal.

Besides, you’ve known since little league that you bat your better hitters higher. And no, Dusty, that doesn’t mean have him lead off. Oh lord, you’re going to have him lead off, aren’t you?

Jay Bruce has been the brightest spot for the Cincinnati Reds during a tough stretch in the month of May. And his outstanding offensive showing has been awarded.

Cincinnati Reds right fielder Jay Bruce has been named the National League Player of the Week for the period of May 23-29, 2011. The announcement was made earlier today on MLB Network.

The Reds slugger led the Majors with 13 RBI and 25 total bases, and was tied for first with four home runs last week while hitting .353 (12-for-34) in seven games. His 12 hits ranked second among National Leaguers while his .735 slugging percentage was fifth and his six runs scored were sixth-best. The 24-year-old Texan had four multi-hit games on the week, including two three-hit performances. On Monday, May 23rd, Bruce went 3-for-4 and provided Cincinnati its only offense with a three-run homer in a 10-3 loss at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. On May 25th, the 2005 first round pick (12th overall by the Reds) in the First-Year Player Draft went 3-for-8 with a home run while driving in three runs as the Reds dropped a 19- inning marathon to the Phillies, 5-4. The next day, Bruce went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI as the Reds dropped the third game of their four-game set in Philadelphia, 10-4. The left-handed hitting Bruce homered again on May 29th, going 2-for-3 with a solo shot as the Braves edged the Reds, 2-1 at Turner Field in Atlanta. Jay’s week continued a torrid month of May in which he now has 12 homers and 32 RBI. His 31 homers since August 2010 are tops in the National League. This is his second career weekly award, having previously won for the week of October 3, 2010.

Other noteworthy performances last week included Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun (.529, 9 H, 7 R), right fielder Corey Hart (.400, 4 HR, 9 RBI, 1.200 SLG) and right-handed pitcher Yovani Gallardo (2-0, 0.60 ERA, 15.0 IP, 14 SO); Philadelphia Phillies left fielder Raul Ibañez (.303, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 7 R, 10 H); outfielder John Jay (.444, HR, 12 H, 5 R, .444 OBP) and right-handed pitcher Kyle Lohse (2-0, 1.93, 14.0 IP, 11 SO) of the St. Louis Cardinals; Atlanta Braves catcher Brian McCann (.500, 2 HR, .938 SLG) and right-handed pitcher Jair Jurrjens (2-0, 0.57 ERA, 15.2 IP, 9 SO); Washington Nationals outfielder Mike Morse (.375, 4 HR, 10 RBI, .958 SLG); New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes (.519, 14 H, 8 R, .536 OBP, 2 SB); San Francisco Giants second baseman Freddy Sanchez (.440, 11 H, .462 OBP); right-handed pitcher Ryan Dempster (2- 0, 2.08 ERA, 13.0 IP, 10 SO) of the Chicago Cubs; left-handed pitcher Clayton Kershaw (1-0, 0.60 ERA, 15.0 IP, 17 SO) of the Los Angeles Dodgers; Arizona Diamondbacks reliever J.J. Putz (0.00 ERA, 4.0 IP, 4 SV); and Florida Marlins right-handed starter Anibal Sanchez (1-0, 0.00 ERA, CG, SHO, 8 SO).

The National League Player of the Week, Jay Bruce, will be awarded a watch courtesy of Game Time, the leader in licensed sports watches, available at MLB.com.

Enjoy that watch, Jay! And I hope you’ll have a player of the month award to add to the collection soon.

At last the Red Hot Family returns from a long weekend in beautiful Milwaukee. We’ll have some pictures of Miller Park to go along with the discussion of the win (2-out-of-the-last-3? That’s what I’m talking about!) tomorrow, but for now I am recovering from my vacation and being glad that Fox Sport Ohio has a content going on now that you’ll be interested to read about. — A

CINCINNATI, OHIO – It’s almost summer, and what better time to get outside, hit up a baseball game and enjoy the sunshine. FOX Sports Ohio and the Ohio Department of Public Safety (ODPS) want Ohioans to have a fun and safe summer. That’s why they have teamed up once again. This summer, FOX Sports Ohio is excited to give away a prize a day for 100 days with the “100 Days of Summer” sweepstakes, presented by ODPS.

Beginning this Friday, May 27th through Monday, September 5th, viewers state-wide can visit www.foxsportsohio.com to enter to win a daily prize. Simply complete the online form and automatically be entered for the entire 100 days.

A new winner selected each day for 100 days will win a Road Safety Kit along with a $25 gift card to a home improvement, sporting goods or car care location. The first drawing will be made this Saturday, May 28th. On the 101st day, September 5th, one grand prize winner will win a flat screen HDTV and a FOX Sports Ohio prize pack.

“FOX Sports Ohio and ODPS have built a great partnership over the years in promoting driver safety messages,” stated Alex Slemc, Director of Marketing, FOX Sports Ohio. “The 100 Days of Summer sweepstakes is a fun and exciting way to celebrate summer and promote safe driving.”

FOX Sports Ohio fans will be reminded of safe driving practices and the “100 Days of Summer” sweepstakes during FOX Sports Ohio telecasts, online at www.foxsportsohio.com, and through the network’s social websites, including Facebook and Twitter.

“Our media partners are critical to the Department’s mission of reducing injuries and saving lives,” said Karhlton Moore, Executive Director of the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services, a division of the Ohio Department of Public Safety. “We are excited and proud to team up with FOX Sports Ohio to help educate the public about these important safety messages.”

For the complete rules of “100 Days of Summer”, presented by ODPS, visit www.foxsportsohio.com.