Last Game
I don’t watch much TV, but there used to be something that I would turn on around dinner time most every night. What was that? The news? Adventure Time? Hoarders?

The Reds haven’t had a game start at the typical 7 p.m. hour since June 26. Ah, June 26: back when the FDA was approving lorcaserin for weight loss, “Call Me Maybe” was in its first week as Billboard’s #1 hit, and Aroldis Chapman celebrated the end of his blown-save streak with some poorly received acrobatics. Those were the good ol’ days.

Next Game
The Cardinals are coming to town tomorrow. In an earlier time (perhaps June 26) we would have expected this series to be the Battle for First, but as it stands right now, it’s the Skirmish for Second. If the Brewers can take a couple from the Pirates (who are currently in first), then maybe it’ll be a different story.

Nobody Watched the All-Star Game
The television rating for the All-Star Game came out yesterday, and it set a record low this year. It was seen in an average of 6.8% of American households, down from 6.9% last year. This is the third year in a row for the game to set an all-time low in television ratings.

I imagine that the facts that 1) most of the players are guys each individual fan doesn’t care about and 2) that the game was a blow-out from the first inning didn’t help matters. Still, I like to think that it’s Tony LaRussa’s fault.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
Despite the awesomeness of his play, Joey Votto is dangerously close to becoming boring. Check out this story about Votto at the All-Star Game to learn:

• Not many reporters care to talk to him
• He doesn’t care to bring back much memorabilia
• He has no inner child

No one’s complaining about the performance, but you do have to wonder if this is what it would be like to watch robots play baseball. Even the characters on the Playstation showed more personality.