Last Game
The Reds opened the series in Chicago with a 3-1 win over the Cubs last night. Homer Bailey put in a nice performance for his 12th win of the season.

Ryan Hanigan was the offensive hero of the night with a bases-clearing double in the sixth inning to score all 3 of the Reds’ runs. The TV broadcast had Hanigan on after the game, and it’s impressive how articulate he sounds compared to some of the other players.

The record is 89-59 and the magic number is 4.

Next Game
The Reds continue the series with the Cubs tomorrow at 8:05 p.m. The Reds will send out Mike Leake (RHP, 8-9, 4.69 ERA) to face off against Chris Rusin (LHP, 1-2, 5.06 ERA). Young Rusin is being limited to about 80 pitches per outing, so we’re likely to get a nice tour of the Cubs’ bullpen tomorrow night.

Dusty Baker’s 3000th Game as Manager
Yesterday, Dusty Baker logged his 3000th major league baseball game as a manager. He’s played:

• 1556 games as manager of the Giants
• 648 games as manager of the Cubs
• 796 games as manager of the Reds

As disastrous as he was with the Cubs, it was sort of amazing at the time that he managed to land another 800 games, but memories are short and the Reds are winning now. And he does have a winning record, at 1572-1426-1.

According to Reds.com, Baker was quoted as saying, “I’m a daily person. Everybody wants to achieve things. I’m just glad that out of the 3,000 games, I’ve won more than lost. I’ve still got quite a few games left in me.”

The guy does have a real good way with the players, which, in the big picture, is probably more important than some of the things he’s weaker at, like writing line-ups, making in-game decisions, and not giving playing time to Corey Patterson.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
Aroldis Chapman will throw a bullpen session today. He hasn’t pitched since since September 10.

Last Game
The Cincinnati Reds had Monday off. The St. Louis Cardinals were also idle, so the Reds’ magic number remains at 5.

Next Game
The Reds travel to Chicago to start a 3-game series with the Cubs. Homer Bailey will start against former Red Justin Germano at 8:05pm.

Scheduling Note
There’s another television conflict for the Reds game on Wednesday with the Columbus Crew soccer game.

If you’re in Lima or Columbus and hoping to catch the Reds game, you’re going to want to check out the alternate channel information on the channel finder.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
Wednesday is Talk Like a Pirate Day. Everyone say, “Clint Hurdle needs to walk the plank.”

Last Game
The Reds kept themselves from being swept by the Marlins yesterday. The Reds lost the lead twice before Ryan Ludwick knocked in Chris Heisey in the eleventh inning. It took the team 17 hits to get its 5 runs. Joey Votto went 2-for-4 with 2 walks. Dude is an on-base machine.

Next Game
Our guys take the day off today before visiting the Cubs tomorrow. In fact, there are only seven games happening in all of the major leagues tomorrow, so lots of teams are getting the chance to put their feet up.

Hey, Remember Zack Cozart?
Zack Cozart, once the Reds’ major contribution to the field of Rookie of the Year candidates, hasn’t played since September 3. He’s been suffering from a strained left oblique, and the team doesn’t really have any reason to rush him. The rosters have expanded so there’s no need to put him on the DL, and the magic number is down to 5, so they might as well not risk injuring the guy before the postseason.

Same thing goes for Aroldis Chapman. His velocity was way down, so the Reds have just been reaching into their deep closer pocket and choosing out a different closer instead. We’ve just got to have Chapman back for the post-season, so whatever it takes to get his speed back is the right thing.

Speaking of guys we’ve just got to have in October, Johnny Cueto is the most important person who has to get back into form. He’s not officially injured, but his last 3 outings have looked like the work of a very tired man. I guess the Reds aren’t skipping him, but they’ll probably go to the bullpen early when he pitches. He’s not exactly in Cy Young contention anymore after those last 3 stinkers, so they might as well.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
At .465, Votto’s OBP leads the National League. Unfortunately, that extended DL stint leave him with too few at-bats to be eligible for the award at the end of the season unless he averages about 6 ABs per game from here on out.