Last Game
It was like spring training baseball all over again last night. Not only was the game just as meaningless as pre-season contests, but also the Reds started off with their varsity players on the field and then pulled them one by one in favor of the JV.

Homer Bailey started for the Reds, but gave up a hit right away, so there was no need to hold out for a possible back-to-back no-hitter. Instead, he was pulled before he even qualified for the win so that some relievers could get some work in.

After seven and a half innings of scoreless baseball, Dusty Baker put in Tony Cingrani. At the time, I wondered whether he was doing it specifically to give up a run and prevent extras. I can’t say for sure if that was the case, but it is what happened. The Reds lost to the Cardinals 0-1. Oh no.

Next Game
I can’t believe we’re already entirely out of regular season games. Weren’t we just complaining about Cueto being snubbed for the All Star Game yesterday? Didn’t Chapman just do his forward roll? Wasn’t Latos’s rough start to the season just last week?

For a change, the end of the regular season doesn’t mean the end of baseball games for the Reds. They’re taking today, tomorrow, and most of Saturday off before taking the field in San Francisco at 9:30 p.m. Johnny Cueto (RHP, 0-0, — ERA) will toe the rubber for the Reds against TBA (probably Matt Cain) for the Giants.

Post-Season Roster to be Announced Friday
The Reds aren’t keeping everyone in suspense, but they aren’t announcing the final pieces of the first round roster just yet, either. According to John Fay’s blog, they’ve sent home Todd Redmond and Pedro Villarreal and sent Denis Phipps, Henry Rodrigues, and Didi Gregroius to Goodyear to stay fresh and hope/not hope for an injury to a starter.

The remaining 28 guys will head out to San Fran. I don’t know if they know who’s in or who’s out, but we probably won’t know until after the workout on Friday. But we can guess: Mike Leake isn’t likely to make it, nor is Logan Ondrusek. Devin Mesoraco might be the other one to draw the short straw, but he might not, since without him the team would be down to 2 catchers. Alfredo Simon might be the odd man out instead.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
The Reds pitching staff logged 1,248 strike outs this season. That’s an average of 7.7 Ks per game. What is it they say about pitching and winning championships, again?

Last Game
The Reds continue to have a chance at the top seed in the National League after beating the Cardinals last night, 3-1. If the Reds win today and the Nationals lose, the Reds can claim the top spot for their own.

Mat Latos started and allowed the Cardinals’ 1 run during his brief 5 innings of work. I imagine his outing was so short just because they didn’t want to wear him out; he wasn’t pitching badly.

The trio of closers–Sean Marshall, Jonathan Broxton, and Aroldis Chapman–finished it out without allowing a run. I love to see them honing that blade.

Next Game
Though the Reds no longer play the very first game of the baseball season, this year they’re playing in the very last. Today, Homer Bailey (RHP, 13-10, 3.75 ERA) and the Reds face off against the Cardinals to close out the season at 8:15 p.m., which is no less than 5 minutes later than any other game.

Bailey is just coming off his no-hitter against the Pirates, but he doesn’t need to be wasting that kind of performance on the Cardinals today. Save that for the postseason.

Surprise, Surprise: Cueto to Pitch Game 1
Apparently Chris Speier wasn’t willing to disclose the team’s planned pitching rotation for the post-season while Dusty Baker was still on the mend, but now that Baker’s back, we get to find out that it is, indeed, Johnny Cueto that’s getting the call for game 1.

After that, it will be Bronson Arroyo, followed by Mat Latos. Homer Bailey is unlikely to pitch in the best-of-5 first round, but he’ll be there should one of those other guys find themselves suddenly snake-bitten and in need of long replacement. No one seems to be discussing whether Mike Leake might make the postseason roster anymore.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
Last night, the Reds won their 97th game. They haven’t won that many since 1976 when they swept the World Series. I wouldn’t mind seeing that re-run.

Last Game
The Reds lost the series opener to the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-2, failing to be an obstacle to the Cardinals’ attempt to win the second wild card. The loss was partially due to Bronson Arroyo, who allowed 3 runs in his short 5 innings of work, and partially due to the offense, which again failed to score the runs required to win.

Next Game
The Reds remain tied with the Washington Nationals for the best record in the National League. To break the tie and get home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, they’ll turn to Mat Latos, who’s been outstanding down the stretch. The Cardinals will turn to Chris Carpenter, who will be making his third start of the season. The game starts at 8:15pm.

Rewarding a pitcher named Homer
At the start of the season, it seemed clear that this year would be an important one for Homer Bailey. After 5 seasons in the majors–the last three full-time–Bailey was well-positioned to become an important contributor to the team.

This week, Major League Baseball honored him with the National League Player of the Week award. The award was on the strength of his no-hitter against the Pirates.

Like all recipients of the award, Bailey will receive “a watch courtesy of Game Time, the leader in licensed sports watches.” It’s about time.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
With Bronson Arroyo’s 5 innings last night, the Reds ended the season with 4 starters having pitched more than 200 innings. Johnny Cueto, Mat Latos, and Homer Bailey are the other 3. It’s the first time the Reds have done this since 1943. The last baseball team to accomplish this was the Chicago White Sox in 2006.