Young Matt Belisle took the mound again today after Ramon Ortiz was officially put on the DL yesterday. Belisle got battered around a bit. Well, more than a bit. He gave up four runs in the first inning, three of them homeruns. Truly a testament to the power of a kid having too much time to overanalyze his last, excellent start.

But for me, those numbers were secondary to the way he handled himself on the mound. For a guy who's 24, four months younger than my younger brother, I was impressed with his composure. No freaking out, no tantrums, no winging the ball at batters' heads.

In fact, upon closer introspection, I realize that I have the same sort of pride in Belisle's behavior that I would have if he actually were my little brother. And it seemed to be going around, since the Reds' offense slowly rumbled to life to eventually spare Belisle the loss.

Adam Dunn hit a couple of homeruns, like a true big brother shoving back a bully. Ken Griffey Jr. demonstrated some of that clutch hitting that I hear he used to do so well by singling in Ryan Freel. Rich Aurilia gave his detractors something to shut up about when he singled in Dunn and Wily Mo Penña. And the catcher, the consummate protector of the pitcher, Jason LaRue, came up big to double in Peña and Aurilia for the runs that would eventually win the game.

Maybe I imagined it, but it seemed to me that the whole game had a brotherly feel to it. If tomorrow the Enquirer says that the team gave Belisle a swirly after the game, we'll know for sure.