Last Game
The Cincinnati Reds lost 3-1 to the Arizona Diamondbacks last night, but the Reds’ Magic Number went down another notch thanks to the Cardinals again losing to the Cubs. (It’s nice to know the Cubs can succeed at something once in a while.) You can monitor the Magic Number in the handy box on the top-right of the RHM site, by the way.

The Reds offense struggled again, despite that one game resurgence in the opener against Arizona. The Reds did come close to another of their trademark last-minute wins, loading the bases in the 9th, but Ramon Hernandez’s shot to the gap in right field was chased down by Justin Upton to end the game.

Next Game
The Reds play game 3 of 4 against the Diamondbacks tonight when Homer Bailey takes on Joe Saunders. Game-time is 7:10pm EDT.

Changes to Baseball Schedule in 2011
The Red released their 2011 schedule yesterday, confirming Major League Baseball’s plan to move up the start of the schedule to end the playoffs before November.

Next year, Opening Day will fall on Thursday, March 31. My only concern is that this doesn’t curtail the Reds from turning Opening Night into an event. The Opening Night festivities that they had this year were a blast.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
Bronson Arroyo’s last start resulted in his 15th win of the 2010 season. This marks his third year in a row with 15 or more wins. The last Reds starter to do that was Tom Browning. Of the current active major leaguers, only 3 other pitchers have done the same: Roy Halladay, Jon Lester, and C. C. Sabathia.