Not that I ever had those hopes. Not really.

After a walk-off win thanks to a bottom-of-the-ninth home run from Brandon Phillips last night, the Reds were back to their losing ways tonight as they fell to the Cardinals 4-1. Bronson Arroyo wasn’t that awesome for the Reds, and apparently Chris Carpenter was that awesome for the Cards. No word yet on what he might have complained about before, during, or after the game or what he may or may not have to explain to his son.

Frankly, I checked out emotionally yesterday around the seventh inning. It hardly seems worth hoping these guys will come back from behind (and they’re *always* behind), even when they’ve just done it the night before. I’m not sure whether the team will ride out the rest of the season in fourth place, but at this point it seems more likely than making it to first.

So, here’s a question for you: why the heck aren’t they doing anything about it? There’s practically an entire major-league ready team in Louisville waiting to be traded or fill in for someone who is. At the very least, shouldn’t Baker be feeling some pressure by now? Bad luck, sure, but the time is past to hope that bad luck will go away on its own.