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.

Last Game
The Reds took yesterday off, and for once, I was glad. I needed a nap.

Next Game
Our boys are back in action tonight, visiting the Miami Marlins. Bronson Arroyo (RHP, 12-7, 3.66 ERA) will face off against Jacob Turner (RHP, 0-2, 5.29 ERA). I was live and in person for Arroyo’s last start, which was a gem. I can’t speak for Turner.

Bievendios a Miami
Tonight the Reds play their first game ever in the Marlin’s new stadium, Marlins Park. “It’s almost the end of the season,” you might say, “and they’re just getting there now? Didn’t they play the Marlins forever ago?”

Why, yes they did, right at the beginning off the season. But the Marlins made the trip to Cincy for that series. Ah, those were the days, back when people thought the Marlins might be contenders. Now their record stands at 63-81. So much can change in 140 games.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
The Reds’ magic number of 8 is the lowest in the majors. The next lowest belongs to the Washington Nationals at 11.

Last Game
The Reds completed the sweep of the Pirates last night by a score of 1-2. Homer Bailey put in a very nice start for his 11th win, which is a career-high number of wins for him. J.J. Hoover pitched in the ninth inning for the first save of his career. The 2 RBI belong to…Wilson Valdez? And Scott Rolen?

Lots of unusual things happening tonight.

Next Game
Today the Reds have the day off before taking a trip to visit Miami. If it seems like they just had a day off, you’re remembering last Thursday. In fact, there are two MORE off days coming after today. I’m not sure when September became like April, schedule-wise, but I’m not complaining. The boys could use the rest leading up to the play-offs.

Looking at next year, and not in a “there’s-always-next-year” kind of way
The Reds released their 2013 schedule today. They’ll be opening the season on April 1 against the Angels. You’ll recall that the Astros will be moving to the AL next year, which will give each league 15 teams, which will necessitate interleague games going on all the time.

The Reds will play the Cardinals for weekend series a couple times, which is always exciting. They’ll visit the Cubs over Memorial Day weekend, which is our chance to dub Wrigley Field “GABP North.” And, of course, there’ll be the chance to see them face off against the Indians.

You can get an early start on memorizing the schedule by printing out of a copy of the schedule for yourself.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
Zack Cozart is nearing his return from that strained oblique that’s had him out for the last week. Nick Masset, on the other hand, had season-ending surgery that will have him recovering for 4 months. Hopefully, Aroldis Chapman is closer to the Cozart timeline.

Last Game
The Reds took the second of the three-game series against the Pirates last night. The score was 3-5 and it didn’t have to go to extras this time. It was almost like watching the July team again.

• Mike Leake threw a pretty darn good outing, which was a relief after his last, disasterous one,
• Jay Bruce, Joey Votto, and Brandon Phillips hooked up for a sweet defensive play (see video below), and
• Aroldis Chapman sat the bench to rest his tired shoulder.

Regarding that last one, Chapman will be riding the pine for the next few days or more. Fine with me. Whatever we can do to get Chapman back in time for the post-season make sense. Besides, we already have 2 other closers.

Next Game
The Reds go for the sweep tonight. Homer Bailey (RHP, 10-9, 4.03 ERA) has his work cut out for him as he’s facing A.J. Burnett (RHP, 15-6, 3.68 ERA). Burnett hasn’t gotten a win in his last four outings, and, personally, I’m more likely to say, “he’s due” than “he’s done.” Tune in at 7:10 p.m. to see how it works out.

Phillips and Hughes have no end of respect for each other now
In Monday night’s game, the Pirate’s right hander Jared Hughes hit Brandon Phillips with a pitch. Phillips did the thing no one does and pick up the ball to throw it back. Hughes shouted something at Phillips, and Phillips was visibly agitated. He yelled something that appeared to be a “tell him” message at Andrew McCutchen as they left the field.

Later, Phillips implied in a tweet that Hughes’ comment had been racially charged. It sounds like the word “boy” may have been thrown around, which is just the sort of word that can be seriously offensive to one guy while another guy has no idea that there’s anything wrong with it in any context.

But McCutchen came to the rescue and got the two guys talking to each other before the game yesterday. They apparently hugged it out, because after that, they couldn’t stop telling the media how much respect they had for each other.

Much of this information came from John Fay’s blog, so go check that out for more information.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
Jay Bruce was named the NL Player of the Week for his performance last week. This is the fifth time he’s been awarded the honor, which ties the Reds’ record for POW honors. One more and he beats Eric Davis. I think that’s pretty likely, seeing as his cold streaks don’t matter when you’re getting a weekly award. Also, he has already won it twice this year.

Last Game
The Reds won the series opener against the Pirates last night, 3-4, in 14 innings. This was a more exciting one to watch, with the team tying it up in the seventh, but it was also frustrating that they couldn’t get one more guy across the plate until the 14th.

The Reds’ inability to string together hits for runs is annoying, but it’s been a problem that’s haunted the team all year, from time to time. Aroldis Chapman’s inability to strike guys out, on the other hand, is a new problem and entirely more scary.

Chapman issued 3 walks in his 0.2 innings of work last night. He had to be removed in the middle of an inning for the first time all season. Even worse, this was his second poor outing in a row. His velocity was down and his control was all over the place. Apparently the medical staff is saying he’s got a fatigued shoulder. With just 20 more games left in the season, we’ll all be hoping there’s time for that shoulder to get rested up.

Next Game
Today is Mike Leake’s turn to try to inspire some run support from the Reds offense. He ought to be well-rested after his last outing, which lasted only 2.1 innings last Wednesday. Leake (RHP, 7-9, 4.73 ERA) faces off against the Pirates’ Kevin Correia (RHP, 10-8, 4.28 ERA)

Yesterday was Joey Votto’s 29th birthday
Just 29 years old and Joey Votto is already a mega-millionaire at the top of his field. He’s popular, in great shape, and easy on the eyes, to boot.

Jeez, what have I been doing with my life?

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
In the game against the Astros on Sunday, LHP Tony Cingrani made his major league debut by pitching 3.0 innings in relief of Johnny Cueto and his short start. With that appearance, Cingrani became only the second pitcher in Reds’ history to strike out 5 in his major league debut.

Hopefully Cingrani’s auspicious start will serve him better than the first guy to do it, Angel Torres. Torres pitched only 8.1 innings his entire major league career.