Last Game
The Reds won yesterday afternoon to take the last three games in the four-game series against the Padres. Johnny Cueto didn’t have his best stuff, but he still ate some innings and performed well enough to keep the Reds in it.

Ryan Ludwick, who had been dominant in the two previous games, sat yesterday, giving some other guys a chance to be heroes. Among them was Todd Frazier with 3 RBI. Final score: Padres 4, Reds 9.

Next Game
It’s no secret that the Reds have been beating up on some pretty poor teams in the last month, but that changes tonight. The Pirates have won 17 of their last 26, which normally would be the kind of performance that would have you climbing the rankings. We know the Reds can beat up on the teams they should beat. This series we see what happens when an opponent puts up a little more resistance.

First pitch is at 7:10 p.m. Mat Latos (RHP, 9-3, 4.17 ERA) takes on an old friend in Wandy Rodriguez (LHP
0-0, 4.50 ERA).

It’s Bald Marty Day
Earlier in the season, Reds Hall of Fame radio broadcaster Marty Brennaman made a comment like, “If this team wins 10 in a row, I’ll shave my head.” Well, then it happened, and he was called on to make good on the promise. Even though he’s 70 years old and his coif has been part of his look forever, he agreed.

But not right away. You don’t just throw away an opportunity like this. So he hooked up with the Reds Community Fund and told the fans that if they came up with $20,000 in donations, he’d have his head shaved on the field after the game tonight for all to see. (If they didn’t come up with the money, he’d have it shaved at his regular barber shop before the game.)

I haven’t heard officially, but I assume they’ve come up with the money because 1) it’s not really that much, and 2) I haven’t seen the big blitz to encourage donations that there would be if they hadn’t made it. Still, if you’d just like to be sure, here’s how you can donate:

• Go to www.reds.com/community (click on “Support the Reds Community Fund”)
• Call the Reds Community Fund office at (513) 765-7234
• Make a cash donation in the giant Reds Piggy Bank located on the Terrace Level behind home plate, though it’s probably a little late for that, I’m sure they wouldn’t turn down your donation.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
The Reds lead the central by 3.5 games, so even if the Pirates sweep the series, they cannot overtake first place.

Last Game
The Reds had to come back from deficits twice, but they finally put the game in the win column. After losing the first game in the series to end the win streak at 10, winning the third game officially starts a new streak. Final score: Padres 4, Reds 6.

Next Game
The Reds and Padres finish out the 4-game set today at 12:35 p.m. in Great American Ball Park. Johnny Cueto (RHP, 13-5, 2.39 ERA) is trying to bounce back from a rough outing last time. For the Padres, Ross Ohlendorf (RHP, 3-1, 5.05 ERA) will be trying to make the series a split.

Always Be Closing
Our shiny new non-waiver trade deadline acquisition, Jonathan Broxton, made his debut last night. Over the course of 11 pitches in the eighth inning, he got Mark Kotsay to strike out on a foul tip, John Baker to ground out to the mound, and Cameron Maybin to ground out to first.

With his last team, the Kansas City Royals, Broxton was a closer. Clearly, the Reds already had a closer in Aroldis Chapman. (Well, 2, actually, if you consider that Sean Marshall started out the year in that role before saying the secret kill word that got him blackballed. And now that I mention it, 3, if you count Ryan Madson, but he had that season-ending injury in spring training and is looking even less likely to be brought back next year now.)

I guess General Manager Walt Jocketty takes the Pokemon approach to closers (Gotta catch ’em all!), but I can’t say that it won’t be nice to have someone to fall back on on those days when Chapman just doesn’t have it.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
In his last 35 games (121 ABs), Ryan Ludwick is batting .339. He has contributed 11 home runs and 29 RBI.

Last Game
The Reds got off to a 0-6 lead in the third inning, but then let the Padres tie it back up in the top of the fourth. Luckily, the relief pitching was on and Brandon Phillips had one more solo shot to contribute in the seventh. Final score: Reds 7, Padres 6.

Next Game
If the Reds can win tonight, they can ensure no less than a split of the four-game series against the Padres. Bronson Arroyo (RHP, 6-6, 3.76 ERA) was pretty darn great the last time he faced the Padres (he pitched a 3-hit shutout complete game), and also in his last outing against the Rockies (he put in 6.2 innings of shutout work). Tonight he defends against Kip Wells (RHP, 2-3, 3.82 ERA). First pitch at 7:10 p.m.

Injury Bug
Catcher Devin Mesoraco left the game last night in the seventh with dizziness. It was purportedly caused by getting overheated, and reports say he seemed OK after the game. Get that guy some Gatorade and move on.

More disconcerting: Brandon Phillips left the game last night in the eighth with a problem in his left calf. You may recall him leaving the Rockies game a couple days ago with trouble in the same place. At first it looked like a mild strain, but now it looks like it might be something more serious. We don’t have details yet, but I wouldn’t expect to see BP in the line-up for a few days.

If the Reds can go 12-3 without Joey Votto, hopefully losing Phillips won’t cause them to crumble. It’s about the pitching keeping up their end of the bargain and the offense continuing to share hero duties on a nightly basis.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
The Washington Nationals lost last night, so now the Reds are in sole possession of the best record in Major League Baseball: 62-41

Last Game
You know the Reds don’t do anything half-way. So when it was time to break their 10-game winning streak, they left no doubt about it and lost to the Padres 11-5.

Next Game
Now that they’ve got that out of their system, the Reds can start another win streak. Homer Bailey (RHP, 9-6, 3.53 ERA) has been on a tear lately, but so has his opponent Jason Marquis (RHP, 4-5, 3.48 ERA). First pitch at Great American Ball Park at 7:10 p.m.

Mesoraco Could Face Suspension
Besides the blow-out, the other big story last night was Devin Mesoraco giving home plate umpire Chad Fairchild an earful and getting ejected from the game. Early in the rant, Fairchild walked into Mesoraco’s frantically gesticulating arm, and suddenly it’s a whole “you can’t touch the umpire” thing. If it had just ended there, maybe nothing would have come of it, but after that, Mesoraco sure seemed to be trying to touch the umpire in a strangling sort of way.

I’ve made no secret of my distaste for umpires. Not to say there aren’t good umpires out there, but the system lacks checks and balances and includes no apparent consequences when umpires mess up. It sets up the umpires like some sort of emperor, and a policy that says their flesh is too holy to be touched by mere mortals just reinforces that.

But the Divine Right of Umpires is not what’s top-of-mind for the Reds right now: if Mesoraco is suspended, they have only the one catcher. Even AAA is light on catchers, and neither of the two in Louisville are on the 40-man roster. So room would have to be made for someone to be called up. John Fay points out that the only active players who have options are Todd Frazier and Chris Heisey.

How the Reds proceed will probably depend on how long the suspension is. If it’s one game, maybe they don’t worry about it and just put Frazier in to catch if something happens to Ryan Hannigan. If it’s going to much more than that, it would be less of a waste to option a guy, since whoever gets options would have to stay in the minors for 10 days. There are still a few hours left: maybe the Reds could trade for a catcher.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
In 2002, Joey Votto played 7 games at catcher with the Sarasota Reds. He had 3 passed balls and caught 22% of stealing runners.

Last Game
The Reds won their tenth in a row last night over the Colorado Rockies. They are tied with the Nationals for the best record in baseball, and they are in a 3-game lead in the NLC.

Meanwhile, the Pirates have gone 7-3 in their last 10, which is a pretty darn good run. What an incredible situation where the second-place team can win 70% of its games and lose a game in the standings.

Next Game
Having just swept the Astros and Rockies on the road, tonight the Reds head back home to try their hand against the Padres. The Reds lost 3 in a 4-game series while visiting the Padres just before the All-Star Break, but that was in California and before the win streak fairy had bitten the Reds so thoroughly.

Mike Leake (RHP, 4-6, 4.12 ERA) defends the hill against Edinson Volquez (RHP, 6-7, 3.30 ERA). First pitch at 7:10 p.m.

Farewell to the Poofy-Haired Fancy Boy

A few weeks’ back, in the course of the regular guy talk about the team, Reds’ Hall of Fame broadcaster Marty Brennaman said that, if the Reds won 10 in a row, he’d shave his trademark hair. Well, lo and behold, here we are with a Last 10 of 10-0 and the just-turned-70-year-old says he’s going to go through with it.

At first, they were saying Homer Bailey would be manning the clippers, but he’s no Ramón Ortiz, so I guess they’ll get a proper barber involved now. He’s supposed to shoot a commercial on Monday, so he’s going to keep the iconic coif until later in the week.

And when the hair does come off (purportedly in the clubhouse on Friday), I’m sure it’ll be all over the t.v. coverage. Already this news has completely stopped the discussion of Jim Bowden saying the Reds are “definitely” trading for Shane Victorino (Braves), Denard Span (Twins), or Juan Pierre (Braves).

Those guys do fit the profile of who the Reds might be looking for in a lead-off hitter, but it’s hard to look at the Reds right now, even having been without Joey Votto, and say this is a team that needs much. Plus, Bowden is not exactly known for his wisdom, or even honesty.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
The Astros broke their 12-game losing streak last night. The NLC missed having a first place team with a 10-0 record over its last 10 and a last place team with a 0-10 record over its last 10 at the same time by one day.