Last Game
I hope you didn’t stay up late for last night’s game. It wasn’t pretty. Edinson Volquez couldn’t get out of the first inning, and the bullpen was never able to stop the blowout. In addition, Laynce Nix sprained his ankle and Jim Edmonds strained his right oblique. All in all, an ugly 11-2 loss.

Next Game
It’s game 2 of the series against the San Francisco Giants. The Cincinnati Reds have secured a winning record on this West Coast trip, but it would still be nice to take the series from the Giants. They have to win today to do that, and they’ll be sending out Travis Wood. The Giants counter with Jonathan Sanchez. Game-time is 10:15pm EDT.

Extending Baker One Year at a Time
Some more details have come out about the extension the Reds have offered Dusty Baker, primarily that it’s only for one year.

Dusty Baker is prepared to take his time weighing an offer to manage the Reds again next season.

The Reds have offered Baker a one-year contract extension for the 2011 campaign, but he has yet to give the club an answer and certainly wants to weigh his options.

Many managers are retiring after this season, so the article posits that Baker may have other suitors. It would make sense for him to see what other interest there is, and I wouldn’t hate for the Reds to lose him. Winning clears up a lot of things, but even so, Baker’s managing can still annoy and possibly rob the team of a few wins that a more modern manager wouldn’t.

The one-year offer is a prudent strategy, though. Don’t forget that the Reds were losers for the first 2 years under Baker.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
In the final game of the Los Angeles Dodgers series, Bronson Arroyo picked up his 100th career win. He is 100-90 for his career.

Last Game
Anybody else staying up for the late-night West Coast games? It wasn’t easy, but I did manage to outlast the Crack Technical Staff to see both the Cardinals lose and the Cincinnati Reds win. The Reds, down early to the Arizona Diamondbacks, kept their calm and came back. Although it appeared that Bad-rroyo was the starter, he definitely turned it around, too, after the 2-run shot he allowed in the first. Scott Rolen drove in 3, but Paul Janish hit a solo shot to break the tie in the 7th. With the way he’s played, it almost makes me wish Orlando Cabrera could be on the DL for the rest of the year. Or at the very least, the bat boy.

Next Game
Thanks to the Cardinals loss to the Brewers–thanks Felipe Lopez!–the Reds now find themselves where they were a week ago before the Cardinals sweep, with a 2-game lead. The Reds attempt to continue their winning ways tonight when Edinson Volquez starts against Rodrigo Lopez at 9:40pm EDT.

Hello Yasmani Grandal, Goodbye Micah Owings
The Reds signed their top draft pick on the last day they could. Catcher Yasmani Grandal received a 4-year deal worth about $3 million, and a coveted spot on the 40 man roster. The reason the deal took so long was because Grandal wanted the major league roster spot.

“You’d rather not do that,” said Walt Jocketty. “He has the same agent as (Yonder) Alonso. It was hard not to do it. We have confidence that he will move pretty quick. He’s an established college hitter.”

We’ll see if it works out. The Reds have done this 3 times before to Alonso, David Espinosa, and Dane Sardinha, and it hasn’t worked out yet.

To make room for Grandal, Micah Owings was designated for assignment, which is what has to be done to remove him from the 40 man, even though he is already in the minors. An average starting pitcher with a great bat is very likely to attract some attention on the waiver wire, even though he is arbitration-eligible after this season. The Reds have never seemed to know what to do with Owings. They never exploited his hitting skills to their fullest, and didn’t even seem to work too hard to get him into ballgames. Maybe his next team will have an idea where Owings can fit.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
The Reds have a 5-game road winning streak, which ties their season high. This most recent win pushed the Reds to a new season-high of 17 games over .500, at 68-51.

Last Game
The Cincinnati Reds finished their sweep of the Florida Marlins and regained sole possession of first place by winning 2-0. Homer Bailey had a great outing in his first start back from the DL, filling in for a suspended Johnny Cueto, no less. Miguel Cairo provided the offense, with a 2-run bomb in the 6th.

Next Game
The Reds had an off day before embarking on another dreaded West Coast road trip. First, they make a stop in Phoenix to take on the Arizona Diamondbacks. It will be Bronson Arroyo against Daniel Hudson at 9:40pm EDT.

Votto’s Ejections
Joey Votto was ejected again in his first batting appearance on Sunday. This is the 2nd time that’s happened this year.

This one doesn’t make as much sense, when watching the video available at the above link. Previously, Votto had just been snubbed for the All Star Game and had some pent-up frustration. He also had a full-blown fit, throwing his helmet to the ground and everything. This time, the umpire calls the pitch a strike, and Votto stepped out of the batter’s box. He may or may not have said something out of the side of his mouth. He then stepped back into the box, said something quietly without being demonstrative, and was ejected by the home plate umpire D.J. Reyburn.

It’s impossible to say what Votto said, but it sure seemed like an instance of the umpire making the game about himself instead of what everyone comes to see: baseball. At least he’ll be well-rested for the Diamondbacks tonight.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
Either the Reds or the Cardinals have occupied the top 2 spots of the National League Central–with no team further than 3 games away–for the last 99 days. The only other 2-team race close to that was the 1964 Phillies and Giants, who shared the top 2 spots for 98 days.

Last Game
Well, that was disappointing. Everybody knows what Brandon Phillips had to say about the St. Louis Cardinals before yesterday’s game. Yadier Molina took particular exception to it and starting jawing at Phillips, inciting a benches clearing brawl before the Reds had batted in the bottom of the first. In the post-game interview, he said he didn’t like it that Phillips said, “Hi,” to him. I imagine they’re no longer Facebook friends, either.

After all the excitement, the Reds did kind of collapse. I can’t blame them too much. It wasn’t until this year that they weren’t too scared of large crowds to play well. Controlling emotions enough to play well is the next step, and last night should give them some experience towards that.

The Reds managed only 6 hits, but had 3 errors. It was a sloppy, sloppy game. They ended up losing 8-4.

Next Game
Bronson Arroyo goes to the mound to attempt to prevent the sweep and to get the Reds back into sole possession of first place. The Cardinals will send out Adam Wainwright. Game-time is 12:35pm EDT.

The Fight
The fight last night sure was exciting. Of course, now we all have to wait while MLB reviews the tapes to see who gets suspended. During the game, only the managers were ejected.

Johnny Cueto, the starting pitcher last night, seems to be taking the biggest grief from the Cardinals, but I don’t think it’s warranted. After the first calm was reached, Chris Carpenter and Scott Rolen got into it, reigniting things. Cueto, who’d been standing nearby, suddenly found 50 bodies crushing him against the bricks and netting behind home plate. He responded by attempting to kick the crush away. In the melee, he, according to Tony LaRussa, gave Jason LaRue a slight concussion. “I was up against the net. When 15 people are around you, you get scared. I had my back to the wall with my feet up.”

We’ll see in a few days if MLB agrees with his take. You can watch the video here.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
Jim Edmonds had the 2,000th appearance of his career last night. He walked, but still managed to make an out by being thrown out at 2nd.

Last Game
The Philadelphia Phillies completed a 4-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds by beating the Reds 1-0 for the second straight game. But that was the past, before the All Star Break. This is a new part of the season.

Next Game
The Reds, all rested and healthy, begin a 7-game homestand, starting off with the Colorado Rockies. Bronson Arroyo takes the mound tonight, while the Rockies send out Jason Hammell. Game-time is Hammertime EDT.

Reds Hall of Fame Weekend
This is Reds Hall of Fame weekend, and they’re planning quite a bit to celebrate the induction of Pedro Borbon, Tony Mullane, and Chris Sabo into the Reds Hall of Fame.

MC Hammer will be in town tonight for concerts before and after the game, and the 1990 World Series Champion club will be honored and celebrated all weekend. Looks to be a great time. Here’s a list of the weekend’s festivities.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
Despite the Cardinals win last night, the Reds are still in first place, and they have been for 16 straight days. The last time the Reds were in first place at the All Star Break was in 1999.