Last Game
Despite coming from behind to tie it twice, the Cincinnati Reds fell in extras to the Philadelphia Phillies last night, 4-3. Johnny Cueto pitched very well again, even after getting racked by a ball Joey Votto through to him in a crazy play in the 3rd. Votto contributed a home run and scored the tying run in the 9th.

Next Game
In game 2 of the 4-game series, Mike Leake will take the mound for the Reds, while the Phillies will send out Joe Blanton. Game-time is 7:05pm EDT.

Vote Votto Campaign Rights Egregious Wrong
I’ve written about it plenty, but I wanted to take a moment to enjoy how the Reds community came together to rally around Joey Votto during the Vote Votto campaign. It’s been fun, and our work paid off in getting the National League’s best first basemen the honor he has worked so hard for.

“I worked very hard at this individual game within a team concept,” he said. “I did my part to earn an All-Star berth. It means a lot to me. I always wanted to be an All-Star one day. Today, I was finally selected.”

Yes, you were. And deservedly so.

Joey received 13.7 million votes in the Final Vote, beating out all the other National League contestants. He was invited to the Home Run Derby, but turned it down.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
With Joey Votto’s election by the fans, the Reds will be sending four players to the 2010 All Star game. This snaps a streak of sending the required one player that dates back to 2004, when the Reds also sent four, Ken Griffey Jr, Barry Larkin, Sean Casey, and Danny Graves.

Last Game
Thanks to a sore back putting Aaron Harang on the disabled list, Matt Maloney was called up from the Louisville Bats for the emergency start. Maloney did okay, allowing 1 run through the first 5 innings until he tired in the 6th. The Reds offense never could get anything going against Johan Santana, the Reds ended up losing to the New York Mets 3-0.

Next Game
The Reds attempt to win the series against the Mets today when they send out Bronson Arroyo. We’ll see if one of their starters having his normal routine uninterrupted will help Cincinnati or not. New York will send out “All-day, all-night” Jonathon Niese. First pitch is scheduled at 7:10pm EDT.

Vottomania Going Strong
After Joey Votto was snubbed for the 2010 All Star game, the Reds wasted no time in marshaling the troops. They recorded spots from many of the players to air during games, encouraging viewers to vote Votto for the final spot, and they teamed up with the Boston Red Sox. Even, ESPN, a station the RHM household stopped watching because it never showed anything about the Reds, was talking about Cincinnati and Joey Votto. This slight could be about the best promotional thing to happen for the Reds since the Ken Griffey Jr trade. Of course, knowing how that ended, let’s hope that Votto making it to Anaheim this year brings much happier returns.

Do your part: Vote for Votto here. Voting ends tomorrow at 4pm.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
By going 12-11 in April, 18-11 in May, and 14-13 in June, the Reds had winning records in the first 3 months of the season since 1992. That team finished in 2nd place with 90 wins, in case you were wondering.

Last Game
The Reds began a 4-game series in Chicago against the Cubs and won in extras 3-2. Travis Wood was excellent in his first start, but Nick Masset was shaky and forced the team into extras. But in extras on the road, the Reds are undefeated. It’s like they like defying the odds or something.

Next Game
Bronson Arroyo takes the mound to keep the winning continuing. The Cubs send out former sucktastic Red Ryan Dempster. Game-time is 2:20pm EDT.

Baker’s Thoughts on Chicago
The Cincinnati Enquirer got some good quotes from Reds manager Dusty Baker about his time managing the Cubs. You know, the team he managed before the Reds that hasn’t won a world championship in 102 years (and counting).

“It’s tough, and the No. 1 reason it’s tough is because nobody lets anything go of the past,” Baker said. “Everybody’s still counting. I was here four out of the 100 years. You talk to most people, they act like I was here the whole 100 years. I’m only 61 years old.”

It’s a great quote, and gets to some of the dysfunction in Chicago. They are forever tied to that number, to that long history of missing it by that much.

Baker mentions how he focuses on the present and the future, which is good, but I think he does it too much, like the Cubs focus too much on the past. One should never be crippled by the past or regret, but it does have a handy way of providing lots of opportunities to learn. Given Baker’s teams continued lack of production at the top of the order, one might think that examining some past failures would be worthwhile. At least now Brandon Phillips is leading off. His Not Out Percentage of 37% certainly blows the 29% of Orlando Cabrera out of the water. Too bad Cabrera hits 2nd.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
The Reds have now won their last 9 extra-inning road games. This dates back to June 2009 and includes 5 such games this year. This sets a new club record, breaking the previous high mark by the 1944-45 Reds. The longest such streak in Major League history was by the 1997-2000 New York Yankees, who won 14 in a row.

Last Game
The Cincinnati Reds defeated the Oakland A’s 3-0 yesterday to sweep the series and finish the road trip at 3-3. Not bad after a disastrous start in Seattle.

Next Game
The Reds have today off–their 3rd and final one of June–before hosting the Cleveland Indians on Friday. Sam LeCure is scheduled to make his first start against someone who’s not a Cy Young candidate in Aaron Laffey at 7:10pm EDT.

Not Quiet on the Rotation Front
The Reds have some interesting decisions to make in the coming months regarding their starting rotation.

Mike Leake continues to be awesome, but everyone’s known the Reds will need to limit his innings to reduce his injury risk. Not having any professional experience does have some draw-backs. Yesterday, a step towards that was made with the announcement that Leake will be skipped for his next start. According to Walt Jocketty, there is a goal in mind: “We have a round number. Probably 170, but it’s not etched in stone.”

Edinson Volquez also continues his rapid rehab. He pitched for the Bats yesterday, and was very good, allowing 1 run over 5 innings. He has yet to walk a batter in any of his rehab starts. At this rate, he may be ready before the All Star Break, although I’d prefer the team take it slow.

Because Volquez started for Louisville on Aroldis Chapman’s regular starting day, he pitched in relief. The Reds have been consistent that they view Chapman as a starter, but as John Fay points out, plenty of great starters have begun their MLB time in the bullpen: “A long line of good starters began in the bullpen – Roy Oswalt, Adam Wainwright, Nolan Ryan, Don Gullett – it may help Chapman’s development.” I’m not sure what the best decision is here, but there are definite advantages to having a left-hander with a 100 mph fastball available in the bullpen.

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
Joey Votto has reached base safely, by hit, hit-by-pitch, or walk in his last 32 games. This ties him with the longest such streak in the majors this year, by Evan Langoria, who also reached base in 32 straight games.

Last Game
The Cincinnati Reds lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers 12-0. There was more than 2 hours of rain delay, but the Reds were looking lost well before the tarp rolled onto the field.

Remember when in years past the Reds were doing surprisingly well until they took a trip to the west coast where their season was ended? Last night, the game felt like the west coast came to Cincy and brought that season-ending flair early.

Next Game
Of course, one key difference between the 2010 Reds and those of years past is the starting pitching. It’s difficult to have too long of a losing streak with the great arms Cincinnati sends out on a nightly basis. Tonight, Mike Leake looks to rebound from his worst, and only bad, start of the year. The Dodgers will send out Clayton Kershaw. The Reds try to stay in first place, starting tonight at 7:10pm EDT.

Minor Bullpen Change Harbinger of More?
Before the game yesterday, the Reds called up Jordan Smith and sent down Enerio Del Rosario. Smith was the only pitcher to not allow any runs yesterday, but the bullpen still isn’t fixed.

John Fay wrote about Dusty Baker hinting at more changes without providing any specifics.

“Some of it depends on how Smith fits in. Most of the starting pitchers are going six or six and a fraction. That seventh inning is very, very important. We’re looking for someone to close that gap.”
…
“We’re still in the fact-finding mode,” Baker said. “You wish you have everything perfectly in order but it’s not.”

What to Say to Sound Smart at the Water Cooler
King Arthur Rhodes has a 26 inning scoreless streak, which is the longest of any Major League reliever this year. The streak is also the longest for a Reds reliever since John Franco threw 27 1/3 scoreless innings in 1988.