Boxscore

If Cincinnati were Chicago, a W flag would have flown above the ballpark after last night’s game. It might have confused folks into thinking it was an ad for the upcoming Oliver Stone movie, which would seem especially strange coming from close personal Bush friend Bob Castellini. Like I said confusing, which is kind of what the game was.

Here the Reds are, coming off a sweep from the Nationals–a terrible, crappy team if ever there was one. I mean, their GM is Jim Bowden, a guy who wasn’t good enough for Cincinnati. And into town comes the Milwaukee Brewers, a team battling for first place in the division and the wild card spot.

So naturally the Reds win.

Bronson Arroyo had his better half show up, as he pitched 6 innings and allowed only 1 run while doubling in a couple for his side. The bullpen was adequate, as Magic Man and Stormy both gave up runs, but the lead still held for Francisco Cordero to get the “easy” save.

The Reds have shown serious motivation issues, beating good teams and getting spanked by sucky ones. If only there were a way to fix that, but obviously, that’s nothing management has anything to do with.

As for the Brewers, they missed a great opportunity to beat a bad team and gain a game on the losing Cubs. But Manny Parra imploded in the 5th, allowing 4 runs and leading to a shoving match with Prince Fielder. (Note to Parra: Run away. You won’t win.)

We’ll see if that fighting helps them going forward.

Boxscore

The Reds were swept by the ex-Reds yesterday, losing in the final game of the 3-game series. The futility of the team has reached its lowest point of the season, exemplified by the team being 10 games under for the first time all year and by being 16 games out of first.

Your last place Cincinnati Reds, ladies and gentlemen. And just think, the team has two more years of this unfocused mess of baseball left, unless they fire manager Dusty Baker before another rebuilding effort has to start.

Johnny Cueto got the loss yesterday, thanks to 4 runs (3 earned) in the first. After that, he settled down and ended up pitching 6 innings. A decent outing from a rookie. The offense provided no help, though, against Collin Balester. That’s right, Collin Balester. The Reds were doomed before the first pitch.

Boxscore

It’s getting harder and harder to watch the Reds. I don’t foresee this ending anytime soon, not until Dusty Baker is fired. I mean, there are only so many jokes and laughs you can have about Corey Patterson leading off.

Patterson’s average is .183, in case you were wondering. His Not Out Percentage is 21.6%. That’s right, he’s made an out 78.4% of the time. Sounds like a prototypical Dusty Baker leadoff man to me!

This was the game I switched to once the Cubs-Brewers game turned into a blowout. I don’t know what I was expecting, certainly not good baseball from the Reds.

Bronson Arroyo, who took the bold, courageous stand of desiring to play for a wannabe-last-place team, was terrible, allowing 6 runs in 6 1/3 innings. Way to show how much you deserve to stay, Bronson. Of course, he did drive in 1 of the 2 runs, so that’s something. At the least, it’s more than Patterson’s done since June 21.

The Reds have now lost 5 in a row and sit in last place, 13.5 games out.

Boxscore

The Cubs made quick work of that battle for first place with the Brewers. They won the second game easily and widened their lead to 3 games, which ensures they will have first all to their little beary lonesome no matter what happens in the final two games of the series.

Last night’s game was kind of a letdown. I’d hoped for another close one like the first one, and with Carlos Zambrano going against Ben Sheets it was certainly possible. But Sheets sucked and Zambrano didn’t. The Brewers offense consisted of an RBI from Mike Cameron. That’s not good enough most nights, let alone when your ace pitcher allows 6 in 5 1/3.

The Brewers have been outplayed these first two games of the series, and they were the team playing better baseball beforehand. It is making me rethink my assessment of the Brewers. We’ll see how they do in the final two games. Maybe without the big pitching guns, Milwaukee’s bats will wake up. I hope so; I’m getting bored.

Boxscore

The first game of the four-game battle for first between the Cubs and Brewers did not disappoint. Well, you could say that C.C. (yes, I’m still using periods) Sabathia didn’t pitch as well as expected after his last three complete games for Milwaukee, but that’s quibbling. He was still solid, allowing 3 earned runs in 6 2/3 innings.

No, the real disappointment was my out-of-the-blue 100 degree fever that had me asleep around the halfway point of the game. Stupid sick body wanting to heal. As if sleeping will help.

It looked like the game might go into extra frames when it was tied at 4 in the 9th, but Derrek Lee wanted to go home. He smacked a 2-run double off Salomon Torres, and the Brewers were unable to come back against Carlos Marmol.

Chicago now has a 2 game lead on Milwaukee, although I imagine the Brewers plan on doing something about that today.