In case you weren’t paying attention to the Cincinnati Reds over the weekend, you probably had a better weekend than most Reds fans. In fact, you probably saw more good baseball being played than anyone who tuned in for the final two games against the Philadelphia Phillies.

After a great start to the series behind Alfredo Simon, the Reds never came close to winning again. They lost 12-1 on Saturday and 8-3 on Sunday. Every part of the team is terrible right now. The starting pitching, the bullpen, the offense, and most especially, the general management.

On Saturday, Homer Bailey lived up to his name, allowing a 2-run home run, along with 4 other runs. Then the bullpen came in to allow 6 more. On Sunday, Tony Cingrani returned from the disabled list and was slightly better than Bailey, but still allowed 4 runs over 6 innings. Again, the bullpen came on to pour gasoline on the fire. The offense was as it’s been all year: incapable of getting hits.

And then there’s Walt Jocketty. Well, maybe there is. Has anyone seen him? Joey Votto missed the weekend series due to an MRI on his knee. So far, it doesn’t look like he’ll need surgery, but he’s not available to play. If the Reds had a competent GM, Votto would be placed on the DL to recover. Sadly, the Reds don’t. And Jocketty once again has forced manager Bryan Price to field an uncompetitive team.

I wonder when owner Bob Castellini will realize that Jocketty should have been replaced at the same time Dusty Baker was. Until then, the Reds will plod along, blaming all their struggles on injuries instead of incompetent team-building.

Yesterday before the Cincinnati Reds lost to the Boston Red Sox in extra innings, Mark Sheldon interviewed so-called General Manager Walt Jocketty about Billy Hamilton.

Team doctor Tim Kremcheck had checked on Hamilton earlier.

“He looked at him and he’s shown some improvement but he’s still the proverbial day-to-day,” Reds GM Walt Jocketty said.

Hamilton had failed in an attempt to swing a bat earlier in the day, having it drop from his hands due to the pain from his swollen knuckles. Sounds like a guy who should be on the disabled list, right?

“Not yet,” Jocketty said. “I don’t know who we’d replace him with.”

Really? The GM of the Reds has no ideas on who to replace an injured player with. This quote is so ridiculous that I can’t even. Jocketty’s job is such that he should always be ready. This shows that he’s either unprepared or incompetent.

Or perhaps he’s simply given up on the Reds entirely. That would explain Jocketty’s inaction for the last year.

The Cincinnati Reds took the 4-game series from the Milwaukee Brewers over the weekend, thanks to more excellent pitching. Or maybe, since it was Star Wars weekend in Cincinnati, it was the Force.

The lineup on the stadium’s scoreboard showed each of the players in Star Wars regalia. I didn’t catch one for so-called General Manager Walt Jocketty. I imagine that image to the right is the one that would have been used.

Despite any lack of effort from Jocketty, though, the team took the series and found themselves one game below .500 again. Homer Bailey, Mike Leake, Johnny Cueto, and Alfredo Simon, along with the bullpen, limited the Brewers to just 10 runs over the 4 games.

The offense even showed up with some timely hitting, most notable in Sunday’s walk-off extra inning win that was won on Todd Frazier’s 10th inning double. It was a good weekend to be a Reds fan.

At least until this morning, when the news reported that Jay Bruce will be out for a month or two because of an injured knee. The injuries keep coming. If only the Reds had a real general manager instead of a so-called one in times like these.

This has not been a lucky year so far for the Cincinnati Reds. Not in terms of wins or in terms of health. And another one went down today.

Tony Cingrani was sent to the disabled list following his four-inning start against the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday. He wasn’t happy about it.

“I don’t know why they do a lot of things. I don’t agree with it,” he said. “But if they don’t want me to injure myself, I understand. I think I can keep throwing, but they’re exercising caution.”

I can’t say that I’m happy about him being disabled either, although it’s for different reasons.

There is one good spot of news for the Reds. Aroldis Chapman made his first rehab appearance today. And he did well.

Guessing that will be it. 18 pitches, 11 strikes. 2 K and a line out for Chapman. #Reds #Chapman #Dragons

— ctrent (@ctrent) May 1, 2014

Chapman’s expected back in less than two weeks. Hopefully, no more Reds fall before then.

Duane Rhodes, more commonly known to Cincinnati Reds fans as “The Woo Guy” has recorded a song about his favorite baseball team to celebrate the beginning of the season.

Unlike his song about shouting, “Woo!”, there’s no fire crackling in the background this time.