The Hall of Fame Game was called due to rain today in the 3rd inning with the Reds leading the Pirates 3-0.

Quinton McCracken led the offense with a two-run home run, and Jason Larue, showing he can do it without a pink bat, knocked in a run on a double.

Hopefully, this means the team's offense will wake up for tomorrow's game against the Pirates. And if we're lucky, we'll get a resurgent offense AND a lights-out pitching staff going at the same time!

Oh, to dream.

And now for tonight's $60,000 question:

What happened to all those smack-talkin' Cubs fans we had here at RHM a month or so ago?

They've sure gotten quiet now that the Cubs have lost nine out of their last ten games. Oh, I know! They're probably too busy being thankful for the existence of the Pittsburgh Pirates, that being the only reason the Cubs aren't in the division basement right now.

According to something I read earlier tonight, the last time the Cubs won only one game on a nine-game road trip was May 1981. That was a strike year. The Cubs went 38-65 (.369) under not-so-legendary manager Joey Amalfitano that year. Who, come to think of it, wasn't all that legendary as a player, either. But then, that's probably why one of the teams he played for was the Cubs.

I know this is kickin' 'em when they're down, but Arroyo's just blanked the Nationals in the top of the first, and I had to have something to do during the commercials, and while Nationals' starting pitcher (and Cinci native) Zach Day warms up for his shelling at the hands of the Reds tonight (Day has a 7.11 ERA coming into this one. Seven-Eleven is good if you're looking for a convenience store. It's not good if it's your ERA).

But, I digress. We were talking about the Cubs. Get it while you can, Cubs fans (if there are any left after that road trip), because I have a feeling nobody's going to be talking much about the Cubs for quite some time.

Unless it's to compare them to the 2003 Tigers and 1962 Mets.

John, KC2HMZ

Procter & Gamble has reported increased absenteeism. Mechanics are seeing more and more engine damage due to people's failures to get their oil change. Wendy's restaurants in Cincinnati complain that people are ordering Big Macs and Whoppers at their stores more than ever. Bethesda Hospital has noticed an increase in insomnia cases from people who won't go to sleep for fear that it “might all end.”

What has the city all out of sorts? Call it Reds Fever.

It's one month into the season and the Cincinnati Reds have the best record in baseball at 18-8. They had more wins in the month of April than any previous Reds team in history. They have won or tied every series that they've played in so far, except for one. And they lead the defending division champions by one game and the defending league champions a game and a half.

And the city of Cincinnati doesn't know what to do with itself.

“After the Bengals went to the playoffs last fall, I thought it couldn't get any better,” says Cincinnati native Al Kayhol. “But now with the Reds winning too, my perception of reality has been destroyed. The other day I tried to take a shower in my dishwasher.”

Fans like Liz Beyin have seen their lifelong habits mysteriously forgotten. “I went to the game Monday and ordered 31 hot dogs,” Beyin said, “and I'm a vegetarian. PETA is definitely going to kick me out of the group now.”

Kayhol and Beyin are not alone in their befuddlement. Stories are all over the city about fans forgetting to put pants on before going to work, cutting their grass with scissors, and paying almost three dollars a gallon for gas.

“People in this city are in a total state of euphoria,” says clinical psychologist Dr. Iman Idyut. “They are doing things that you would never expect to see from normal citizens. And if the team keeps winning like they have been, we will likely see an increase in the amount of unusual behavior as the season goes on. People have lost all sense of who they are now that the local teams are winning.”

Dr. Idyut reminds people to be safe with their celebration and try to keep some perspective.

“The Reds' success is definitely something to be excited about. After so many years of suffering for their teams in this city, fans have the right to be joyful. But the important thing is to try to keep grounded in what is happening around you. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go walk my car and shave my bowling ball.”

Yesterday, as we all know, the Reds played the Astros, with Claussen going against Oswalt. Oswalt was 15-0 against the Reds, and Claussen not only had never beaten the Astros before but had gotten ZERO run support from his teammates in his last three starts against 'em.

So what happens? Phillips scores two runs and drives in two more, the Reds beat the Astros and finally hang a loss on Oswalt for the first time ever, 5-4.

Today, they handed Andy Pettite his third straight loss, getting to him for 11 hits, three walks, a throwing error, a wild pitch, and six runs in five innings. Harang got his fourth win in a row after losing on Opening Day. Maybe he just wanted to get it out of his system that first time out. Reds win it, 6-3.

All that's pretty impressive. But even more impressive to me than what they have done, is the way they have done it.

In recent years the Reds have basically had one approach to scoring runs, which was to stand around and wait for somebody to hit a home run. It worked to some extent, they led the league in runs scored last year. They also lost a lot more than they won, and when they faced top-shelf pitchers such as Oswalt they were lucky if they scored any runs at all.

This team, this year, isn't like that. They swept their recent three-game road series against the Nationals while hitting just one homer. They got a couple wins against the Brewers by using speed to manufacture runs. During one game in Milwaukee, Phillips scored on an infield single. What's the big deal about that? He scored on an infield single, all the way from second base!

Friday against the Astros they scored two runs on groundouts, and another on a sac fly. Today (Saturday) they two runs on one infield single, thanks to a throwing error by the opposing pitcher. Phillips scored on a wild pitch. Another run scored on a groundout - Phillips scored it even though the Astros had their infield “in” to prevent the run from scoring. Oh, they did score one on a home run, too, as Aurilia led off the sixth with a dinger. For that matter, they also hit six homers in a single game against the Cubs. So, go ask Glendon Rusch if the Reds can still hit the long ball. Then duck.

Anyway, what happened today was against a top-shelf pitcher, Andy Pettitte. They've also beaten Carpenter, Zambrano, Livan Hernandez, Oswalt, and Sheets so far this season. They basically beat Willis too, although Dontrelle didn't get charged with the loss. That's seven pretty good pitchers whose heads the Reds have collected in April. Furthermore, much of this has happened with Dunn in a slump and Griffey on the DL.

Oh, and along the way, Arroyo and Harang have for the most part looked like a darn good 1-2 punch at the front end of the starting rotation, and Todd Coffey has pretty much been Lights Out in the bullpen.

Dunn is still among the league leaders in home runs. But now Encarnacion and Phillips are among the league leaders in RBI, Freel and Lopez are among the league leaders in steals, Harang is among the strikeout leaders, and even Weathers has gotten into the act, challenging for the league lead in saves.

In short, this is no longer a team that relies on one or two guys to do the damage. It's much more of a team effort - and the effort is paying off. The Reds are alone in first place (having just personally knocked the Astros out of first by beating 'em twice in a row), and have the best record in baseball, plus a six-game winning streak, the longest active win streak in the majors.

All I can say is, if this is a dream, I've got a dark alley and a bad idea that says nobody better wake me up anytime soon.

John (HMZ)

I thought the Realtor® was coming over tonight to check out the house, but she called in sick so I've got an evening to sit on my ass and blog about the game as it happens. Never done this before (at least not w/o Bellyscratcher), so it could be a real disaster.

Half an inning in, the Reds have scored three. Hopefully EZ doesn't give 'em up so easy.