Boxscore

It was the kind of shelling the Reds haven’t been the victim of in a long, long time. The Padres put their runs on the board so early that the optimistic among us kept thinking the Reds might come back, but ultimately we all ended up feeling kind of sheepish after getting nothing in return for all our hoping.

Mike Leake started for the Reds and ouch. 1.2 innings of work, including 5 runs (earned) on 5 hits and 3 walks. Alfredo Simon was only slightly less ouchy: 2.1 innings 5 runs (earned) on 4 hits and 3 walks.

Bill Bray did well with his chance, and didn’t allow any hits in his 2.0 innings. He did, however, walk 3 guys. Walks were a major plot thread in the story arc of pitching suckitude, with all the Reds’ pitchers combining for 11 walks. That’s not only the season high, it beats out the previous season high of 7 by 36%.

Jose Arredondo escaped the bases on balls bug in his 2.0 innings but did allow another run (earned) on 2 hits. Logan Ondrusek was back to walking guys in the ninth.

It looked so good for the Reds at the beginning. They drew first blood, putting 3 on the board in the bottom of the first when Jay Bruce doubled, Scott Rolen walked, and Ryan Ludwick knocked both of them in. All of that after Drew Stubbs had already hit a solo shot to right field. You get the feeling Stubbs doesn’t want to be traded.

Bruce hit his 21st home run of the season in the bottom of the third, again, reigniting the hope of the fans. But the only other scoring would turn out to be Rolen knocking in Stubbs in a fifth inning rally that didn’t end up rallying very much.

The loss brings the Reds’ record to 61-41. They continue to lead the NLC by 3 games. It just feels worse than that thanks to the sudden shift from the seemingly effortless victories to painful struggles. The series against the Padres continues tonight at 7:10 p.m. Homer Bailey (RHP, 9-6, 3.53 ERA) takes on Jason Marquis (RHP, 4-5, 3.48 ERA).

When you get tired of following #HUGWATCH (as if anyone could get tired of that), you can switch on the MLB Network tomorrow for six solid hours of trade deadlne coverage starting at 11 a.m.

This is kind of a risky move by MLB…what if there aren’t any interesting trades to talk about for 6 hours? On the other hand, if there’s anything to learn from reality television, it’s that as little as 10 minutes of footage can be stretched into 2 weeks of programming.

Secaucus, N.J., July 25, 2012 – MLB Network will air 20 hours of live coverage dedicated to the latest trade news and rumors starting this Sunday, July 29 through the non-waiver trade deadline on Tuesday, July 31, including a six-hour live MLB Tonight: Trade Deadline Special starting at 11:00am ET on July 31. MLB Network’s MLB Tonight: Trade Deadline Special is presented by Wendy’s.

“Path to the Trade Deadline” editions of MLB Tonight, The Rundown and Intentional Talk will feature reports and analysis from MLB Network analysts including Larry Bowa, Peter Gammons (@pgammo), John Hart, Joe Magrane, Kevin Millar (@KMillar15), Harold Reynolds, Chris Rose (@ChrisRose), Lauren Shehadi (@LaurenShehadi), Matt Yallof (@MattYallofMLB) and MLB Network insiders Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS), Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) and Tom Verducci.

Gammons, Heyman and Rosenthal will each have live cameras positioned in their offices at MLB Network throughout the day, while MLB.com senior writer Jonathan Mayo (@JonathanMayoB3) and MLB Network’s stable of local correspondents will be available via Cisco Ballpark Cam with up-to-the-minute live trade reports and reactions from throughout Major League Baseball.

Throughout the live coverage, MLB Network will recap the biggest trades from July 31, 2011 in a trade deadline-in-review segment, including a look back at the Atlanta Braves trading for Michael Bourn and the St. Louis Cardinals acquiring Rafael Furcal.

In addition to using touchscreen technology at its dedicated social media area inside Studio 3, MLB Network will produce an on-screen social media ticker on July 31 that will display the latest news from MLB Network’s insiders and reporters throughout the league and tweets including the hashtag #tradedeadline.

This afternoon, the MLB Network announced that Cincinnati Reds center fielder Drew Stubbs had won the National League Player of the Week award for July 23 – July 29. He shares it with Carlos Gomez of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Stubbs, who helped lead the Reds to a 6-0 mark last week, hit .370 (10-for-27) and tied with Gomez for the N.L. lead in RBI (10) and stolen bases (3). The eighth overall selection in the 2006 First-Year Player Draft ranked second in the N.L. with nine runs scored and was tied for second in hits while finishing third with three home runs and 21 total bases. On July 24th, the Texas native went 3-for-4 with a go-ahead homer in the ninth inning off Houston closer Francisco Cordero en-route to a 4-2 victory at Minute Maid Park. The following night, Stubbs paced the Reds offense, going 2-for-5 with two doubles, two runs scored and three RBI as the Reds capped a four-game sweep at Houston with a 5-3 victory. The right-handed-hitting slugger notched his 12th homer of the season in Sunday’s 7-2 win over the Rockies while collecting his team-leading 21st stolen base as the Reds completed a three-game sweep at Colorado. This is Drew’s first career weekly award.

Does that make it easier or harder to trade him by the deadline tomorrow? On the one hand, he’s increased his trade value a bit by showing how good he can be, but on the other hand, in showing the Reds how good he can be, maybe he doesn’t need replacing after all.

None of the options that the Reds have been linked to–Juan Pierre, Denard Span, or Shane Victorino–strike me as so much better than Stubbs that the Reds should obtain them no matter the cost. With Joey Votto about to return, I might not be too upset at Walt Jocketty for doing nothing again.

Boxscore

The Reds’ remarkable play continued last night as they beat the Rockies 7-2.

Mat Latos pitched a helluva game, going 8.0 innings and allowing 2 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks. Not bad for the thin air of Colorado, and far better than he really needed to do with all the offense that came out in support of him. Sam LeCure pitched the ninth and gave up 2 hits and a walk, but no runs.

Drew Stubbs walked and stole second, setting up Brandon Phillips to hit him in with a single in the top of the first inning, but then the Rockies scored two in the bottom of the inning. So, for a minute, the Reds were behind in this game.

Then in the very next inning, Chris Heisey led off with a triple and Miguel Cairo hit a sac fly to tie it up. In the third, the Reds did the exact same thing, only it was Zack Cozart hitting the triple and Stubbs sac flying him in.

That would have been enough, but Stubbs hit a 2-run home run and Jay Bruce hit a solo shot, both in the fifth. Miguel Cairo knocked in Chris Heisey in the eighth for good measure.

The win brings the Reds’ record to an MLB-leading 61-40. They lead the NLC by 3.0 games over the Pirates, who have done admirably hanging with the Reds through this incredible second half. Tonight the Reds come home to Cincinnati to host the San Diego Padres. Mike Leake (RHP, 4-6, 4.12 ERA) starts for the Reds while Edinson Volquez (RHP, 6-7, 3.30 ERA) represents the Padres. First pitch at 7:10 p.m.