Bad Decisions...Reds Win 9-6

Have I mentioned that Joey Votto is my favorite ball player?

Here's his line from today's ball game against the Washington Nationals:

5 AB's, 4 Runs, 4 Hits, 6 RBI, 3 Home Runs and 1 Double

And of course a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth to win it!



I was there...kinda.

I bought Fox Sports Ohio Club Seats for Mother's Day and took my wife Tammy and son Michael to the game. Got a Jay Bruce cereal bowl at the gate!

But it rained, and rained-the game was supposed to start at 1:10, and by 4:00pm it still hadn't started so...(sigh) we decided to go home. The game started at 4:45...we just couldn't hold out any longer.

And I missed one of the best games of the year, and one of Joey Votto's greatest games ever.

At least I get to put $10 more dollars in my Joey Votto jersey fund.

I swear, I will never leave a Reds game early again...

Have Faith in the Cincinnati Reds, My View Through (Pete) Rose-Colored Glasses!

I know the Cincinnati Reds have entered the All-Star break at 45 wins and 47 losses. I have been disappointed in their results so far this season. Coming off of last year's National League Central Division Championship I thought the Reds would be a team that ended up with 90 plus wins this year and a second straight playoff appearance.

In my mind there were two primary questions that the Reds needed to deal with that remained unanswered to my satisfaction following Spring training. Would Jonny Gomes prove to be effective as an every day left fielder? And was Paul Janish ready to be the every day shortstop?

The answer to both questions was no. I addition, many of what looked like strengths of the Reds coming out of Spring training have proven to be troublesome in the first 92 games of the season. Drew Stubbs has struggled at lead-off and currently leads the National League in strikeouts. Injuries and an ineffective Edinson Volquez have hurt the Reds' starting pitching. Paul Janish and his back-up Edgar Renteria have played so poorly at shortstop that the Reds were forced to promote Zack Cozart from their AAA Louisville affiliate. And if that wasn't bad enough, Francisco Cordero blew three straight save opportunities going into the All-Star break.

But I choose to look at the Reds and their prospects for the second half of the season through (Pete) Rose-colored glasses!

Scott Rolen is getting back to full strength. Joey Votto, Jay Bruce and Brandon Phillips are having All-Star seasons. Catching has been a positive for the team. And the depth of starting pitching may finally pay off.

The best news? The Reds are only 4 games back of Milwaukee and St. Louis in the National League Central. And they open the second half of the season tomorrow at Great American Ball Park against the hated Cardinals. It's not going to take major improvements in their weak areas to make a big difference for the Reds!

So, as a fan and the ultimate optimist, I can still visualize a National League Central Division Championship and a second straight playoff appearance for the 2011 Cincinnati Reds!

All the 2011 Reds need to do is to adopt Pete Rose's philosophy. As he famously said, "Somebody's gotta win and somebody's gotta lose and I believe in letting the other guy lose."

This weekend is a good time to start!

My 5,000th Tweet!

I knew I was coming up on my 5,000th Tweet, and was really trying to come up an imspirational thing to Tweet in 140 characters or less.

What I didn't do was keep track close enough to my Tweet count, and missed it by one.

At least my 5,000th Tweet was about one of my favorite subjects, The Cincinnati Reds:


RT @Reds: RT @Jamieblog: BRUCE, PHILLIPS, VOTTO NAMED NATIONAL LEAGUE ALL-STARS http://wp.me/p1rXtQ-90de

Here is my 5,001st Tweet:


I was going to tweet something prophetic for my 5,000th tweet, but miscounted. This is my 5,001st tweet. Nothing to add. #doh

Follow me on Twitter to help me celebrate hitting the 5,000 Tweet mark!