Great win Saturday, but as we’ve mentioned before, the Reds fail to retaliate when it’s clearly called for. It’s not even so much that the Reds had four batters (well, Gomes twice by Kanekoa Texeira, and then Heisey and Janish by Dusty Hughes) hit by pitches in a game for the first time since 1965 (tying a franchise record for most Reds hit by pitches in one game). Because Hughes looked pretty wild and didn’t throw at Gomes (not that it’s cool that he hit the other two guys but tough to tell whether either was deliberate).

You just CAN’T allow the National League RBI leader and star of the game to get hit twice by the same reliever (the second looking VERY intentional) AFTER he clubs a pair of 3-run home runs in his first two at-bats without some type of response. Did Gomes flip his bat a little and watch his home runs (as he’s done before)? Sure. So what. Doesn’t mean you can plunk a guy who’s homered twice and avoid retaliation.

THANKFULLY Jeff Brantley pointed it out during the FSN broadcast on several occasions throughout the evening. Including the following dialogue with Thom Brennaman after Heisey got hit in the 7th by Hughes.

Jeff: Alright, now it’s getting old.

Thom: Well, you don’t think that one had any intent to it, do you?

Jeff: I don’t care if it had any intent at all. You brushed my guy once, then you hit him. He had two home runs. And now you’ve hit a third guy. Well, that bothers me.

Brantley later added, “If you’re in that locker room and you want to be Johnny’s (Gomes’) friend, I’ll tell you what to do.”

So obviously Brantley saw some or all of the HBP action as harshit. I’m certain that some of the Reds did as well but there was no retaliation Saturday and I’ll be curious to see whether there appears to be any Sunday, when the Reds face the Royals for the final time this season (and if we manage to reach the World Series, something tells me this isn’t the team we’re going to face). The question is … as long as Texeira doesn’t get an at-bat Sunday (he got an at-bat Saturday but unfortunately it was before he hit Gomes for the second time) … who is the top candidate for a fastball between the shoulder blades on Sunday? I’d guess maybe David DeJesus or Billy Butler. Don’t wish them any harm, just looked at their lineup for star players. And I don’t think I’d mess with Kendall or Jose Guillen. Because wouldn’t you say something kind of ought to happen?

By the way, what about the tremendous restraint Gomes showed by not charging Texeira when he plunked him the second time! Because I’d guess he thought about it. I wanted him to … did you? Then again, do we want to be without the services of the league-leader in RBIs for the better part of a week?

Here’s a solid notebook item from Tom Groeschen about Votto’s off-night Friday and decision to cut off the throw from Stubbs in the 11th (that allowed the Royals to score the eventual game-winning run).

I agree with Groeschen’s take: Votto probably should’ve let the ball go through (Ramon Hernandez obviously thought so) because it looked like they had him, but it’s tough to be mad at the best hitter on your team. Plus Votto may have gone 0-for-5 and popped out on the first pitch in the bottom of the 11th (also very frustrating) but the Reds also shouldn’t have blown a 6-2 lead in addition to all of the late scoring opportunities they had. It seems pretty silly not bunting – regardless of who’s up – when you have first and second with nobody out in a tie game in extra innings.

Reds rookie starting pitcher Mike Leake is 4-0 with a 2.91 ERA through his first eight Major League starts. And as we pointed out in a post from the other day, he’s also had four quality starts this season in which he has not earned a win. And three starts in which he’s allowed just one earned run and come away with a no-decision. (So it’s not even that he’s been fortunate or gotten much support.) So why is it that Leake isn’t garnering more consideration in early National League Rookie of the Year discussion?

SI.com’s Jon Heyman ranks Leake as the second best rookie in baseball so far this season. But he (and he’s not the only one – far from it) also makes it seem like Leake is a DISTANT second to Jason Heyward, who – there’s no denying – is having a very impressive year. And Leake is referred to in the article about 10 less times than Stephen Strasburg, who has a 0.00 ERA through 0 starts so far.

At OMGReds, we are all for containing the oil leak that followed the rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico. But we also feel strongly that the Reds’ Leake should be getting more headlines (not more headlines than the oil leak but) than he’s getting, and that it’s important to point out that several National League opponents have yet to figure out how to stop our Leake … from getting quality starts, which he’s had in seven of his eight outings.

Heyward may post big numbers, but don’t hand him the award just yet. Remember 1999? Preston Wilson hit .280 with 26 homers and 71 RBIs in 482 at-bats. But it was Scott Williamson who won NL Rookie of the Year honors with his 12-7 record, 19 saves, 2.41 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and filthy 107 strikeouts in 93 1/3 innings.

All we’re saying is don’t forget about Leake if Heyward slumps and his strikeout total approaches 200. And let’s hope Leake continues to impress and far surpasses the 9 vote points Edinson Volquez received in 2008, when he wasn’t actually a rookie.

1: Number of games Miguel Cairo played at third base during the 2009 season, out of the 9 games in which he played in the field (didn’t just pinch hit) for the Phillies.

1: Run allowed by the Braves’ bullpen after Tommy Hanson exited with two outs in the top of the 2nd inning.

1: Batter that our top relief pitcher, Arthur Rhodes, faced during the bottom of the 9th. Rhodes struck out Jason Heyward.

3: Number of appearances – out of 94 in parts of three seasons as a Red – in which Mike Lincoln had pitched more than 2 innings entering Thursday’s game.

4: Consecutive singles surrendered by Mike Lincoln to begin the bottom of the 9th.

4: Quality starts by Mike Leake this season in which he has not earned a win. This was the third game in which he’s allowed just one earned run and come away with a no-decision.

4: Career Major League home runs by Brooks Conrad entering Thursday’s game.

4: Earned runs allowed by Francisco Cordero in his past 7 appearances.

7: Number of hits plus walks Cordero has allowed in his past 2 2/3 IP.

19: Runners left on base by the Reds.

32: Strikeouts by Conrad in 101 career Major League at-bats.

And here’s a bad take for you from CBSSports.com’s fantasy section …

In Cordero’s defense, he probably wasn’t able to go through his regular routine prior to entering the game. The Reds were up 9-3 going into the bottom of the ninth and Cordero appeared to not be needed. Then, after the Braves scored three runs and loaded the bases he was rushed into the game to try to get the final two outs. On top of all that, the ball that Brooks Conrad hit to left field could have been caught and was helped into the stands when the ball glanced off the glove of the left fielder (although it may have been able to clear the wall otherwise). So, in other words, Fantasy owners shouldn’t get all bent out of shape about this particular blown save.

Couldn’t disagree more. Could have been caught? That would’ve been a pretty outstanding catch. I think it’s very unfair to blame Nix and expect him to catch that. I don’t care if it hit his glove, he was trying to rob a home run, and that’s not easy. Cordero gave up a bomb – plain and simple. And I don’t buy that defense either (and I realize this isn’t Cordero making that excuse, that it’s someone trying to make it for him). Wasn’t able to go through his regular routine? C’mon, he’s a professional, and as a professional you’re ready for anything. And if Cordero’s really not ready when it’s time for him to enter the game, leave Rhodes in there to face Conrad. Heaven forbid Rhodes closes out the game instead.

Jason Heyward can rake. Give him a fastball over the plate and that’s exactly what he’s going to do with it. And the scary thing is he’s only 20. You know how many National Leaguers have driven in 100 runs in their rookie year since 2000? Two – Ryan Zimmerman in 2006 and Pujols in 2001. Heyward’s already got 29 RBI and it’s only May 19.

Can’t win ‘em all – especially when it comes to 1-run games – but there’s a lot to be encouraged about when your team refuses to roll over down 4-0 in the 8th. Let’s look at this one glass-half-full and give some credit where it’s due. Which is tough to do after a loss but with the effort this team is giving right now it’s pretty tough to be skeptical at this point.

• Chris Heisey. This guy’s a rookie?? Sure doesn’t look like it. Guys who have 16 career Major League at-bats who are PINCH-HITTING don’t lay off that close 1-2 pitch from a fireballer who has 389 career saves. And then park the next pitch in the seats. Heisey is as cool as a cucumber for a guy who just got called up. If he keeps this up, I don’t know how you send him down when Dickerson comes back. It’s nice to have a utility infielder other than Janish, but you’d have to get rid of Cairo, wouldn’t you? And just play Ramon Hernandez at first whenever you need to?

• Arthur Rhodes. OK, time to give our southpaw set-up guy the credit he deserves if you haven’t already. This guy has given up 1 earned run all season. And that was April 10. Which means he hasn’t allowed an earned run in 15 consecutive appearances. The double he surrendered to lead off the 8th to McCann – who he stranded at second – was only the sixth hit he’s allowed in 17 appearances this year. 16 innings, 6 hits, 1 ER, four walks, 16 strikeouts. His ERA is 0.56 and his WHIP is 0.63. Opponents are hitting .118 against him. Recognize.

• Brandon Phillips. That diving catch in short right field was pretty sick. Say what you will about BP for the times he’s been questioned or criticized for lack of effort. But a guy who doesn’t care doesn’t give up his body on a play like that. BP also had a very nice bunt to move Cabrera – the potential go-ahead run – over to second in the 9th before Votto walked and Rolen and Bruce struck out.

• Might as well dole out some more praise while we’re at it. I’m more and more impressed with the job Chris Welsh does as a color commentator. Sure, the guy can be goofy sometimes but I think the rest of the crew eggs him on. The bottom line is this guy really knows his s—, which is exactly what I want from a color guy. Two other ideal-color-guy qualities he possesses: He’s extremely observant, and he tends to point out situational things that go unnoticed by the average fan.

Blogged just the other night about how it seems like the Reds tend to miss opportunities where retaliation might be called for according to time-honored “unwritten rules of baseball.”

Sure enough, right after Jonny Gomes’ 3-run blast in the 7th gave the Reds a 6-1 lead, former Red Todd Coffey drilled Drew Stubbs square in the back.

So in the top of the 8th, the first two batters Nick Masset faced were Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder. The two biggest stars on their team. At least go up and in on one of them, right? Or knock one of them down? You’ve got a 5-run lead. I know Masset’s still working on lowering that ERA and he’s after a 1-2-3 inning first and foremost. That’s fine. Throw it behind Braun then. You’ll probably only get a warning (because I don’t think there was any warning after Coffey plunked Stubbs) and you’ve got the rest of the at-bat to get him out but We hear post-blogpost via Twitter that both benches were warned after Coffey hit Stubbs but you still send the message that it’s not OK for you to hit our next batter after you give up a 3-run bomb even if you used to play for us, dude.

I know, I know … I’m missing what’s really important here which is that we’ve won three in a row and 8 out of 9. I promise my next post will be a by-the-numbers look at how great the Reds are right now or something along those lines.

Another silly question tonight:

The Reds Text Poll in the bottom of the 6th was, “Who did you think would win the Battle of the Sexes?”

Text “1″ for Bobby Riggs and “2″ for Billie Jean King.

OK, I know it’s the Civil Rights Game and we honored Billie Jean King earlier, but what does this question have to do with a) the Reds b) tonight’s baseball game c) the 21st century. C’mon, you’re going to ask a question about a 1973 exhibition tennis match for the Reds Text Poll. Really? And how many of those who typically answer the Reds Text Poll were around to remember the match? Better yet, how many who DO remember the match do we think are going to participate in a text poll? Are we trying to get more 50-somethings to participate?

Here’s a better question that they never would’ve asked obviously but we will … Do you think the Reds would’ve retaliated for Yadier Molina’s cheap shot into Brandon Phillips on the basepaths in the 8th inning of last night’s game if tonight weren’t the Civil Rights Game? Because I wonder. It was the type of thing that clearly calls for a fastball right between Molina’s shoulder blades tonight, but it seems like the Reds don’t always retaliate with these types of things. I could understand why they actually didn’t because tonight’s game was such a special occasion so it’s hypothetical.

I did like that Jonny Gomes flipped his bat and watched his homer off Wayne Wright for a couple of seconds.

We do, however, have to give Wayne Wright and Brendan Ryan props for rocking the stirrups. THANK YOU. Would’ve been nice to see any Red play along as well.

I’m confused. I feel like I’ve been watching baseball for a long time, but does your foot or hand or whatever body part have to touch/cover a certain percentage of home plate – like, say, 40 – in order for it to be considered a run? Because with that play at the plate that ended the 8th inning, it sure looks like Jonny Gomes definitely touched part of the plate well before Ryan Doumit tagged him. Did he not touch ENOUGH of the plate? How does that work?

Good thing we won anyway.

In a story appearing Monday on thenewstribune.com, staff writer Larry LaRue writes that two of Ken Griffey Jr.’s Seattle teammates told him Mariners skipper Don Wakamatsu may have avoided using Junior as a pinch-hitter in a game last week because the former Red was “asleep in the clubhouse.”

“He was asleep in the clubhouse,” one player said. “He’d gone back about the fifth inning to get a jacket and didn’t come back. I went back in about the seventh inning – and he was in his chair, sound asleep.”

The other player, who knows Griffey a little better, tried to rationalize.

“He doesn’t sleep well at night, he’s away from his family, he’s comfortable in the clubhouse,” he said. “They could have awakened him …”

LaRue also suggests in the story that Junior, who is hitting .208, “could lose his job as the left-handed designated hitter within the week” and “might lose his position on the 25-man roster nearly as soon.”

On a related note, an unidentified OMGReds contributor told me he caught OMGReds mastermind/ringleader Dan catching some shut-eye during one of the Reds’ wins against the Mets last week. The incident reportedly was captured with a Flip, but the video footage has not yet surfaced.

Also, just to clarify, the YouTube clip up at the top of the post wasn’t intended to compare future Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. – of whom I am admittedly a fan – to the Gimp character from “Pulp Fiction.” It was just one of the first movie clips that came to mind when I thought of someone being awakened from slumber, along with Cameron answering the phone in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” (couldn’t find that exact clip) and the “drop your cocks and grab your socks” line from Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in “Full Metal Jacket.” So you can save your hate comments for another blog and another time :D