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Just when you thought the Reds’ offense couldn’t look any more pathetic … it’s an 80-pitch! complete game by a guy who has spent most of the season at Triple-A. If you were wondering how that game only took 2 hours and 12 minutes, that’s why … Hochevar only threw 80 pitches. And 8 Reds batters managed one single and one walk the entire night … turns out Jonny Gomes can’t win a game all by himself.

I just wonder if we might’ve scored more than one run and/or finished with more than 3 hits if we’d had a guy leading off who wasn’t now 0 for his last 28. And 10 for his last 82. With an on-base percentage on the season of .288. How good a chance do you give your team to win when you start a guy whose on-base percentage is .288 and have him lead off?

It’s nights like these – losing to the third-worst team in baseball a day after losing to the worst team in baseball – that makes us want to root for guys who are from Cincinnati instead of the guys who play here. How about a quick OMGReds shout-out to Sycamore High School grad and former University of Cincinnati star Kevin Youkilis, who homered tonight (his 11th of the season) and is hitting .350 this season, second only to Ichiro in the American League. WAY TO GO YOUK!

… Aaron Harang’s teammates are still doing their darndest to make sure the big righty doesn’t get wins when he deserves them. Unbelievable.

First blown save of the year for Coco, by the way.

UPDATE: Masset – filthy again.
Jonny Gomes – CLUTCH

Good stuff on our buddy C. Trent’s blog about how Day 1 of the First-Year Player Draft went for the Reds, including quotes from first-round pick Mike Leake.

I can’t even listen anymore these two have gotten so out of control. This morning they were talking about some bogus secret pitch discovered while they were having a catch with Tracy’s son. I don’t need them to just discuss a legitimate issue every time they do the segment, but they must think we’re going to enjoy their inside jokes and I never do … in fact, I really don’t find Tracy’s shtick funny at all. And he and Eddie are brutal in the afternoon … does anyone actually enjoy listening to these guys? Somebody must if they’re still on, but I don’t get how you could …

Did anyone hear George Grande and Chris Welsh singing the praises of Adam Dunn during the sixth inning of last night’s game? They talked about how hard Dunn worked when he was a Red, what a great teammate and team player he was, how he always played hurt, etc. I wonder if they ever read this about how Dunn never bothered to learn anything about hitting before he joined the Nationals and how he didn’t work on preparation or approach as much while he was a Red.

• Zambrano extends his scoreless innings streak at Great American Ball Park to 29 innings (yes, I usually hate this type of stat too … it’s one of those who-really-keeps-track-of-this stats like you’d see on SportsCenter … but it does say something about how he’s dominated here) and I’m amazed at how many game stories this didn’t make it into (AP, MLB.com, Cincinnati.Com, etc.). I know he notched his 100th career win and talked about his future and stuff afterwards but 29 consecutive innings is a figure that’s tough to overlook. Was it not in the pre-game notes?

• Here’s one I heard during pre-game … Ryan Hanigan leads all rookies in batting average and on-base percentage. Wow.

• The latest head-scratcher … and I felt like we really OMGave the Reds a pass on not bringing up Jonny Gomes for McDonald two weeks earlier than they did but that’s history … Willy Taveras has now missed, what, five of the last six games? WHY NOT put him on the DL and call up Drew Stubbs?

Fans attending any of the Reds vs. Cubs games (Friday, Saturday or Sunday) are asked to bring a non-perishable canned food item to the game. Drop it in one of the designated collection barrels at the GABP gates and receive two tickets to the Reds vs. Braves game Wed., June 17. In addition, each fan donating can enter a drawing to throw out the first pitch at the June 17th game.

The St. Vincent de Paul Reds Food Drive goal is to collect 5,000 pounds of food, which will feed 1,750 people in our community for one day.

• What a memorable first regular-season at-bat as a Red for Gomes. Clutch. Even if a lot of fans think it should have happened about a week ago.

• Especially after I said what I did the other night about Alex Gonzalez looking like his heart’s not in it or he’s not really trying, I must say I was very impressed with his effort tonight. He played an outstanding game, offensively (3 hits) and defensively. He really put the Reds on his shoulders tonight, and there’s no denying he’s got the talent to do that from time to time. I hope it propels him and he gets hot … I’d love to see it.

• If you haven’t already read this, it’s pretty unbelievable: Son of NYC’s first swine-flu victim throws no-hitter

Reds first baseman Joey Votto has an ear infection that should clear up in a few days with medication, doctors have concluded.

Votto had a series of tests in two cities after he experienced dizzy spells during a West Coast trip last week. Doctors think the infection in his left ear is linked to a case of the flu he and Brandon Phillips had earlier in the month. Flights to Arizona and San Diego last week aggravated the ailment.

From the AP story:

“That’s probably what brought on the symptoms,” trainer Mark Mann said. “In the last four days, Joey’s felt much better. He hasn’t had any more symptoms since he got back to Cincinnati.”

Votto will work out before the start of a game Friday night against Cleveland. He could return to action over the weekend.

Don’t necessarily expect him in the starting lineup on Friday though. Dusty said he wants to give him a couple of days to “get his feet under him,” take BP, work out, etc. I’d imagine if he feels well before the game on Friday he might be available to pinch hit.

• What’s the most annoying thing the ‘bag sitting behind you at the game has ever said? For my money, “There goes the perfect game/no-hitter” in the first or second inning when the visiting team collects its first hit … is right up there. Anybody else got any good ones?

• A guy in my section tonight was proudly wearing a Phillies’ Pete Rose jersey, which is pretty much the ultimate F.U. to Reds’ fans. Well played, sir.

• I honestly think they need to make the Reds Rally Game (that bingo card they hand you on the way into the stadium) easier to win. Granted, I was playing for the first time (before you judge me, I attended the game with my mother, and we played per her suggestion, and yes I actually did enjoy it … I’m not going to play along every time but I could see where it would be a guilty pleasure even for a baseball fan who normally doesn’t need to play the dollar game or mound ball or whatever to make the game more interesting and/or pass the time) and I didn’t necessarily expect to win my first time playing but there couldn’t have been more than 40 people inside the ballpark playing. I mean, who is a) paying close enough attention and b) has a pen with them and c) isn’t drinking … it’s pretty easy to narrow down the field of those playing along. And some of the squares you’d be lucky to circle once if you went to every game for a week. A triple by the pitcher?? A pinch-hit double?? Come on. With mom and I playing along and not missing anything, one of us should’ve at least been close by the end of a game in which the Reds had 12 hits. I would’ve had a winner if only Adam Rosales had hit a pinch-hit, 3-run homer in the 8th … but wouldn’t you know, he didn’t. The rules say no more than 25 winners per game … but let’s at least try to get to 25.

• To Jay Bruce and Willy Taveras: Jamie Moyer is left-handed (natural move to first) and he’s been pitching in the big leagues since 1986 (that’s right … the year BEFORE Bruce was born). You might want to be careful when you take a lead because I’ll bet this guy has picked off a few in his day.

• I hate to say this but having watched tonight I can see where some sports talk hosts are coming from when they say Alex Gonzalez doesn’t look like his heart is in it and doesn’t really look like he’s trying that hard. I’m sure it’s not easy when you know you can hit and you’re down at .178, but he’s kind of giving the impression through body language that he might not care that much. I wonder how long they’ll let him struggle before someone takes his spot in the lineup. I’m not saying that needs to happen now but might happen soon if it continues.

Also, it’s Jonny Gomes time … get him up here and let’s play with a full roster available! Throw him into the outfield rotation and let him pinch-hit.

Ryan Wagner, a former Reds pitcher and first-round pick of the team (14th overall) in the 2003 first-year player draft who was involved in the infamous Kearns/Lopez/Wagner for Majewski/Bray/Daryl Thompson/Royce Clayton/Brendan Harris trade of 2006, has announced his retirement.

From the story:

The 26-year old spent parts of the 2006 and ’07 season with the Nationals, compiling a 3-5 record with a 5.05 ERA in 40 games.

“It was shocking because he worked so hard to come back from that surgery,” manager Manny Acta said. “Only he knows what he’s doing, but you put in all that hard work to come back from the surgery and then retire, it’s kind of shocking.”

Oddly, it hasn’t been a good week for first-round picks of the 2003 first-year player draft. Wagner retired, Rickie Weeks (Pick No. 2) found out he’s done for the season, Brian N. Anderson (No. 15) and Carlos Quentin (No. 29) are both banged-up for the White Sox … same with the Orioles’ Adam Jones (No. 37) and the Diamondbacks Conor Jackson (No. 19). OMGRandom.

TSN checks in with your favorite former Red and mine … Paul O’Neill.

If you are a Reds fan and you didn’t already dislike Adam Dunn, there’s a good chance you will after you read this item from ESPN’s Buster Olney. Turns out – this may stun you – Dunn is not only taking jabs at the Reds for being non-competitive during his eight seasons here, but he’s also acknowledging that he was pretty much mailing it in (not taking preparation and approach to hitting seriously at all) during that time. But take solace in the fact that even when he was on a team in the pennant race (as he recalls fondly), they didn’t actually make the playoffs … and now even though he’s tearing it up I’m not sure he realizes the Nationals have the worst record in baseball.

The more I watch the Reds this year (and it’s not like I’ve talked to anyone … it’s really just an observation) the more I get the impression that Ramon Hernandez has had a LOT to do with the team’s early-season success. Daugherty just wrote a column about how great he’s been with the starting rotation, and they plugged him in at first base for just his second start there in his MLB career when Votto came down with a bug and he looked great there. Had a nice stretch on a Rosales throw (after a bobble) to get a runner by a step and then had a nice stab on the final out of the game. And what struck me is how he sort of celebrated that stab with Rosales moments later … they both had big smiles and it would appear on the surface that Hernandez – even though he’s almost 33 and in his 11th Major League season – is able to relate to a guy like Rosales, who’s got 12 Major League at-bats, as easily as David Weathers or Arthur Rhodes.

How about a few numbers? (C’mon, did you really think this was just going to be some lame “that’s the impression I get” opinion post?) Remember when he was hitting .067 after going 1 for his first 15 of the season? Now he’s hitting .280. And while we haven’t really seen a ton of power from him yet (just the one home run he hit in the ninth of the 2-1 win in Houston on April 17), Hernandez has had two hits in five of the Reds’ past six wins. He’s gone 22-for-66 since that slow start (first four games). He’s been fairly quiet about it because he hasn’t driven in a ton of runs but it’s hard to ignore his contribution.

Also, Laynce Nix is hitting .351 now. And Micah Owings’ triple was pretty outstanding.

Things were grim last night, we’re not gonna lie. So bad that shortstop Paul Janish was brought in to pitch the 9th. And here are those fun stats:

1 IP, 5 hits, 5 er, 0 bbs, 2 ks.

Sure, it looks rough, but somehow it’s still waaaaay better than Arroyo’s performance last night:
1 IP, 7 hits, 9 er, 3 bbs, 0 ks

Add him to the rotation! Where’s his bobblehead?

We here at omgreds are sensing a hot new trend in blowouts: having a random dude pitch the late innings. It’s already happened a couple of times this year. Nick Swisher came into the 9th during a messy game against the Rays (he fared best – a scoreless frame and one strikeout) and Jonathan Van Every took the mound for the Red Sox also after being crushed by the Rays. He, like Janish, did not fare as well. Such trendsetters in Boston. Are the Reds just being copycats? We’ll know for sure if Willie Taveres tries to steal home later this month.

Read more about Janish’s pitching prowess here.

How impressed were you with Mike Lincoln for getting out of that mess in the 12th. FILTHY curve ball to Cody Ross during that last at-bat of the inning with bases loaded and two outs, then forces him to ground out.

Another great defensive play by Phillips during that inning too.

Heard it for the first time during Lance McAlister’s show on Homer and not sure who came up with it but this is a pretty great nickname for our impressive starting rotation. Harang – Arroyo – Volquez – Owings – Cueto … HAVOC. Almost worthy of a kick-ass poster like the one Rob designed for Sam. The only problem is I’d hate to waste the effort when you never know how close we are, maybe just an Owings implosion (not that we want to see that) coupled with another Homer Bailey gem in Louisville (wouldn’t mind seeing that) away from HAVBC, which doesn’t spell out a word and therefore doesn’t quite have the same ring to it as HAVOC.

I’m still amazed that Reds fans don’t complain more about the fact that the team COMPLETELY GAVE UP ON Jorge Cantu and let him walk after the 2007 season. Somebody clearly made a great call taking a flyer on this guy after the (then-Devil) Rays gave up hope following a disappointing 2006 season and after he hit .207 in 58 at-bats for them in 2007. But the Reds knew he wasn’t that far removed from .286-28-117, which is what he did at 23 years old in 2005. So they gave up basically nothing for him in July 2007 and he proceeded to hit .298 in 57 at-bats for the Reds. I don’t understand how you just give up on a guy who has shown huge potential previously and hits .298 for you now that he’s healthy again.

In all honesty (I’m not blowing smoke here) I called P-Doc during Extra Innings right around the end of the 2007 season and said it’d be nice if they gave Cantu a serious look at first base the following year. Nobody was really talking about him much because it was a part-time role he had even after the Reds traded for him. P-Doc pretty much shrugged it off and pointed out that the Reds ought to focus on their rising stars. Now I’m not suggesting that I’d want Cantu as my first baseman over Votto. But this guy plays 3B too, and I don’t think we would’ve just kicked EE to the curb either, but at least we would’ve had a nice competition and a very tough bat off the bench (or trade bait).

Look, all this guy has done since the Reds released him after 2007 is hit .277 with 29 home runs and 95 RBI last season and .333 with 7 homers and 25 RBI so far this year. Does it seem like Votto’s having an unbelievable start this year? Cantu has three more RBI than Votto; in fact, he’s second in the National League (to Albert Pujols). And I watch tonight’s game (and in fairness, maybe Grande/Welsh did say something about him and I had just left the room right before they did) and there’s barely even a mention that he played for the Reds.

And in case you were wondering, don’t blame Walt Jocketty. Cantu was released by the Reds Dec. 5, 2007; Jocketty was hired as a Special Adviser to the Reds on Jan. 11, 2008.

How sharp was Volquez last night. And what a great game for Rosales. I’m not exactly the first to say this but he’s going to endear himself to a lot of Reds fans by doing stuff like sprinting to first base after a walk and generally having a positive attitude.

Some numbers of interest:

11: Consecutive games the Astros had won at Great American Ball Park before last night.

17: Number of batters Volquez retired in a row.

17: Left on base for the Reds last night. They won anyway.

20: Home runs Reds killer Lance Berkman has hit at GABP – most by any visiting player. But Berkman was out of the starting lineup Wednesday night.

20: Number of walks Volquez had allowed in 20 1/3 innings entering last night’s game. He only walked one last night.

36?: At the end of last night’s broadcast I heard Thom say it was only the 36th (or 38th?) game in the history of GABP (about 500 games) without a home run. That would be only about once every 14 games.

12,681: Announced attendance Wednesday, the biggest crowd of the 3-game series against the Astros.

34,924: Attendance for the series. GABP’s seating capacity is 42,271.

BTW, what was up with the text poll they did during the broadcast where they had a list that had been narrowed to four and asked who you would want to see as a bobblehead? And Daniel Ray Herrera was winning the poll? Pretty strange … I don’t think the text poll was associated with the actual ballot on reds.com (where voting ended at noon today and Volquez won). Is that the case?