Last night's win was cathartic. After so many days of the offense being quiet and wasting good pitching performances it was awesome to see the bats really let loose and remind everyone of what they're capable of doing.
Quick thoughts:
- Ken Griffey Jr. is a badass. The way he drops the bat and watches the ball after hitting a home run is pretty much the coolest thing ever. Yes, I'm very much a drooling idiot fanboy when it comes to Griff. I can't help it.
- Seriously, this David Ross guy, he can hit no?
- Bronson Arroyo has a 2.29 ERA. Aaron Harang is third in the NL in strikeouts (with 67). Life is pretty good when it comes to the starting pitching.
- Can't we send down Mike Burns and Brian Shackelford when Kent Mercker comes back?
- Brandon Phillips is back over .300 with his four hits from last night. He's up to 125 at bats now, and still so far, so good.
- Going back to Griffey, the guy's got 21 RBI's despite missing half of the games so far. That's pretty incredible.
- Dave Bush didn't look so good this time. Nice to see the Reds tattoo him after the shutout last time.
- The Reds have kicked the NL Central's ass. They're now 16-9 against their divisional rivals. The Cards are .500 (11-11), Milwaukee is a game under (9-10), Chicago is a game over (10-9) and Houston is 9-4. Pittsburgh is pathetic. This is all important because the Reds help themselves doubly so when they beat Central division teams. It's not just a win, it's a loss for someone directly competing with them for a playoff spot. I know some people are thinking we'll be lucky to stay in the Wild Card race, but I haven't given up on a divisional title yet. Yes, I'm probably delusional. I don't care. Hopefully last night will start them on a little run.