Straight to the quick thoughts:
- Eric Milton was outstanding, making it two solid starts in a row for him. He's always kind of been the x factor, and if he can continue pitching this well then this team might still have a shot. His ERA for the year is now under five, and that's really all the Reds need out of him.
- The Cubs are just terrible. I have no idea how they ever beat anyone. It seems quite difficult to get any Cubs hitter to take a walk. Al talks about this over at Bleed Cubbie Blue, and he notes that Reds pitchers threw 104 pitches last night, while Cubs pitchers threw 163. It really seems like an organizational philosophy over there to not be selective at the plate. You just have to look at the hacktastic free agents they sign (Juan Pierre, Tony Womack, Neifi Perez) to see this.
- Jason LaRue is just embarassing lately. I have no clue on what to do here, because it's tough to sit him every day, but it sure seems like the team would be better off with Valentin or Ross playing every day.
- Todd Coffey looked outstanding, and it's really nice to have a closer that can go more than an inning. It's been awhile since we've had one of those.