Welcome back, offense.

Last night I spent some time figuring out whether or not I could realistically make it up to Detroit for tonight's game. Somehow I lucked out in the work schedule department, and have today off, but tomorrow I work at 5, negating any chance of me seeing two games. In the end, I'm sitting here at my computer in Cincinnati at 2:45 pm... I could still make it if I hurry! ;)

Well, last night's game was fun. Claussen looked sharp for the first few innings, and then faltered later on, but still pitched seven, fairly strong innings. (4 ER, 11 H, 4 K, 1BB) What is this business lately with Reds pitchers giving up a career high amount of hits? First Arroyo and now Claussen... I do not want to see this trend continue through the rest of the rotation. As for the hitting, everything clicked last night. Every Reds starter had a hit, save DH Valentin who still ended up with two BBs and a sac fly.

Dunn's shot to right was estimated at 422 feet. Knowing how large Comerica Park is - believe me, I've heard/read nothing but for the past few days - it looked to me like the ball traveled well into the seats, therefore further than 422'. Eh, it still counts, no matter where it lands so long as it lands past the fence. Nice catch by the Reds fan, by the way!

Eric Milton is making the start tonight for the Reds, and I can officially say that I have no idea how this start will go. I am hoping for the Eric Milton who started off 2006 so well, and not the 2005 version. Um, yeah, that was a "duh" statement. Still, I don't really think we should take much from the rain shortened HOF outing. It was against a few ML and some AAA Pirates hitters, and lasted two innings. Remind me why he didn't have a rehab start in Louisville... it's not like we're hard up for pitching... The Lizard pitched some decent ball. I guess we'll see tonight how foolish or wise the decision turns out to be.

All in all, Griffey is back, Aurilia is back, and Milton is back. With Griffey back... well, I don't need to go into why that's a good thing. Aurilia seems to be some sort of a good luck charm when he's in the lineup - the Reds are 14-4 when he starts, and he can play all over the infield, which equals rest for semi-slumping players, as well as those who just need a day off. For those of you who remain unconvinced as to the value of Aurilia, look at the numbers, folks. Aside from the 14-4 record, he's hitting .293 with 6 HR in 82 ABs. EdE has the same number of dingers in 140 ABs, and a .272 BA. All I'm doing is comparing numbers, and the numbers don't lie. I'm glad Aurilia's still wearing a Reds uni.

I'll leave you with this:
In case you haven't noticed, while the Reds are playing Detroit, the Cardinals are playing the Royals. The Reds are playing the team that, going into the series, had the best record in baseball. The Cardinals are playing the team with the absolute worst record in baseball. Baseball is full of quirks, isn't it?
Last night the Reds, with their win over the Tigers, helped launch the White Sox back into a tie for first in the AL Central. Seeing as that the Sox beat the Cubs, I'm happy that my team assist in any way possible! Since the Sox are beating the Cubs again, this time 7-0, let's do what we can to help the White Sox take sole possession of the AL Central!

As ever, GO REDS!