A Carpenter and his buzzsaw

I, like the rest of you, was feeling pretty bummed after the Reds fell to the Cardinals last night in the finale of a four-game set in the Gateway city, 3-1.

Nevermind the fact that it became obvious at about 8:25 the Reds were not going to collect more than four hits against Chris Carpenter and it became even more obvious at approximately 8:40 that Aaron Harang would not be able to match Carpenter pitch-for-pitch.

Not that I have any real right to hate on Aaron Harang.

In fact, I have no right whatsoever to hate on Aaron Harang. But, the fact of the matter is that while his line last night was very strong, eight innings, eight hits, three runs, two walks and five K's, he was far from the Aaron Harang of 2006.

If it were not for a handful of crucial double plays and some sparkling plays in the field, that game could have easily been 8-0; the numbers simply do not tell the entire story.

So...

Like I said, I was feeling pretty bummed after the loss. I tend to get rather emotional when we lose and after last night's loss I was nothing short of dejected.

As I often do, I tried to derive some kind of deeper meaning from the game last night. I wanted to know what we could learn about the team as a result of last night's loss. After a few moments of thoughtful consideration, I flushed the toilet and came to the conclusion the game last night would probably serve as a microcosm for the rest of the season. That is, we would stay competitive through much of the season, but eventually fall short when it mattered most.

It's not that there's any shame in losing 3-1 to the Cardinals when Chris Carpenter is pitching. Hell, we plated a run off him, that's more than the rest of the league has been able to scratch across. But, what troubled me is that we didn't really compete. I knew as soon as Albert Pujols hit that third inning, two-run, two iron to the moon that we were going to lose that game.

Now, certainly this isn't for lack of trying, we just simply do not have the guys to match up against Chris Carpenter when he's pitching that way. This conclusion, while troubling, seemed to make the most sense, given the combination of our recent history and current situation.

Then, a funny thing happened. I had sex.

Now, the details of my sexual conquest will go unmentioned, as they are most unappetizing. Just know that I was thinking much clearer upon conclusion.

Boy, it sure is funny how 45 seconds can change a guy's perspective on things.

As I laid there, thinking more about the Reds and the game last night and my theory, I came to, another, conclusion.

I am completely full of bologna.

We played last night's game sorely shorthanded and still hung in against the best pitcher in the National League and one of our better starters had far from his best stuff, and he still went eight innings of three-run baseball.

In fact, after I put my Apocalypse signs away and looked at the game objectively, we actually played pretty well.

Sure, it really, really stinks to lose the game, any game, ever.

But, here's the thing.

We still walked out of St. Louis with a four-game split. We've still taken it to those creeps four out of seven times already. We're still 19-14 against teams in our division.

And the best news of all: We're still only 2.5 games out of first place in the central division, despite a record of 2-5 on that god awful roadtrip.

As I noted yesterday this season has been one of many ups and downs. There have been times throughout the course of this season when I was absolutely certain this team would win the World Series and there have been times this season when I was absolutely certain this team would lose 100 games.

Of course, what do I know? I probably belong in a mental hospital.

After a long week away. Our team finally comes home and I couldn't be more pleased to have them back, regardless of how abbreviated the stay might be.

And it will be abbreviated. Just a three-game set with the struggling Cubs before we head back on the road. However, what this homestand lacks in substance it makes up for in importance.

The Cubs come in struggling mightily with an overall record of 26-25. They're currently in fourth place, 3.5 behind Milwaukee and a game behind us.

If we're going to take two of three from the Cubbies this weekend, we're going to probably have to score some runs to do it.

Micah Owings will take the hill for us tonight. While it is true he's solidified the fifth spot in the rotation, he's still 3-6 with an ERA of over five.

Matt Maloney will start for us Saturday night. Maloney is 4-0 with an ERA of an even two at AAA Louisville this season; he's clearly capable. But, he's also making his Major League debut. So, there will undoubtedly be some nerves, and possibly even some nausea.

Maloney will be pretty anxious, too.

Bronson Arroyo will make the start in the Sunday matinee. Arroyo is second in the league in wins, but an ERA over five makes me think that we may be in for a nine-run inning every time two consecutive batters reach base.

As if scoring runs was not a tall enough task for the Reds this season, it just got a little bit harder.

Carlos Zambrano was supposed to make his first start after a six-game suspension last night in Atlanta, but as luck and Mother Nature would have it, the game was rained out. Yep. That means he's pitching tonight against us.

On the bright side, the Reds have enjoyed success against Big Z in the past. What's more, there exists a 73.6% chance Zambrano goes crazy over a ball or strike causing him to freak out, throw second base and go positively postal on a water cooler.

Ryan Dempster will start Saturday night for the Cubs. The former Red has posted a winning record thus far, however, his ERA is over four, well above where it stood during his All-Star campaign a season ago.

Randy Wells will oppose Arroyo in the Sunday finale. Wells has made five starts for the Cubs this season and while he's 0-2 his ERA is under two and received a tough-luck no decision last Tuesday after he carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning against the Atlanta Braves.

This series wraps up a series of 13 consecutive games against National League Central opponents. The Reds are currently 5-5 during the streak.

This is a big series for both teams. But, two out of three one or way the other will not send either team spiraling into panic mode.

In fact, and we'll end with this thought, the Reds absolutely refuse to panic. This fact has been evidenced time and again thus far and is probably my favorite part about this team.

There have been numerous opportunities for this team to cave already and they still haven't. That's go to mean something, right?

I think so.