What Have We Learned?

It was a game the Reds had no business winning. The Marlins Josh Johnson displayed what a true number one starter looks like, while Edison Volquez continues to confound and frustrate fans (yet still only yielded one run). Then Aroldis Chapman showed why he's not ready for the closer's role. Somehow though the Reds pulled victory from the jaws of defeat. Whether this is the catalyst for a winning streak remains to be seen, but what Edgar Renteria's two out, tenth inning game-winning single did was give the Reds a 14-13 record in the first month of the season and allow them to stay close to the first place Cardinals.

Why is that important? Consider the Reds had only one losing month en route to the 2010 Central Division crown (September). Plus, if someone had told you in Spring Training the Reds would be without Johnny Cueto, Homer Bailey, Scott Rolen, Juan Francisco, and Jared Burton for all or parts of the first month of the season but still be over .500; wouldn't you take it? And that's not even mentioning the rough starts for Volquez (5.67 ERA, NL leader in walks), Jonny Gomes (.200 AVG), and Travis Wood (1-3, 6.82 ERA). Plus there's Bronson Arroyo (mono), and Mike Leake (arrest).

So after one month what do we know? The Cardinals are still formidable even without Adam Wainwright in the rotation. The Brewers are likely to get better once Zack Greinke joins their starting rotation. Both those teams face bullpen questions. For the Reds, they must get their starters to go deeper into games and -- for heaven's sake -- stop letting the flood gates open in the first inning. The other area of concern is the inability to hit in the clutch. The Reds were very good hitting with runners in scoring position a season ago. And for all the sabermetric geeks who want to taut how OPS (on base percentage combined with slugging percentage) is the true measure of a player, two out RBIs is what separates the division champs from the also-rans. As a team this year Cincinnati is hitting .229 with two out and runners in scoring position. That ranks ninth in the National League. The NL leaders? Who else but St. Louis, .345 AVG accounting for 64 RBIs.

Weekend Thoughts

Reds shortstop Edgar Renteria has certainly proven a wise signing, but the guy he replaced on the roster, Orlando Cabrera, is playing well for the first-place Cleveland Indians. He's hitting .283 with 2 HR and 16 RBI. Coincidentally, they both game through with game-winning hits Saturday for their respective teams.

A request to Yankees radio broadcaster John Sterling--STOP IT! Just call the home run without the embellishment of "An A-Bomb! From A-Rod!" or "You're on the Mark, Teixeira!" and possibly the absolute worst, "The Grandy Man can!" Somewhere Sammy Davis, Jr., is rolling over in his grave. Please quit. Every XM Radio listener will thank you.

From one end of the broadcast spectrum to the other. I drifted off to sleep this week listening the Maestro, Vin Scully. At 82, he's still the best at calling a game (just ask Marty Brenneman). He works alone, just he and the audience and there's never a dull moment. He is full of background stories for each player and the action never catches him off guard. When legendary Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell passed away, Scully became the last of baseball's golden voices. Think of it, he's seen everyone from Jackie Robinson to Albert Pujols! He may not travel East of the Rockies anymore, but if you have the MLB Package and the Dodgers are playing out West; do yourself a favor and let Scully carry you off to dreamland.

Finally, find some time to watch the NHL playoffs. While the best of seven format for each round is way too long, there have already been some thrilling series as the conference semifinals get started. The first round brought plenty of overtime nail-biters and Game 7 clinchers. It really is the coolest game on earth.