The Reds took the first half of a two-game series tonight against the Cardinals by a score of 1-6.

Bronson Arroyo took the mound for the Reds and pitched a complete game four-hitter. He allowed one run (earned) on a home run by Juan Encarnación in the second inning.

The Reds first scored in the first when Rich Aurilia hit a home run. After the aforementioned home run in the top of the second, the score remained tied at ones until the bottom of the fifth.

In the fifth, Ryan Freel doubled with two outs and came in on a Felipe Lopez line-drive single to left field. Lopez would have three RBI on the night.

The big inning for the Reds was the bottom of the sixth. After Adam Dunn doubled, Austin Kearns singled him in with a line-drive to right field. Edwin Encarnación and Brandon Phillips each singled to drive in Kearns and drive Cardinals starting pitcher Mark Mulder from the game.

After David Ross struck out, Encarnación and Phillips advanced on a wild pitch while Arroyo was batting, and Arroyo eventually walked. Freel struck out swinging, but Lopez singled to bring in two more runners. Aurilia grounded out to end the threat and the scoring. Final score: 1-6.

In the top of the ninth, Arroyo induced a ground ball from Jim Edmonds and struck out John Gall to set up Juan Encarnación for a fly ball to left field. Never, ever has Adam Dunn looked so determined to get to a ball, sliding for it and even using two hands to ensure it stayed in his mitt.

The win brings the Reds' record to 18-8 and gives them sole possession of first place in the NLC. Tomorrow they go for the sweep of the short series, pitting Dave Williams against Syndney Ponson at 12:35 p.m.

ST. LOUIS, MO -- St. Louis Cardinals' ownership took their marketing up a notch today when they began disassembling the seats in the new Busch Stadium to sell on eBay.

The Cardinals sold all manner of items from the previous Busch Stadium to memento-hungry collectors. Everything from dugout benches to clubhouse urinals fetched top dollar. But that sale occurred just prior to the stadium's demolition; this sale is taking place when the seats are less than a month old.

“It just goes to show that we can get our fans to buy anything,” said Cardinals Senior Vice President of Business Development Bill DeWitt with a chuckle. “They even buy that this group of has-beens can contend in the long run.”

The seats are being disassembled during the Cardinals' road trip to Cincinnati, but they aren't likely to be missed even when the team returns home.

“When this team starts tanking, demand is sure to go down,” said DeWitt. “And I figure that's going to start tonight.”

Player Profile on Reds.com

LaRue’s Season Over on Marc Lancaster’s Blog

Player Profile on Reds.com

LaRue's Season Over on Marc Lancaster's Blog

Michael Jason LaRue was born in Houston, Texas on March 19, 1974. He graduated from Smithson Velly High School in Spring Branch, Texas. He attended Dallas Baptist Univeristy and Northeast Texas Community College.

Jason is married to Heather and they live in Bulverde, Texas. Jason missed the final two games of the 2005 season to attend to Heather in the birth of their son Brayden. I thought I read something official at the time making reference to other children, but I’ll be darned if I can find it now.

Michael Jason LaRue was born in Houston, Texas on March 19, 1974. He graduated from Smithson Velly High School in Spring Branch, Texas. He attended Dallas Baptist Univeristy and Northeast Texas Community College.

Jason is married to Heather and they live in Bulverde, Texas. Jason missed the final two games of the 2005 season to attend to Heather in the birth of their son Brayden. I thought I read something official at the time making reference to other children, but I'll be darned if I can find it now.

It's time again for another Human League/Better Know a Red combo. This one is about Jason LaRue, whom you may remember was the first Human League I ever wrote. And it shows. I added a Non-Baseball Stuff section about him, because I apparently wasn't writing those yet when I wrote his profile.

Check out the Human League entry, then go read his Better Know a Red profile.

P.S. - There's a new super-close up photo of Felipe's dragon tattoo, and a couple smart-alec quotes from Adam Dunn in the Human League too.

CINCINNATI, OH -- All along, Reds' General Manager Wayne Krivsky has talked about providing enough players to give Manager Jerry Narron “options.” Today, he revealed that those weren't the options he was talking about.

“There's an obscure little rule in baseball that says if you have enough second basemen, you can send down your manager,” explained Krivsky.

It's not likely to come to that, as Narron's team has been performing very well so far.

“It's just an insurance policy,” said Krivsky. “I don't realistically foresee us calling up [triple-A affiliate Louisville Bats manager] Rick Sweet any time soon.

Castellini On All-Star Ballot
The All-Star game is widely regarded as a venue for the biggest impact players in the game of baseball. For the first time, the Reds have a good chance of having their owner voted in.

While past Reds' owners have certainly made an impact, none has made such drastically positive changes so quickly as Bob Castellini. It's been widely noted that Castellini has changed the tone of the Reds and set an expectation of winning.

“He's made a huge difference to this team,” said Reds' utility man Ryan Freel.

If Castellini is voted in, he vows to make his influcence felt.

“I want to bring a tradition of winning to the National League,” said Castellini.

John Fay has a story in the Enquirer about the effect that hitting coach Chris Chambliss has had on the Reds since he joined the club in 2004. Fay's story focuses on patience at the plate with a special emphasis on walks.

I liked this table that appeared in to story showing the Reds' National League Ranking in some important offensive categories:

I think the walks are great, but I think there's even more to it than that. It's impossible not to notice how the Reds trip over hitters these days, how questionable players come to the Reds and almost magically find their stroke.

Also impossible not to notice how well the Yankees have done since they fired Chambliss in 2000.

So let's hear it for Chris Chambliss and for the Reds for keeping him around. I love to see them do things right.

Way back in Episode 7 you got the pre-game and first inning of game 11. It's been a while, but the Cards are in town tonight and it seems like a good time to get the rest of the game out there for your listening enjoyment. Game 12 will be posted tomorrow.

You won't be able to follow the game or anything from the audio, but it was a crappy game anyway. Pretty much, it's just a preview of the on-line sass that we'll be enjoying here at RHM tonight.

Lots of people have asked what I thought of Busch III, and I guess I thought it was just OK. Many of the problems that it had were transient because it isn't really done yet. The speaker system wasn't working in our section, so we couldn't hear the announcer properly. The scoreboard (or scoreboard operator) was usually behind or just plain wrong. It's utterly undramatic to see Pujols hit homers into an empty section of the stands that doesn't even have seats yet. Stuff like that.

Other things were problems with the design that seem like they're just a result of thoughtlessness. The seats are not angled toward home plate, so by the end of the game you have a stiff neck from looking off to the side for three hours. The foul poles and guard rails obstruct your view of the field. Though there are a million souvenir shops, bathrooms, and beer stands, they all still have lines.

And then there's the eerie way that sound falls dead around you, such that your cheers seems to hit a wall and go flat. I stood in the middle of a crowd of 40,000 screaming fans, feeling the stadium shake under my feet, and could still converse with the person beside me.

Of course, there are lots of good things about the stadium, too. It's got some neat historical stuff up on the walls for your perusing enjoyment before the game starts. There's some cute architectural details on the concourse. And, of course, the view is fantastic.

It's just too bad about the team.

Episode 9: Game 11, Part 2. (16.5 MB, 22:55)