Thom Brennaman was just talking about all the nice things Griffey does for people without the general public knowing about it. Which is great. Except that the example he pulled out is how he just heard from someone in the Cincinnati-land area about how Jr. took in that little boy when his grandfather died of a heart attack at the ballpark.

Dude!

In case you were wondering, yes, Red Hot Mama did cover that super-secret story from three years ago. It ranked a mention here, right after the Reds unis for American Girl dolls.

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The Cubs lost to the Padres, and seem to think the reason was the lack of Jim Edmonds hobbling around the outfield. Hopefully for the NLC–and all of baseball–that will be rectified as soon as possible. Chicago needs to further screw up Felix Pie’s development and they need to do it quick!

Jason Marquis started for the Cubs and did well until the 4th, when his standard suckiness reared its familiar head. Hmm, the 4th inning, huh? Sounds like Marquis has a problem making it through the lineup a second time. If only there were a pitching spot on the team that could take advantage of that.

Alfonso Soriano lead off the game for the Cubs with a solo shot. I take back whatever I wrote before. That hit totally makes it worth having him lead off. Chicago scored again in the second, but shut it down after that, apparently thinking 3 runs would be more than enough for Marquis.

Jake Peavy is the pitcher tonight for the Padres when he fights against Ted Lilly at 8:05pm EDT.

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Remember the Brewers? You know, the team that I thought would take the division. Well, they’re not doing so hot lately. Or at least they weren’t after dropping below .500 in a terrible losing stretch. But great news for all of you who place your self-worth on preseason predictions (and picked the Brewers): They’re good again!

Carlos Villanueva gave Milwaukee a good start and lead them to their third win in a row, which also gives them a winning record again. And wonder of all wonders, after being removed from the closer’s position less than a week ago, Eric Gagne was back at it, picking up his 10th save, this time in a humdrum fashion. We’ll see how long that lasts.

Manny Parra tries to keep the winning ways rolling tonight when he faces Derek Lowe at 8:05pm EDT.

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I meant to write about the Cardinals and their returning to earth yesterday, but couldn’t find the time. It’s a good thing there are games every day.

The Cardinals continued their descent back to expectations, losing to the Pirates in 10. Former Red Kyle Lohse was closer to finding his April doppelganger, but he was still bettered by former Red Phil Dumatrait. Neither starter got a decision, thanks to a game-tying Albert Pujols home run in the 8th.

All that did was send it to extra innings where former Red and Pirate Ron Villone came in for the Cardinals. Villone had been amazing in relief up to this point, but today was not his day. Plus, the Pirates are playing great right now, and there was no stopping the Buccos. Villone gave up four to get the loss.

The two play again tonight, with Paul Maholm for the Pirates and Todd Wellemeyer for the Cardinals, at 8:15pm EDT.

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The Reds won their second game in a row, but lost the services of shortstop Jeff Keppinger.

Keppinger went down with a broken kneecap after fouling off a pitch, and his hitting services will be sorely missed. He was already serving as the backup shortstop, and for once, the Reds are kind of weak on middle infielders. Hey, remember last year when Krivsky signed Alex Gonzalez to a big, three-year contract? Isn’t that the gift that keeps on giving.

Edinson Volquez continued to dominate the league, allowing one run in 6 innings. His ERA now stands at 1.12, which I believe is an increase from before the game. You know things are going well when you allow one run in a start and your ERA goes up.

The Reds go for the series sweep tonight when Bronson Arroyo faces Ricky Nolasco at 7:10pm EDT.