How desperate for baseball am I to really be considering writing a game wrap based solely on the intermittent posts by Marc Lancaster? Yeah, pretty much the same level of desperate that I always am.

The game got underway at 1:35 this afternoon under a scintillating blue Floridian sky. Newly acquired Pirate Booty Dave Williams got the start against the Korean team and promptly gave up five runs, including a 3-2, two-out, three-run home run. It's so nice to see the new guy fitting in.

Earl Snyder committed an error at third making three of those five runs unearned, so I'm sure Williams will take some solace in that. In the top of the second, catcher Dane Sardinha contributed an error by overthrowing second when trying to throw out the stealing runner. Second baseman Frank Menechino got in on the erroring fun in the fourth.

Jake Robbins would take the mound in the second and give up another run to bring the score 6-0 Tigers. Matt Belisle pitched a scoreless third, and Todd Coffey did the same in the fourth.

Travis Chick, the younger fella we got in the Randa trade last season, got the ball in the fifth and promptly handed over another 4 runs to bring the Tigers' lead to 10 before getting two outs. Tommy Phelps came in to take care of that tricky third out and give up another run in the sixth inning. Tigers 11, Reds nothing.

Our boys finally made themselves heard in the bottom of the sixth when Everyone's Favorite Human Interest Story Aaron Holbert doubled, Sardinha singled, Tuffy Rhodes walked, and first baseman Joey Votto walked in the first run. Guy I've Never Heard Of Aaron Herr GDIP'd in Sardinha before Other Guy I've Never Heard Of Derek Wathan grounded out to end the Reds' scoring. Tigers 11, Reds 2.

Ryan Wagner took the mound in the seventh just before the game got so painful that Mr. Lancaster stopped the play-by-play entirely. Wagner, or perhaps a different pitcher sometime in the next two innings, gave up one more run to bring the score to it's final, 12-2 Tigers.

A big loss. That has a cozy, familiar feel to it.

Go Reds!

Just when it looked like William Bergolla would be the first guy slated to start the season on the disabled list, the party line changed. Per The Cincinnati Enquirer:

NO HERNIA: Further examination proved that William Bergolla does not have a hernia.

That means he won't have surgery.

“I'm glad,” Bergolla said.

The last time he had hernia surgery, he missed two months.

Bergolla does have a very high groin strain. He suffered it in Winter Ball. He began treatment Saturday and could return to baseball activities in a week or so.

So, let's get this straight. When news of Bergolla's injury first came out, we heard that he was bothered by it while he was in Venezuela, an MRI showed a hernia, and he's had a hernia before. Everything short of a large purple bulge pushing itself out over the waistband of his compression pants.

But now it's just a groin strain. Been bothering him for weeks, but he'll be back in a few days.

Huh. Personally, I'll stick with the current count of potential second basemen at seven. And hopefully that will be enough.