The Reds defeated the Twins 4-3 on Wednesday in the distant land of Fort Myers, Florida.

Eric Milton got his second start of the spring and was as good this time as he was bad last time. He allowed just one run on three hits in five innings.

Wait. What? Hold on, I need to read that again. Damn, I missed a decent Milton outing to buy a swimsuit and watch SpongeBob?

Todd Coffey and Michael Gosling each put in an inning of scoreless, one-hit work. Matt Belisle contributed an inning of scoreless, two-hit work. Brian Shackelford gave up two runs on one hit and three walks in the ninth to allow Minnesota to triple their score.

Andy Abad, a guy who just keeps on hanging in there, provided all four of the Reds' RBI. N Hopper, a guy I've never heard of, appeared in left field.

The win brought the Reds' record to 13-10. They went on to face the Pirates in Bradenton on Thursday.

On Wednesday, we wanted to make it out to Fort Myers to see the Reds face the Twins. Mostly because we'd had a good time going to see the Twins last year and we were really impressed with the way they made it clear that they wanted us to visit again. We attended one game in Fort Myers last year and the team sent us a packet to promote their spring training games in the off-season. We attended two-weeks worth of games in Sarasota last year and the team sent us diddly squat.

But it's over an hour's drive to Fort Myers and the call of the beach was just irresistible. Plus, my son is under the weather with a nasty little cough, and since he's related to me, a little cough can translate into unexpected evacuation of the stomach due to all the belly jolting of the coughing motion. Long story short, we've washed more towels and sheets than we expected to this trip.

So Wednesday was our day to rest up, do a little shopping, and watch a whole lot of Nickelodeon. Essentially, we took a vacation from our vacation.

You may have noticed that this post wasn't particularly relevant or interesting. Sorry about that. I feel like it's necessary plot exposition.

I'm so close to having a post every day this month that I can't let tonight slip away without a quick hello to all of you out in Red Hot Mama land. But really, the details of my trip deserve more attention than I can give as I sit here in my car, outside the Remax office, weasin' the juice off their sweet Wi-Fi.

I understand the Reds won today in Bradenton. I was there, but bailed in favor of Chuck E. Cheese when the rain delayed the game and my four-year-old's lingering cold made itself an issue. Nevertheless, it sounds like I was there for all of the scoring, and if there's one part I don't want to miss, it's the scoring.

In case you can't tell, I'm up to five beers for the night. I'm going to have to hurry if I'm going to beat my previous record, but I think I can do it. I'll let you know in the morning, assuming I can get myself out of bed.

The Reds fell to the Indians on Tuesday by a score of 2-5 on Bingo Day at Ed Smith Stadium.

Brandon Claussen started and allowed just one run through five innings. Unfortunately, Jake Robbins came in to give up four runs in the sixth and get the loss.

Edwin Encarnación found a field other than left when he hit a center field double in the 2nd inning. He later scored on an Austin Kearns sacrifice double-play.

Chris Denorfia stole second base in the sixth inning and later scored to give the Reds their other run.

Chris Hammond pitched a scoreless top of the seventh, and it really looked like there was hope for the Reds when Danny Graves came in in the bottom of the seventh. But alas, the longhaired wonder proved to be too much for Dewayne Wise, Frank Menechino, and Jacob Cruz, who went down in order on ground balls. Proof positive that we were wrong to say goodbye to Graves.

Rick White pitched a scoreless eighth inning and Kent Mercker pitched a scoreless ninth, but it was too late for the Reds, who suffered the first loss of the spring that I witnessed in person. And let me tell you what: it stinks.

The loss brings the Reds’ record to 11-10. The Reds visit the Twins in Fort Myers tonight at 7:05 p.m., and I take the day off. This vacation has been as much work as work is.

Hoping to repeat the rampant success of Danny Graves, the Reds started David Weathers in their win against the Blue Jays on Monday in Sarasota.

Weathers allowed two runs (one earned) on one hit through two innings of work. Ryan Wagner gave up the other Toronto run on two hits in the third inning. Brian "Love" Shackelford, Jason Standridge, and Todd Coffey each put up a hitless inning, with Coffey getting the win. Michael Burns contributed two hitless innings. Jake Robbins’ scoreless inning saw two hits.

Rich Aurilia had a good day with an RBI double in the sixth inning and an impressive heads-up play to throw a guy out at home. Especially encouraging, since he’ll probably be seeing quite a bit of time at first. Ryan Freel also provided an RBI and Brian Buchanan provided two.

The woman in the row in front of us was selected as the Carraba’s sweetheart of the game, and was presented with flowers and a gift certificate. She had spent most of the game consulting with her mother about the sunburn on her shoulders and reading a celebrity magazine, so she definitely didn’t see it coming, even after they announced her section, row, and seat number. She also narrowly avoided a foul ball a few innings earlier, so it was a big game for her. Too bad there isn't a Jumbo-tron at Ed Smith.

The win brought the Reds' record to 11-9. They would go on to host the Indians on Tuesday afternoon.