Here are all–well, the best–of the photos I took last weekend when we visited the Cincinnati Reds’ Spring Training home, Goodyear Ballpark. (I posted a panorama of the park earlier.)

Each thumbnail links to a larger image.

So, last night, Brandon Phillips went to the press to let them know his opinion of the St. Louis Cardinals:

We have to beat these guys. I hate the Cardinals. All they do is bitch and moan about everything, all of them, they’re little bitches, all of ‘em. I really hate the Cardinals. Compared to the Cardinals, I love the Chicago Cubs. Let me make this clear – I hate the Cardinals.

Exquisite. I mean, it’s exactly what I’ve been saying since the opening series, but just beautifully put. The eloquence brings a tear to my eye.

And ain’t it the truth? Here’s an excerpt from a post here on RHM back in May:

The Cardinals don’t seem to realize what a serious problem they have. Carp getting huffy when someone shows frustration, Card bloggers saying Gomes shouldn’t flip his bat, Card commentators saying the umps should show respect to Pujols. It’s one thing to go onto the field expecting to win; it’s another thing to go onto the field expecting people to let you win. This sense of entitlement screams sick culture. If the Cards were a Fortune 500 company, they’d be on their way to hostile takeover.

See? Phillips said it a lot better.

And it hasn’t changed a bit since then. Carpenter was bitching at Brendan Ryan just yesterday for being a minute late getting on the field because he was back in the batting cage. How dare he make the great one wait for the likes of practicing?

And now today, as Phillips approached the plate to take his AB, Yadier Molina did the totally-non-bitchy thing and kicked his bat. Before you know it, the benches and the bullpens are cleared. In the words of a person who actually saw it:

But it erupted when Rolen went after Chris Carpenter. Several wrestling matches broke out. Johnny Cueto, the starting pitcher, could be seen kicking at someone.

Dusty Baker was in the middle of it, shouting at someone. A couple of players were in a pile on the ground. Jonny Gomes came out of it with a torn shirt.

It all ended with the manager ejected and the fans itching for more. There may be some street fights in the streets after the game. Tomorrow, we’ll think about suspensions, but tonight, we enjoy the glee that comes from smacking down a little bitch.

For the first time since Joey Votto was 12 years old–6th grade (or whatever they call it in Canada)–the National League has won the All-Star game.

Scott Rolen went 1-for-2 with a run scored. Brandon Phillips got a key out. Votto saved some for the sequel. Arthur Rhodes rested. All-in-all, I give Reds almost all of the credit for this win. Hopefully they’ll get all the benefit from it.

Go NL, and Go Reds!

The final All-Star vote tally before the one that decides the line-up is now available. Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips, Orlando Cabrera, and Jonny Gomes hang in there in their races, but Scott Rolen is actually within striking distance.

Ken Griffey, Jr. was on the All-Star line-up in 2007, and before that the last Red to appear was Barry Larkin in 2000. Two voted in the last 10 years? Don’t you think we ought to do something about that? Hell, Rolen himself has appeared in the line-up that many times in that many years. Let’s send him again.

Remember, you get 25 votes per email address. Yahoo!, Hotmail, and Gmail are your partners in making your voice heard.

It also appears you can vote 25 times per email address per day. At least I’ve been able to cast votes on different days with the same email address. Why not try it out for yourself?

Today’s Human League “What I Love About” honoree is the NLC’s Hottest Baller of 2008, Brandon Phillips.

What I love about Brandon Phillips is his smile. Easy and infectious, his smile says, “hey, everything’s cool here.”

What I love about Brandon Phillips is his glove and his back-handed flip to second. It’s a beginning to a double-play so beautiful that it makes his move to 2B all worthwhile.

What I love about Brandon Phillips is his attitude. Kinda sassy, a little arrogant, but still willing to slow down enough to explain what “crunked” means to a Reds beat writer. I love that he’s not perfect and needs to have a kick to the seat of the pants sometimes. I love that he’s up and down with the team, feeling the energy of the city.

What I love about Brandon Phillips is that horrible commercial that he and Joey Votto were in at the beginning of the season–I think it was for Subway–where the director had to position the camera man ever-so-carefully so you couldn’t tell that there was no one in the stands as they got the out at first–presumably tagging out the high saturated fat you’d get at a burger joint.

What I love about Brandon Phillips is watching him turn it on when the Indians come to town. That’ll show ’em.

What I would really love about Brandon Phillips would be seeing him starting in the All-Star Game, but he needs your help to make that happen. Vote, vote, vote!!