Last night’s game was rained out, but most people didn’t this view. Manny Parra posted this picture on Twitter:

I don't understand why the game was called. Wow pic.twitter.com/oUQxh61JeZ

— Manny Parra (@MannyParra26) July 2, 2013

It’s looking better today, as we can see in these photos that @ctrent tweeted:

what a difference 14 hours make #reds #sfgiants pic.twitter.com/bFtDg2Ntao

— ctrent (@ctrent) July 2, 2013

There’s a 60% chance of rain during the hours the game would be played tonight. If this happens again, they should just switch to water polo instead.

In eight years of blogging, it’s amazing how much Reds-inspired music I have seen. Of course we know all Bronson Arroyo wants to be a rock star and you’ve probably heard tracks from Cincinnati Clutch hits, but it goes beyond that. The latest of these is the new offering from The Cincinnati Reds Wooo guy.

I think it’s pretty good, myself. Totally get-stuck-in-your-head-able.

That animated GIF in the last post is seriously annoying, so I’m going to push it off the front page. Five rapid fire posts coming up!

Speaking of races, why not start off this frenzy of posts with a flashback to an old race. You younguns may not remember that, back in 2006, the Reds did not have a regular second baseman. Back in those days, we had a handful of backup infielders who were all vying for the spot. So we here at RHM decided to create this highly scientific simulator to help the Reds’ brass choose a winner.

Go ahead, give it a click and run the race!

(Game modified from a Flash template provided at Flash Kit.)
Get the latest version of Flash here.

One month after this went up, the Reds traded for Brandon Phillips, and now he’s the second-longest tenured Red on the team (Bronson Arroyo has him beat by 18 days). Boy, doesn’t that just make you feel old?

Those darn Pirates have won 9 in a row to take a 2.0 game lead in the NLC and a 5.5 game lead on the Reds specifically. It’s hard to deal with, while the Reds have gone 3-7 in their west coast road trip. But you can indulge in a little schadenfreude by watching the Pirate Parrot fall over the railing trying to catch a foul ball.

It’s a stretch to call this a fail, especially since mascots are supposed to be silly and slapstick. But it’s the only thing going at all wrong for the Pirates right now, so I guess it’ll have to do.

Toward the end of June, the baseball season starts to take its toll. I’m not talking about the players, though that may be true as well. I’m talking about me. Many nights the chance to go to the frozen yogurt stand, drink beer during a free summer concert, or (in the case of these Pacific time zone games) go to sleep before dawn somehow just makes it seem less necessary to pay super-close attention to the Reds.

Come January, I’ll find it hard to believe that I ever felt this way.

As if the mid-season doldrums weren’t enough, the Reds are also going through a rough patch right now. They’re 4-6 in their last 10 games. Sure, the Cardinals have also gone 4-6, so the Reds haven’t lost any ground on them, but what about these Pirates? Those guys have put together an 8-2 performance and pulled themselves even with the Cards, leaving the poor Reds 3.5 games out.

The Reds are the defending NLC division champs, and I wondered how this season was looking compared to that one. Amazingly, despite how crummy it feels right now, the Reds actually have 4 more wins than they did on this date last year. In 2012: 41-34. Today: 45-34.

I guess it isn’t the Reds who have changed, so much as the division competition. What the hell is up with these teams? Last year the Pirates were 40-35 and the Cards were 40-36; today they’re both 48-30. A 62% winning percentage almost halfway through the season?? This just isn’t fair.

Even though the Reds are 3.5 games back and in third place their .570 record is bested in all of baseball only by the Cardinals, Pirates, Red Sox, A’s and Rangers. What a treat that the Reds get to face one of those teams this very night when they visit the Rangers. I might go get frozen yogurt. Wake me up when the Giants get to town.