Good victory over the Braves. But some recent things are of concern. First, we seem to be shipping players away for money. Lehr, Shearn to Korea.  Now, we send Jim Brower, a relief pitcher  to the Cubs for cash. Um, aren't we in the same division and chasing them? I'm not the first one to suggest it, but could the Reds be trying to recover money by trading all these guys for cash after eating some contracts?  What next?  Convince Uncle Carl to give up naming rights for a better offer?  How about Hyundai Ball Park?  Name the scoreboard.  We could call it "This scoreboard is brought to you by the Creation Museum. Prepare to unlearn." 

    Dusty has been showing that the stereotypes about him are true. There was his man crush for vets like Corey Patterson. Then today, he let Volquez pitch in the seventh after he finished the sixth with 100 pitches.  This came after Sunday's extra inning affair which had him pitch in relief. Remember the crazy Cub fans blamed him for destroying Kerry Wood, and Mark Prior.

     But on to the victory.  Jay Bruce's ability to make contact reminds me of Pete Rose.  Though Bruce will have more power.  Great job by Griffey Jr. to hit the ball twice to the left part of the field to defeat the shift.  The last time he got it through for a single which brought up Brandon Phillips for the game winner.

Yesterday, Lance played a cut from "Field of Dreams." Here's the monologue by James Earl Jones on the timelessness of baseball. "The one constant through all the years has been baseball... Baseball has marked the time.... It reminds us of all that once was good, and it could be again." It's poetic and my favorite part of the film.

With Bruce up, the Griffey haters are still calling on the Reds to get rid of him.  The 3 best outfielders on this team are Dunn, Bruce and Jr.  Please don't say Ryan Freel is better. He's reckless, and lacks the power that Jr. does.  Don't say Hairston. He's a journeyman outfielder who almost didn't have a job this year. Oh, he batted .189 last year. Look, you need veterans on any team. This team is young with the exception of Jr. Dunn is only 28.  Jr.'s contract ends this year with a 16 million option. He's a 10- and 5 guy, making him hard to trade. And you won't get a AAA stud outfielder for him.  So relax. The season is not over and Jr.'s playfulness will keep the team loose. For those of you who are worried about his bat speed check no. 598, it was a mighty blast. There was plenty of bat speed on that one.

     Finally let's commend Corey Patterson for volunteering to go to Louisville to get his act together.  This writer was tough on him but I tip my Reds cap to him for his dedication.

The future has arrived. With Jay Bruce finally making his Reds debut, Cueto, and Votto already here, the Reds nucleus for years to come is here. And when you look at the other young players such as Phillips, Encarnacion, Volquez and Keppinger, it's a bright tomorrow.

    But let's enjoy Bruce's debut.  Believe it or not, it's the walks that were most impressive. The first walk, Ian Snell tried to bait Bruce with three outside breaking balls.  Didn't work.  After his first hit,  his drawing of the second walk looked like a veteran who knew strike zone. The pitches were close but Bruce knew they were balls. It moved the line as you saberheads are so fond of, for Adam Dunn.  Dunn's gigantic blast makes this writer rethink on whether we should sign him for the future. He is after all, only 28. Back to Bruce, he demonstrated he can hit to all fields by hitting two singles to left.

     The Reds are not out of it. Yes, I know they have to leap over everyone but they are only seven games out and four games under with a little more than four months to play. Can't be scared of the Cubs.  Outside of Zambrano, their starting rotation is nothing to be shaking in your spikes.  Dumpster,  I mean Dempster, Lilly and Lieber?  Please. Also, they're the Cubs. So let's stop trying to trade Jr. and Dunn for right now.  There are no outfielders in the organization better than them right now.  You need a mix of veterans with kids to get to the playoffs.   

Yahoo Sports doesn't think Chad will show up for training camp. Wouldn't that put him behind the other receivers? Think about it. Why reward the guy if he decides to come back in September, out of shape, out of step? Ocho Stinko could be behind T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Glen Holt and Jerome Simpson or any combination of the dozens of receivers we have in camp. And could that mean he gets shipped to the bench? How about special teams? Nah, on special teams. But what a just reward for his selfish motives. He wants the limelight and gets pushed back to the side. And what will that do for any team who wants him in 2009? With lowered numbers in receptions and yards, he'll be less likely to get that fat contract with another team.  Oh, oh, Ocho. There goes the Hall of Fame. Goodbye, Hollywood.