Life in baseball is one big curveball, with a change-up mixed in now and then. What a dreary game it would be if it were all fastballs.
When the Cincinnati Reds embarked on their just-completed six-day trip to St. Louis and Milwaukee, if somebody said to manager Dusty Baker, "Will you take a 4-2 trip right now and not go?", Baker would have smiled and said, "I'll unpack my suitcase right now."
It doesn't work that way. They make up schedules for a reason, so the Reds took the trip and came home 3-3, not bad for a trip that matched them against their two top competitors in the National League Central.
If fact, conventional wisdom in major league baseball is that anything .500 or better for any trip is called a Success, with a capital 'S.'
And the Reds were two pitches away from possibly going 5-1 on the trip:
• On Sunday in St. Louis, the score was 0-0 when Edinson Volquez fed Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina a fastball and he drilled it for a three-run home run in the sixth inning. Those were the only runs in the game, a 3-0 defeat.
• On Tuesday in Milwaukee, the score was 2-2 in the eighth when Logan Ondrusek gave up a home run to Rickie Weeks in the eighth inning. That was the last run scored, a 3-2 defeat.
The Reds also lost one in St. Louis by 4-2, a very winnable game.
But into every baseball life a few curves and change-ups muddy the way.
It doesn't take a cardiologist to determine the 2011 Reds have a big heart, the same heart that kept pumping its way toward the 2010 National League Central championship.
The final game of the last trip was indicative of that.
The Reds led 4-0 after one inning. But the Brewers chipped away to tie it 4-4. Undaunted, the Reds scored twice in the sixth inning to take a 6-4 lead. Once again the offensive-minded Brewers barged back to tie it 6-6, answering with two runs in the bottom of the inning.
Then Drew Stubbs drilled a 10th-inning home run and the Reds won 7-6.
Some positives from the trip, other than the fact the Reds still cling tightly to the belt buckles of the St. Louis Cardinals:
• The Brewers put on the Ted Williams Shift against pull-hitting Jay Bruce, moving the shortstop to the right side of second base so they had three infield defenders between first and second. On Wednesday Bruce poked three hits to the left side.
• After winning the MVP last year, Joey Votto is now treated the same way as Albert Pujols, an extreme compliment. Teams won't let him beat them. Usually, they walk him in crucial situations.
When given a chance, Votto continues to hit the ball, a guy who seemingly can rip base hits with the lights out.
The Brewers had to pitch to him Wednesday in the first inning with two on and nobody out. He crushed a three-run home run.
They played with fire in the sixth inning, and Votto performed his usual scorched-earth policy. The Brewers had just come back from a 4-0 deficit to tie the game 4-4.
The Reds had runners on third and second with one out when Votto came to the plate. First base was open. That should be automatic, right? The catcher stands to the side and holds up four fingers, an intentional walk.
But Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke had left-handed side-armer Mitch Stetter on the mound, a pitcher he thought could handle Votto. No pitcher can handle Votto.
If Roenicke did his homework, he would know Votto was 10 for 18 against left-handed pitchers this year. Sidearmers, overhanders or underhanders — it doesn't matter.
True to form, Votto pulled a single to right and the Reds were back in front, 5-4. Vottomatic.
• Aroldis Chapman is not just fire. He's smoke, too, and is showing he might soon be baseball's best relief pitcher.
On Tuesday, he came in to face power-hitting Prince Fielder and struck him out on three pitches — fastball, slider, slider, thanks for coming, Prince.
On Wednesday, he faced a bases-loaded, one-out situation in a tie game in the eighth. He struck out Carlos Gomez and threw four straight fastballs between 99 mph and 101 mph to retire Ryan Braun, a fastball-lover, on a weak grounder.
Then he went back out for the ninth and once again struck out Fielder on three pitches, this time with fastball, slider, fastball. He got Casey McGehee on a first-pitch 98-mph fastball that was popped up. Corey Hart singled, but Chapman picked him off first base without throwing a pitch.
Chapman's ERA remains 0.00, and, judging from the looks on hitters' faces, his Fear Factor is off the charts.
• Closer Francisco Cordero is doing just that this year, closing the deal with little muss and no fuss. After many scary situations last season on his way to 40 saves, Cordero is 4 for 4 this year, barely drawing perspiration.
So the Reds remain in excellent position as they come home for a six-game homestand beginning Friday night, three against the surprisingly good Florida Marlins and three against the Houston Astros.
