Get 'er Dunn

So out of nowhere the Reds post 6 straight wins and 7 of 8. Despite Dusty's best efforts, Adam Dunn continues to rake, and the Redlegs are finally starting to resemble the club that had such a promising spring. Dunn continues to be the most important bat in the Reds lineup. This team can't survive combined Dunn/Griffey slumps, but when Dunn contributes, the pitching is solid enough to string wins together.

Winning a series over the Cubs and sweeping the Indians is about as gratifying a two weeks as I can hope for. Volquez and Cueto continue to pitch well, and with Arroyo posting 3 of 4 excellent starts, there seems to be no reason to conclude that the Reds aren't for real. They've played a tough schedule to this point, but that's been offset by a 9-3 mark in one run games. Here's hoping for a .500 road trip to the west coast followed by another solid homestand.

With Volquez winning today to run his record to 7-1 (his only loss coming in a 2-0 shut out), the trade with the Rangers continues to be one of the more fascinating. My man crush on Josh "on pace for 189 RBIs" Hamilton continues, but it's hard to argue with a 24 year old pitcher with an ERA that has yet to see 1.5.

If this team can figure out how to hit consistently (and this depends on big 44), it will win games. Another 40 HR, .250, 100, 100 from Dunner will lead to significant games being played in September.