Jay Bruce walks off the Cubbies in the 11th

[Box Score]

[Cincinnati.com] [Dayton Daily News]

[VIDEO: Bruce’s walk-off in the 11th]

Jay Bruce’s 99th career home run–the second one he’s hit off lefty reliever James Russell–was a shot into the Cubs bullpen that won the game in the 11th inning.

And it felt like the last happy ending we probably see for this 2011 year a little bit didn’t it? It had a similar feel to some late season home runs I’ve seen in the past where the Reds walked off a bomb into the empty Red seats. It’s me painfully stating the obvious that the Reds are no longer relevant. And I’ve found myself attempting to train myself to watching meaningless baseball during this time of year. What does it all mean? If I don’t care, how much can I really expect these guys to care?

It was nice to see Bruce hit another bomb in a game that he originally thought he would have the night off. I’m hoping he can get just one more this year he’ll have 100 for his career which is a milestone all in itself.

As for the Reds, they’re two games under .500 now. Homer Bailey did not throw real well. Yonder Alonso, Joey Votto and Bruce in the same middle of the order is really kind of neat to see. Add in Phillips, Mesoraco, Stubbs, Heisey, and you have a team that is going to hurt people next year. Believe me.