Sports Today: Reds pitching regresses

The only starter to post a “good” start over the past seven days was Matt Harvey, who only went four innings as he continues to build up his stamina.

Harvey is scheduled to start the Reds’ next game, so at least that’s something to look forward to Tuesday night when the Pirates come to town…

Meanwhile, the Cubs have become as unlikeable as expected since winning the World Series about 1.5 years ago.

RELATED: The Cubs have the pieces in place to be good for a long time

They are no longer a cute story, just a collection of good players who may or may not live up to expectations season to season.

Yawn…

Except when noted hot dog Javy Baez gets some of his own medicine and pukes it back up on himself apparently.

I like guys like Baez who bring some needed flair to the game, but I also have no sympathy for them when this happens.

Apparently Garrett was getting some payback for Baez admiring a home run too long last season.

Maybe Garrett should have let it go, but I think this is a fairly simple and obvious transaction. To the winner go the spoils.

The proper reaction here would have been for Baez to realize he lost this one, tip his cap and move on. Of course instead both teams had to clear the dugout and pretend like they were going to fight.

You'd think his manager might let him know sometimes you gotta take what you dish out, but instead Joe "Smartest Guy in the Room" Maddon made a Disney movie reference, so I guess Baez will have to figure it out on his own.

Garrett ultimately won the exchange on the field and in the clubhouse.

Kyle Schwarber also probably got hotter than necessary after taking a called strike three Sunday.

(He also hit a home run before his day was done.)

The pitch on which he was wrung up was at a bit high according to the zone on the video screen, but in real life it was at the bottom of the letters. Certainly a pitch that can reasonably be called a strike, but maybe he’s just trying to fit in.

The Middletown Masher would still look great in a Reds uniform… perhaps when Joey Votto is ready to retire?…

RELATED: Doubtful Cubs win World Series without Middletown’s Schwarber

The NBA playoffs resumed over the weekend, and the conference finals participants made sure everyone got plenty of sleep. 

The Golden State Warriors and Steph Curry dispelled rumors of their demise by blowing out the Houston Rockets on Sunday night.

The defending champs turned in a vintage third quarter run to leave the No. 1 seed in their dust.

Curry, who was in one of his fairly common postseason slumps heading into the night, ignited the decisive sequence with a slew of big plays and a little dancing...

The Rockets were kind enough to hang around for a half, which is more than can be said for the Boston Celtics a night before.

The young Celtics, after winning two games in Boston by double digits,  lived up to their home/road Jekyll/Hyde reputation by going to Cleveland and getting annihilated Saturday night.

I didn’t think either team was unusually good or bad in the first two games, but the Celtics were pretty awful in Game 3 in front of a raucous Quicken Loans Arena crowd.

Of course, the front-running Cavs always look good when they are making threes. The rest of the time? Not so much.

While the only question left in the Western Conference Finals is if the Warriors make it out in full health, it’s fair to expect plenty of drama the rest of the way in the East.

For better or for worse, that’s the way it always goes with LeBron James.

Even if Boston comes back strong and wins in Cleveland tonight, we can’t count out James until his team is completely out of time.

(But just to be safe, don't look into the 2010 playoffs, though.)