The Reds re-signed Darrell May today, just three days after releasing the left-hander.

May had performed well for the AAA Louisville Bats in the two months he worked there, and it appears that his release was a mistake.

“[Releasing May] was a clerical error,” explained General Manager Wayne Krivsky to reporters this morning. “My notes showed that [Dan] O'Brien had signed him, so of course he had to go. When I realized he was one of my guys, we got him back right away.”

The Waterboy
The Reds' sudden return to form correlates with Ken Griffey, Jr. hand-delivering the line-up card before each game. To provide extra luck going into the series with the Cardinals, the team is asking Griffey to take on even more mundane tasks.

“Just little things,” said Manager Jerry Narron, “like handing out water and bubble gum.”

Griffey's teammates have even more tasks in mind.

“I'm hoping he can get my bat back from [Ryan] Freel,” said a mopey Adam Dunn. Dunn is 3 for his last 13 over four games with zero homers. Freel hit two home runs last night.

Another Man's Suffering
Tonight the Reds face the Cardinals, who are just coming off a losing series to the Cubs. The Cardinals have an ailing Jim Edmonds (who cannot run) filling in at first base while Albert Pujols is out of the game entirely.

“You hate to see a team with such a proud tradition hurting like that, and it's a shame that such a promising young talent…” Narron started before breaking into laughter. “Damn, I almost got through that with a straight face.”

Jon Heyman of Newsday.com suggests that the Yankees might find Ken Griffey, Jr. their best option to fill in for Gary Sheffield, who has suffered a potentially season-ending wrist injury.

In his article Griffey Could Be Most Likely Big Name for Yanks, dated tomorrow, he says:

Griffey's whopping salary ($37 million through 2009) means the Yankees wouldn't have to give up anything of note to get him. The Reds' previous ownership rejected the Yankees' bid for Griffey last year, but the Reds have a new owner, Bob Castellini, and a new GM, Wayne Krivsky, who isn't afraid to deal if they fall out of the race.

Number one, the Yankees went after Griffey last year?

Number two, what is it with people who act like the entire league is just the Yankees' ice cream shop where they can sample any flavor that they please? You know, just because Griffey might suit the Yankees' needs doesn't mean the Yankees' can meet the Reds' needs.

Number three, isn't it a little premature to be talking about the Reds falling out of the race? Right now they're second in the NLC, a game and a half closer to first than to third. Especially now that the Cardinals have lost two in a row to the Cubs with Jim Edmonds and Albert Pujols both injured, I'm liking their chances of sticking with the race beyond the time that Griffey would be irrelevant to the Yankees.

In fact, I think he's already irrelevant to the Yankees. If they're interested in a high-priced catcher, on the other hand, we might be able to give them a taste spoon.

Roy Oswalt was scheduled to start this game. In fact, he was supposed to start yesterday's game, but the Astros juggled the rotation to give him a little extra time to rest the hamstring that's been bothering him.

But apparently that day wasn't enough and Oswalt has been scratched. The FSN guys said something about a back problem, probably a result of that hamstring issue.

In his place we'll see Fernando Nieve. It's a match-up that appears to favor the Reds, but isn't this just exactly the kind of situation where a kid rises up? This is the sort of thing that the Lizard himself would have done last season and shone.

On the other hand, the Reds have to be looking to make this an above-500 road trip. We'll see soon enough I guess. Freel's already flied out to get it going.

The Reds broke their string of lost series yesterday when they won their second consecutive game over the Houston Astros by a score of 7-5.

Bronson Arroyo took the mound and allowed two runs (zero earned) on eight hits and one walk through six innings for the win. Chris Hammond worked the seventh and allowed one run (earned) on one hit and one walk. David Weathers allowed zero hits through the eighth.

Todd Coffey had his first bad outing when he worked the ninth. He allowed two runs (earned) on three hits, and it took a solid play by Austin Kearns in right and a heroic play by Ryan Freel in center to help him escape. Coffey's ERA has “skyrocketed” to a stunning 1.74.

Arroyo himself was the offensive star of the game, going 3-for-3 with four RBI. Arroyo's RBI for the season (6) now outnumber his hits for the season (5), though he still hits a massive .156, so it's hard to deem him a slugger yet.

The win brings the Reds' record to 31-24 and three games out of first place in the division. They go for the sweep this afternoon at 2:05 p.m. when Elizardo Ramirez takes the mound against Roy Oswalt.

The Reds did against the Astros what we all expected them to do against the Cubs with their 14-3 victory yesterday.

Aaron Harang had all the support he would need before he even took the mound in the bottom of the first inning. He was all bad-ass for about three innings before it started to crumble a little. That's OK; the Reds have plenty of relievers who can defend an 11-run lead. Harang allowed two runs (earned) on five hits and two walks through six innings for the win.

Chris Hammond took over for the seventh and allowed zero runs on two hits. David Weathers pitched the eighth and allowed one run (earned) on a solo shot. The newest Red (I think, he's getting hard to keep track) Esteban Yan pitched the ninth and allowed zero runs on zero hits and a walk.

I don't really want to recap 14 runs, so let's summarize in bullet formation:

• Brandon Phillips offered spark in the first inning when he got one of his two hits (he was 2-for-6 with one RBI) and stole second after Wandy Rodriguez threw over about a hundred times trying to pick him off.
• Felipe Lopez went 1-for-4 with two walks and got himself caught stealing in the second inning. What happened to our base-stealing phenom?
• Ken Griffey, Jr. went 2-for-5 with an RBI and came out of the game in the seventh inning. I wonder why they left him in that long.
• Rich Aurilia went 2-for-5 with a walk and scored three runs. Very nice.
• Adam Dunn went a big fat 0-fer. 0-for-1, that is, with three walks. He came out of the game in the eighth inning and was replaced by Quinton McCracken. That's just funny.
• Austin Kearns and Edwin Encarnación were hella-hot, each going 3-for-4 and four RBI apiece. That means that each of them scored as many runners as all of the Astros combined.
• Jason LaRue is hella-cold, going 0-for-5. He left six on base and is hitting a great big .173. For a fun little comparison, Harang is hitting .214. McCracken is hitting .179.
• Ryan Freel, who took over center field for Griffey, went 1-for-2. I had been asleep for a while by then. It's been a tough week.

The win brings the Reds' record to 30-24 and their winning streak to 2. It pushes the Astros under .500 and ensures that they won't be taking over second place in the division this series.

The Reds continue the series tonight at 7:05 p.m. when Bronson Arroyo takes on Andy Pettitte.