Boy, was I surprised to find the Freekbass Reds Fan video on Cardnilly today. I see Daedalus even commented on the entry. Am I the only one to have missed it?

In any event, here it is:

Days in a row, that is. Thank goodness for off-days.

Whoo, what a crappy week of Reds' baseball, huh? It's been bad enough to make me glad that I can't stay up to watch any of it. It's sort of a relief to just hear the losing score on the radio in the morning; it stings so much less than it would if I'd stayed up until after 3 a.m. to see the leads blown with my own eyes.

But a part of me would also like to stay up to bear witness to those losing efforts. I've got a wide martyr streak, and so suffering through the losses appeals to me. Makes me believe that the winning will be that much sweeter for it.

So it's with that attitude that I turn the page on August tomorrow and prepare for better things to come. We've suffered enough; it's time for a month of winning. Let's really stop this thing at six.

ESPN reports that the Red Sox are in the market to get rid of David Wells. The Cardinals, Dodgers, and Padres are the leading contenders, but the story also mentions the Reds as the very last word in the piece.

But consider this: David Wells is 43 years old and left-handed. He's just off knee-surgery but he appears to be coming back. In other words, it's a wonder this guy hasn't been with the Reds for a month.

JD is being nice enough to encourage people to call in to the RHM podcast line, and is it a coincidence that I got my first non-spam call last night? I'm looking forward to playing it on the show on Tuesday. Keep the calls coming!

I especially appreciate JD's efforts because he must get some five times the traffic that I do. Or rather, I should say that Joel and promoted diaries get some five times the traffic that I do, since that's about 90% of the original content on Red Reporter. Them's delegating skillz!

I wanted to post a comment on RR to thank JD for his efforts, but I can't remember my password. I know I have been logged in from work before, but his blogging software logs you out after about 30 seconds. And really, it's a good thing. Just imagine the chaos if my coworkers got onto my computer and posted sarcastic or suggestive remarks with my account. It might sully my otherwise pristine name!

It's better this way, though, because I realized that I really ought to just put up a proper post here on my own blog to express my gratitude. It's been a long time since I've given JD any love in the form of links, mostly because I already have a link to Church of Baseball in my side bar. Linking to him linking to Daedalus on a daily basis would just be redundant.

I could always link to the wacky antics of the community that has grown up over there. Who would have thought that the copyrighted Reds logo (I'm sure he has permission!) and photo of a stapler that he sometimes finds time to put up before games would inspire such camaraderie. The kids are amazing! Taking over other blogs is a great team-building exercise. Some people might say “mob mentality” but I say it's just good clean fun.

So, thanks JD for doing your part to support the podcast and for providing so much to the Reds' blogging community. What would we do without you to occasionally forward your incomprehensibly prodigious traffic?

Did you see the story “Notes: Reds show love for Valentin” on Reds.com?? I'm so excited!

No, not just because Javy's already signed to come back just seven months after the last time they signed him to come back, though of course I'm excited about that:

On Monday, Valentin was given a one-year, $1.25 million contract extension for 2007 with a club option for 2008.

The club option is for $1.3 million, which includes a $75,000 buyout. That option would escalate to $1.35 million if gets 250 plate appearances next year, and $1.4 million if he reaches 300 plate appearances.

That's awesome, of course, but what I'm psyched about is the headline on the story. Sure, you might think that including “love” is just a play on “Valentín”, but I choose to believe that's it's one-third of “Latin Love Machine.”