Thanks to Marc for keeping us up to date on the happenings of the team, even though they're done actually playing.

Aaron and Jennifer Harang are the proud parents of their first child as of Tuesday, October 3. Daughter Addison Kay Harang was 7 lbs, 7oz and 19.5 in. She's going to be a tall one; I wonder where she gets it from.

According to the story Giants not likely to revisit Baker in the Mercury News today, Reds hitting coach Chris Chambliss could fit the bill to make the list of potential replacements for Felipe Alou in San Fransisco.

Giants General Manager Brian Sabean is looking more toward a fresh start, either with an established manager such as Bob Brenly or Lou Piniella, or with a polished candidate who has managed in the minor leagues and served on a big league coaching staff.

Several men fit the profile and also have connections to Sabean from his eight seasons as a scout with the New York Yankees. Among them are Cleveland Indians bench coach Joel Skinner, A's bench coach Bob Geren and Cincinnati Reds hitting coach Chris Chambliss.

I could see Chambliss being easy-going enough to deal with the likes of Barry Bonds, should that Goliath ego decide to return to the team. And I can imagine general manager Wayne Krivsky approving of Chambliss going, seeing as he seems to bear a lot of the blame for all the offense the Reds have had the last few years. Ken Griffey could take over and maybe keep Jr. hitting a whole season through for a change.

However the question remains: what would become of Adam Dunn without Chambliss? He might crumble. Or maybe not; maybe it would be a good opportunity for the big guy to grow. Branch out. Try new things. Like protecting the strike zone, for example.

The Reds hired Thom Brennaman today. Marc says:

The Reds today hired Thom Brennaman to join their radio and TV broadcast teams and signed him to a four-year contract through 2010. Thom will be in the radio booth for “selected” broadcasts alongside his father and also will do television.

Marc goes on to speculate that Thom will call 45-50 games for WLW, which will mean they'll need another color guy for the other 100+ games.

Over on Blogher.org, contributor Sarah lists some of the woman baseball bloggers who are in high gear going into the off-season. I'm pleased to be listed among them, though my content these days has a lot more to do with Thom Brennaman than actual play-off performances.

Check it and the linked blogs out to feel like you've done your part to support equal baseball opportunity today.

From the change of ownership way back when, I could tell this Reds season was going to be different.

Sure the team was picked to finish last, and they certainly played like a last-place team in 2005, but it didn't feel right. With Bobo's insistence on winning, the Reds and last place were suddenly two tastes that tasted weird together.

And now here we are at the end of the season where the team finished in 3rd place, but was in it until the very end. And not in that not-mathematically-eliminated way. They actually had a shot at the playoffs until the last week of the season.

A quote from Jerry Narron in John Fay's Reds Insider from Sunday, October 1 sums it up best.

“On Sept. 29, we're still alive and players are disappointed that we are not in first place,” Narron said. “I don't think that mind-set has been here the past couple of years.

“Coming out of spring training, where we were picked last, and now to be disappointed we're not in first place shows how far we've come.”

That's very true. It's easy to get down on the Reds because of how they finished the season, but it was the best year the team's had arguably since 1999.

And there's no reason to think it won't get better next year.

The team was filled with players who hadn't played in a pennant race. Now they have. Sure, most of them failed, but now they have a better idea of what it takes. Next time, I don't see Aaron Harang struggling nearly as much down the stretch. Or Adam Dunn and Brandon Phillips, for that matter.

Secondly, Krivsky, for all his crappy moves, will have a whole off-season to prepare for next year. I think that'll make him a tad more cautious.

And of course, Bob Castellini. He's at the top, behind this desire to win. I think it's going to catch on. Already, I'm excited thinking about pitchers and catchers reporting.