I've been sick and swamped this week, and I haven't made time to put together as many Reds-related words as I'd like. So even though I'm heading out to the local BW3 to take in the game this evening, I'm going to summarize some stuff that's been going on with the team lately, if only to assuage my guilty conscience.

Item one: Jorgensen was suspended:

The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball announced today that Ryan Jorgensen of the Cincinnati Reds has received a 50-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

I hate to hear it, not just because Jorgensen did pretty well with the Reds in his brief tenure there, but also because he caught Tom Shearn's first game, and Shearn is quickly becoming one of RHM's faves. It is always nice to see the phrase “Joint Drug,” though that's probably not what they're getting at in this case.

Item two (and a happier one at that): Jay Bruce is the big winner!

DURHAM, N.C. -- Outfielder Jay Bruce, a 20-year-old who mashed his way to 80 extra-base hits and more than 300 total bases in 2007 on his way from Class A to Triple-A, became the first member of the Reds organization to win Baseball America's Minor League Player of the Year award.

Bruce, a first-round pick in 2005 out of a Beaumont, Texas, high school, began his season at Sarasota in the high Class A Florida State League, mashing 11 home runs and 27 doubles in just 67 games while hitting .325. After a .333 showing (with four more homers) at Double-A Chattanooga, he got a promotion to Triple-A Louisville, which was supposed to be temporary. But Bruce never stopped hitting, smacking 11 more home runs in just 50 games in the International League.

Just think: soon young Bruce will be able to join so many other talented young players in squandering the best years of their career being mismanaged with the Reds! No wonder they need the joint drugs.

Item three: Krivsky wins a trade!

BALTIMORE (AP) -Desperate for healthy pitching arms, the Baltimore Orioles purchased the contract of right-hander Victor Santos from the Cincinnati Reds on Friday.

Santos, 30, was 1-4 with a 5.14 ERA in 32 games, all in relief, after making the Reds out of spring training as a non-roster player. He was designated for assignment Aug. 18 and sent outright to Triple-A Louisville, where he was 1-1 with a 1.11 ERA in eight games, including four starts.

I'm quoting Sports Illustrated here because this transaction does not appear to be mentioned on the Reds site. You'd think that they'd want to publicize it, but then again, it does pale in comparison to…

Item four: Griffy's 593rd homer!.
It's drama! It's glory! It's Griffey's unrelenting march to 600! Which won't happen till next year!!

Certainly Griffey will not be able to pull off seven more home runs in the next three weeks, which probably means the Reds will hold on to him till next year. The CTS is upset about that because he'd like to see payroll freed up without getting rid of Dunn, but I wouldn't trust Krivsky to put together a winning team even if he had $100 million to play with. Which brings us to…

Item five: I've been really hard on general manager Wayne Krivsky in this post.

What did you expect me to express regret over that?

The Pirates fired their general manager yesterday.

The Pittsburgh Pirates today announced that General Manager Dave Littlefield has been relieved of his duties effective immediately. Pirates Senior Director of Player Development Brian Graham will serve as interim General Manager until a permanent replacement is found.

First Houston, then Pittsburgh. When is Cincinnati going to get in on this action?

With the Reds enjoying their first off day this month (though you could certainly argue that they've barely been present at a game yet in September), I've got nothing better to do with my leisure sports-watching-time than check out my hometown Colts take on my fellow Boilermaker Drew Brees and the Saints in the NFL opener. I sort of want both sides to win, but mostly I don't care. I obliged the Indianapolis mayor's request to wear Colts gear to work, but I'll be asleep before the game is over and probably won't find out the final score unless someone happens to mention it in the office tomorrow.

I'm working downtown, literally on Monument Circle, where the big Faith Hill and Kelly Clarkson concert happened before the game. Yesterday, the windows in my office building shook so violently during the sound checks that they took the loose interior windows out of their frames. Today, many of my coworkers were staying late at the building to check out the concert from the roof of the building or the window offices. I heard one woman complaining that she tried to get close to the stage before the concert started, but they wouldn't let her in. She said the concert organizers had given passes only to people they thought would look good in crowd shots from the concert that made it on t.v.

As I left the office building at a little after 2 p.m. this afternoon (early to beat the rush of the concert that started at 5:15), the streets were so crowded that I could not walk to the parking garage. I had to push and dodge around the throngs of blue, the people so excited and happy about the start of their sport. And while I care very little about football, the energy of the crowd touched me. I wish I had some excitement about my sport; some reason to hope for the future.

That's awfully glum sounding. Surely there's a bright side here. At least the Reds can't lose tonight.

Have you ever wondered what Adam Dunn would look like in a blue jersey with an ice cream cone on the breast? Ever needed an excuse to make crude comments about his “drumstick”? Ever longed for the opportunity to buy a bunch of ice cream so save up your proofs of purchase for a miniature bat that doesn't even have his name on it?

If so, head to your local purveyor of frozen dairy confections, my friend, for a treat that will tantalize your taste buds, cool your lips, and trigger your anaphylaxis (if you're allergic to peanuts).

Thanks to BubbaFan for the tip:

The Bats' last game is over (Bats won, 8-2) so the Sept. callups were announced:

Todd Coffey, RP
Kirk Saarloos, RP
Brad Salmon, RP
Buck Coats, OF
Ryan Hanigan, C
Joey Votto, 1B

May they make all the difference.

Welcome baseball fans. You're reading the holiday ramblings of a woman too lazy to haul her ass out to Victory Field to see the Bats' last game of the season against the Indians. Hey, this is the day for the workers, and that's me. I've got to take a break from sitting in front of a computer at work to sit in front of a computer at home while the Reds play.

Lovin' this game so far, by the way. Reds up by two in the bottom of the first. Brandon Phillips in posession of 26 steals to go with his 26 homers. And Josh Hamilton was totally under the tag. Great friggin' day.

Go Reds!