I'm real tired tonight after all the excitement of watching the Reds go up and down with the Braves to finally take home a win, but I wanted to post real quick to say how much I appreciate the effort that the Reds' bullpen has been putting in these last few games. Do you realize that the starter was only one to allow any runs tonight? And he was in less than five innings!

Jared Burton has bandaged the seeping wound that was the Reds' eighth inning, and Bill Bray can't touch the ball without getting the win. Add in David Weathers, and you're almost halfway to a bullpen.

In other reliever news:

Prior to tonight's game the Reds selected from Class AAA Louisville the contract of RHP Kirk Saarloos and optioned to Louisville LHP Phil Dumatrait.

Also, RHP Victor Santos, who was designated for assignment on Saturday, cleared waivers and was outrighted to Louisville.

Dumatrait went 0-2, 14.18 in his 4 starts for the Reds.

Santos went 1-4, 5.14 in 32 relief appearances for the Reds.

I'd like to see Jon “Cooter” Coutlangus come back up. I'm aware that the Reds think they need a “righty” for certain situations, but I think they might consider, instead, a “guy who can get batters out.”

Tonight on the podcast, a glum Crack Technical Staff and I talk about the trade of Jeff Conine, the 14-4 drubbing the Reds were taking at the hands of the Braves, and the reasons why Juan Castro is the perfect representation of the Reds organization.

Short and sweet. Unlike Mike Stanton outings.

Episode 73: Juan Castro IS the Face of the Reds (11.1MB, 16:15)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

CINCINNATI -- Cincinnati Reds Executive Vice President and General Manager Wayne Krivsky today announced the acquisition of SS Jose Castro and OF Sean Henry from the New York Mets in exchange for IF/OF Jeff Conine.

IF/OF Jorge Cantu will be recalled from Louisville to take Conine's spot on the roster. Castro and Henry will be assigned to Class AA Chattanooga.

Castro, 20, this season batted .318 with 2 HR, 25 RBI and 7 stolen bases for Class A St. Lucie. He ranked second in the Florida State League in batting average.

Henry, who turned 22 on Wednesday, hit .293 with 26 doubles, 7 triples, 11 HR, 57 RBI and 18 stolen bases in 114 games at St. Lucie. He is tied for first in the FSL in hits (132) and tied for third in triples.

Conine, 41, this season for the Reds hit .265 with 6 HR and 32 RBI in 80 games and 50 starts for the Reds.

Cantu, 25, on July 28 was acquired from the Devil Rays, along with OF Shaun Cumberland and cash, in exchange for RHP Calvin Medlock, LHP Brian Shackelford and future considerations. In 24 games at Class AAA Louisville he hit .309 with 2 HR and 13 RBI.

If you wanted to ditch Adam Dunn's salary in hopes of picking up Carlos Zambrano, I'm afraid your dreams are dashed…

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Cubs and pitcher Carlos Zambrano have agreed to terms on a five-year contract extension with a vesting option for a sixth year that keeps the right-hander with the club through at least the 2012 campaign. Zambrano, who signed with the club as a non-drafted free agent on July 12, 1997, has spent his entire 10-season professional career in the Cubs organization. Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed.

Zambrano, 26, owns a 78-51 career record with a 3.37 ERA (429 ER/1145.0 IP) in 193 games (172 starts) with the Cubs since making his Major League debut in 2001. His .605 career winning percentage ranks 10th in franchise history (min. 120 decisions) while his 1,004 strikeouts rank 11th and his 7.90 strikeouts per 9.0 innings pitched as a starter rank fourth in club annals (min. 500.0 IP).

The Puerto Cabello, Venezuela native is a two-time National League All-Star, earning the honor in 2004 and 2006. At 23 years old in 2004, he became the youngest Cub in franchise history to pitch in a Mid-Summer Classic. In addition to his All-Star honors, Zambrano is a three-time National League Pitcher of the month award winner, earning the honor in September 2004, July 2006 and July 2007.

This season, Zambrano is tied for the National League lead with 14 victories while his 168.0 innings pitched ranks fourth, his 139 strikeouts rank fifth and his .231 batting average against ranks sixth. His 1.38 ERA (6 ER/39.0 IP) in July led the majors while his five victories were tied for the Major League lead and helped him earn N.L. Pitcher of the Month honors.

In 2006, Zambrano set a career high with 210 strikeouts while tying his career mark with 16 victories. He ranked second in the N.L. with a .208 batting average against and a 2.97 road ERA while his .696 winning percentage (16-7) was third and his 210 strikeouts ranked fourth. The .696 winning percentage was the highest for a pitcher on a last place team since Roger Clemens went 21-7 (.750) for the 1997 Toronto Blue Jays.

Zambrano put together a career-high, nine-game winning streak from June 5-July 30 last season, becoming just the third Cubs pitcher to win at least eight straight decisions since the start of the 1985 season. In addition, he became the first Cubs pitcher since 1995 to record a 10-game road winning streak, as he went 10-0 from Aug. 17, 2005-July 25, 2006. He joined Steve Trachsel as the only Cubs hurlers to accomplish the feat since 1930.

Zambrano has belted 12 career home runs, which ranks tied for second-most among pitchers in Cubs franchise history. His six long balls in 2006 tied the franchise record for most in a season by a hurler with Fergie Jenkins, who accomplished the feat in 1971. Zambrano also drove in 11 runs in 2006 en route to earning N.L. Silver Slugger Award honors.

Zambrano made his Major League debut as a 20 year old Aug. 20, 2001. He became the first player born during the decade of the 1980s to appear in a game for the Cubs.

Hey, there's always a bright side, even to a rough outing by Aaron Harang. Finally, the beat reporters can stop trying to come up with different ways to say “boy, this bullpen stinks.”

Though, now that I think about it, the bullpen hasn't had a chance to outstink Harang yet. It could still be more of the same.

On an unrelated note, who hates the idea of a Big 10 network besides me? I'm not a Big 10 fan by any stretch of the imagination, but I'll tune in to see a Purdue game on Saturdays. I've got a sinking feeling my casual college football following is soon to be at an end.

And while we're talking about ideas we hate, who was it who was talking about the length of Mike Stanton's contract? Ah, here it is, thank you John Fay. Stanton's entitled to $3 million next year, plus an option for 2009 with a $500,000 buyout. Ugh.

Woo, Adam Dunn just hit a 2-run homer. Do we really want to let this guy go free agent after this season just so Krivsky can lock up eight more Stanton's for the next three years?