MLB Network’s simulcast of the Washington Nationals at Cincinnati Reds “MLB Matinee” game tomorrow, Thursday, July 22, will be available in the Reds’ home television market live at 12:30 p.m. ET/11:30 a.m. CT. MLB Network will carry MASN’s call of the game. Livan Hernandez is scheduled to pitch for the Nationals against the Reds’ Edinson Volquez.

MLB Network is available in Cincinnati on Comcast channels 279 or 258 (HD), Time Warner channels 326 or 1326 (HD) and DirecTV channel 213.

Dang, I wish I didn’t have to work. I’d love to sit home all day and watch baseball.

There was a lovely Scott-Rolen-is-a-Saint story in the Toronto Sun yesterday. It’s about the camp he’s built for kids who are sick or who have sick family members who need a week of outdoorsy fun.

It is not specific to children attacked by one cruel disease.

“It’s for the kid walking home from school, head down, kicking stones,” Rolen said. “He may be healthy, but maybe mom is sick, or his father. It’s for kids who have spent too much time in the hospital.”

The Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis makes the recommendations.

Four cabins have been built, along with a man-made lake. There are paddle boats, a petting zoo, a lodge with a fireplace, two horses, a Little League diamond, a soccer field and a tree house. And they’re not finished.

“My brother, Todd, and I came up with the idea of building a camp for children and their families for a week,” Rolen said. “To have fun, have a blast. Let’s play. ”

That’s what they do.

It’s the kind of do-good-goodness that will have you furtively wiping away a tear before anyone walks by your cube and sees you crying like a little girl.

This little bit, right at the end struck me:

“This game we play, it isn’t real,” Rolen said. “The game has given me great value in my personal life. It’s like I always tell Joey Votto. There’s no karma in baseball: Bad guys can do well in this game. You can be happy in this game and not be happy in life.

“Would you rather be 4-for-4 with, two home runs and knock in six and be divorced? Or would you rather go home to your family?”

I just wonder: why single out Votto for this message? I imagine work-life balance would be particularly challenging when your work *is* a game. What do you do for relaxation? Lay bricks?

It’s been an all-too-common sight at Great American Ball Park: a young stud pitcher taking the mound, awesome in his own rite but forced to waste away on a terrible team. But for a change, we’re not talking about a Red.

Tickets are going fast for Wednesday’s game when Stephen Strasburg leads the Washington Nationals against Bronson Arroyo and the Reds. I clicked the Buy Tickets link and the “Best Available” option that was presented to me was section 303. Gets yours now if you want to make it to this game.

I only left the All-You-Can-Eat Seats ad in the screen grab because I can’t believe they’re still using that graphic. That must be the least appetizing picture of food ever put together by a Photoshop-challenged intern.

Finally, because the Nationals are in town, my mind turns immediately to Adam Dunn and wondering whether a guy that big has really still managed to remain invisible to the media, teams, and fans. On a tip from a guy at work, here’s his line compared to “All-Star” first baseman Ryan Howard:

Just sayin’.

So the Cincinnati Reds lost today and are no longer in first place because the cursed St. Louis Cardinals came back from behind and won. Well, let’s look back to happier times, all the way back to Saturday when the Reds were on the top of the world.

We decided to go to the game in an impromptu fashion, after our previous plans for the day were cancelled when the event we wanted to attend became a sell-out. So of course, we heard on the drive to Cincinnati that the game was a sell-out. We continued, assuming we’d grab standing-room only “seats”. Of course, thos sold out, too, which left us to fend for ourselves in the shady scalped ticket market. The transaction was a success.

Joey Votto seems to be a much less patient hitter since the All Star Break, but he did manage to get on base. Here he is on second.

In case you hadn’t noticed, Jonny Gomes fidgets with his helmet. A lot.

After a great game all around, the Reds high-five each other in the infield. Here, Brandon Phillips plays the “Up high, Down low” game with manager Dusty Baker.

The scoreboard, showing the success of Edinson Volquez’s first outing after a year away from the game. If he can pitch 7 innings of ball like he did last night for the rest of the year, the Reds will be in good shape.

Of course, after this game, the Reds were hoping for a sweep which didn’t happen despite another great pitching performance from Travis Wood. Maybe next time the team will score any runs for him. Still, it is weird to be disappointed that the Reds didn’t sweep the series. They did take 2 of 3, after all. Slightly unhappy with series wins, sell-out baseball games. I tell you what, I’m not used to this winning stuff. It certainly makes spur-of-the-moment trips to the ballpark trickier.