It’s amazing how long you can talk about a team that didn’t do much of anything at the trade deadline or—really—all season long. Heck, you’ve got to talk about something in a marriage, and a person’s love of broccoli is only good for so many hours of conversation.

This week on the podcast we discuss:

• Moves not made at the trade deadline
• Transactions made today (most of them bad)
• The Reds creeping slowly up the standings, all the way into fifth place. Though, to be fair, it’s not as if they could have slid down any lower.
• The wormhole that will open in space to obliterate the Earth if the Cubs overtake the Brewers at the top of the division.
• Reds Heads related activities and the Screaming Mimes concert going on in Cincinnati this weekend.

Oh, and I also make fun of Bronson Arroyo‘s hair. It looks like something Candace Cameron wore circa 1996.

Episode 70: Transactions that Were and that Should Have Been (27.3MB, 39:46)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Tonight I finally emerged from my Harry Potter novel, bleary-eyed and squinting in the bright-light that is the baseball world, to chat with the CTS about the goings on of our favorite team. The conversation meandered quite a bit, but I’m sure we covered the basics:

• The deal that sent Brian “Love” Shackelford to Tampa Bay in exchange for Jorge Cantu
• The deal that sent Kyle Lohse to Philly in exchange for Matt “Abalone” Maloney
• The likelihood of anything else happening.
• The rise to prominence of some familiar fan faces in the Cincinnati media
• The standings in the NLC

Episode 69: The Day Before the Deadline (22.0MB, 32:07)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Amazing how you can wonder what on earth you’ll talk about before you start the podcast only to suddenly find yourself wrapping up 30 minutes later. There’s some fluff in there, but the meat of the Reds conversation is about trade rumors, trade possibilities, and the trade scenarios under which general manager Wayne Krivsky should be fired.

Episode 68: Trade Rumors (20.5MB, 29:53)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Last year at this time, Austin Kearns and Felipe Lopez were already in Washington in exchange for a couple middle relievers who wouldn’t even be on the Reds’ Opening Day roster the following year. If there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s that we can’t wait until the last minute to start talking about trades for this team. Before we know it, it could be too late!

It’s clear that the Reds are in a good position to be sellers this season, and there are a few obvious wares to try to sell. There are also a handful of untouchables and a few guys who could go if the price is right. Time will tell whether general manager Wayne “Kriv-dawg” Krivsky can tell the difference, whether he can correctly identify the right price, and whether he’ll be too gun-shy after last year’s trade deadline debacle to pull the trigger at all.

This week on the Red Hot Broadcast, Jon and I discuss whom we believe to be untouchable, salable, and in-between and what we think would be an appropriate price. We also talk a little about tonight’s game (since it was still going on as we recorded), the standings in the NLC (the Astros have beat out the Pirates for second-worst in the division), and my on-going job search (no, I’m not interested in relocating to Portland for a 6-month contract).

Episode 67: Anticipating the Trade Deadline (20.6MB, 30:06)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Tonight the Crack Technical Staff and I let the Home Run Derby play on in the background while we did the podcasting thing. Topics include:

• Why I’m feeling glum
• Homer Bailey resting up for the inevitable mysterious DL trip that will allow him to be back in Cincy in time for his next start
• My enormous head
• Ramona the Pest (no, it’s not a new nickname for David Eckstein)
• Wondering why Adam Dunn isn’t in the derby. Probably because he’d be the first contestant ever to be called out on strikes
• The NLC standings going into the break
• How well will Pete Mackanin have to do to get hired for 2008?
• How things are looking to shake out the rest of the year

Episode 66: Reporting Live In Front of the Home Run Derby (17.5MB, 25:30)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download