Cincinnati

Aroldis Chapman needs to be playoff eligible. And before anyone starts an inner dialogue—yes, the Reds will be in the playoffs.

Secret weapon. Remember those?

Being a former secret weapon myself, as a cannon-armed quarterback for my flag football team in college, I am fully aware of their value. I remember being down late in a game. I was brought in to start a monumental comeback against the TKE fraternity's team.

I was 3-for-3 with two touchdown passes.

The planets are back in alignment.

After two grand slams, a benches-clearing brawl, a rain delay, and a series to remember, the St. Louis Cardinals have returned to their usual perch atop the National League Central.

“I’d play against these guys with one leg. We have to beat these guys. I hate the Cardinals. All they do is bitch and moan about everything, all of them, they’re little bitches, all of ‘em.

Walt Jocketty, once again, has reached back into his past and grabbed a veteran to bring into the Cincinnati Reds organization.  This time, he has traded away Chris Dickerson to the Milwaukee Brewers for Jim Edmonds. 

Edmonds, now playing for his seventh Major League ballclub in his 16th year as a major leaguer, was hitting .286 with eight home runs and 20 RBI in 73 games for the Brewers.

It was fun while it lasted.  But as scripted, the Reds season is over.

But much like the malaise one feels before the onset of the flu, it's just an all-too-familiar feeling.

Entering Friday, our beloved Redlegs find themselves only 1.5 games behind the division-leading St. Louis Cardinals and a half-game back of the San Francisco Giants for the NL Wild Card.

Non-Reds fans just read that and laughed, maybe thought to themselves, "Has this guy been stealing his Granny's morphine?"

No, only her anti-anxiety medication.

A little over a year removed from having Tommy John surgery, Cincinnati Reds RHP Edinson Volquez is set to make his season debut tomorrow night at home against the Colorado Rockies.

It’s like the Reds are getting a pitcher back without giving up anything.

But what type of pitcher are the Reds getting? Tommy John surgery is pretty common these days, but how do pitchers fare when they first come back from the surgery?

It is much easier to write about the Reds when they are winning and things are going swell.

Unfortunately they are not, making the job of Reds sportswriters more tedious and less therapeutic.

In the last two games they have averaged one run, and you don't win many games 1-0.

Even the best percentage in baseball moving runners from first to third is useless if you leave them stranded at the hot corner.

Miami catcher Yasmani Grandal wasn't supposed to be on the board when the Reds selected at 12th, but when he was, they were quick to pick him up.

Grandal came into the draft as one of the most polished prospects after spending three years at Miami. He has already garnered honors and accolades for his play this year and was named a first team All-American.

The pick looks solid.

Grandal is a safe pick due to his college experience. He is currently batting .412, tops in the ACC, with 14 home runs, and 56 RBIs for the Hurricanes.

Bronson Arroyo was again the victim of bullpen mismanagement.

Arroyo has a knack for being the best pitcher in the Central Division one night and the worst pitcher who ever pitched an inning the next night.

He pitched a very good game Sunday, giving up six hits and two runs in eight strong innings. His day was done, and he left the game trailing 2-1.

Dusty Baker has always been criticized for overusing his starting pitching. Critics point to Kerry Wood and Mark Prior as exhibits A and B. Then there is the whole fiasco with Aaron Harang in May of '08.

I always thought he got a raw deal on that label. Wood's delivery made him destined to screw up his arm, and Prior was simply a one-and-a-half-year wonder. Harang seems fine mechanically; he just hasn't been able to avoid the home run ball.