Toward the end of June, the baseball season starts to take its toll. I’m not talking about the players, though that may be true as well. I’m talking about me. Many nights the chance to go to the frozen yogurt stand, drink beer during a free summer concert, or (in the case of these Pacific time zone games) go to sleep before dawn somehow just makes it seem less necessary to pay super-close attention to the Reds.

Come January, I’ll find it hard to believe that I ever felt this way.

As if the mid-season doldrums weren’t enough, the Reds are also going through a rough patch right now. They’re 4-6 in their last 10 games. Sure, the Cardinals have also gone 4-6, so the Reds haven’t lost any ground on them, but what about these Pirates? Those guys have put together an 8-2 performance and pulled themselves even with the Cards, leaving the poor Reds 3.5 games out.

The Reds are the defending NLC division champs, and I wondered how this season was looking compared to that one. Amazingly, despite how crummy it feels right now, the Reds actually have 4 more wins than they did on this date last year. In 2012: 41-34. Today: 45-34.

I guess it isn’t the Reds who have changed, so much as the division competition. What the hell is up with these teams? Last year the Pirates were 40-35 and the Cards were 40-36; today they’re both 48-30. A 62% winning percentage almost halfway through the season?? This just isn’t fair.

Even though the Reds are 3.5 games back and in third place their .570 record is bested in all of baseball only by the Cardinals, Pirates, Red Sox, A’s and Rangers. What a treat that the Reds get to face one of those teams this very night when they visit the Rangers. I might go get frozen yogurt. Wake me up when the Giants get to town.