Marc says that the Reds have signed yet another player to a 1-year deal; this time it was Austin Kearns:

Continuing their transaction frenzy, the Reds have signed Austin Kearns to a one-year, $1.85 million deal.

Once again, that sounds like a pretty good number for the team. The Reds paid Kearns and Wily Mo Pena a combined $1.37 million last season and will pay the two outfielders a combined $3.1 million this year with more playing time all but guaranteed and much more production expected. If they follow through, the Reds will have some pretty good bang for their buck there.

I'm pleased. Kearns is among my favorites.

P.S. - I had said yesterday that I expected people to complain about the Valentín signing because it didn't deal with the pitching. I didn't call it: in fact, people are bitching about the Valentín signing because it wasn't a deal for Dunn. I suspect that people won't bitch about the Kearns deal, though, even though the same reason applies.

Marc says that the Reds signed catcher Javier Valentín this morning:

The Reds have avoided arbitration with Javier Valentin and signed him to a one-year, $1.15 million deal.

With Jason LaRue's signing just before Christmas, the Reds have brought back the most productive catcher duo in the majors (.268, 28 HR, 110 RBI between them) for just over $5 million this season. They made $3.45 million last year, so the Reds really couldn't have asked for more when it comes to the finances.

And before we knew it, they'd also signed Wily Mo Peña for a year for $1.25 million.

No word yet on why these are huge mistakes by O'Brien, but I'm confident that someone soon will come up with a reason. I imagine it will be something along the lines of “We shouldn't be wasting time signing yet another catcher when what we really need is pitchers” for Valentín and “We don't need crybaby players who whine to the press when they're unhappy about playing time” for Peña.

LAS VEGAS, NV -- Pete Rose has volunteered to fill in at the kissing booth left vacant by Adam Dunn this weekend for 50 percent of the proceeds.

The kissing booth was intended to be a fundraising event held in coordination with Cory Lidle's Celebrity Poker Tournament this weekend. Dunn was scheduled to man the booth Monday morning but said he backed out of the event because “nerdy guys started lining up” days in advance of his appearance.

Rose, who is in town anyway autographing memorabilia in a local shopping mall, is not concerned about the masculine contingent joining the queue at the kissing booth.

“I don't mind the men,” said Rose, “because I get to charge them more.”

Rose will man the booth from 7 to 11 a.m. Monday in the lobby of The Paris hotel. The charge is $250 for women and $500 for men. Part of the proceeds will benefit the Make-a-Wish Foundation while the rest will cement Rose's legacy as a sad, sad man.

Despite the Pittsburgh Steelers' repeated efforts to give away the game in the fourth quarter, the Colts demonstrated their superior choking ability this afternoon with an 18-21 loss in Indianapolis.

There are going to be some really bummed out people at work on Tuesday. But at least New England lost, too.

CINCINNATI, OH -- A Cincinnati Reds fan and frequent message board poster used his precognitive powers to select the winning lotto numbers this week to win a $250 prize.

“After I foretold the loss of the Reds' season because [Reds' General Manager Dan] O'Brien signed [infielder Rich] Aurilia, I knew I had the gift,” said the lotto winner, Mel O. Drama. “So I bought a ticket.”

He bought 300 $1 tickets, actually. “It's not luck,” said Drama. “It's clairvoyance.”

Dunn Cancels Kissing Booth
Adam Dunn, the Reds' popular outfielder-cum-first-baseman, cancelled plans to man a kissing booth for the Make-A-Wish Foundation during Cory Lidle's Celebrity Poker Tournament in Las Vegas this weekend.

“It sounded like a good way to meet some hot chicks, but these nerdy guys started lining up on Wednesday.” said Dunn. “It was freaky; they were all muttering about on base percentage.”

Dunn's fans were disappointed.

“But it's for the kids!” exclaimed one man in queue.

Old Guys Inducted into Reds Hall of Fame
Tom Browning and two other people you've never heard of were selected to join the Reds Hall of Fame this week. The three old guys will be inducted during a pregame ceremony at Great American Ball Park later this summer.