The Screaming Mimes perform “Three Cheers Cincinnati” at Redsfest in December 2006. It's not a bad performance, especially considering the severe audio problems they were having and the fact that the whole band was running around trying to orchestrate the event up until the minute they went on stage. The rendition isn't quite as good as the one you'll hear on Cincinnati Clutch Hits, but it does feature some awkward video of the crowd, sadly lacking shots of RHM. Dude, I had pom poms and everything.

I just heard on the radio this morning that the Reds Caravan will be stopping in Muncie this year on Saturday, January 27. They'll be at Damon's from 3:30-5:30. Scheduled to appear: Todd Coffey, Thom Brennaman, and Red Hot Mama.

The Reds were up-and-down in the month of August. Overall, their play was sub-par, but the play of everyone else in the division was even subber-par, so they kept floating near the top of the division and always contending for the wild card. For me personally, August was a pretty rotten month.

August
The month began with a family emergency that had Joel filling in a primary blogger for a couple games. I'd been trying to convince him to write for RHM for the longest time, but apparently he didn't love it enough to stay. Maybe someday…

On August 7, the Reds put Gary Majewski on the DL with shoulder inflammation. That sort-of explained why he'd pitched so poorly since he'd joined the team, but didn't explain why Krivsky had traded for him in the first place. We would later learn that Kriv-dawg hadn't known that Majewski was damaged goods, and this off-season, the team was supposed to file a grievance with MLB over the matter.

Ryan Freel went on a tear in August, including making the most amazing outfield catch of the season. This catch not only robbed Albert Pujols of an extra-base hit, but also gave Freel the opportunity to tell the world about the midget in his head named Farney.

Bronson Arroyo hit rock-bottom in August. After being the first Reds pitcher to nine wins, it took eleven failed attempts before he got win number 10. He even got the cornrows back, but nothing worked. The whole adventure would inspire some fake news about a pretend new album.

This was the month the Reds announce that Steve Stewart would not return to the broadcast booth the next season. The Reds tinker with their broadcasters more than they tinker with their line-up. I'm not convinced that either is better for all the tinkering.

In RHM news, I thought it would be funny to poke fun at the outrageous success of the game threads at Red Reporter. Some people got that the smack talk was affectionate, but not all. The whole thing just made things weird between JD and me for the longest time. A valuable lesson to keep the smack talking to other teams, I reckon.

The Reds' record for August was 12-17, allowing them to end the month at 67-67 with a six-game losing streak. Being at .500 at the end of August would usually be great for the Reds, but the season was starting to feel like it was slipping away.

No, not Chris Denorfia, but he is lately of the Reds. They've signed Alex Sanchez, who was released from the Louisville Bats last June.

Desperate for an affordable but experienced center fielder, the Marlins are taking a chance on the first player disciplined in 2005 under baseball's toughened steroids rules.

Alex Sanchez, a career .297 hitter with speed but questionable defense, will compete for the center field spot in spring training after signing a minor-league deal Friday.

I guess “desperate” is the key word. They want someone with a good glove to cover their cavernous outfield; a guy with “questionable defense” doesn't seem to fill the bill. Not to mention one who hasn't hit nearly as well since he was busted for steroids use.

July
Bronson Arroyo was the only Red selected for the All-Star Game, unless you count Jerry Narron. Arroyo was rumored to have spent his all-star time partying with friends and even, reportedly, asked not to be used in the game. He was, but none of it seemed to matter. He was stuck at 9 wins before the game, and that streak lasted well into August.

But it wasn't just Arroyo's inability to put a game away that was keeping the Reds down. Jerry Narron's inexplicable approach to bullpen management was in full swing in July. Here's an example. And another one.

When players started quietly complaining that the fans were booing too much, even though they were doing so much better than last season, I pulled one of my occasional Dave Barry impressions. Ah, cuneiform.

Brian “Love” Shackelford was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault in Milwaukee after a game. Charges were never filed, but the team had to option him to Louisville when he was being held in custody to make room for a replacement lefty reliever. The bullpen was shaky enough as it was; they couldn't be going into games short an arm.

This was the month the Reds released the McCracken. In another positive move, they traded Travis Chick for Eddie Guardado.

By this time, we were ready for a little comedy. If you go to a mall 10 miles away from your team's stadium and can't find a single team t-shirt…you might be a Reds' fan.

Instead, we got The Trade. Selling off the future of the team for help right now that didn't turn out to help that much. But at least we were the winners.

They ended the month round about the 55-51 mark, win-loss-wise, and we were getting a mite frustrated in Cincinnati fandom. But don't worry: a solid argument could be made that things got worse in August.