Right about now, I’m bored with not seeing the Cincinnati Reds playing every night. The All Star game was, for the first time in decades, an interesting baseball game again, which makes the absence of anything baseball-related the day after that much worse. And to rub salt into the wound, the Reds have an off day today.

What’s a guy supposed to do? Engage with his family? Work on the to-do list around the house? Gah! being productive is for losers.

Instead, I’ll round up some recent Reds news.

• Joey Votto gave us some entertainment yesterday with a quote about the Cubs. Reds fans seem for it; Cubs fans are against. Betcha you couldn’t have seen that one coming.
• Also in All-Joey-All-the-Time news, Votto was voted the first-half National League Most Valuable Player by a survey of players. Arthur Rhodes also picked up the top reliever honors. Hopefully, they don’t let it go to their heads. I’d love for them to keep performing as they have.
• In some non-Joey news, the Reds missed out on trading for super-awesome pitcher of the year Cliff Lee to those dastardly Texas Rangers. Still, the team does have an ace of sorts to add in the second half. Edinson Volquez has been rehabbing in the minors for the last month and is finally ready. He’s throwing harder than he ever has before, and he was dominant in his final start in AAA, throwing 7 innings of shutout, 1-hit ball. I know it’s the minors, but that’s how I’d expect a healthy, Cy Young-caliber pitcher to treat minor leaguers. As awesome as a major acquisition would be, Volquez should do nothing to hurt the already solid starting rotation.
• Unlike Volquez, lefty Cuban phenom Aroldis Chapman is unlikely to make the move to the Bigs soon. I’m okay with this. Outside of Francisco Cordero, the bullpen has been solid lately, and Chapman’s use in the bullpen in Louisville has not been perfect by any stretch. Chapman is wild still, and only lots of practice and repetition in the minors will improve that. Besides, I wouldn’t feel any more comfortable with Chapman closing out games than Cordero. I do reserve the right to change my opinion regarding that at any point, though, especially after CoCo blows another one.
• Lastly, there’s a new documentary in town. This time, it’s just about Pete Rose the baseball player, not Pete Rose the lying, cheating scumbag who deserves the expulsion from baseball and the Hall of Fame. Rose was an excellent player, certainly the best hitter ever, and I would be interested in seeing a film that showcases that. It’s easy to lose sight of his baseball skills when constantly being confronted with what he’s become.

Thankfully, there’s just one more day of inactivity for the Reds. At least the Cardinals play tonight. It’s always fun to root against them, but even more so this year.