At last the Reds have hope of getting some help for the left side of the field and the right side of the plate. Ryan Ludwick, who has been on the DL since Opening Day, is finally slated to begin his rehab assignment.

Ludwick tore the labrum in his right shoulder sliding head-first in to third base and surgery was required to correct the problem. It’s been slow-going coming back for the just-turned-35-year-old. Having been 35 for a while myself now, I can understand.

But at last he’s getting back into real games. On Wednesday, he’ll join the Dayton Dragons, who will be playing in Lansing. He can has as long as a 20-day rehab assignment, and if the rehab goes as slowly as everything else, he’ll use it.

Still, “in three weeks” is better than the “never again” in which I thought we might next see Ludwick with the Reds.

Ludwick didn’t have any official at-bats before his injury on Opening Day, but he did draw 2 walks. So, his average for the season is .000 but his OBP is 1.000. Small sample-size fun in August! That’s just an awesome bonus.