Reds’ pitcher and stuck-in-the-90s poster child Bronson Arroyo played the Fan Cave recently. I thought there was no way the Fan Cave could top the Brandon Phillips eating weird gourmet foods video, but this one did have me laughing out loud, particularly when Aroldis Chapman made his appearance.

Reds hooded sweatshirt. It’s so goofy it’s good.

Veteran third baseman Scott Rolen has been penciled in to the line-up tonight for the first time since his stint on the 15-day disabled list that started 37 days ago on May 12. As of now, no corresponding roster moves have been announced, but I’d guess they’ll option Negron.

Rolen’s strained left shoulder is apparently feeling much better: he smacked a 3-run home run last night on rehab assignment with the AAA Louisville Bats. They were playing the Rochester Red Wings, who are truly, truly terrible, but it’s still something to be hopeful about, since Rolen was hitting a big fat .174 when he got hurt.

Rolen’s timing may be great or it may be really crappy. On the one hand, the Reds have been totally killing it lately. They’re on a 6-game winning streak that ties their longest streak of the year. But does that mean that they’re likely to keep it rollin’ with Rolen, or that they’re due for a loss at the hands of the already fired-up Derek Lowe and the Indians?

I’ll point out this: the Reds are 9-13 in games where Rolen started at third base. Meanwhile, the Reds are 21-11 in games where Todd Frazier started at third. At least Todd Frazier isn’t entirely the odd man out tonight, though. Since they’re playing in an AL park, there’s space for him on the line-up card under DH.

There’s a secondary headline in a story on Reds.com today about how Dusty Baker is mentoring his guys through their struggles with hitting with runners in scoring position. It actually paints Baker in a pretty good light, especially considering that many times when he opens his mouth it’s to say really stupid things.

This time, though, he was saying how young guys come up and don’t know to think about what the pitcher is trying to do to them. Knowing if the guy is trying to strike you out, pop you up, or keep you on the ground can give you an advantage in your approach.

Sounds pretty smart to me. And then, this:

“Over the years since I’ve been here, I’ve tried to tell the guys the same thing that was told to me. The RBI man is a big man,” Baker said. “Everybody talks about on-base percentage, which is important. But even more important is when you get them out there, how many RBI men are around?”

Sing it from the hilltops, my friends: on-base percentage is important, at least in a subordinate clause kind of way. At this rate, we might even hear him utter that walks don’t clog the bases. You know, sometime before the end of this century.

The Reds notebook today features an article that apparently gives Bronson Arroyo much of the credit for the Reds’ starters’ durability so far this year.

Bronson Arroyo has never missed a start in his life – Little League, high school, minors, majors. He thinks the young guys in the rotation, particularly Johnny Cueto and Homer Bailey, have noticed that his very regimented routine works.

It’s true that the Reds have had a consistent rotation. They’re 55 games into the season and it’s been the same five guys taking their turn on the mound since the beginning. Only three other teams in the majors can make the same claim. But how much of a benefit is it?

• The Reds have a 31-25 record and sit atop the NLC.
• The Marlins have a 31-26 record and are unlucky enough to be in the NLE, where that gets them fourth.
• The Cardinals have a 30-28 record and are tied for second in the NLC.
• The Mariners are 26-33 and last in the ALW.

So the preliminary evidence is inconclusive on whether having a consistent rotation is important to performance. It makes the manager’s job easier and lets the AAA guys have some more development time, but when it comes to the team’s record, there isn’t an obvious correlation between fewer starters and more wins.

I would also point out that the timing is a little wonky for the taking of credit. Arroyo says:

Consciously or subconsciously, they’ve seen what I’ve done over the years…They say, ‘Hey, this guy makes all his starts.’…There’s no doubt in my mind it’s made them more consistent and allowed them to toe the rubber every fifth day.

• Bronson Arroyo has been with the Reds since 2006
• Homer Bailey has been with the team since 2007
• Johnny Cueto has been with the team since 2008

It seems like if anyone starter was going to take credit for changes to the culture of the rotation, it’d be Mat Latos, since this is the year it changed and the year he arrived. On the other hand, maybe it just takes 4-5 years for Arroyo’s magic to start to take its effect. He might also explain the 43 home runs the starters have already allowed this year.

The Reds sent Mat Latos, Chris Heisey, and Zack Cozart to the Cincinnati Zoo yesterday as part of the “Zoo Day” festivities. This apparently involved hosing down an elephant.

I only saw this photo on Facebook. Apparently other news outlets aren’t covering this important story. The comments on the photo are the best:

• 1/3 people ripping on Latos
• 1/3 people defending Latos
• 1/3 women saying how hot Heisey is (I don’t disagree, but I don’t think this is the picture where I’d be saying it, what with him all squinty an in baggy jeans).

Plus, the obligatory dumbass saying, “they shouldn’t be wasting time at the zoo. They should be concentrating on the game!” Because if there’s one thing we all know about our jobs it’s that we should all be doing them 24/7.

There’s also this uninformative video from the event as well. I mean, they tell us that the guys answered the “what’s your favorite animal?” question, but then they don’t tell us the answer! Maybe they’re saving that for the next video.