We got here with just a couple hours remaining, but still got some photos.

The autograph is from Mesoraco. The other two are kids’ activities: run a base and the bungee run.

Wish you were here!

In the continuing effort to catch the heck up on what’s been going on with the team, I’ve copied and pasted the lead from a recent story on Reds.com:

CINCINNATI — Prior to Friday’s deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 Draft, the Reds added six to their 40-man roster.

Added were infielders Neftali Soto, Didi Gregorius, Donald Lutz and Henry Rodriguez and right-handed pitchers Kyle Lotzkar and Pedro Villarreal.

Cincinnati’s 40-man roster is now full.

I knew a guy named Villarreal when I was in elementary school. He was kind of a dick, even in fifth grade. I’m sure Pedro is much nicer.

I’ve been out of the state all week, and am now catching up on some old stuff, which is why you’re seeing this old news here now. Even half a week late, though, I think it’s worth pointing out.

The Reds had been scheduled to open the season on Friday, April 6. But thanks to some special finagling, they’ll now be playing the day before (Thursday, April 5) at 4:10 p.m. They’ll be taking on the Marlins after the big Opening Day Parade:

“We want to thank Major League Baseball, the MLB Players Association and the Reds and Marlins players for agreeing to move Opening Day to Thursday, April 5,” said Bob Castellini, Reds President and CEO. “Opening Day is a long-standing tradition for this team, our fans and the City of Cincinnati and we are pleased that parade and game will now be on Thursday.”

It’ll be here before you know it.

While there’s still Chris Heisey’s Breakout Player of the Year award still to talk about, today, I’m looking outside the sphere of Reds-ness and checking out the happenings in the parallel universe of all the other teams.

I know it’s old news by now, but dammit, the Cubs are interviewing Pete Mackanin for their general manager position, and wouldn’t it just be fitting for them to hire him. Then the Reds would be sporting an old Cubs manager and the Cubs would be sporting an old Reds (interim) manager. I don’t know whether Mackanin would be a winning coach in Chicago–there’s an awful lot of suckinertia to overcome there–but wouldn’t that just be typical.

In news that puts that last news into stark perspective, the Washington Nationals have had a player kidnapped in his home country of Venezuela:

Wilson Ramos, one of the Washington Nationals’ most promising young baseball players, was kidnapped at gunpoint Wednesday night from his family’s home in Venezuela, leaving the team in a state of shock and raising questions about the safety of playing in a country ravaged in recent years by kidnappings and street crime.

Last night word came out that Ramos was returned safely. Happy! Hopefully this will be a warning to other players to be on their guard and prevent anything worse from happening in the future.

And finally, back to more typical news of baseball, Albert Pujols is in Florida this weekend talking with the Marlins and touring their baseball facilities. I suppose that shouldn’t be a surprise–seeing as this is the *only* time of the year Prince Albert is willing to talk contracts and all–it’s just funny to think of the Marlins organization coming out in force to woo one player. It’s not like he’s enough to win the WS by himse–actually, maybe it’s not that funny after all.

The 2011 baseball season is finally at an end. And while I know I’ll soon be feeling that emptiness that comes from evenings without baseball playing in the background of my life, for the moment I’m glad to see it go. Seeing such a terrible Cardinals team win the whole thing gives me that same why-bother-to-care-about-anything feeling that I got when Richard Hatch won the first Survivor.

Once that’s past, though, it’ll be time for the introspection and analysis of 2011 and the high hopes for 2012. Soon we’ll be talking hot stove stuff, the hope of a new season still literally months away from being dashed. This is the stuff that makes blogging in the off-season more interesting than blogging during the season, especially if you’re a Reds blog.