Reds right-hander Brian Moehler was activated Friday, after a stint on the disabled list for inflammation in his shoulder. He will work out of the bullpen, which Moehler says is fine with him.

        He's a free agent after this season.

        “But I haven't even thought about that,” Moehler said. “I don't even know when people file.”

        BUTTERFLIES ARE FREE: Jared Fernandez leaves no stones unturned in pursuit of information from his fellow knuckleballers. The Reds righty has picked the knuckleballing brains of, among others, Phil and Joe Niekro, Tim Wakefield and Steve Sparks.

        Steve Sparks? Yes, the Detroit Tigers starter. Where did Fernandez run into him? In winter ball. In Australia. The kicker is that Sparks wasn't even in winter ball, but Fernandez was.

        “Sparks was there with his church,” Fernandez said. “I heard he was over there, and I tracked him down.”

        Fernandez has good versatility in that his best work is as a starter, but he also can relieve in between starts. He has been throwing to Reds catcher Jason LaRue, who has worked to improve on handling Fernandez's knuckler.

        SILKY SILVA: Right-hander Jose Silva, who has pitched five scoreless innings since coming off the disabled list Sept.1, said he'd love to be with the Reds next season, but he isn't looking ahead.

        “I just want to stay healthy through the final month, have a good winter ball and then see where I am,” Silva said. “My arm feels good. That's the important thing. My mechanics are better than ever. That's the best thing to come out of this (the arm injuries).”

        THIS AND THAT: Reds slugger Adam Dunn drew two more bases on balls Friday.

        With 10 more walks, Dunn - who already has the Reds club record for strikeouts (153) - would become only the second active major-leaguer to hold his club's single-season record for walks and strikeouts. The other is the Cleveland Indians' Jim Thome.

        Speaking of the Indians, Reds medical director Tim Kremchek is branching out. He's doing shoulder surgery on Cleveland outfielder Matt Lawton on Tuesday.

Cubs 7, Reds 6 Reds Box, Runs Branyan's pop becomes legend Reds Notebook: Moehler relegated to bullpen Cubs' McGriff savors 1,500th RBI Cardinals 3, Astros 2 Giants take wild-card lead Rockies 5, Dodgers 4 Brewers 8, Diamondbacks 4 Angels 3, Rangers 2 Athletics 5, Mariners 0

Browns' defense reeling
Holcomb to start against Bengals
Bengals tight ends disappear in opener
Bengals Notebook: More changes on defense
NFL Injury Report
UC hungry to beat big-name foe
Ex-Bearcat Johnson hurt in crash
Miami rates LSU tougher foe than Iowa
Morgan St. pair come home for River Front Classic
Ohio St., Wash. St. put big dreams on the line
Turfway races step toward Breeders' Cup
Football scores & game reports
How Enquirer poll teams fared

• Return to Reds front page...