I’m kicking myself for wasting a perfectly good vacation day last week to see the Reds play a day game. The NL Central contenders looked like zombies and it was 150 degrees — almost too hot to drink beer. My buddies and I stayed in our seats for a half hour before finding shade. It’s not a good sign when the group begins talking about the casino in the third inning.

Valuable hamstring: Will the Reds make the playoffs? I’ve been asked that question a time or 20. My answer: They have a great chance — if Scott Rolen’s barking hamstring cooperates.

Rolen is a great player, but he’s a fragile 35. I remember watching him play years ago in the Indiana-Kentucky All-Star Game. It was a basketball game. He had a scholarship offer from Georgia, I recall, but turned it down to play baseball. The point is, Rolen is a great athlete and will find a way to contribute. If he’s healthy.

Bruce vs. Kearns: Is Jay Bruce the next Austin Kearns, minus the ears? The Reds’ struggling right fielder is only 23, but that excuse is getting old. Bruce has played more than 300 games with 1,100-plus at-bats. How many games do you need to understand the strike zone?

Bruce, the No. 12 pick in the 2005 draft, is a career .247 hitter with 53 home runs.

Kearns, 30, has a .257 career average with 113 home runs in nine seasons. He’s made more than $20 million trying to fulfill the promise that made him the No. 7 pick in the 1998 draft.

To-do list: It’s the last week of July and I’ve barely scratched my summer bucket list. I haven’t read a good book, felt sand between my toes or learned how to quilt. Worse yet, I’ve yet to see “Hot Tub Time Machine.”

My wife suggested the other night that we watch “The Bridges of Madison County.” Hey, if I’m going to watch Clint Eastwood it’s going to be in “Gran Torino.”

The heater: Speaking of movies, James Gammon, better known as Lou Brown from the 1989 classic “Major League,” recently passed away at age 70.

I loved the scene in which the Indians call Lou and ask him if he’s interested in managing. Lou, working at a tire store, says: “Let me get back to you, will ya, Charlie? I got a guy on the other line asking about some white walls.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2163 or bkollars@DaytonDailyNews.com.