Last year was a down year. A down year for the Reds, and a down year for my relationship with baseball. I’ve loved baseball since I was a little boy, thanks to the influence of my grandfather and brother. I’ve lived and breathed the sport and the Reds – counting the days until Opening Day, reading about it and (inconsistently) writing about it – for as long as I can remember.

Last year felt different. It took some time to figure out what it was exactly. Could it have been the fact that the Reds had a bad year? Well, that certainly doesn’t help things but this is the Reds we’re talking about – they’ve been bad for most of my life, and that never made me love them any less. Could it have been my new, very busy life in New York? Doubtful. For me at least, being busy has never gotten in the way of sports.

So, why? What happened? Basketball happened.

All of a sudden, basketball – a sport I always loved but never nearly as much as I did baseball – entranced me. I started watching random League Pass games, reading about the NBA incessantly on Grantland and, most recently, listening to podcasts about the sport in my spare time. And the interesting part was that my favorite team, the Boston Celtics, weren’t even good! They were terrible, actually. It was the entire league that intrigued me. I couldn’t get enough of watching guys like Steph Curry, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook put on a show any given night.

Major League Baseball, on the other hand, was starting to bore me. I still followed the Reds, but I simply didn’t care about the rest of the league. I tried. Believe me, I tried. I tried reading Jonah Keri’s Grantland columns. I tried watching non-Reds games on MLBTV here and there. It just wasn’t doing it for me. Who cares about, for example, the NL West division race? JUST SHOW ME MORE CHEF CURRY HIGHLIGHTS!

Even the Reds weren’t getting a lot of my attention. Joey Votto was hurt again. Jay Bruce had the worst season of his career. Home Bailey had a disappointing season after a massive 7-year, $100 million contract extension. We had the same ole players, and it felt like we were going in reverse. For the first time I can remember, the Reds just weren’t that fun to watch.

Things changed a bit a few months ago, when Walt Jocketty made a couple of shocking, game-changing trades in one day. In other words, he did something that he rarely does. Mat Latos was shipped off to sunny Miami for an intriguing young starter, Anthony Desclafani, and catching prospect Chad Wallach. Alfredo Simon was sent to Detroit for shortstop Eugenio Suarez and pitching prospect Jonathon Crawford. Just like that, 2/5 of our starting rotation – gone. While they weren’t the type of major trades that will get you to dream of the NL Pennant, they were great hauls, especially for what Latos and Simon were becoming – overrated and soon-to-be free agents. It also allowed Bryan Price to have a lot more room for creativity with the rotation, which all of a sudden was as deep as it’s been in years. The baseball nerd in me was excited.

Not long after Latos and Simon left Cincy, Jocketty traded for Marlon Byrd, a veteran power-hitting outfielder. Byrd is no world-beater, but he can hit homers and, if Jay Bruce can have a comeback year (good hitters don’t just forget how to hit before they turn 30 – he’ll be fine) and Devin Mesoraco and Todd Frazier can build on the breakout years they had in 2014, the Reds might finally have some real protection in the lineup for Joey Votto.

These moves got me pumped for 2015. It’s excitement like this that gets me feeling that love for baseball start to creep back. And I’ve gotta tell you – it feels great.

The baseball writers are not predicting a strong year for the Reds in the NL Central – especially with the emergence of the Chicago Cubs and the likely continued strength of the St. Louis Cardinals. My expectations were admittedly tempered up until about an hour ago, when I watched a video of a Joey Votto Spring Training home run from a few days ago. Votto, hampered by knee injuries, has not looked like his usual superstar self since his contract extension in 2012. Votto absolutely crushed the ball. The beautiful swing that won him an MVP award might be returning to form, much like my love affair with baseball.

The Reds play the Pittsburgh Pirates on Opening Day on April 6 – my birthday. I have to work and will miss the game – it’ll be the first time I’ve missed a Reds Opening Day game in years. But I have a feeling that, unlike last year, I wont miss many more games in 2015. It’s good to be back.