Kuzul

I am now officially in love with Joey Votto…well, if he were a she. 

The main headline on the Yahoo splash page runs Votto through the ringer for not hugging and slapping the rear end of Marlon Byrd. 

It wasn’t the feature story for very long—enough time to send me into a legitimate laugh out loud.

Says Votto, “I don’t like the Cubs. And I’m not going to pat anybody with a Cubs uniform on the back. But because he made that really cool play, it turned out to be a really cool experience. I’m really glad we got the win today.”

Yeah baby, that’s the spirit! 

The Cubs outfielder made a great play…possibly a game saver. Votto acknowledged it as being a “really cool play”—so what’s the big deal?

I ask, what in the world is wrong with not liking a rival team? 

It wasn’t anything personal against Byrd. 

It’s just the fact that the Cubs outfielder happens to wear the wrong color jersey—although, I have always liked the Cubbie blue—very classy.

One of my biggest pet peeves in the game of baseball is being forced to watch camaraderie between opposing teams. Players yukking it up with the other team before the game, and especially during the game—it’s sickening.

Call me an old-school soul, but if Shoeless Joe had a smiley face on and tried to talk to Ty Cobb, it’s very likely Jackson would have been murdered on the playing field.

Now don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with a catcher trying to make a batter lose his focus by making sport of the guy’s ugly wife. 

Or even, a little banter between a first baseman and a rival who has just reached base is okay.

I’ve seen Joey Votto do that numerous times…maybe even with Marlon Byrd—I’ll pay closer attention the next time the Reds are in Wrigley or the Cubs hit Great American.

“Votto refused to congratulate Chicago Cubs outfielder Marlon Byrd.”

So what? Did everyone congratulate him? I doubt it, but if they did I’m for sure glad I turned off the tube when the game ended.

Were Votto and the rest of the NL All-Stars supposed to run into the outfield and join the jumping chest bump? 

The ninth inning play by Byrd, where he bull rushed the ball and made a last second decision to let it fall and get the force at second of the sloth-footed David Ortiz was the best play by a right-fielder in an All-Star game since 1979 when Dave Parker fielded a line drive single on a hop and gunned the third base runner down at the plate.

Byrd knew it was a spectacular play. Votto knew it. Everyone who saw it knew it.

According to Yahoo baseball “expert”, David Brown (what a lame name—get a pseudonym buddy), Votto should have congratulated Byrd with a, “Handshake…a wave…a wink…a nod…a glance…a happy thought.”

How about a tongue kiss? Would that have suited you, David Lame Name? 

Lame Name goes on to say, “What a leech—and a sorry excuse for an All-Star.”

Hmmmm….What’s worse, saying you are not going to pat the back of a divisional rival (while saying his play was “cool”), or calling a complete stranger “a leech” and “a sorry excuse for an All-Star?”

I know my answer.

Anyone half familiar with Votto’s style knows that the man takes the game very seriously. He very rarely even smiles.

Now, knowing he is a throwback to the days when joshing around with members of the opposition would lead to a beating, Joey Votto is officially my favorite baseball player.

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Last Thursday, LeBron James decided to leave the Midwest for the sunshine in Miami, and with that, changed the entire landscape of professional sports in Ohio.

The Cavaliers, or more importantly James, had become the heart of the professional state. They had reached the 2007 Finals, had the best regular season record two straight seasons and the best player in the respective sport.

For Cincinnati, basketball has not been as relevant since the days of Oscar Robertson and the Cincinnati Royals. Therefore, I write this view not from a basketball perspective, but a whole “sport-state” perspective.

The state currently has seven professional sports teams that include:

Cincinnati Bengals, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Cavaliers, Columbus Blue Jackets and the Columbus Crew (MLS).

With LeBron now gone from the picture, there are truly only two franchises that can currently take claim at this time to being the Kings of Ohio: the Cincinnati Reds and the Cleveland Browns.

An argument could be made for the Cincinnati Bengals, but their past season of success, a divisional title is not enough force to make up for their lean history of success.

Now, for those of you who want to argue for Ohio State, this is only an argument at the professional level, so Ohio State Football is not valid within these walls of argument. That is for a collegiate debate.

In this article, I will speak on the strength of reason the Cincinnati Reds should be considered the Kings of Ohio.

Right now as we lay at the All-Star break, the Reds lead the Central Division (49-41) by a game over the perennial division champ St. Loius Cardinals. The trio of Scott Rolen, Brandon Phillips, and National League home run leader (22) Joey Votto have all helped in creating the division lead. The Reds look as strong as they have since the 1995 Playoff season where they battled the Braves. That is just a jumping point to start off the discussion.

The Reds are the last team in the state of Ohio to win a pro championship. Cleveland has been high and dry, but the Reds were able to take home the title in a suprise at the time by dismantling the Oakland Athletics in the 1990 World Series.

If I mention the name Chris Sabo, I’m sure it will put a smile on a few faces who have forgotten him. There is always Barry Larkin, Eric Davis, the mean bullpen trio which included Norm Charlton and the dominant Jose Rijo. They brought luster to a team which had not seen it in the 80’s. However, the 70’s were not so bad for the Red Stockings either.

These were times when the roster included players such as: Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, George Foster, Dave Concepcion, Gary Nolan and the original Ken Griffey—a finely tuned bunch who won back-to-back titles in 1975 and 1976.

The titles are what people remember, and unfortunately, it has been two decades since they last took home the title, but the history remains. The fact that they have been around since 1882 (or 1869 depending on which Red Stockings team you recognize), shows the immense amount of time they have been able to hold a place in professional sports.

They have the Hall of Fame players such as Pete Rose, and the moments such as his all-time hits mark set in Cincinnati. You could make an all-time Reds roster that could compete with any other one in the league. They might not beat the Yankees all-time or Dodgers all-time team, but they would sure give them one tough game or tough series.

The Reds have an illustrious past to go from and a bright future ahead of them as we watch this season unfold and those to come. If the young men can continue to develop and the minor league players can continue to grow into productive players at the professional ranks, this could be a championship caliber team. 

Just the thing worth noting in a team to be considered the Kings of Ohio.

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The Cincinnati Reds brought their style of play to Anaheim, and the results paid off as the National League defeated the American League 3-1 in the 81st annual All-Star Game.

A pitcher’s duel for most of the night, Scott Rolen started a seventh-inning rally with a single off Phil Hughes. He then went first to third on a Matt Holliday single, hustling the entire way and sliding to safety.

All-Star teammate Brandon Phillips was miked up for the game and could be heard chanting:

“Yeah yeah. That’s what we do in Cincinnati. We go first to third.”

Ah yes, they do. They currently lead the majors in that category. The play didn’t win the game for the NL, but it altered the way Matt Thornton pitched to Marlon Byrd—who eventually earned a walk.

It also set a tone for the rest of the NL squad. The game does matter and Rolen is going all-out to win it.

One batter later with the bases loaded, Atlanta’s Brian McCann delivered big with a bases-clearing double. It marked the first time in All-Star Game history that a player knocked in three with the bases loaded (hard to believe isn’t it?). McCann was named MVP of the game.

Matt Capps of the Washington Nationals earned the win to become the first pitcher from a team based in Washington to win an All-Star Game since Dutch Leonard (1943 Senators).

While Phillips didn’t collect a hit, he made a dandy of a play in the field, tagging out Texas’ Elvis Andrus, who was trying to swipe second and slid past the bag.

Joey Votto was also hitless after earning over 14 million votes to be the last player selected to the team. But it was a great experience for the always level-headed Votto:

“I’m starting to learn you have to take a moment to say, ‘I’ve done pretty good. I’m an All-Star.’ I’ve given myself the next few days to pat myself on the back. I’ve never done that before, but I’m learning to. Not in an arrogant way. In the past, I’ve never said, ‘You know, that was pretty good.'”

From the seventh inning on, the NL infield was colored Red as 1B Votto, 2B Phillips, and 3B Rolen all finished the victory.

Unfortunately, the ageless Arthur Rhodes didn’t make an appearance. While I’m sure he needed the well-deserved rest, it would have been nice to see the 40-year-old at least pitch to one batter. 

All in all, it was a great experience for the Reds’ All-Stars. Phillips was all grins the entire game and looked to have really soaked up the entire experience.

Votto was able to realize he is an elite player and Rolen showed the world how the Cincinnati Reds are playing baseball in 2010.

The American League lost the All-Star Game for the first time since 1996, and now the National League will own home-field advantage in the World Series.

Nobody is crazy enough to say Game 7 will be at Great American Ballpark, but it sure is convenient to have home-field advantage for the first time in years—when the Reds are in first place for the first time in years.

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I don’t know if you’ve heard…but Joey Votto is apparently the hottest thing to hit Cincinnati since the Big Red Machine. He’s 26, coming into his prime, a recently-named All-Star, and he is the leader of the Red’s playoff-bound (hopefully) 2010 squad.

So, now the question becomes…what does Cincinnati do with Yonder Alonso?

For those of you not familiar with the name, Alonso was Cincinnati’s 2008 first-round pick, out of the University of Miami, where he cranked out 52 home runs in only three years. The Reds tabbed Alonso before Votto was a known quantity, and he was expected to develop into their future first-baseman. 

Little did the Reds know Votto would put up back-to-back stellar seasons, entrenching himself at first.

So what do the Reds do with Alonso?

A position change could be in order. He doesn’t have the footwork or arm strength to play third, and shortstop or second is out. The Reds, once upon a time, had plans to move him behind the plate, but anyone who’s anyone knows that chance is beyond very unlikely.

That leaves the outfield, more specifically leftfield. Jay Bruce hasn’t exactly set the world afire, a la Jason Heyward, but he is the future there, no doubt. In center the Reds have speedy Drew Stubbs, who offers a little bit of everything, including pretty solid defense.

Leftfield is a bit more wide open. Right now the Reds are perfectly content with the play of incumbent Jonny Gomes, who appears to be quite a good player when healthy. This season Gomes is hitting .279 with 10 homers and 56 RBI, four off the team-leading pace of Votto.

Long-term at the position the Reds have several intriguing options, starting with Chris Heisey. Heisey is an infielder by trade, but with no real space to play there, he could also be in the mix for a long-term position change. As could the heralded Todd Frazier. Add in true outfielders Jose Duran and Yorman Rodriguez.

That leaves the Reds with two options: deal Votto, or deal Alonso.

You can’t deal a guy who just won the last vote by the fans, so that really leaves only one true choice.

Adios Alonso!

So who’s the best suitor for young Yonder? 

You would have had to say the Rangers before today’s deal for Justin Smoak, but now that they’re out, you have to consider any other team that has decent pitching that the Reds might be interested in.

Granted, the Reds rotation isn’t a total mess. Mike Leake and Johnny Cueto have been superb, while Bronson Arroyo has been his typical self. Travis Wood and Matt Maloney offer some decent upside as well.

The only real poison has been Aaron Harang, whose impressive strikeout to walk ratio is more than somewhat negated by his 6.73 ERA. 

There’s still some decent pitching out there, and it seems one of the most intriguing arms resides in Baltimore in Jeremy Guthrie.

Guthrie has been particularly ugly as of late, but he is a pretty good innings eater and a solid number three or four guy in a rotation like Cincinnati’s.

So, what could the O’s package with Guthrie to bring Alonso to Baltimore?

For starters, some utility infield help could help get a deal done. Ty Wiggington would be a welcomed addition to any team. He can play every infield position but shortstop, and could probably play the outfield corners if a team needed him to.

Guthrie, Wiggington and what else?

Brandon Snyder has long been compared to Sean Casey, a first-baseman who can hit for a high-average with decent but not great pop. Toss him in.

The Reds would probably still want more for Alonso, and the O’s shouldn’t skimp here, as Alonso could be the guy to hold down first base for the next decade for them.

That said, toss in a mid-level arm, maybe Ryan Berry, or even Brett Jacobson, the reliever the O’s acquired last year for Aubrey Huff.

That should be enough to get the deal done.

And if the Reds want to try to even it out, I would gladly welcome Arthur Rhodes and his 87-year old self back to Baltimore.

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The voting period for the final All-Star Game spot ended yesterday, and New York Yankees OF Nick Swisher won the vote in the American League, while Cincinnati Reds 1B Joey Votto won the vote in the National League.

It’s great to see a wrong being righted with Votto. As I said last week, if you didn’t vote for Votto for the final spot in the National League, then you shouldn’t be allowed to vote for anything again. He went into last night’s game leading the NL in HRs (22) and first in OPS (1.012).

I would say he is the first half MVP of the National League.

At the age of 29, Swisher is having perhaps his best year in the major leagues. Coming into last night’s game, Swisher was hitting .298 with 14 HRs and an .894 OPS.

Is he having a better year than Kevin Youkilis? Not even close. But I would imagine Youkilis will somehow find his way onto the team.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

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Hey Bleacher Creatures! I’m Chris, co-owner and operator over at TheScoreBoards. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to write anything on here, but I miss hearing from you folks.

I think I’ve found a way to contribute here without having to spend as much time on it as I used to. While I will certainly do my best to offer some of my own original work on a somewhat regular basis, I would also like to start sharing some of the discussions going on at my site.

Of course, I’ll hand pick the good ones. I certainly wouldn’t ask you readers to spend time indulging in something that wasn’t worth your time. 

That being said, here’s what’s turning into a pretty good one on the MLB All Star Rosters. It begins on the topic of snubs:

Follow this discussion here, or post in the comments section below. Talk to you soon folks! Nice to be back!

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The process of having fans only vote on the MLB All-Star Game has finally backfired on Major League Baseball, as they have announced no active players have made it onto either roster this year.

For years, the fan vote process has been chided by critics for allowing undeserving popular players to slip into the game ahead of those with better stats. But now the biggest snub might be players like Albert Pujols and Joe Mauer, as not a single player will be taking part in the festivities this year.

“Well, I guess I just wasn’t quite having the year I thought I was,” said a dejected Miguel Cabrera after hearing the news that he hadn’t made the AL team. “I thought for sure a .339 average, 20 homers, and 71 RBI would be good enough to punch my ticket, but apparently they thought someone else would make a better choice.”

Jerry Birkowitz, the man who the fans thought made a better choice at first base, has never played in the major or minor leagues, but does occasionally take part in a winter softball league with his coworkers. His popularity in Detroit, for owning three car dealerships, is believed to be the primary reason he made the team this year.

“I’m just honored to make the team,” said Birkowitz. “I worked long and hard to make sure everyone at Tigers games wrote down my name on the ballot under the write-in category. Playing in an all-star game has been a dream of mine since…at least two months ago, when I realized I could probably bend the rules to get away with it. I’m so happy right now.”

He is just one of 48 fans who managed to get enough votes to propel them over major stars and into the game which will decide home field advantage and the fate of the MLB season.

“Wow, this is a big responsibility, I hope we don’t let the viewers down,” said Dave Henderson, another fan taking part in the game, “But even if we can’t really play baseball, we’re all planning on being really really drunk, so it’s going to be pretty fun to watch anyway.”

SportsComedian.com

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What does it mean to be a “slugger?” We all know the answer, don’t we?

Being a slugger means gripping it and ripping it. It means hitting the crap out of the ball and not even waiting around to see where it falls.

It means pointing to a spot in center field and then hitting it there. It means putting dents in signs. It means splashing down in McCovey Cove. It means hitting a ball in Cincinnati that comes to rest in Kentucky.

Being a slugger means being the most powerful, terrifying, and exhilarating species of professional athlete in all of sports.

In honor of the 2010 State Farm Home Run Derby, whose lineup was announced on Tuesday, here is the list of the Top 10 Sluggers in Baseball.

Begin Slideshow

Note to Phillies’ manager Charlie Manuel: Don’t get drunk on the night you select the reserves of an All-Star Game. Snubbing Joey Votto in favor of Omar Infante, a utility player, was not a wise idea.

As of July 5, Votto is leading or near the top of the National League in almost every major offensive category.

Let’s have a look:

First in home runs, first in on-base percentage, first in slugging percentage, first in OPS (obviously), third in batting average, tied for third in RBI, and tied for fourth in runs scored.

Infante is on pace to end the season with 350 plate appearances.  The number needed to even qualify for the batting title is 502.

One does not need to be an accountant, or even an expert number-cruncher, to realize that is 152 below the minimum.

Charlie, Charlie, Charlie…

In the two days since you neglected to place Votto on the All-Star Game’s NL roster, you have made him quite unhappy.

On Sunday, the usually mild-mannered Votto was kicked out of the game in the first inning.  That should have served as a serious red flag.

On Monday night, at the New York Mets’ Citi Field, he went 3-for-4 with a double and two homers: one 431-foot bomb to dead center field and a 414-foot blast to right.  He scored three runs and had two RBI in the 8-6 win over the home team.

Another thing, Charlie, you really should have thought about this before making your drunken decision.

Starting this Thursday, Votto and the Reds are coming to your house to play four games versus your Phillies—the last series before the All-Star break.

It is doubtful that Votto will physically murder you. 

Psychologically though, you should have considered the state of your ticker and the probable heart attack you will suffer while watching helplessly at the total destruction Votto will inflict upon your pitchers.

Charlie, you really should have taken note of your team’s schedule before choosing a guy who isn’t even a starting player over Votto. 

Yes, that is a lot to ask of a man who had just downed a 12-pack and topped it off with a pint of Johnnie Walker Blue. 

Still, though, you need to think of the health of your players. 

Especially Ryan Howard’s head injury after a smoking Votto liner renders your first baseman a slobbering vegetable who will never play another baseball game in his life.

You should, in fact, advise all of your guys to wear batting helmets while playing the field.

Ignoring Votto may be a good thing for you—a life lesson, if you will.

If you ever have the chance again, don’t drink and pick.

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Baseball’s All-Star Game is in Los Angeles/Anaheim… I’m not really sure where the LAAA’s actually play.  Either way, players from all over the league will get to see the Beach Boy’s and Katy Perry’s favorite girls.

One player, however, will not. His name?

Joey Votto.

How is it that baseball can never, ever, get anything right?  Most of us have heard the stats by now, but for those of us that haven’t here’s a quick recap:

Votto’s batting average? .318. That’s tied for third in the NL.

No. 19’s RBI total? 59. That ties him with Ryan Howard for fourth in the NL.

How about his homeruns? After all even California chicks dig the long ball.  Twenty-one four-baggers, which means that Votto has struck the above pose more times than any other NL player.

Not to mention that his OPS is 1.017, which again is best in the league. 

So how does it happen that the fans, the players, and the manager all got it wrong?

Well actually, I don’t know either.  Perhaps it’s time to change the mandatory player from each team rule… That’s an argument for another day.

Votto says all the right things when asked about the snub, how he is only focused on helping his first place team (it’s still fun to say that) win games.  The guy is a class act through and through.

Joey deserves to be there, and somehow it’s up to all of us to save him.  We are on red alert, the wishbone “c” logo is hovering in the city’s skyline and only we the fans can answer the bell.

Let’s all do the right thing, and get Votto out to the “City of Angels” with his teammates, where he deserves to be.  Even though he won’t admit it, I’m sure that Votto is “California Dreamin’.”

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