Joey Votto

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.

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! 

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

I've been extremely vocal about my hatred of the All-Star Game selection rules, and the actual selections (I wrote an article about what the rosters should be , and who we must

• 2010 MLB All-Star Game
• Cincinnati Reds
• Joey Votto
• MLB
• NL Central
• Opinion
• Stats