While listening to tonight's game on WLW 700, Reds beatwriter John Fay paid a visit to the radio booth with Marty and the Cowboy. Marty asked John about the health and status of Nick Masset and Joey Votto. Fay had the following to say in regard to the questions:
- Masset pitched an inning in the Arizona League and faced four batters and striking out the side. He assumes the organization will soon move Masset to one of the Reds' affiliates where he will hopefully continue to progress as he makes his way back to the big club.
- The exciting news: Fay said Votto has been progressing quickly and is already doing exercises as well as running. He expects Votto could make his return to the Reds lineup as early as Friday, August 3rd. That is incredible. I don't expect the Reds to rush anything, especially with their current state being A-OK. If he is actually ready as early as Friday, then I would hope they wait an extra few days just to be safe. After all, the guy is making a quarter of a billion dollars. Either way, it is terrific to know he has progressed from his injury and surgery so quickly.
We need to get Votto back by Tuesday, at this point he is trade bait the way we've been playing without him. We could probably score some serious minor league talent for him, and maybe a couple thousand in cash.
ReplyDeleteOk, obviously a joke. You can't trade the king. All kidding aside, I'm starting to think that Votto going down with this injury was the best thing that could have happened to this ball club.
First of all, it was perfect timing. We swept the Cards (WLB's) and started right into the easiest stretch on our schedule this season. With that said, we have won 9 in a row against pretty bad teams, and have been on a great run. Winning 9 in a row against anyone, good or bad, is not easy to do at the Major League level.
Regardless of who we have played, you can't take those 9 games away from us, nor the confidence that has been instilled in all of the guys on the field making it happen. The bats have come to life. Ludwick has been exceptional, and over the last 5 games, Stubbs has been equally exceptional. Phillips is 3 points away from the .300 mark. Pitching is staying strong. Homer Bailey has looked like a Cy Young candidate his last 3 starts.
I'll be the first to admit, when Joey Bag-a-donuts went down, I was genuinely worried that things could get out of hand for us. Instead, our guys took it upon themselves to step it up and show that we are a championship caliber ballclub. The way that we have turned it on with our star out has made me really proud to be a Reds fan.
I'm not nearly as worried about the trade deadline as I was 2 weeks ago. It would still be nice to seize an opportunity to improve our team, but if we can carry this momentum we have now for when Joey gets back, and into the last two months of the season, we are going to be in a great position to make a run at the World Series.
I'm really proud of these guys, they have been fun to watch the last two weeks. Say what you will about Scotty Rolen's stats for the year, but I really believe his veteran leadership has helped us tremendously since Joey went down. His numbers have improved, and our young guys seem to have a calm about them that can only come from a guy like Scotty Baseball in your clubhouse.
I should clarify, I think Joey going down was the best thing that could have happened to this ball club, because we had a lot of guys on this team seemingly riding his coat tails. Now, as they have done the last two weeks, they have found character and the little extra it takes to make a championship caliber team.
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