Congratulations to Bruce. It’s an award he never would have won if he’d been in the majors.

ST. LOUIS — Reds outfielder Jay Bruce has been selected as Sporting News’ 2007 Minor League Player of the Year. Bruce, the 12th overall pick in the 2005 draft, was slated to have a two-stop summer: first, show he could hit high-Class A pitching in Sarasota, then settle in at Class AA in Chattanooga. But his hot bat – and an injury one level up – opened a door at Class AAA Louisville, and Bruce never looked back.After compiling a stat line of a .319 batting average, 26 home runs, 46 doubles, 87 runs and 89 RBIs in 133 games at three levels, it’s evident Bruce, 20, will be swinging his lumber in Cincinnati before too long.

Sporting News, covering baseball since 1886, has been handing out the Minor League Player of the Year award since 1936.

Press release out of Cardinal country:

ST. LOUIS — Bill DeWitt Jr., chairman of the board and general partner of the St. Louis Cardinals, today announced that the team is parting ways with senior vice president and general manager Walt Jocketty.”Walt will be remembered as the Cardinals’ GM during one of the most successful and memorable periods in team history, and we will always be extremely grateful for his contributions to our many triumphs over the past 13 seasons,” DeWitt said. “It is now time to move forward with an undivided vision and purpose that is consistent with the St. Louis Cardinals philosophy of building and operating the best top-to-bottom organization in baseball.”

DeWitt today named John Mozeliak as interim general manager. Mozeliak recently completed his fifth season as the Cardinals assistant general manager.

The Cardinals will immediately conduct a search for the club’s new general manager and honor the remaining terms of their contract with Jocketty, who was hired by the Cardinals in October 1994. Jocketty helped build Cardinals teams that won seven division titles, two National League crowns and the 2006 World Series championship.

“The Cardinals and Walt Jocketty are turning the page today with mutual admiration and appreciation for each other,” DeWitt said. “Today’s news does not come without disappointment and regret. But it also comes with great opportunity, and with that we will immediately begin our search for the new general manager of the St. Louis Cardinals.”

Tough crowd: did they expect him to win the World Series every year? I wonder how this will affect Tony LaRussa’s decision to stay with the team. I wonder how it will affect Bob Castellini’s criteria on what makes a good GM.

I wasn’t satisfied that I’d worked through all of my end-of-season Reds issues during the Eighth Inning Show during the game this afternoon, so I kept the Crack Technical Staff up way past his bedtime to review posts from the 2007 season and discuss the team for almost an hour. It was therapeutic.

On the podcast we discuss:

• How the postseason is shaking out, including a former Red’s contribution.
• Who we’ll root for as the playoffs progress, assuming we’re still paying attention by then.
• The differences in performance and expectations for several of the Reds players. Some disappointed, such as David Ross and Bronson Arroyo; others surprised, such as Brandon Phillips and Adam Dunn.
• The management of the team over the course of the season. No podcast would be complete without a little bitching about the management.
• How bleak and un-fun the content on Red Hot Mama was all season long, and whether the team will be more enjoyable to follow next season.

And, so much more. Plus, I throw in several instances of the word “shit” and its derivatives, so this episode will get the “Explicit” rating.

Episode 78: Season Wrap-Up (39.8MB, 57:58)

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The whole Hot Mama family attended the titanic struggle today between the playoff-bound Cubs and the playoff-bereft Reds at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. The game didn’t mean a lot, contention-wise, but it was a beautiful day for it and it was nice to see Cub fans sitting quietly as they watched the Reds score eight.

It wasn’t just the Reds who scored the eight, either, but the Reds back-ups. Injuries have decimated the roster and the lack of importance has made it hard to really risk anyone out there. The name with the most Reds experience on the line-up was Edwin Encarnación. It just feels like a spring training game when EdE is the veteran leadership.

We were sitting in the lovely Riverfront Club today, and it was our first time in this exclusive locale. Except for the vague feeling that I wasn’t really welcome to leave the club once I’d arrived, I thought it was fantastic. Possibly my favorite place in the ballpark.

In the eighth inning, the Crack Technical Staff and I turned on the recorder to talk a little about the game and the season for a few minutes before our son’s desperate need for a lemon chill became our top priority. It was OK, though, because we got our thoughts together for a more organized, much longer podcast later in the night.

Episode 77: The Eighth Inning Show (11.4MB, 16:35)

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Red Hot Mama extends our heartiest congratulations to Ryan Freel for his latest honor, being inducted into the hall of fame of his alma mater, the Tallahassee Community College. Not too many people can say they’ve gotten that particular recognition, I bet.

It’s always an honor to be recognized, even when it’s not for being one of Florida’s best-dressed. With that shirttail sticking out, though, Freel looks like he might have been working on that, too.

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