Was Joey Votto the reason for the creation of the What I Love About series? Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe I’m not ready to delve into that part of my psyche, so back off. What’s for sure is that I’ve put off writing it, always feeling like I was too tired, my time was too tight, or I wasn’t feeling eloquent enough to do justice to the awesomeness that is Joey Votto.

Suddenly, we are post All-Star voting and in the unthinkable scenario of the league’s best first basemen omitted. Like many people, the fact that this is even possible makes me throw up my hands at the joke that the All-Star game has become–maybe has always been–and if it were just about me, I would turn my back on the whole charade, shake my head at the obvious meaninglessness of it and try to get on with my day.

However, it’s not just about me or even about all the fans (ironically enough), but it’s also about Joey Votto. Guys, this team has sucked hard for friggin’ decade. This is our chance to express our gratitude to the man who has played such an important role in changing that and who has been, up till now, ignored. This guy doesn’t deserve to be left behind just because MLB found it necessary to pimp Albert Pujols and Charlie Manuel felt the need to practice nepotism.

Which gets to the heart of why I love Joey Votto. Because no matter what goes on around him in the league or on the field, he’s going to keep on being awesome. If the world is too blind to see that for themselves, well then we’ll just tell them.

Balloting began immediately following Sunday’s Major League All-Star Selection Show and continues until 4 p.m. ET on Thursday, July 8. The winners will be announced on MLB.com shortly thereafter.

Mobile voting in the U.S. is exclusive to Sprint, Nextel, and Boost subscribers. To receive the 2010 All-Star Game Final Vote Sponsored by Sprint mobile ballot, text the word “VOTE” to 1122. To vote for a specific player, simply text message your choice to 1122. EXAMPLE: Text “A3” to vote for AL Player 3 or “N3” to vote for NL Player 3. Messaging and Data Rates May Apply. Mobile voting in Canada is open to all carriers; fans should text their choices to 88555. Std rates may apply.

During that magnificent 7th inning of the second game against the Chicago Cubs, the Cincinnati Reds TV broadcasters were seemingly dumbstruck about how the Reds had blown open the game with only 2 hits. Why, just the day before, hadn’t the Reds eked out only 3 runs–and one of them on a possibly missed interference call–with 16 hits? Baseball sure is an unexplainable game.

It seemed obvious to me. In that 16-hit game, the Reds walked all of 2 times. In the blowout win, they had 8 walks, 6 of them in the amazing 7th inning.

Reds manager Dusty Baker hasn’t uttered anything quite as idiotic as that wonderful chestnut about walks clogging the bases in his tenure with the Reds. Maybe he’s starting to understand that they can be valuable.

One thing’s for sure, the Cubs understand their importance. As do all Reds fans who caught games at old Cinergy/Riverfront. “Walks will haunt.” And on Friday, they haunted Chicago.

CINCINNATI, OHIO – Cincinnati Reds starting center fielder Drew Stubbs and infielder Paul Janish are showing support for Jay Bruce by joining the fun at the upcoming Jay Bruce Baseball Camp, presented by CBTS and Fifth Third Bank.

Bruce, the Reds’ hot-hitting right fielder, will host his inaugural youth baseball camp July 19th through July 21st at Prasco Park in Mason, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The three-day camp is open to boys and girls, ages 6 to 14, but potential campers are encouraged to register soon, as less than 30 spots remain available.

Bruce will be on site each day of camp, directing activities and providing instruction with Indiana University head baseball coach Tracy Smith and other top collegiate and prep coaches from the Cincinnati area.

Campers experience various stations, specializing in fundamental skills and the team concept of baseball. Individual groups are small to assure that each camper gets maximum personalized instruction.

Each camper receives an autographed camp team photo with Bruce, a camp T-shirt, free admission to the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum, free tickets to a Reds home game and the opportunity to win additional contests and prizes.

Jay Bruce Baseball Camp is proud to be conducted in partnership with the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum, Meijer, State Farm, Fox Sports Ohio and B105.

Cost of the camp is $199.

Additional information and registration is available at www.JayBruceCamp.com or call 513-793-CAMP.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	R	H	E
Reds (45-35)	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	3	16	0
Cubs (34-45)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	2	5	0

Boxscore

The Cincinnati Reds made it take longer than it should have, but eventually, they defeated the Chicago Cubs yesterday.

Travis Wood made his first professional start and pitched great. It helped, of course, that he was going against the Cubs, who have been terrible all year. Dusty Baker did make a questionable decision in leaving Wood in the game to start the 8th. Up to that point, though, Wood had breezed through 7 innings of shutout ball with a very low pitch count. Unfortunately, Wood was tired and walked the only 2 batters he faced.

The small, 2-run lead off of RBIs from Scott Rolen and Jonny Gomes, vanished quickly once reliever Nick Masset entered. Both inherited runners scored. Masset did shut down the Cubs for the rest of the inning, but he’s still got a ways to go to become the Masset we saw last year.

The bullpen was great from then on, with Jordan Smith getting the eventual win, and Francisco Cordero getting an almost uneventful save.

The Reds offense barely managed to retake the lead. They had opportunities in the 9th and the 10th, yet managed only 1 run, and that was thanks to Jay Bruce breaking up a double play and allowing the go-ahead run to score. 16 hits in a game is great; stranding 13 and scoring only 3 is not so great. Still, the team managed another win from their final at-bat. This team definitely has some confidence. Plus, they are in first place by 1.5 games thanks to a Cardinals loss. And that’s something that hasn’t happened this late in a season in a very long time.