Despite having maintained a Reds blog for 7 years (happy Blog Day, RHM!) the Red Hot family has never made it out to Cincinnati for Opening Day. But tomorrow isn’t just Opening Day. It’s not even just day two of the Joey Votto quarter of a billion dollar contract extension. Tomorrow is that glorious astrological event known as The-First-Day-of-Baseball-Happening-During-Spring-Break.

It won’t happen again for another 86 years, so make sure to get out and see it while you can.

Our agenda tomorrow includes: parade, game, and a trip to Kroger to buy Vott-Os. We’ll be trying new ballpark food and resurrecting the Red Hot BroadCast. We’ll be hoping the Marlins perform as poorly tomorrow as they did tonight (I mean, no-hit through six by Kyle Lohse?) and crying when they don’t. Basically we’ll be living the dream.

Be sure to tune in for a recount of the day, and turn out if you can. Not only would I love to say hi in person, but the team is going to need everyone to be hitting the Food Network Hot Dog Bar a few times per game if they’re going to raise enough money to pay for that contract.

There’s been a loud buzz emanating from Cincinnati since the rumor of a contract extension for Cincinnati Reds’ slugger Joey Votto broke at the beginning of the week. And now the Reds have made it official with a press release and a press conference.

CINCINNATI – Cincinnati Reds President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Walt Jocketty today announced the signing of All-Star 1B Joey Votto to a 10-year contract extension through the 2023 season with a club option for 2024. Votto had been signed through 2013 as part of a 3-year contract he received in January 2011, when he avoided arbitration.

“We recognize the historical significance of this signing. Ownership has committed to Joey, and we anticipate that he will continue to be one of the best players in baseball for the next decade or so,” Jocketty said. “He wants to stay here, and we want him here. We have shown we are committed to building a solid foundation from within the organization.”

Added team President and Chief Executive Officer Bob Castellini, “Joey not only is one of the game’s best players, but on the field and in the community he represents himself, the organization and our city with extraordinary professionalism and dignity. We certainly are proud to be able to keep him in Cincinnati for 12 more years.”

Selected by the Reds in the second round of the June 2002 first-year player draft, since his 2007 debut the National League’s 2010 Most Valuable Player ranks among Major League Baseball’s offensive leaders in almost every statistical category. Votto, 28, is a 2-time NL All-Star (2010, 2011), a Sporting News NL All-Star (2010) and the only Reds first baseman ever to win a Rawlings Gold Glove Award (2011). In the Sporting News’ 2011 poll of baseball executives was rated the fourth-best player in baseball behind Albert Pujols, Troy Tulowitzki and Felix Hernandez.

Three times in the last 4 seasons Votto was voted by the local chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America the Ernie Lombardi Award as the Reds’ Most Valuable Player (2008, 2010, 2011).

Since the rumor of a mega-long extension of Joey Votto’s contract was confirmed on Monday, the internet tubes have been clogged full of trucks carrying people’s responses, opinions, and analysis of the proposed deal.

The Cincinnati Reds have yet to announce the deal, but a press conference to address it has been announced for Wednesday. How are Reds’ bloggers handling the unexpected, wonderful news?

Chris Sabo’s Goggles

I’m not prepared to—nor do I want to—consider the sheer magnitude of this deal or how its ramifications could affect a small-market team like the Reds and their signings down the road. Let’s not do that, okay? You guys (myself included) wanted the Reds to pay Joey Votto and keep him in Cincinnati for a long time. The Reds did that. We’re not allowed to complain.

Blockbuster deals like this don’t happen to the Cincinnati Reds—ever—so enjoy it.

Redleg Nation

The Votto contract is roughly in line with comparable signings. The most remarkable aspect was that the agreement was reached two seasons before Votto’s free agency, which is virtually unique among the comparison contracts. Only the much-shorter Howard deal was equal in that regard. Votto negotiated only with the Reds; he was not engaged in a bidding war like those exploited by Fielder and Pujols. The Reds must have felt these terms were better than ones they could have reached a year or two from now.

Red Reporter

The numbers can project what Joey Votto is going to be worth over the life of this contract, and how much every dollar paid to him is worth in free market wins available, but in this rare instance they utterly fail at fully understanding the real value of Joey Votto the Red. This has been one of the league’s most moribund, dysfunctional, impotent, and inconsequential franchises for a number of years. Most will shake their fists at past ownership groups and management teams who failed to develop resources and squandered what few were available. Most will also point fingers at a league that allows for such unbalanced distribution of resources. Not only did the Yankees develop a rare talent like Derek Jeter, but when he approached free agency there was never a question that he would be re-signed. This winter, with two years before scheduled free agency, Votto was one of the most talked-about impending free agents. The Reds could never afford a talent like his, not in a market like this.

But they signed him.

The established, traditional media weighed in, too.

Hal McCoy

When they said the Cincinnati Reds couldn’t sign Joey Votto, they came up with millions of reason to say they can get it done.

225 million reasons.

That’s the figure being thrown around that the Reds are offering Votto — $225 million for 10 years.

And Reds CEO Bob Castellini can light up one of his Liga Privada No. 9s and take a deep, deep bow. If this doesn’t show fans that the Reds are dedicated to putting the best possible team on the field for now and for the future, then nothing will.

John Fay

You can read several things into Joey Votto’s mega-millions deal with Reds:

–The club is convinced its revenue stream will increase. A Reds insider told me as much. Part of that comes from national television, part of MLB other new media revenue sources.

–The club is convinced that it will be to get a new local deal with Fox Sports Ohio before the current one expires in 2016. The Reds won’t be getting anywhere near with the Angels and Rangers got. But, say they get a $10 million a year bump, that covers the difference between Votto’s salary this year ($11 million) and what he’s getting when the 10-year, $225 million extension kicks in.

Was it risky to agree to such a huge deal? Certainly. Votto isn’t likely to be the same player at 38 as he is at 28. But he takes great care of himself. He plays a position that is less taxing than outfield or the middle infield.

But it would have been just as risky to let Votto walk. The current ownership is trying to rebuild credibility with the long-suffering fan base. It’s hard to do that when you let your best player walk.

Overall, the reaction has been very positive. Once the final numbers are released, there will be time for in-depth examination of who got the better end of the deal, but right now, it feels like the Reds fans did. I’m confident the Castellini ownership group is not going to make the mistakes of the past. Votto is going to take up a large percentage of the team’s payroll, like Ken Griffey Jr once did, but Castellini has demonstrated he’s smart enough to realize it takes more than one slugger to win. The Reds now have an exciting young core locked up for several years to come–more than just Joey Votto–and I am even more excited about wearing my Votto jersey to games than I’ve ever been before.

Lost in the exciting news of the contract extension for one Joey Votto was the announcement of the Cincinnati Reds’ opening day roster.

The rotation: Johnny Cueto, Mat Latos, Bronson Arroyo, Mike Leake and Homer Bailey.

The bullpen: Chapman, Sean Marshall, Sam LeCure, Bill Bray, Logan Ondrusek, Jose Arredondo.

The catchers: Devin Mesoraco, Ryan Hanigan.

The infielders: Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips, Zack Cozart, Scott Rolen, Miguel Cairo, Wilson Valdez, Todd Frazier, Willie Harris.

The outfielders: Jay Bruce, Drew Stubbs, Ryan Ludwick, Chris Heisey.

The surprise, I think, is that the team will be starting the season with just 11 pitchers instead of the expected 12. This is due to an early off day, after which the team has said they’ll make another decision.

But there you have it, your 2012 Cincinnati Reds. I look forward to seeing them in person for my first Opening Day on Thursday.

Whoa! This is big, giant, wonderful news that’s come entirely out of nowhere!

Joey Votto and the Reds are close to a long-term contract extension. Votto confirmed a report by mlbtraderumors.com.

“I can’t comment till it’s done,” he said. “You’ll have to ask Walt (Jocketty). It’s a gray area. I’ll be much more forthcoming later.”

So the MLB trade rumor site broke the story, but honest-to-goodness, legitimate journalists and Joey Votto have confirmed that the deal is in the works.

This and Opening Day is on Thursday? It’s shaping up to be an excellent start to the season.