I saw this image on Twitter today (HT Joel Luckhaupt).

What you’re looking at is Joey Votto’s heat map during his 14-game hitting streak. The player on the left represents Votto, and the white outlined square represents the strike zone.

See all that red? That’s where Votto’s been getting most of his hits. He’s batting more than .500 on pitches he hits in that area. That’s an amazing coverage.

So the moral of this image is: if you want to prevent Joey Votto from getting a hit, walk him, or hope that you can find that upper-strike zone wiggle room for your fastball.

Dang, I enjoy having him on the Reds.

The Reds notebook today features an article that apparently gives Bronson Arroyo much of the credit for the Reds’ starters’ durability so far this year.

Bronson Arroyo has never missed a start in his life – Little League, high school, minors, majors. He thinks the young guys in the rotation, particularly Johnny Cueto and Homer Bailey, have noticed that his very regimented routine works.

It’s true that the Reds have had a consistent rotation. They’re 55 games into the season and it’s been the same five guys taking their turn on the mound since the beginning. Only three other teams in the majors can make the same claim. But how much of a benefit is it?

• The Reds have a 31-25 record and sit atop the NLC.
• The Marlins have a 31-26 record and are unlucky enough to be in the NLE, where that gets them fourth.
• The Cardinals have a 30-28 record and are tied for second in the NLC.
• The Mariners are 26-33 and last in the ALW.

So the preliminary evidence is inconclusive on whether having a consistent rotation is important to performance. It makes the manager’s job easier and lets the AAA guys have some more development time, but when it comes to the team’s record, there isn’t an obvious correlation between fewer starters and more wins.

I would also point out that the timing is a little wonky for the taking of credit. Arroyo says:

Consciously or subconsciously, they’ve seen what I’ve done over the years…They say, ‘Hey, this guy makes all his starts.’…There’s no doubt in my mind it’s made them more consistent and allowed them to toe the rubber every fifth day.

• Bronson Arroyo has been with the Reds since 2006
• Homer Bailey has been with the team since 2007
• Johnny Cueto has been with the team since 2008

It seems like if anyone starter was going to take credit for changes to the culture of the rotation, it’d be Mat Latos, since this is the year it changed and the year he arrived. On the other hand, maybe it just takes 4-5 years for Arroyo’s magic to start to take its effect. He might also explain the 43 home runs the starters have already allowed this year.

The Reds sent Mat Latos, Chris Heisey, and Zack Cozart to the Cincinnati Zoo yesterday as part of the “Zoo Day” festivities. This apparently involved hosing down an elephant.

I only saw this photo on Facebook. Apparently other news outlets aren’t covering this important story. The comments on the photo are the best:

• 1/3 people ripping on Latos
• 1/3 people defending Latos
• 1/3 women saying how hot Heisey is (I don’t disagree, but I don’t think this is the picture where I’d be saying it, what with him all squinty an in baggy jeans).

Plus, the obligatory dumbass saying, “they shouldn’t be wasting time at the zoo. They should be concentrating on the game!” Because if there’s one thing we all know about our jobs it’s that we should all be doing them 24/7.

There’s also this uninformative video from the event as well. I mean, they tell us that the guys answered the “what’s your favorite animal?” question, but then they don’t tell us the answer! Maybe they’re saving that for the next video.

Boxscore

Last night the Reds lost a game to the Pirates 5-4 in extra innings.

Mike Leake took the mound for the Reds and gave an adequate performance. He allowed 4 runs (earned) over 7 innings of work on 7 hits. He was relieved by Sean Marshall, who worked an inning hitless, and then Jose Arredondo who did the same. Typical Reds relievers this year.

The surprise was when Aroldis Chapman came in to pitch the 10th and simply wasn’t on. He promptly gave up a long automatic double to Clint Barmes (AVG:sub-Mendoza) to bust up his 8.2 inning hitless streak. Then Michael McKenry (AVG:sub-Mendoza) knocked in Barmes to bust up Chapman’s 24 game, 29-inning scoreless streak.

Apparently the Reds offense was so surprised by this turn of events that they forgot to score in the bottom of the tenth and let the Pirates walk away with it. Joey Votto did his part, of course. He was 3-for-5 on the night and started the bottom of the 10th with a double. Jay Bruce had a notable night, too, with 2 RBI including a solo shot in the 2nd and 2 walks including one in the 10th.

Ryan Ludwick, though, was the offensive hero for most of the game. He had two home runs: one in the 5th inning and one in the 9th, both of which tied the game. Unfortunately, the luster on that performance was darkened by the fact that he watched strike three go right past him to end the game.

The loss brings the Reds’ record to 31-25. Though the Reds remain in first place by two games over the now-tied Pirates and Cardinals, it’s not a good sign when you lose a game:

• in extra innings at home
• that gives you a series loss
• where the guy who got the save is named “POSER” backward

Tonight the Reds hope for better luck against the Detroit Tigers. Bronson Arroyo (2-4, 3.91 ERA) defends the mound against Rick Porcello (3-4, 4.86 ERA). First pitch at 7:10 p.m.