Today on Red Reporter the roundtable question is about Jay Bruce: will he always been an up-and-down kind of player, or is he figuring out a way to stay on the upswing for the long term?

I didn’t know the answer off the top of my head, so in a fit of desperation, I resorted to trying to actually learn something. This involved accessing two entirely different websites and leveraging an Excel spreadsheet. Oh Excel! You make counting so much easier!

Anyway, I was so proud of my science-ness that I wanted to share with you an inside peek at the method. Learn it well and maybe you’ll be able to use it someday. Maybe you’ll even improve on it, like finding a way to work in TWO beers.

You can tell it’s highly scientific by the Comic Sans title.

Tony Cingrani will now have to mow down AAAers.

Tony Cingrani did a most admirable job filling in for Johnny Cueto while our ace was on the DL. In 6 starts he went 2-0 with a 3.27 ERA. Among the starting pitchers, that ERA was bested only by Mat Latos (who had an unholy April) and the man whose spot he was taking. His 1.2 Ks per inning pitched led the squad.

Unfortunately for Cingrani, he’s 23, needs to work on his secondary pitches, and had a pretty rough outing against the Phillies just yesterday. So, with Cueto poised to take back his spot in the rotation, Cingrani was optioned to Louisville today.

In his place is not Cueto but rather Neftali Soto. Soto, who will wear #50 until Cueto’s spot in the rotation comes up again, is a corner infielder. He will be making his major-league debut with the team tonight. Mark says:

Soto is batting .269/.310/.388 with three homers and 16 RBIs in 33 games. He has played 18 games at first base but has been developing his skills as a third baseman, where he’s played 16 games.

It’s hardly a fair comparison, but those numbers are better than what Todd Frazier has put up so far this season.

Boxscore

You have no chance to get him out make your time.

Choo, who’s looking more and more like the best acquisition of the off-season of any team anywhere, was 4-5 on the game, and was involved in 3 of the Reds’ 4 runs. In the first inning, Choo scored the first and only run the Reds would need following a single when Brandon Phillips doubled him in. Then in the fourth, Choo hit a solo home run, his eighth of the year, to make it 2-0. Finally, in the sixth, Choo hit his ninth home run of the year, another solo shot, to score the Reds’ fourth run of the game.

It was an amazing show by Choo yesterday, and for the entire season. The stats he’s accumulating are likely to make him in high demand after 2013 is over, but I hope the Reds can make an offer.

Choo wasn’t the only highlight, though. The Reds pitching staff did shutout the morose Marlins. Mike Leake started and threw 6 2/3 shutout innings, despite allowing nine hits and one walk. After getting into some trouble in the seventh, the bullpen relieved him and the combination of Sean Marshall, Sam LeCure, and Aroldis Chapman secured the shutout and the win.

Every year since 2004, Sports Illustrated has rounded up the annual income of athletes and ranked them. This year, the number one athlete is boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr. And making his first appearance on the list is Cincinnati Red favorite Joey Votto.

Yes, coming in at number 45 with a total income of $19,250,000 is Votto.

The 2010 MVP and a perennial All-Star isn’t a national household name. But Votto, 29, is extremely popular in Reds country and last year Kroger markets unveiled VottO’s cereal in Cincinnati and Dayton.

Only $250,000 of that total is from endorsements, so there’s definitely room for improvement in the future.

As far as I can tell, Votto is the first Red to make an appearance on the list. The first few years of the list were never placed on the internet in full and have been lost forever, so I’m saying that’s good enough.

Congratulations, Joey! And congratulations to the Reds’ ownership. It’s really nice to see them committing to keeping their excellent home-grown talent and rewarding them accordingly.