The day of Joey Votto’s return to the Cincinnati Reds may be this next week.

The Reds plan to have Joey Votto play rehab games at Single-A Dayton on Tuesday and Wednesday. If all goes well, Votto will rejoin the Reds and be activated next weekend when the club plays in Houston.

Votto hasn’t played since July 15. Since then, he’s had two procedures on his knee to deal with loose cartilage. And I can’t write any more about the procedure because it starts making me a little queasy.

For the last few days, Votto has been doing baseball activities at Great American Ball Park. However, he doesn’t feel that’s enough to jump right back into the major league lineup and would like a couple games in the minors.

“Hopefully two (games), depending on how I’m feeling,” Votto said. “I’m a little apprehensive because I haven’t played in such a long time, but once I get going I’ll feel fine.”

I understand his apprehension, but I also miss seeing him in the lineup. It has been nice that the team has gone 27-13 in his absence, but there’s no player I enjoy watching more than him. His return is getting closer, though. I just hope he lays off the sliding.

This afternoon, the MLB Network announced that Cincinnati Reds center fielder Drew Stubbs had won the National League Player of the Week award for July 23 – July 29. He shares it with Carlos Gomez of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Stubbs, who helped lead the Reds to a 6-0 mark last week, hit .370 (10-for-27) and tied with Gomez for the N.L. lead in RBI (10) and stolen bases (3). The eighth overall selection in the 2006 First-Year Player Draft ranked second in the N.L. with nine runs scored and was tied for second in hits while finishing third with three home runs and 21 total bases. On July 24th, the Texas native went 3-for-4 with a go-ahead homer in the ninth inning off Houston closer Francisco Cordero en-route to a 4-2 victory at Minute Maid Park. The following night, Stubbs paced the Reds offense, going 2-for-5 with two doubles, two runs scored and three RBI as the Reds capped a four-game sweep at Houston with a 5-3 victory. The right-handed-hitting slugger notched his 12th homer of the season in Sunday’s 7-2 win over the Rockies while collecting his team-leading 21st stolen base as the Reds completed a three-game sweep at Colorado. This is Drew’s first career weekly award.

Does that make it easier or harder to trade him by the deadline tomorrow? On the one hand, he’s increased his trade value a bit by showing how good he can be, but on the other hand, in showing the Reds how good he can be, maybe he doesn’t need replacing after all.

None of the options that the Reds have been linked to–Juan Pierre, Denard Span, or Shane Victorino–strike me as so much better than Stubbs that the Reds should obtain them no matter the cost. With Joey Votto about to return, I might not be too upset at Walt Jocketty for doing nothing again.

Fresh off a one-out save that many feel was a waste, Cincinnati Reds reliever Aroldis Chapman will be appearing in court today regarding his speeding charge from last May.

Chapman was charged with going 93 miles-per hour in a 65 miles-per-hour area on Interstate 71.

Chapman, who holds the current record for the fastest pitch speed in Major League Baseball at 105.1 mph, is scheduled to appear at 1 p.m. before Magistrate Donald Breckenridge in Grove City Mayor’s Court, a court employee said this morning.

The original hearing date, scheduled for June 6, was postponed until today from a request from Chapman’s lawyer. Considering his suspended license, hopefully, Chapman is driven to the hearing.

I missed this somehow during the All Star break, but last Friday, Rawlings filed suit against Wilson in Federal Court. This is all because of the gold on the glove that Cincinnati Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips uses.

Rawlings Sporting Goods created the Gold Glove Award in 1957 to give to excellent defensive baseball players. It is awarded each year to one player per position in the National and American Leagues. The trophy is a golden glove.

Gold Glove winners also get a special Rawlings baseball glove “that includes metallic gold indicia on the glove itself,” according to the federal complaint.

Phillips has a contract with Wilson to provide his gloves, and they have made a special one for him that has some gold trim on it. Obviously, this is an allusion to the Gold Glove Awards that Phillips has won. And that has angered Rawlings.

“Not only is Mr. Phillips using the infringing Wilson glove in the field during games, warm-ups, and practices, but defendant and Mr. Phillips also have promoted the very existence of the glove (and its connection to Wilson) through various channels and media,” the complaint states.

Rawlings wants Wilson enjoined from distributing any glove that contains “gold webbing, gold-colored fabrics or leather, gold lettering, gold stitching, any other metallic gold-colored material, or any other features that are confusingly similar” to Rawlings’ Gold Glove trademarks. It also seeks damages for trademark infringement, unfair competition, trademark dilution and false advertising.

It’s difficult to trademark or copyright a color, but Rawlings certainly has a case here. This lawsuit is only between the two glove makers, and Phillips is serving basically as evidence. We’ll see how this plays out, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see Phillips have to stop using those golden gloves.