I missed this the other day, but just saw it on Redleg Nation when catching up on Cincinnati Reds news (or the lack thereof) tonight. Joey Votto had an interview with CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman about the large contracts that Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder signed in the off-season.

“They did great, they did excellent,” Votto said. “Prince and Albert both stayed healthy and consistent. Albert obviously performed at an incredible level. And Prince performed in his own right, and he got a ton of years. To get nine or 10 years is what most (top) players look to. … Both guys are super talented, and I hope they live up to those contracts.”

Votto, as always, comes across as thoughtful and unafraid to say what he believes is true. He noted how clubs now shy away from signing players 35 and older to big contracts as. So the best thing is for players to maximize the number of years like Pujols and Fielder did.

Of course, Cincinnati is a small-market team, and talk of contracts like those might make him seem unwilling to stay. But he says that’s not the case.

“I’m very proud I’m with the Reds,” Votto said at one point.

When asked if he’d like to stay, he answered, “I definitely do.”

That’s good news. Hopefully, the Reds can work something out to keep Votto here for a bit longer than his current contract.

In case you’d forgotten, Cincinnati Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips will be a free agent after the 2012 season. Phillips has campaigned throughout the off-season for an extension on his twitter account. Today, he spoke briefly to Cincinnati Enquirer beat reporter John Fay, and I mean briefly.

It sounds like the Reds and Brandon Phillips’ agents met to discuss a contract extension Monday.

“I don’t know . . . probably,” Phillips said. “Talk to (Walt) Jocketty.”

I know Phillips isn’t a fan of the proceedings, but I’m happy with how the Reds have been handling the situation. Phillips has tweeted that the Reds won’t get a “homeboy discount.” Given the Reds’ low payroll, devoting elite bucks to Phillips for several years isn’t something the team can do. Phillips is likely past his best years. The Reds have to be smart about how they spend money, and giving Phillips the highest salary of his career when he’s past his likely physical prime is not smart.

I love watching Phillips play, and I hope the team and him can work out something that doesn’t cripple the club. It seems unlikely at this point, so I’ll be sure to enjoy Phillips’ leather and infectious smile this season.

After last year’s career-worst performance, Bronson Arroyo changed up his off-season workouts and reported to Spring Training feeling “as healthy and flexible as I’ve been in a lot of years.”

Of course, everyone shows up to Spring Training in the best shape of their lives*. But the first real test is not Arroyo’s self-reporting, but some game action. Arroyo started today. How’s he lookin’?

“I felt like the ball was coming out of my hand better than it was in couple of years,” he said. “I’m interested in the velocity. Then it gets down to pitching.”

Arroyo was told he was hitting 88, 89 mph on the radar gun.

“There you go,” he said. “I feel like if I can throw 90 miles an hour when I want to, I feel good about what I can do out there. Last year, I was humping it up there at 86 a lot of times with everything I had.”

Arroyo went the longest of any Reds starter so far this Spring, pitching three innings. Over the course of that, he allowed one run, two hits, and one walk. And while the speed increase of 2-3 miles per hour on his fastball is a promising sign, the fact that he struck out nobody during his outing has me a little concerned.

The Reds have a chance to be good this year, but Arroyo, even with his large salary, cannot be given too long of a leash. Another year like last year would likely sink this club.

* Juan Francisco is not included in the definition of “everyone.”

I think David Byrne first introduced this dance in the Once in a Lifetime video (0:53).