JOEY VOTTO IS RICH & THE REDS HAVE COST CERTAINTY. NOW WHAT?

If a $38 million dollar paycheck could be a 'win win' for both sides, then this is it. Joey Votto has most of his baseball career ahead of him, if he remains injury free. He'll earn tens of millions of dollars in addition to this latest contract he's signed with the Cincinnati Reds. He's set for life. The Reds avoid the nasty process of arbitration, surely to lose with each upcoming round to Votto. The total dollars of this deal most probably would have been for more than the $38 million they're spending now on their NL MVP first baseman.

But what does it mean to you and me?

Nothing.

Look, I'm happy for Votto and I think it's a wise move by the Reds. But the real game wasn't coming for three years anyway. All this deal does is cover Votto's arbitration years. In three years, he can still become a free agent. And if he continues to produce the kind of numbers he has the past two seasons, he'll simply be unaffordable in Reds-land. In St. Louis, Albert Puljos (who incidentally shares the same agent as Votto) might price himself out of that market. And if the Cardinals, who consistently draw three million fans each season, can't afford to pay Puljos (he'll probably command and get $20 million a year from some team), how can the Reds expect to pay Votto when he become eligible for free agency?

Joey Votto wasn't going anywhere for the next three years. The Reds simply made life for him, and them a little more palatable. But for you and me, this deal means nothing. Get back to around Christmas 2013.

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Don't you love it when a player plays 'mad'. The night after getting snubbed by National League All Star manager, the Phillies Charlie Manuel, Joey Votto delivers a three hit night in New York tonight, including two home runs.

I don't know whether or Votto was really mad. But he sure played that way.

Manuel can't be totally faulted for not picking Votto. The fans voted the Cardnials Albert Puljos as the starter. The National League players, and I don't know what they're looking a this season, voted Adrian Gonzalez, from San Diego, as their choice. And there was no way Manuel was going to pick Votto over his deserving first baseman, Ryan Howard. Think about it: if Dusty Baker was managing the NL Stars this year, do you really think he'd take Howard over Votto?

Negative.

But where Manuel fails the test, is when he chose a bench player, Atlanta's Omar Infante, simply because Manuel felt Infante would serve the team well because he swings the bat well coming off the bench.

Really? Charlie never impressed me as being that deep of a thinker. And if that is an indication as to the depth of his thoughts, perhaps Charlie should give his cranium a rest.

Votto will make the team. Someone will either become injured or sick and he'll certainly be the first replacement picked by Manuel (best way to work his way out of a bad situation). But you can vote Votto onto the team as the final National League star. You can find a link to the balloting on WLWT's web site. You'll get 20 chances to cast a vote. But you have to do that before Thursday afternoon.

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As we've witness tonight, Joey Votto's return to the Cincinnati Reds is no panacea. It will take him time to get used to the speed (and pitching) at the Major League level. And it's not like the Reds had a whole lot of offense before he left to battle his stress related illness. Like Adam Dunn or not, he took 100 runs and 100 rbi with him when he left. And the Reds front office simply failed to replace that offense. We got a $10 million scoreboard in left field, instead of a $10 million player. We also got Willy Tavares for $6.8 million, but that's another story.

If you're a Reds fan, your greatest fear is that while Votto was away, the division was there for the taking. No NL Central team had enough to put space between itself and the rest of the pack. Would the Reds had been able to do with Votto in the line-up? That will be debated all next off season, if the Reds fail to qualify for the post season playoffs.

Just published on my web site, www.kenbroo.com is the latest Broo View Podcast. This episode features an in depth interview with Forbes Magazine's Tom Van Riper. We discuss the not so out of the question possible strike that could be looming in the NFL. In a hurry? You can download the show here.

Overnight, tonight I'll post the lastest Broo View Podcast. It will feature an indepth interview with Reds 2008 Most Valuable Player, first baseman Joey Votto. You'll find it on the front page of my web site: www.kenbroo.com.