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Link of the Day (For the Week of April 27 - May 3)
The Outsiders Look at the Insides of Baseball — I'm going to start a new series where I pick the most interesting article I read in a week and briefly write about it. I will, however, suggest that this is more of an 'article of the day' then an 'article of the week' situation, as I feel as though calling one of the hundred or so baseball articles I read in any given week as the best is simply wrong. So this will be more of an article that stands out, something I think everyone needs to read. I will also attempt to switch it up, avoiding the same author on multiple occasions. ...

What are they swinging at?
Red Reporter — ... Joey Votto is a more aggressive hitter than I expected.  And I'm not so sure that this is all Dusty's doing.  Last season, he swung at 74% of the pitches in the zone.  This year he's up to nearly 77% so far.  The league average is around 67%.  What's good is that after swinging at about 32% of the balls out of the zone in his month in bigs last year, he's cut that down to 28% so far this year.  So he seems to be aggressive in the right spots in the zone.  I can't say that I'm loving the 44% swing rate on the first pitch, but he's not being ...

Head-To-Head: Joey Votto vs. James Loney
RotoNomics — I noticed a post on an ESPN message board after Joey Votto's 3-HR explosion today, asking whether the Reds 1B or his Dodgers counterpart would be more valuable for the rest of the season. I wanted to do a brief comparison of the two players to double-check my gut instinct. Here's what I considered: ...

Take a Chance on Me - The Return “Week 7″
THE FANTASY BASEBALL GENERALS — After being mauled in the last installment of TACOM and needing to take a break for personal reasons (as well as needing to clear my thoughts for such terrible suggestions) TACOM makes its mighty return to The Fantasy Baseball Generals. This week promises to step up to the table offering up an overrated and underrated player as well as a player to acquire via free agency. General DiCaprio can certainly give you advice on how to trade, what strategy to take when beginning negotiations and how to take over Congo in Risk. For myself, I cannot, as I typically alienate myself from other owners by calling them out either at the draft or at some ...

Trade Reflection Part One - The Anticipatory Set
The Outsiders Look at the Insides of Baseball — Sometimes I wonder how a General Manager loses his job. Clearly there are times which warrant such a move, but rarely does a General Manager come in, clean house, start all over and build a contender while going without error. I think of the praise General Manager Mark Shapiro receives and then the duds he has brought in to 'fill holes'. This is not a knock on Mark, he is strapped for cash and typically stays within a plan, but that does not mean the flops that he brings in are without recognition. ...

A Quick Look at the Rookie Hitters
Baseball Analysts — ... in 2001 (in the 11th round). As soon as he began to take the game - and his conditioning seriously - good things began to happen. Soto plays a premium position for a first-place club and he is an offensive force with 11 homers in 226 at-bats. He also has a nice line-drive rate at 22.5 percent. One downside to his game is that he has struck out at a rate of 26.5 percent. Joey Votto, 1B, Cincinnati Reds 2008: .279/.349/.487 | 226 AB | 11 HR | 36 RBI Joey Votto is looking to join the Dodgers' Russell Martin as ...

The Clock is Ticking
Baseball Analysts — ... Posey and Alonso will get done, with the backstop offering much-needed prospect polish to a system mostly void of impact bats. Alonso could be Major League ready in two years but is currently blocked at first base by youngster Joey Votto. ...

Wrappin' Up the Draft
Baseball Analysts — ... Yonder Alonso, on the other hand, could be the biggest steal of the draft for "only" $2 million. That said, he did receive a Major League contract and a guarantee of $4.55 million. Although he doesn't really fit in with Cincinnati's current 25-man roster (thanks to the presence of top rookie Joey Votto), teams always find a way to make room for players with star power. Alonso has been a consistent performer for three college seasons, and he has excellent plate discipline to go along with his 30 home run power potential. Gordon Beckham agreed ...

'Closing' Day - Part 2?
The Outsiders Look at the Insides of Baseball — I can't think of another season, another league, another sport, where the playoff picture is not completed after the final day of the regular season. At some point today the White Sox and Tigers will take the field to make up a game that was scheduled for earlier this month. If the White Sox are victorious they will square off against the Twins in a one game playoff in Chicago Tuesday afternoon. ...

"What Would the Outsider Do" - Cincinnati Reds
The Outsiders Look at the Insides of Baseball — With a handful of promising Major League ready youngsters, the Reds are poised to build their roster into a contender in the near future. However, 2009 will not be that season and the Reds should simply be content with development and health. The Reds are stocked with a lot of very nice prospects. However, many of the prospects are getting old for their level of competition which could lead to some misleading numbers. Even with that in mind, the Reds have had some solid drafts in the last couple of seasons. Thus, despite being 'old', the club has a fine minor league system with a lot of major league ready depth. Not only that, ...

Seeing Red: The Minor League System of the Year
Baseball Analysts — ... and Joey Votto thrived. Although technically not a rookie due to having too many innings at the Major League level, ...

A Couple WBC Items — Team Venezuela and Winn
East Windup Chronicle — Last week I linked to an item concerning the Venezuelan WBC team and why players like Magglio Ordonez, Miguel Cabrera and Johan Santana are saying they may not play if changed aren’t made. Turns out it has to do with management and the fact that Luis Sojo has been asked back to manage the team. “We haven’t been consulted regarding the important issues,” Cabrera told The Associated Press on Monday. “We only want Venezuela to go to the Classic with the best coaches and players, but it’s necessary that we work together.” The dispute has drawn ...

2008 National League 'Shoulda' Gold Gloves
The Outsiders Look at the Insides of Baseball — The Baseball Writers of America Association traditionally botch giving out awards, none is more obvious then with the Gold Glove Awards. The BBWAA typically enjoy giving awards to fielders who are also strong hitters. In addition to that, the writers give credit to a player based on reputation and making highlight reel plays. While highlight reel plays are exciting to view, they are often the result of poor positioning, a weak arm, mediocre reaction, and/or a lack of speed. Every time Derek Jeter is in the air making an 'acrobatic' throw, imagine Jimmy Rollins making that same play, flat on his feet. ...

2008 American and National League Rookie of the Year
The Outsiders Look at the Insides of Baseball — For some strange reason, the BBWAA decide that the Rookie of the Year awards are the least important of all the post-season awards. Given that the awards are presented together, on the first day of the awards season, rather then on individual days, as is the case with the other player awards. ...

2008 BBWAA Rookie of the Year Picks (AL & NL)
The Outsiders Look at the Insides of Baseball — The ballots are officially in and the American and National League Rookie of the Year awards have been provided. In the American League, it is Evan Longoria, and Geovanny Soto who takes the cake in the National League. These picks were to be expected, neither coming as a surprise to anyone. However, the BBWAA are not getting off easy here, as they did botch part of the voting. Evan Longoria won the American League's award as an unanimous choice, collecting each of the 28 first place votes. Longoria, as the linked article states, was the only player to show up on each of the 28 ballots-which is part surprising, ...

The OLIB's 2008 NL Cy Young
The Outsiders Look at the Insides of Baseball — In similar fashion to my American League Rookie of the Year pick, the NL Cy Young went from no-brainer, to borderline toss-up. In what was an open and shut case for Tim Lincecum, turned to a two horse race with him and Johan Santana. An impressive second half by Santana, fueled by an outstanding August/September, closed the gap that Lincecum created. This is not to say that Lincecum fell apart in the second half, rather, to give Santana his due for an outstanding stretch run. There was never really a question who the winner and runner-up for this award would be, as I selected Lincecum #1 and Santana #2. Where the question is ...

The Rookies of 2008... and Those Who Came Before Them
Baseball Analysts — ... Canadian Joey Votto displayed the rare ability to hit for both average and power in 2008 with a line of .297/.368/.506 and an ISO of .209. Bill James was also impressed and his numbers project a significant increase in each category for Votto in 2009. The left-handed batter also took a healthy number of walks (10.1 BB%) and kept the strikeouts under control (19.4 K%). ...

The Bill James Handbook 2009 - Part Two
Baseball Analysts — ... Jesus Flores, Chris Iannetta, Adam Jones, Fred Lewis, Evan Longoria, Lastings Milledge, Nyjer Morgan, David Murphy, Skip Schumaker, Soto, Ian Stewart, Kurt Suzuki, Justin Upton, and Joey Votto) that he didn't miss "too badly on." He was too optimistic on ...

The Bill James Handbook 2009 - Part Three
Baseball Analysts — ... , and Joey Votto were the only other hitters who ranked in the top ten on FB and CB. A-Rod also led the majors in OPS vs. sliders (1.168). I wonder if pitchers shouldn't be throwing him more changeups? A ...

Defying the True Outcomes: The Pressurizers!
Driveline Mechanics — ... to take it down, please let me know. I'm not trying to steal it, I just saw it posted somewhere and had to share it with the world. The world, of course, reads my articles religiously.] 1. Yuniesky Betancourt 590 PA, 7 HR, 42 SO, 17 BB TT0%: 11.2 If anyone knows why making the defense work is important, it's a shortstop with a -14.5 bUZR. Is there anything this guy can't do? No way he'd be traded for Billy Butler now. Oh well, maybe Joey Votto, though... If you really want to see who's who, check out ...

The Red Report: Joey Votto
Red Reporter — ... Votto Home Run Cubs at Reds (via DUNN8729) Votto is representing Team Canada in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, where he is expected to DH and play some LF. Contract Status: MLB service time (As of Opening Day 2009): 1.027 Signed by scout: John Castleberry Current contract status: Pre-arbitration, renewed on a one year contract 2/28/09 Career Stats: (BBRef | FFanGraphs | THT) ...

Can Albert Pujols Win the Triple Crown?
Baseball Analysts — ... are The Brewers Young Duo That Needs A Nickname. They're 24-25 years old and Fielder's already logged a 50 home run season while Braun's getting there. Joey Votto. ...

Findings from the Free Agent Market
Baseball Analysts — ... and by average he means the Major League average. So, Tango may be right that, at the Major League level, talent follows a normal distribution, but when we add talent from all player pools, the curve does begin to look like the right tail of a normal distribution. Think of it this way: would you rather have the right side of the Cardinals’ infield or the Reds’ infield? The combinations of Albert Pujols/Skip Schumaker and Joey Votto/Brandon Phillips will both produce ...

Votto To Be Activated Today
MLB Notebook — The Cincinnati Reds get a huge bat back in the lineup, with first baseman Joey Votto expected to be activated today from the 15-day DL. Votto has been playing in a few rehab games recently and was put on the DL on May 30 with "stress related" problems. Those problems were undisclosed so probably no one outside the organization would really know what it was exactly. As for Votto, he hit an outstanding line of .357/.464/.627 in 38 games this season. His walk rate shot up and his eye improved with a career low 21.4% O-Swing. That is on top of 8 homers and 10 doubles he hit in 126 ABs. The Reds have an extra catcher with Ramon ...

THT Awards
The Hardball Times — ... hit .417/.440/.583 in 24 at-bats, yet managed to score only twice and drive in one run. You can’t explain it by saying he was the lone player hitting on the team the Yankees scored 27 runs and, as mentioned above, Teixeira was a wrecking crew. NL: Joey Votto hit .435/.536/.696 for the Reds. John Barten writes the THT Awards weekly feature. Please send suggestions, comments, corrections, and input to ...

THT Awards
The Hardball Times — ... has been on fire, hitting .322/.391/.564 since the All-Star break. Last week he outdid that, going .423/.516/.885. His strikeout rate is steady. His walk rate is up. His isolated power is spiking, I may be a homer Royals fan, but I am calling it a breakout. NL: Joey Votto is on a serious hot streak. He was my pick last week and he repeats that this week by hitting .560 with 10 doubles in 25 at-bats. In the two weeks combined, he has hit .500/.564/.896 and raised his OPS for the season by 59 points. John Barten writes the THT Awards weekly feature. Please send suggestions, ...

Who Would You Rather Have: Miguel Cabrera or Joey Votto?
FakeTeams — ... 107 6 0.324 0.396 0.547 0.942 Joey Votto 469 151 38 ...

Player Profile: Is Joey Votto Ready for the Next Level??
FakeTeams — ... AVG OBP SLG OPS Joey Votto 469 151 38 ...