The Reds Report: August 7

Frank Victores, USA Today Sports

The Reds kept the good times rolling early in the week. Cincinnati had won five straight series following the All-Star break, and they made it six by taking two out of three from the Cardinals. They finally stumbled and dropped a series in Pittsburgh this weekend, but they were still able to put up another win today. The Reds are an encouraging 13-8 since the All-Star break. Although there won’t be post-season baseball in Cincinnati this season, there have been signs of life from the club recently.

Let’s get to this week’s Reds Report.

1. The biggest news coming out of Cincinnati this week broke on Monday. The Reds shipped Jay Bruce to the New York Mets for a pair of prospects. It felt like rumors of a Bruce trade were a constant over the past two seasons, and it took the Reds all the way to the deadline to make a deal. Bruce had been a long time fan favorite since being called up as a twenty one year old in 2008.

The Reds right fielder had a number of memorable highlights with the team. However, the one that sticks out to most is his home run that clinched the 2010 Central Division title.

2. So what did Cincinnati get in return for Bruce? The Mets sent IF Dilson Herrera and LHP Max Wotell to the Reds. Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs has a helpful writeup on both players. Wick Terrell of Red Reporter also ran down the details of the transaction.

3. Tuesday night was Cincinnati’s first game since the trade. For a lot of fans it was hard to watch the team without Cincinnati’s fixture in right field. Earlier in the day the team had called up Scott Schebler from Louisville to fill the void left in the outfield. So was Schebler able to take advantage of this opportunity?

A walk off home run to beat the Cardinals in your first start filling in for Jay Bruce? Not bad at all…

4. Another week, another incredible play by Billy Hamilton. On Sunday in the Reds win against the Pirates the Cincinnati center fielder made his presence felt again.

This has to be the play of the game! #Reds #MLB @BillyHamilton https://t.co/9DxV6FjGD3

– Cincy Reds (@cincyredsbeat) August 7, 2016

5. You might not have noticed, but since the start of the second half of the season the best hitter in all of baseball plays for the Reds. Joey Votto has been hitting out of his mind since the All-Star break, and this week wasn’t any different. From July 15 on Votto is posting a video game line of .449/.557/.681 with 4 HR and 12 RBI. Oh yeah speaking of Votto…

6. “Bad” Joey Votto made a return apperance this week. On Tuesday night in the Reds game against the Cardinals Votto was attempting to catch a foul ball. He had to lean into the stands to try and make the grab, and a (home) fan got in his way. How did Votto react?

It took some innings, but Joey Votto & a @Reds fan sorted everything out.

Full Story: https://t.co/iCNjYJulXz pic.twitter.com/bwznPWocJB

– Cut4 (@Cut4) August 3, 2016

He made up with the guy, gave him a signed baseball, and took a picture. Say what you will about Votto, but he’s easily been one of the most entertaining (if not polarizing) aspects of the roster this season.

7. A pair of young Reds players are making some noise over the past few weeks. Nick Senzel, the Reds first round draft pick this season, is currently playing in Dayton for Cincinnati’s Single-A club. Over the course of 33 games with the team he’s hitting .333/.443/.579 with 5 HR and 20 RBI. His hot start has gone a long way toward justifying his selection with the second pick in this year’s draft. Another young player worth noting is TJ Friedl. Cincinnati recently signed Friedl as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Nevada-Reno. Friedl took advantage of the opportunity and homered in his first two at bats for the Billings Mustangs (Cincinnati’s rookie affiliate). While the Reds major league record isn’t what fans would want, there are a number of things to be excited about in the farm system.

8. We’ll end with maybe our most important note of the night. Everyone loves ball park food. In recent years, stadiums have sought to offer a number of…”interesting” options to raise fan interest. This past weekend I ran across a tweet from our very own Lexington Legends hyping their “fried bologna sandwich on a glazed doughnut.” Lexington is home Monday – Wednesday. Why not take advantage of this opportunity to try a combination of two wonderful things?