Originally Posted by
Sea Ray
Joey Votto has really impressed me with his poise and overall baseball IQ. He already has that look of a veteran on the baseball field. I guess this is the opposite of "deer in the headlights". He looks poised on defense and poised at the plate no matter what the situation. He's not rattled. I think he'll be a calming influence and a leader on this team for years to come.
In fact he is the poster child for what I'm seeing as an increasing baseball IQ for this team and I think that bodes well for the future. I see this high baseball IQ with other younger players such as Jeff Keppinger, Jay Bruce and Paul Janish. They seem to have a nice grasp on how to play the game. I'll go on to say that we've had our share of players in recent years who did not impress me with their baseball IQ and I'll name names...Ryan Freel, Felipe Lopez, Dante Bichette, Wily Mo Pena and Reuben Mateo to name a few. My hope is that this will translate into more well played games in the future and less boneheaded plays.