The Joey Votto Conundrum

[Bea Arthur]

I have him a deep 20 team keeper. So I can't drop him. Trading him would seem silly since his value now is much lower than it should be, even if it's not performance based. Right now he's got about as much value as Joey Lawrence. So I guess I stash him, which is frustrating considering I already have A-Ram, Reyes, Nolasco, Hanson, Bonderman and Beckham stashed away. Ugh. My team is in shambles.

This Votto thing is truly bizzare. Sounds like it's more than just his ear infection, so who knows how long it will be?

“He’s dealing with a personal issue. He wants us to respect his privacy about that,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said.

No more details were revealed, at Votto’s request. There was no timetable for a return.

“They weren’t informed about what was wrong,” Baker said of the meeting. “I just told them we have to stick together, even more than ever. Whatever it is, we need to support him. This is like a member of your family. Right now, he needs their support and love and understanding something they might not even understand.”

Apparently, this has less to do with the inner ear infection than originally speculated but again — details are at a minimum.

“It’s partly that. Let’s leave it at that,” general manager Walt Jocketty said. “It’s basically something that Joey needs some time away to deal with. We gave him that time. It’s not a big deal but it’s something that was affecting his ability to play at the level he wants to play at.”

[Centerfielder]

Whatever it is, hopefully he's able to receive the necessary help he needs and won't be out for too long. My gut feeling (which really means nothing ) says he won't be out for very long.