Joey Votto Out 3-4 Weeks

Joey Votto of the Cincinnati Reds. Photo by Cincinnati Sports Photographer Vincent Rush

CINCINNATI (AP) Reds first baseman Joey Votto will have surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left knee, sidelining him for three to four weeks.

The 2010 National League MVP hurt the knee in late June but kept playing. He had a medical exam Monday evening that detected the injury.

Votto was out of the starting lineup against Arizona on Monday night, getting a day of rest and a chance to have the knee checked. He went hitless in his first two games back from another All-Star appearance, then had a single and a double during a 4-2 win over St. Louis on Sunday night that pushed the Reds into sole possession of first place in the NL Central.

Votto leads the NL in doubles, walks and extra-base hits, batting .342.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/baseball/mlb/07/16/votto-reds-surgery.ap/index.html#ixzz20pmNtwC8

            Joey Votto of the Cincinnati Reds. Photo by Cincinnati Sports Photographer Vincent Rush

 Statement from Reds President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Walt Jocketty.

“Joey Votto met with the medical staff this evening and has been diagnosed with a torn meniscus in his left knee. He is going to have arthroscopic surgery tomorrow and should miss 3-4 weeks. Joey is very comfortable with the decision and is eager to return to the lineup.”

Votto said, “It is in my best interest and in the best interest of the team to do it now so that I can be healthy during the last two months of the pennant race.”

Votto suffered the injury sliding into third base in the fifth inning on June 29 at San Francisco.
Necessary roster moves will be made Tuesday.

Read more: http://www.espn1530.com/pages/lancesBlog.html#ixzz20tz4bSEa

 The Reds got a blow Monday that will be hard to deal with.

Joey Votto will undergo arthroscopic knee surgery Tuesday to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. He is expected to miss three to four weeks.

"It's a very simple procedure," Reds general manager Walt Jocketty said. "It takes 20 minutes. It's a very simple scope. We think it will be three, four weeks. Joey feels very comfortable with it. He wants it to be done right away so he can come back and be sharp for the last two months of the season."

Minor-leaguer Chris Valaika had the same procedure done recently; he was back in three weeks.

A roster move will be made Tuesday to replace Votto.

"We haven't discussed that yet," Jocketty said.

 Of all the players on the roster, Votto is by far the most difficult one to replace. He's hitting .342 with 14 home runs and 49 RBI. His on-base percentage is .465. No other Red is above .354.

"It's going to be difficult to replace Joey Votto," Jocketty said.

Jocketty said Votto's status will not affect the team's plans for the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.

"We're going to try to do the same things we planned," Jocketty said. "Joey will be back. We'll just keep working."

Posted by Monroe Ohio photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://cincinnatiSPORTSphotography.com Check out my about.me profile!

Great American Ball Park

Great American Ball Park by Cincinnati Sports Photographer Vincent Rush

Posted by Monroe Ohio photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com Check out my about.me profile!

Professional vs Amateur Photographers

Photo by Professional Sports Photographer Vincent Rush

Photo by a Register Herald Newspaper Photographer

Today presented me with an excellent opportunity to do a direct comparison between a small town amature newspaper photographer and professional sports photographers photograph. The top photo is my photograph from a game involving the Eaton, Ohio 12U All Star team, and the bottom one is the same player and the photograph the newspaper editor chose to feature.

The write up was even worse, but I'm not a journalist and this is a photo blog.


Posted by Monroe Ohio photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com Check out my about.me profile!