VOTTO CONTINUES HIS SURGE

Joey Votto went 4-for-4 with a home run in the Reds’ 12-9 win at Houston. Votto raised his batting average to .345, extending a surge during which he has produced 18 hits in his last 30 at-bats. That’s the highest hit total over a span of 30 ABs by a Reds player since Todd Walker compiled a 19-for-30 streak in September 2002.

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My Red to Rock today is this guy…

CINCINNATI (June 2, 2012) — Over 3,200 runners and walkers turned out this morning for the 11th annual Subway® Redlegs Run at Great American Ball Park which generated over $165,000 for the Reds Community Fund.

All proceeds from the race directly benefit the Reds Community Fund and its outreach programs that include youth baseball funding, field renovations and inner-city youth baseball initiatives.

• The overall top 5K male finisher was Brian Denny of Cincinnati with a time of 16:07.
• The overall top 5K female finisher was Becky Clark of Cincinnati with a time of 17:53.
• The overall top 10K male finisher was Stephan Ragg of Athens, Ohio with a time of 32:38.
• The overall top 10K female finisher was Kerry Lee of Cincinnati with a time of 38:27.

The top male and female finishers are invited to throw out ceremonial pitches prior to Thursday’s Reds vs. Pirates game.

Race photos can be found at www.facebook.com/RedsCommunityFund.

Complete race results will be posted soon at www.reds.com/run.

Race sponsors include Subway®, Cintas, United Healthcare, 700WLW, WCPO-TV Channel 9, Trophy Awards, Fleet Feet Sports, LaRosa’s, UDF, Coca-Cola, Vitamin Water, Queen City Sausage, Kroger Co., Nike and Castellini Group of Companies.

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That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the challenges that the stuff in Pittsburgh presented.  It got my blood flowing and kept me on my toes and provided a stiff reminder that I’m a Reds media relations representive before anything else (some folks think I’m just the “blogger”).  My responsibilites to the team and the organization in the few days we spent in Pittsburgh were put to the test…or more like a pop quiz.

But we survived – even Marty who’s now required to have a chaperone any time he wants to take a walk in the city.

Despite the tumult, I did get to meet some really good people during our stay in the ‘Burgh.  As I was eating alone one night in the hotel restaurant, Dusty and two of his friends came in and sat down nearby.  His friends were none other than Rich Glover and his lovely wife Sandra.  Rich is the 1972 Lombardi Award and Outland Trophy winner for his outstanding play as a guard on the Nebraska football team.  He’s also in the College Football Hall of Fame and played in the NFL for the Giants and Eagles.  But I’ll be honest, I didn’t know any of that until after I met him. 

Rich Glover during his days as a star with Nebraska

I eventually was included in the group conversation and very much enjoyed the company.  Rich and Sandra  have known Dusty for years and consider him a dear friend.  The feeling is mutual.  The Glovers are baseball fans, but because of Dusty, they’re big-time Reds fans.  They told me that they often travel to Reds games around the country to catch the team and see their friend. 

It was an absolute pleasure hanging out and chatting it up with the Glovers. Both are world-class people and I wish I could’ve spent more time with them .  

So before I post photos from Houston and talk about the weekend series against the Astros, here are a few pics from Pittsburgh…

Primanti Bros. Also known as “Heaven.”

Homer dealing

Bronson on a very warm Memorial Day

The scoreboard at Pittsburgh shows Cincinnati-born celebrities in current Reds player head-shots

Jay gets a lead

When it rains, it pours

Not sure who thought it’d be a good idea for Jeff Piecoro to wear a suit when it was 900 degrees on the field Monday

Yep, I ate the whole thing

Johnny was the hard-luck loser on Wednesday