Joey Votto OUT, Pirates Playoff Chances UP

We here at mceffect.com do not ever wish injury on another human being. We realize that there are bigger things than sports, and the personal health of baseball players is important no matter who they play for. We here at mceffect.com have also been seen in a YouTube rap video sporting a Joey Votto Reds shirt. That said, the news that Joey Votto is having knee surgery tomorrow and will be out three to four weeks is certainly interesting to say the least.

Votto is the best hitter in the lineup and one of the best in the league. Losing him for any amount of time is a big loss for Cincinnati. They certainly have some other guys that can hit the ball in their lineup, and two weeks isn't a huge amount of time, but this could help the Pirates a good bit.

The Pirates have some easy teams on the schedule ahead of them. They've got three games with the 34-54 Colorado Rockies, followed by a six game home stand against the 42-46 Marlins and the 36-52 Cubs. After that they go on a road trip to Houston to play the 33-56 Astros and then they go to Wrigley to face the Cubs again. The Marlins are the only decent team there, and the Reds could struggle through a few weeks without their best hitter while the Pirates take advantage of some poor competition. That'll get us past the trade deadline and the Pirates should have a better looking lineup by then so they are better prepared for the 2012 stretch run when they'll need to beat out the Reds (and Cardinals, who are 3.5 back from the Pirates right now).

We hope that Votto has a healthy recovery, but if he wants to take his time with it we won't complain.