“I’d give him the Barry Bonds treatment right now. I wouldn’t even pitch to him. Right now, he’s more dangerous than Pujols . . . if he and Pujols were in the same lineup, I’d pitch around Votto to get to Pujols. I wouldn’t do that the rest of the season, but right now, that’s how good Votto is going.”
-- An anonymous “talent evaluator” talking to Buster Olney about the State of the Votto.
Votto is profoundly underrated and yes, he’s a very dangerous hitter. But I don’t know that anyone other than Barry Bonds at his peak who was actually worthy of “the Barry Bonds treatment,” and there are reasonable people who believe that Bonds shouldn’t have been walked all the damn time himself.
And hey, if Votto was so dangerous why did Ryan Howard beat him out for the All-Star squad, huh Mr. Smart Guy?