Jay Bruce made his Major League debut last night in center field 
for the Cincinnati Reds in a 9-6 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. We’ve discussed him in this space here and here. Bruce went 3 for 3 with a double, two singles, two walks, and 2 RBI. For the non-math majors in the room, that’s five times that Bruce reached base…or the number of times the man he replaced (Corey Patterson) has reached base in his last EIGHT games. Bruce’s two walks in his debut equal the number of walks that Corey has drawn in his last NINETEEN games. All in all, it’s safe to say Reds fans everywhere are glad to see Jay finally in the lineup (and Corey finally out of the leadoff spot).
To make room for Bruce, the team decided to DFA Scott Hatteberg. Hopefully he can latch on somewhere (American League, please). He played much better than expected in his time here, but he had to go. The Reds are set at 1B now and into the future with Joey Votto, and there’s just no room for another lefty 1B.
In other news, Josh Hamilton had a GS and 5 RBI last night. Will I ever get over this?
whodey…two words Edison Volquez
2 walks!! Ha. Dusty will fix that guy up right quick, and pretty soon he’ll stop clogging the bases with those things. I mean, c’mon, dude, walks only get you to first, they take forever (I mean, against a good major league pitcher, that could be, like, 7 pitches, dude!), and they don’t score runs unless the bases are loaded.
Don’t you worry, dudes. Ol’ Dusty will fix him up quick, make him sit after games where he sees more than 3 pitches per plate appearance, and turn him into a real major leaguer. Just like ol’ CP, there, who is now getting hurt because the fans wanted this Bruce kid, just like when Dusty was back in Chicago and didn’t think Corey could play but let the fans make out the lineup card because Corey was the best center fielder in the Cubs system.
*walks away laughing hysterically, then re-reads about Volquez getting pressed into service on 2 days rest and hopes EV has Dr. Andrews on speed-dial*
Stupid Yahoo Sports wouldn’t let me start him last night. Not that I would have. Hey, what should I expect if I offer up Todd Helton and Vag Guerrero? Before the season started, that would have been a sweet deal. Now…
Guess who got to start him? This guy. Then again, I had picked him up a week or so ago. He had better go Ryan Braun on me.
[...] 6, Reds 9; Everyone is very happy to see Jay “Bruce” Bruce play in the majors. They were even happier he went 3-3. It [...]