When "Probably not" sounds like "Not good".

When Dusty Baker was asked if Joey Votto will return to the lineup when he's eligible to come off the disabled list, Baker reportedly responded, "probably not." The earliest Votto could return is June 14. That's one week away. He has not been taking part in baseball activities while he deals with the stress-related issues. According to Dusty, a little rehab in the minors is probably in store for Votto before he gets back to playing with the Reds. In all honesty, that shouldn't be too surprising. But also in all honesty, I figured after 15 days Votto would be close, if not ready to roll. Obviously, these things are tough to pin down and figuring out a long-term treatment has to be tricky too, especially if it's something that involves medication while trying to hit 95 mile per hour fastballs. Whatever time it takes to get Votto right for the long-term, that's what the
Reds should and will do. Hopefully for the Reds and Joey's sake, it won't be a long time after the 15 days are up. I'm still optimistic about the long-term. The New York Times ran an item today that talks about players dealing with social anxiety disorder. No one has said, or even hinted that Votto is dealing with that, but it's an interesting, quick, read and Votto's name is mentioned in the article. Here's the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/07/sports/baseball/07spotlight.html