It's Votto or Alonso

We'll now have to wait for the off-season, but the Reds have to make a tough decision. Or maybe it's not so tough. But they will either have to trade Yonder Alonso, or trade Joey Votto. A lot of people clamored for Alonso to play left field. Those same people were screaming "What?!" when they saw Alonso imitate a drunken Bleacher Bum on Friday and Saturday while chasing balls in the outfield. So here's the decision: you either trade Alonso or you trade Joey Votto. They both appear to be first basemen and first basemen only. Period. End of story.
Obviously Votto will bring you the most in a trade. But do you even open that door and explore moving your best hitter to another team? Different people handle that type of thing different ways. Some will see it as a slap, some will see it as business. It would be difficult to mess with a situation that clearly works so well for the Reds and Votto. Maybe Alonso makes it an easier decision by whacking the ball around at the major league level. Should he continue to do that, I would think he should fetch a decent prize in return. I'm not one to give up easily but I really don't see a future for either one in the outfield. I think you have to move one of the two before next season.

By the way, two quick observations on some new blood in town: A.J. Green is a thoroughbred. He has that "Wow" factor just running around in practice. He reminds me of one of my all-time favorite Bengals, wide receiver Isaac Curtis. A.J. is that smooth, and he's a little bigger. He also reminds me of Carl Pickens (without the 'tude) the way he goes up and claims the ball in the air. I'm never big on spending high draft picks on wide receivers, but this kid looks pretty special.
Observation Two: Dave Sappelt might be playing left field for the Reds for years to come. He looks the part. Oh, he's not 6'2", 220 lbs., but he sure looks like a ballplayer to me. The hit-robbing catch in left field Sunday was a beauty. But the best thing about Sappelt comes in the batters box. He better get the majority of the playing time out there the rest of the season.