Joey Votto takes on LaRussa snub, stands up for teammates

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - He is as adept it appears at speaking between them as he is hitting between the lines.

Reds All-Star first baseman Joey Votto doesn't have a lot to say but when he does, it usually carries some heft. Case in point Monday during a chat with a reporter at the Kauffman Stadium, scene of Tuesday night's All-Star game.

It was during that visit that he said volumes without saying much, alluding to teammates Johnny Cueto and Brandon Phillips, who won't be joining him, Aroldis Chapman and Jay Bruce in Kansas City.

It is to my knowledge, his only pronouncement about Cueto and Phillips not being selected for the National League roster by manager Tony LaRussa:

"This is the best the game has to offer for the most part," Votto said. "There are a few names we're missing but the fans, the players and the coaches got it right."

That was it. It's now out there. Votto meets LaRussa head on but with only a glancing blow. LaRussa will hear about it. Absorb it and wish he had a team full of Vottos when he was managing.

As for Votto's teammates? They only need one: The original.