Joey Votto: Latest Baseball Player To Be Stricken With A Severe Case Of The Greinkes

It was suspected that Joey Votto's "inner-ear infection" was more substantial after the Reds' Italian bopper DL-d on May 30, but now it's been confirmed that he too is suffering from "stress-related issues."

There is no timetable for his return, either, but MLB.com reports some positive news that Votto was seen milling around team batting practice in street clothes on Friday night. Votto dodged reporters, who would have peppered him with needling questions like "How ARE you?" , but Dusty Baker did get a couple of mumbles out of him and the toothpick-chomping manager said that he was "encouraged" by what he heard. Still, there's no indication when Votto will be back and Baker seems to indicate that Votto hasn't even looked at a bat over the past couple weeks:

"He hasn't hit in a while," Baker said. "He's a natural, but he's not that natural. There's no indication on when he'll be doing any baseball activity. I wish I had more to tell you, but I don't."

Votto was batting .357 with 8 homers and 33 RBIs before he came down with The Sadness. Red readying to remain without Votto [MLB.com] What Is The Matter With Our Fragile Baseball Players? [Deadspin]