Joey Votto felt like his career was threatened when he was benched for three games last week, something he probably hasn't felt since he established himself in the big leagues.
There was consideration to moving him to the bottom of the lineup as he struggled through an 0-for-18 slump. At the time, it wouldn’t have been surprising if Votto was put in a platoon role and sat against lefty pitchers. Reds manager David Bell remained confident in Votto’s abilities, but he thought sitting him for three days was the best thing for him.
In the six games since returning to the lineup, Votto is 9-for-20 with three homers, a double and four RBI.