This and that

• With Matt Holliday reportedly off the table and headed to Oakland, Paul Daugherty seems to think they should get Garrett Atkins. But he seems to me too similar to the types of guys the Reds have acquired in the past. Had a great season three years ago and maybe he can recapture that. Atkins has had more than 600 at-bats for the past three seasons, so his health hasn't been an issue. His production has fallen off from .329-29-120 in 2006 to .301-25-111 in 2007 to .286-21-99 this past year, but .286 is still respectable, right? Better than Encarnacion's .251. But look at what Atkins' walk and strikeout numbers have done. In his outstanding 2006, he walked (79) more than he struck out (76). 67 walks and 96 strikeouts in 2007. 40 walks and 100 strikeouts last year. That's a big difference in two years. You have to wonder what's going on to cause that, especially for a guy who in theory is supposed to be hitting his stride at 28. I'm not sure the Reds can justify spending a ton of money on a guy who might not be that much of an upgrade. And who knows, as Daugherty mentions, how inflated his numbers are because of Coors.

• Joey Votto finishes second in NLROY voting. No surprise ... a couple of things did strike me. I saw a couple of comments - including one in particular on CBS Sportsline that stirred debate - about how Votto's rookie campaign can't even be compared to Soto's because Soto is a catcher who proved much more valuable to his team, and the commentor suggested that the "complete idiot" who did cast his first-place vote for Votto instead of Soto should have credentials revoked. Good statistical comparison in ccman2007's reply to the comment, which shows Votto actually posted better numbers, including 12 points higher in batting average. I think it's more than a little absurd to call the guy who gave Votto the first-place vote a complete idiot. I don't see it.

Also, I find it hilarious in a sad way that Edinson Volquez - who wasn't eligible - finished better than Jay Bruce in voting. Do your homework! SI.com's Gennaro Filice had a good blog post about it.

• NFL.com's Adam Schefter reports that the Broncos are so desperate at running back that they're considering signing Tatum Bell after watching him work out on Tuesday. Relation to Cincinnati: That's right, Bell was accused of stealing former Bengal Rudi Johnson's bags when Rudi replaced him on the Lions' roster.

• Marvin Lewis is named worst NFL coach in ProFootballTalk.com's mid-season (sort of) awards. No Bengals on the squad, either.

• WhoDeyRevolution's Project Mayhem Task #2: Support 'Hire a General Manger' Billboards apparently starts today. Have a look. Pretty comical.

• Ohio State at No. 8 and UC at No. 23 in Stewart Mandel's (Sycamore HS) College Football Power Rankings this week. And in the introduction leading up to the rankings, he explains why he's got the Buckeyes ranked higher than Utah. He's pretty excited about the Bearcats, by the way. He was asking me yesterday how many fans would make the trip to the Orange Bowl if they do manage to win out.

• Non-local link of the day: R.I.P., Herb Score.