Jonny Gomes seems to have latched onto the Cincinnatti Reds roster, putting up decent numbers in limited amount of playing time since being recalled from Triple-A Lousville.  He’s hitting .313 with five HR and 16 RBI in 83 at bats.

It would also appear that the Reds fans have latched on to Jonny Gomes, much like Rays fans did.  Gomes’ hometown newspaper in Santa Rosa, CA ran an article about his popularity among Rays fans. 

See if this type of quote sounds familiar:

Wrote one fan to the Reds’ Web site. “Gomes is a good player. He makes up for any natural lack of natural ability with his desire and hustle. This guy gives 110 percent on every play, and you can’t teach that. I would love to see him in the line up daily, as it will give the other guys some meaning to the word hustle.”

It seems like every time there’s discussion about what the Rays lack compared to last year, there’s talk of clubhouse leadership being lost with the departure of Cliff Floyd.  That may be true, but it’s hard to replace the energy that Jonny Gomes brought to the team. 

photo: flickr.com/photos/62373848@N00/536849079