Outfielder Jay Bruce is the Colby Rasmus of the Reds organization – except that Bruce enjoyed a huge start to his season at the Class AAA level.

While Rasmus struggled to relocate his stroke this spring, Bruce played his way to Cincinnati. He hit .364 with 10 home runs, 37 RBIs and eight stolen bases in 49 games in Louisville. Cha-ching!

Last year Bruce played at Class A Sarasota and Class AA Chattanooga before reaching Louisville; he hit a combined .319 with 26 homers and 89 RBIs. Despite that success, Bruce insists he was OK starting this season in the minor leagues.

“No matter where I was, I had to play hard,” Bruce told MLB.com. “I had to play my game. Worrying about getting sent down wasn’t going to help me any. It wasn’t going to help me get back up here.”

All those Memphis Redbirds eager to reach St. Louis should heed that advice, right?

Bruce’s ascension was bad news for Corey Patterson, who becomes a pine-time player after hitting .201 during the first two months of the season. Cubs fans can relate to that.

MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE

Questions to ponder while for the Penguins to break free of the Red Wings trap:

• Will Hank Steinbrenner settle down now that Joba Chamberlain is headed into the Yankees rotation?
• Now that the Brewers have signed Jeff Weaver and Julian Tavarez, will they land Jason Simontacchi next?
• And what does all this say about Milwaukee’s chances in the National League Central?

THAT’S JUST MEAN

NBC funnyman Jay Leno had this NFL observation: “The rumor is the Miami Dolphins are furious with Jason Taylor for appearing on Dancing With The Stars. They don’t feel they can finish in last place without him.”

HOW NOT TO CELEBRATE

Perhaps you have seen this clip of the Spokane Chiefs’ clumsy celebration of its Memorial Cup victory:

QUIPS ‘R US

Here is what some of America’s leading sports pundits have been writing:

Will Leitch, Deadspin.com: “You know the Cubs are competitors this year because their fans are getting ornery. And the target of their orneriness has been Alfonso Soriano, who plays left field as if he’s crossing ice with eels as slippers. But the Cubs organization has had just about enough of fans’ darned negativity. Soriano has been taking so much heat, and is apparently so sensitive, that yesterday the Cubs informed fans in the left field bleachers that booing Soriano would get them kicked out of Wrigley.”

Norman Chad, syndicated columnist: “Charles Barkley is a lucky man; very few people get to leave Sin City owing a casino $400,000 in markers. Heck, the last time I stayed at Wynn Las Vegas, they charged me $65 for late checkout. As for Adam ‘Pacman’ Jones, why would a casino comp him a buffet, let alone give him $20,000 in markers?”

Dan Daly, Washington Times: “News item: Former NFL journeyman Ross Tucker says the Patriots flouted the rules in 2005, the year he was with them, by letting players on injured reserve practice with the team. Comment: Boy, it’s open season on the Pats now. Someday soon, I expect, somebody will accuse Richard Seymour of concealing a Foreign Object.”

Greg Cote, Miami Herald: “NFL owners opted out of the league’s labor agreement with players. This will not affect the next two seasons but could abolish the salary cap in 2010 and cause a work stoppage by 2011. In other words, unless there is a new contract, right around the time the Dolphins are getting good again, the NFL will go out of business and all players will be forced to become professional ballroom dancers to make ends meet.”

Jerry Greene, Orlando Sentinel: “Curious that the Gainesville police report concerning taking Joakim Noah off the streets made a point of officers noticing he was holding a cup containing an ‘iced amber-colored’ drink. Is that a tipoff? ‘Hey, Chuck, look at the tall guy over there. Doesn’t his drink look amber-colored?’ ‘Yeah, Bob, call for backup!’ And if you were assuming that ‘amber’ meant a specialty beer, think again. Hennessy cognac, my friends. After all, he makes NBA money now.”

Bill Simmons, ESPN.com: “I keep picturing Jimmy Leyland sitting on his porch at 3 a.m. thinking about his crappy bullpen, and his wife saying, ‘Jimmy, come on, come to bed,’ and then Jimmy saying, ‘Hold on, I’ll be right there’ before lighting up another cigarette and trying to talk himself into Francisco Cruceta’s splitter.”

MEGAPHONE

“I love the day-to-day of baseball. Whether we win, lose or draw, there’s still a game to play, and it’s still fun. The game will keep you going. When I do retire I’ll probably still show up in spring training. I could never completely walk away. John [Schuerholz] is the same way. There’s a lot of pressure and expectations on a daily basis. That never goes away. But John thrived on it and so do I.”

Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox, telling the Atlanta Journal-Constitution why he keeps working.