Even at the tender age of 21, anyone observing the kid knows that he has the "it" factor that makes a ballplayer special. Virtually everything about him spells success including his stroke, his legs, his makeup, his maturity and above all else, his consuming passion for the game.

While Bruce didn't have a scintillating spring, he more than held his own and displayed a promising bat and admirable defensive skills. Based solely on Grapefruit League production, Bruce should have made the Reds' roster outright.

The fact that he didn't only goes to prove just how out of touch and clueless those within the Reds' brain trust can sometimes be. It's scary to think that an organization can be sitting on such a budding talent and not recognize when he's ready to take off and explode.

What makes Bruce's belated promotion to the bigs even more egregious and inexcusable is that he was basically dispatched to the minors in favor of Cory Patterson, a mediocre player at best whose career on-base percentage is a pathetic .295. Not surprisingly, Patterson played to form and contributed very little. His nadir came when he went an embarrassing 0 for 8 in a recent 18-inning loss to the Padres. Patterson's futility on that day dropped his average to a horrendous .201 and at that stage, not even the Reds could justify using him with any degree of regularity. Patterson is now nothing more than a sub but not before his ineptitude did some serious damage to the Reds' cause.

If anyone out there wonders why Wayne Krivsky got the boot as the Reds' G.M., please keep this in mind. It was Krivsky, emboldened by strong encouragement from manager Dusty Baker, who brought in Patterson and literally handed the ex-Cub the starting centerfield job. Patterson's entrance meant Bruce's exit and that tells you volumes about Krivsky's supposed player assessment skills.

Sadly for the Reds, here's a painful reality. Given Bruce's phenomenal efforts since his recall on May 27th, it can be persuasively argued that had the wunderkind been with Cincy since opening day, the Reds would have been dramatically more dynamic offensively and most likely, would have won anywhere from five to seven more games.

And that would've had Cincy nipping at the heels of the surging Chicago Cubs in the NL's Central Division. Pennants and postseason berths hinge on such decisions.

Sending Bruce to Louisville and having him bide his time there was stupidity personified. It was the act of a team with no balls and little imagination. Hell, if the Reds were so bent on farming out Bruce, already one of the two or three best players in the entire organization, why stop there. Just for good measure, why didn't they also dispatch Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey to the minors. 

Of course, I jest but demoting Bruce was no less a joke.

The Bruce affair reveals an inherent and deep-seeded weakness within the front office that must be addressed. Specifically, the brass has to quit being wimps when it comes to advancing young talent to the big show. If players demonstrate that they're ready to move on and up, then promote them immediately and stop the pussyfooting around. Holding prospects back when they're obviously prepared for the next level is counterproductive, detrimental and mindless. 

Recent examples of the Reds holding players back abound. Joey Votto should have been summoned long before his call up last September and no matter his inconsistency at Louisville, Homer Bailey should have been penciled in for the rotation when the Reds left Florida. Bailey couldn't have done any worse than punching bags Matt Belisle and Josh Fogg who were beaten to a pulp almost every time they took the mound. Belisle has since been sent packing to Triple-A while Fogg, who seemed to be in one whenever he pitched, has landed on the DL.

The Reds' tardiness and lax approach to promoting deserving players manifests itself even after they agree to pull the trigger and bring someone up. Again, I refer to the Bruce saga. G.M. Walt Jocketty admits that the club had decided to elevate Bruce about a week before they actually did but elected against it because the Reds were on the road and the brass wasn't gung-ho about Bruce having to travel to hook up with the team in either Los Angeles or San Diego. They were apprehensive about having him start his stint in the bigs anywhere but at home.

Huh? Talk about being overprotective and unnecessarily coddling someone. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot.

Here the Reds were in the throes of a terrible West Coast swing and could have genuinely used Bruce's gifted bat and yet, management twiddled their thumbs while the road trip turned into a disaster. No sense of urgency here. I don't care if Bruce would've had to fly half way around the world to link up with the parent club, a more committed team would have required his presence as soon as possible. Guaranteed that if Bruce, with that sweet stroke of his, had been recalled earlier, the Reds probably win a minimum of two more games on that doomed road trip. His impact is that pronounced!

Bruce has been so good ( .463 average, 3 homers, 10 RBI, .756 slugging percentage in 11 games ), it's startled even those who had him pegged for certain greatness. Hard as it is to believe, Bruce has surpassed those glowing and gushing reports we've heard about him. His numbers are stratospheric and his poise and clutch hitting are off the charts. Bruce has been so dominant thus far, he's making Roy Hobbs look like a busher. With apologies to Hobbs and his alter ego Robert Redford, it's Bruce who appears to be the real "Natural."

Everyone from the wonks at ESPN, SI and the Sporting News to your humble reporter, proclaimed that Jay Bruce was primed and ready to bust out and should have been Cincy's opening day centerfielder. Only a blind man couldn't see that. But apparently, Reds' officials suffer from an advanced case of myopia. They couldn't visualize what virtually everyone else could. And they did what amounted to the unthinkable. They farmed out a sure thing and one of the most electrifying talents on the baseball scene.

As a result, they lost games they shouldn't have, denied their fans countless days of excitement and forced a deserving young man to endure an unwarranted wait.

Yes, Jay Bruce in now where he belongs. He's in the show and making a name for himself while being flanked by Hall-of-Famer Ken Griffey on his left and slugger Adam Dunn on his right. He's finally in his element and is he ever making the most of it.