John Clay's Sidelines

As nice as it was that Jay Bruce stroked four hits in six at-bats in his first two games as a Cincinnati Reds, that he walked four times, that he helped the Reds to straight wins over the Pittsburgh, here's something even better. His smile.

Have you ever seen such a kid? I know, the guy is only 21 years old. Tuesday night was his MLB debut, and the phenom from Texas went three-for-three with two walks as part of a 9-6 Cincinnati victory. But Bruce couldn't stop smiling. There was one TV shot, as the Reds were changing pitchers, and there was Bruce standing in the outfield, talking with Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey, Jr. And all Bruce did was smile. A wide, goofy, amazing grin.

You had to love it.

You had to love, too, the way Reds fans have already started chanting "Bruuuuuuce" whenever the rookie reaches the plate, much the same way we Springsteen fanatics chant the exact same thing when "The Boss" hits the stage. Red Reporter already has a post about Boss/Bruce jerseys.

Reminds me of a great clip from the 1980 "No Nukes" movie. It was a concert film in which rock stars played to protest the building of nuclear power plants. (Think Three Mile Island.) Springsteen played the event. In fact, whenever certain acts took the stage, the crowd kept chanting for 'Bruuuuuuce."

There is a scene where Jackson Browne is in Tom Petty's dressing room, warning him about the chants. Browne tells Petty something like, "Don't worry. They're not booing. They're just chanting "Bruuuuuuce."

Petty replies, "What's the difference?"

Links:

• Bruce is "best Reds' kid in 24 years." [Paul Daugherty]

• Bruce goes six in a row. [Cincinnati Enquirer]

• Bruce's debut stacks up well. [Dayton Daily News]

• Already, Reds fans are chanting "Bruuuuuuce." [Hal McCoy]

• Jay Bruce Era begins in Cincinnati. [New York Times baseball blog]

• Why wasn't Jay Bruce called up sooner? [Beyond the Box Score]

• Jay Bruce mania arrives. [Redlegs Rundown]