The incentives have been a trainwreck so I agree, lets try to reward all the participants that add value. I often see as much value in a brilliant reply as the OP's blog post itself. It should get a hefty reward too because it obviously takes time and thought, and itself is a reward to a blog.
Merely upvoting shouldn't get much reward if other than repulation because of bots. But upvoted replies? Hell yes!