.jpg)
Glamour's Women of the Year
UD vs. Northern Kentucky
Magic visits with area students
Hall of Fame baseball writer Hal McCoy is in his 36th year of covering the Cincinnati Reds, the longest tenure for any active writer covering one team. Counting spring training and postseason games, McCoy has covered more than 7,000 major-league baseball games, written close to 18,000 baseball stories and eaten enough hot dogs to give Babe Ruth indigestion.Home > Blogs > The Real McCoy | Cincinnati Reds baseball news > Archives > 2008 > February > 17 > Entry
Those were ballplayers
Dusty Baker walked the City of Sarasota Sports Complex on Friday and saw that each of the practice fields were named for Cincinnati Reds legends — Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench, Tony Perez.
“I’m always talking about baseball players and people ask me, ‘What are baseball players?’ ” Baker said. “Those guys are baseball players — Rose, Morgan, Bench, Perez. They could go 0-for-4 and still beat you. They seldom did anything to cost you a game. Those are what I call ballplayers.”
And Baker is still looking for ballplayers for his first edition of the Reds. One of them is free agent leadoff hitter Kenny Lofton.
“I’ve talked to him and, yes, there is a chance we can still get him,” Baker said. “I’ve talked to (outfielder) Corey Patterson, too. It depends on how it fits into our budget and roster. Right now we don’t have a roster spot and he’d like a major-league contract.”
At this late date, though, some players — even marquee players — might accept minor-league contracts with invitations to major-league camp just for the chance to win a spot on a major-league team.
Lofton would make for a decent leadoff hitter against right-handed pitchers. Most scouts say it isn’t advisable to play him against left-handed pitchers.
If Lofton arrives, what happens to rookie Jay Bruce?
“Bruce already has told me he can bat leadoff,” Baker said with a laugh. “I haven’t seen Bruce play, but I’ve heard a lot. He is a star of the future and, who knows, he may be a start of the present. But there is more to the game than just hitting.”
Baker considers finding a leadoff hitter a top priority.
“A leadoff hitter is the most underappreciated spot in the batting order,” said Baker. “You have to have one and they are hard to find. I led off most of my minor-league career and my old manager, Mickey Verson (Richmond), challenged me to get on base to lead off the game.
“That puts the starting pitcher into the stretch right away, puts him into an uncomfortable situation,” Baker added. “Starters throw about 90 percent of their pitches in the wind-up, not the stretch.”
It was 8:30 Sunday morning as Baker spoke, devouring a bowl of cereal after going through a physical examination along with his pitchers and catchers.
“That was as thorough an exam as I’ve ever seen,” he said. “Really, really thorough — knees, joints, feet. That’s great. Seems they are into preventing injuries rather than reacting around here and that’s great. When you’re into rehab, it’s too late.”
Comments
By Kingspoint
February 19, 2008 7:43 AM | Link to this
Kenny Lofton? Baker’s nuts. Lofton’s 41-year old body has him playing defense equal to that of the bottom third of the league. His extremely poor range factor of 2.52 for last year is not something you want to place between Dunn and Junior. Hopper’s range of 20% better at 2.92 was the best on the team and ranks him among the top 10% in the Majors. Quit this silliness Baker and let the G. M. give you the players you need to win. Even Freel is more likely to get closer to the .370 OBP he had for the previous 3 years than the .302 he had last year (which is still better than Patterson, who shouldn’t be on any team in baseball). Hopper to start, Freel to sub and Bruce to take over the job whenever he joins the club, and CenterField is the least of the club’s worries in 2008, unless of course, Dusty Baker starts “thinking”, God forbid.By Kingspoint
February 19, 2008 4:32 AM | Link to this
Baker really is an idiot, isn’t he? It’s going to be horrible watching him manage. He says that a legitimate leadoff hitter is the most important thing and that his job is to get on base, then he mentions Corey Patterson as a legitimate leadoff hitter. Baker is an absolute nutcase. Anyone who can read a baseball card knows that Corey Patterson is a horrible leadoff hitter because he can’t get on base, and as the previous post notes, Norris Hopper is head and shoulders “proven” to be able to get on base. And don’t you think that Jay Bruce would be an excellent leadoff hitter as a rookie? He doesn’t have to worry about situational hitting…just get on base. There’s a reason Baker got fired from the Cubs. Here’s one of them.By got milk
February 17, 2008 4:12 PM | Link to this
It’s good to read Baker say there’s more to playing than just hitting. Defense is another reason Jay Bruce should be ahead of Lofton on the Reds depth chart. Lofton can’t throw a lick, and I’m willing to bet that jay will get to more balls that Kenny can.By Gary Maloy Jr.
February 17, 2008 4:06 PM | Link to this
I can’t stomach the thought of either Lofton or Patterson. Isn’t that what we feared when Baker was hired? Age over youth? Unless JayB shows that he isn’t ready to patrol major league grass, give him the job. But please, spare us washed up has-beens. Please!!By redfuture
February 17, 2008 1:20 PM | Link to this
Its very disappointing to hear your manager put Cory Patterson and leadoff hitter in the same sentence. His highest OBP ever was .329 300+ ABs in Dusty’s first year, then he fell to .320 in a full season the next year with 168 Ks! Wow!! Hopper on the other hand was at 379 in 300+ ABs last year. BP, who should never hit leadoff either, would still be better than Cory. It sounds a bit crazy but Votto is the best choice to bat leadoff whenever Bruce, rather than Hopper, is in CF. Joey’s AAA OBP was .381 and the year before at AA was .408. Cory never exceeded his MLB even in the minors for a full season. That way you get the left/right stuccato of: Votto, BP, Jr, EE, Dunn, AGon, JB, Ross/Val. Yes, Lofton has actually been a very good lead-off hitter his whole career but if he is on the roster Bruce can’t be. If Bruce shows himself to be ready, then he is ready, and his production would be far more valuable than Lofton’s. I must admit Bruce in the lineup limits its construction. However, thinking outside the box is required to see Votto leading off until you look closely at the numbers. It’s nice to have a manager who knows what the ‘box’ is, but I want my cake to eat too, which means sometimes you have to think outside that ‘box’.