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2008 Ebony Fashion Show
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 > March
March 2008
A bad beginning
It wasn’t the way Dusty Baker wanted his tenure as manager of the Cincinnati Reds to begin, but when your team doesn’t hit, it usually doesn’t win.
As Bob Uecker’s character, announcer Harry Doyle, said in the movie Major League: “We got three hits? Three %$%#*^% hits?”
That’s it, pal. Three hits and a 4-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks and pitcher Brandon Webb, that kid from down the river about 2 1/2 hours in Ashland, Ky., that kid who grew up rooting for the Reds and hoping he would some day pitch for them.
Webb gave up a leadoff single to catcher Javier Valentin in the third, a hit that should have been a double but was only a single because Valentin thought it was a home run. Got that?
He watched its flight toward right field loping along at half-gait until it thumped the wall. By then it was too late to make it to second.
And he never budged as Reds pitcher Aaron Harang failed trying to bunt, then Corey Patterson flied to center and Jeff Keppinger grounded to second.
“We didn’t get much live bunting this spring,” said Baker. “But it was addressed and will be again.”
Brandon Phillips tripled home a run in the second and Harang beat out an infieldf single in the fifth, but was part of an inning-ending double play.
From the sixth through the ninth the Reds had no hits and only two base runners, one when pinch-hitter Norris Hopper was hit by a pitch and one on Adam Dunn’s walk.
New leadoff hitter Corey Patterson went 0 for 4, but made two ingratiating catches - one fleeing toward the wall and one a skidding catch after a dive.
“He chased a couple down, which is why we brought him in here,” said Baker. “And his offense is going to get better. He had a late start in camp this year.”
Harang’s demise was one bad inning, the third, when he gave up a couple of s two outs. Home runs and walks are anti-Harang.
Arizona’s first run came in the first after third baseman Edwin Encarnacion made a diving stop, but rushed his throw and tossed it wide of first base - another throwing error for which he is so prone. That led to an unearned run.
Baker, though, defended Encarnacion after talking to infield coach Chris Speier. The game was delayed 59 minutes by rain and the field was wet.
“The field was extremely wet and it was tough to get a grip on the ball,” said Baker. On the surface, though, it looked as if Encarnacion unnecessarily hurried his throw and was more of the same inaccuracy as years past.
Baker was given a rousing reception during pre-game introductions and said, “You accept it and appreciate it. I’d like to see 43,000 here Wednesday and 43,000 here Thursday, too.”
Dusty, that ain’t gonna happen. He said he’d rather be 1-0 than 0-1, too, but that ain’t gonna happen, either.
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The numbers game
Rain delayed the start of Opening Day by 59 minutes, but it was worth it to watch the pre-game introductions. Every member of the Reds wore No. 41, a tribute to former Reds broadcaster Joe Nuxhall, who died in November.
When the team took, the field, they wore their normal numbers, all but pitcher Aaron Harang, who shed his usual No. 39 (a number Nuxhall also wore) to wear Nuxy’s 41.
Nuxhall, who pitched batting practice for years and years, always wore his No. 41 until the Reds acquired Tom Seaver, who preferred No. 41. Nuxy graciously gave his ‘41’ to Seaver and took ‘39.’
Harang struck out the first D-Back, Chris Young, then the next batter Orlando Hudson, shot one at the feedt of third baseman Edwin Encarnacion - and it deja vous all over again.
Encarnacion made a fantastic, but for some inexplicable reason, hurried his throw when hurry wasn’t needed. His throw was wide and Hudson reached on a throwing error, something Encarnacion does with disturbing regularity.
After Harang threw a wild pitch, moving Hudson to second, Conor Jackson shot a two-out run-scoring single up the middle and Arizona had the game’s first run, albeit unearned.
Arizona starter Brandon Webb, Cy Young Award winner in 2006, could have been drafted by the Reds in any of the first eight rounds in 2000, but wasn’t. He grew up a Reds fan in Ashland, Ky. across the Ohio River from Portsmouth and wanted to pitch for the Reds.
Instead, he retired the first five Monday, striking out Jeff Keppinger, Ken Griffey Jr. and Brandon Phillips in order, before walking Encarnacion with two outs then retiring Scott Hatteberg on a fly to center.
I met Webb at the Portsmouth Murals baseball banquet over the winter. Nice kid. Said he was looking forward to facing the Reds on Opening Day, “But I always wished I’d be on their side.”
Arizona leadoff hitter Young showed new Reds manager Dusty Baker how the ball carries in GABP by drilling a 437-foot home run in the third. One out later, Eric Byrnes crushed another home run, this one only 429 feet for a 3-0 Diamondbacks lead.
Time out for a trivia does: Both Harang and Webb were born on May 9, but Harang (1978) is a year older than Webb (1979).
NEWS FLASH - One of my favorite people, former Reds closer Danny Graves, signed a minor-league contract with the Minnesota Twins Sunday. Graves, struggling at the time, was run out of town by the Reds after he responded to a fan’s racial slur/insult.
The 38-year-old righthander led the independent Atlantic League in saves last season for the Long Island Ducks. The Twins invited Graves to throw for them and when he did and they liked what they saw they permitted him to pitch in some minor-league games this spring. They rewarded him with a contract.
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The roster moves
After much teeth-gnashing and jaw-breaking, the Cincinnati Reds finally formulated the roster for Opening Day.
As expected, pitcher Matt Belisle (sore arm), catcher David Ross (back spasms) and shortstop Alex Gonzalez (compression fracture of the left knee) were placed on the disabled list.
And Mike Stanton was designated for assignment - with the team eating his $3.5 million contract.
Asked about what that said about the organization that it would absorb $3.5 million, general manager Wayne Krivsky said his feelings weren’t about the money.
“I genuinely like Mike Stanton and developed a good relationship with him,” said Krivksy. “He is going through some tough times with his family (personal problems) and left camp last week. Then he came back to find out he didn’t have a job and that’s tough. It was toughest move I’ve ever had to make.”
LHP Jon Coutlangus also was designated for assignment as the team struggles to make room on the 40-man roster.
Five players who were not on the 40-man roster were added to it before Monday’s Opener — OF Corey Patterson, C Paul Bako, RHP Johnny Cueto, LHP Kent Mercker and RHP Mike Lincoln.
Another spot on the 40-man must be cleared before today’s game.
The most heart-rending story is that of Lincoln, the longest of long shots to make the team when spring began. He had been out of baseball for nearly 3 1/2 years after his elbow exploded. He had it fixed, but it didn’t take and he had to have it done again.
Why did he stick with it?
“Because that’s me,” he said. “I’m not a quitter.”
Scouts says Lincoln is throwing harder than he ever did and when asked he smiled and said, “Yes, I am. I think all the time off helped strengthen my arm, so there was some good to come of it.”
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Finally … it’s Opening Day
It’s here, it is finally here. Opening Day. There is a tarp covering the field as I sit in the pressbox at 11:30, an ominous sign.
The temperature, though, is in the 60’s, far better than two years ago when it was in the 20’s and Reds Media Relations Director Rob Butcher insisted on leaving the press box windows open.
And who could blame him? For 30-some years in the old Riverfront Stadium (I could never bring myself to call it Cinergy Field), we sat hermetically-sealed behind immovable glass, windows that wouldn’t open, whether it was 20 outside or 90. When it was 20 outside, the heat inside was like 85. When it was 90 outside, it was like 45 inside.
On the way to the park, I was trying to figure out how many Opening Days this is for me. As the beat writer, it is 35 out of 36. My father died two years ago and his funeral was on Opening Day. Before I was the beat writer, I came to games as a feature writer several times, so I believe I’ve attended 41 of the last 42, all in working capacity.
One different thing about Opening Day is the box lunches (ham or turkey or tuna salad?) they serve in the press box, with an apple, a brownie and some potato chips tossed in. That’s because the media dining room isn’t large enough to handle the large media contingent on Opening Day.
On Wednesday, Game 2, things return to normal and meals are provided in the dining room for the media for $7. And you thought they gave us free food, right?
So, weather permitting, the season starts today - the 162-game grind. Opening Day always is special with its carnival-like atmosphere. I even dress up a little bit. Then it is back to normalcy as the Reds try to eradicate seven straight years of losing and mounting frustration to its fans.
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Paying the price to win
After taking a couple of days off to recover from sunburn and baseball overdose (there really isn’t such a thing with me), I’m back, just in time for Opening Day.
First things first. I tip my Tilley (that’s the Australian hat I wore all spring) to owner Bob Castellini for permitting manager Dusty Baker and general manager Wayne Krivsky to do the right thing.
They are saying good-bye to Mike Stanton. It’s difficult for a franchise that counts nickels and dimes to swallow $3.5 million in one gulp, but that’s what they did. It’s what they owe Stanton.
What it shows is that Castellini & Company are willing to do what they think will help this team win and dumping Stanton was one giant step for Redskind.
Question here, though. I had it on strong authority that the Phillies offered the Reds infielder Wes Helms for Stanton. Helms is making $2.1 million. The Reds said no to the deal, but if they had done it, they could have then dumped Helms and only eat $2.1 million.
But I commend them for that, too. That’s dirty pool, a heartless thing to do just to save (gulp) $1.4 million.
So they’ll announce Monday that Stanton is gone. And they’ll put pitcher Matt Belisle (arm tenderness) and catcher David Ross (back spasms) on the disabled list, which gets the roster down to 25.
With the release of Stanton, I’m surprised the Reds didn’t keep lefthander Bill Bray. Their only lefties in the bullpen as of now are Jeremy Affeldt, who left a large odor most of spring training, and Kent Mercker, back after a year off from Tommy John surgery.
The biggest shocker to me is that Mike Lincoln is on the roster in the bullpen. He quietly (so quiet, I never interviewed him one time, but he is a super nice guy) put together a solid spring and impressed Baker with his velocity.
Lincoln hasn’t pitched in 2 1/2 years and has not one, but two, Tommy John surgeries.
Ryan Freel is still on the team - and that’s a good thing. He can play second base, third base and all the outfield spots, especially now that the team kept only four other outfields - Ken Griffey Jr., Adam Dunn, Corey Patterson and Norris Hopper.
Anway, a big bow to Castellini for sending such a strong supportive message to the fans. Let the games begin.
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Can Bray stay healthy
Every time, it seems, a guy looks as if he has his act together, as if he has solidified his spot on the Cincinnati Reds roster, he soils the dinner host’s expensive linen.
Take Bill Bray, for example.
Until Wednesday night, the young lefthanded relief pitcher was pulling the light switch on every hitter. Then came the Toronto Blue Jays.
In one-third of an inning, Bray gave up three runs and three hits. He walked his first hitter, then gave up two doubles that nearly put holes in the outfield wall, an infield hit, yadda, yadda, yadda.
With leflthanders strewn everywhere in the bullpen, it wasn’t the most apropos time for Bray to go south - not with Mike Stanton and Jeremy Affeldt and Kent Mercker in the mix, four guys for (at most) three spots in the bullpen.
Even before that happened, manager Dusty Baker was skeptical of Bray’s track record of needing excessive medical attention.
“Bray has been doing well,” Baker said. “The only drawback with Bray might be that he comes up hurt. There is still a question with him of availability and durability. That’s a big issue in the big leagues because we play a lot of games, y’know. He started out this spring hurt.”
Baker wanted to know how much Bray has pitched in the majors and how much he has pitched in the minors. Bray, 24, pitchd only 35 1/3 innings last year, 14 1/3 with the Reds, due to a season stuffed with injuries.
His career consists of 65 major-league innings (42 with the Reds) and 99 2/3s minor-league innings.
He is putting that up against veterans like Jeremy Affeldt and Kent Mercker, guys with long track records, even though Affeldt’s numbers this spring are awful.
“Affeldt has been throwing the ball good all along, he just hasn’t been locating very well,” said Baker. “Throwing the ball good is not the issue. Just location. I mean, this is still spring training, but even in April it is still spring time.
“By Opening Day, you hope to have all your team sharp, but rarely do you have all your team sharp,” he said. “Everybody is not the same. You have hot-weather players, guys who need innings to get real sharp, guys who need 150 at-bats to get started and others who seem to get sharp in days.”
Are we missing a name here? Oh, yeah. Mike Stanton and his $3 million contract (with a $500,000 buyout). The Phillies inquired about his availability, offering first baseman/third baseman Wes Helmes. The Reds said no.
Meanwhile, Baker and general manager Wayne Krivsky met early in the morning, presumably to discuss more cuts. There are still 35 on the roster and 10 must go. Over in Winter Haven, the Cleveland Indians are down to 26, one over the limit.
Of course, the Tribe doesn’t have as many great players to check out as the Reds. Yeah, right.
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Bailey optioned to Louisville
As expected, the ax fell on Homer Bailey Wednesday.
The Cincinnati Reds optioned Bailey to Class AAA Louisville, with instructions to find the strike zone and work on his off-speed pitches.
Bailey, 21, the team’s No. 1 draft pick in 2004, was expected to be part of the rotation this year - his job to lose - and he lost it.
In six appearances over 19 innings, Bailey was 1-3 with a 5.21 ERA. He walked 16, struck out 11 and gave up 24 hits. His major problem was his inability to throw strikes, which lifted his pitch count.
Bailey’s demotion leaves six candidates for five rotation spots - Aaron Harang, Bronson Arroyo, Josh Fogg, Johnny Cueto, Edinson Volquez and Matt Belisle. With Belisle missing time with a tender arm, he probably is the odd man out for now.
As manager Dusty Baker said, “Bailey will be back at some point this year. You never go through an entire season without needing additional starters. He just needs to take a good attitude to Louisville and get his command together. He has the stuff.”
Is it the right move?
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Volquez vs. Bailey
Some numbers to ponder after Edinson Volquez gave up a run, a walk and two hits in the first inning Tuesday to the Philadelphia Phillies before he righted himself to pitch five innings while giving up one run, five walks with one walk and five strikeouts.
So far this spring, Volquez has pitched 20 innings and Homer Bailey has pitched 19 innings.
The comparison:
ERA: Volquez 2.70, Bailey 5.21.
Strikeouts: Volquez 26, Bailey 11.
Walks: Volquez 4, Bailey 16.
Hits: Volquez 21, Bailey 24.
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Can Reds afford to cut Stanton?
Dusty Baker made both an interesting and telling comment Tuesday morning in the visitor’s clubhouse at Clearwater’s Bright House Field.
The question was the final determination of the bullpen, who goes and who stays. As candid as always, Baker said, “I know it is not my money, but I hope money isn’t a factor in the final choices. I know the team wants to stay in a budget, but. …”
But, indeed.
The reference obviously was to left-handed relief pitcher Mike Stanton, who wasn’t very good last year and has been mediocre, at best, this spring. But he has a $3 million guaranteed contract with a $500,000 buyout. If the Reds want him to go away (he already cleared waivers, nobody claimed him) and they can’t trade him, it will cost them $3.5 million to show the fans they REALLY want to win this year.
Baker’s bullpen of left-handers would be Jeremy Affeldt, Bill Bray and Kent Mercker. If ownership says, “Keep Stanton,” then Bray has options and might land in Louisville. Or they could jettison Mercker, a situational pitcher Baker likes.
In six appearances, Stanton has given up three runs, four hits, two walks and struck out one.
Affelt hasn’t been that good, either, but Baker stuck up for him.
“I’m a bit concerned about him after he gave it up Monday (two runs, two hits and a walk in one inning, ballooning his spring ERA to 12.51). But he’s a guy you have to consider as having a good track record. Maybe he is throwing too many strikes. He needs to throw quality strikes and keep it as simple as possible. He is a guy who analyzes things too much and he wears his problems all over his face. He cares big-time and you’d rather have that than a guy who doesn’t care.”
The roster remains too large, but there was one cut made Tuesday. Outfielder Jerry Gil was re-assigned to minor-league camp.
Gil most likely will end up at Class AAA Louisville with Jay Bruce and Chris Dickerson and Baker said, “They are going to have some ouftield in Louisville, man. Boy, that potential outfield they have. Whew. Wow. Some good arms, good speed. Probably one of the best around.”
I was tempted to say it, but bit my tongue when I wanted to say, “If you kept Bruce, you might have a much better outfield in Cincinnati.”
Call me Chicken Little.
Of Gil, Baker said, “He needs to play. He didn’t play at all last year (injury) and he is going to be a good player. He realizes he needs some at-bats and needs to play. In fact, he is going to be a very good player. He just needs to stay away from injuries because he has had some unfortunate things happen to him.”
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Six walks a deep six?
Homer Bailey, given another chance to rescue a rotation spot with the Cincinnati Reds, probably walked his way to Louisville on Monday night.
His raw line score against Toronto looks good — 4 1/3 innings, no earned runs (one unearned), two hits — but then comes the walks and the number of pitches.
Bailey walked six in the 4 1/3 innings and needed 84 pitches to get that far, throwing only half for strikes. The Reds turned three double plays to keep the Jays from scoring bountiful runs.
In his final inning, the fifth, he retired one hitter, the opposing pitcher on a full count, and walked the other three, the last one on four straight. For the fifth inning he threw 27 pitches, 21 out of the strike zone.
Before the game manager Dusty Baker said he was looking for strikes. But he didn’t see enough of them and Bailey seemed to punch is already issued ticket to Class AAA Louisville.
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Bailey’s last stand
While Reds manager Dusty Baker isn’t saying tonight’s start by Homer Bailey is all the cliches you’ve heard wrapped into one — do or die, sink or swim, life or death — it is important that Bailey shows the ability to mix in a few strikes and get past the fifth inning with less than 200 pitches.
“Yeah, oh yeah. It’s a big start for Homer Bailey. It’s not do-or-die for him,” said Baker, choosing cliche No. 1. “It can sure help his cause a lot, you know?”
Poor Homer can’t seem to catch a break. Paul Bako was going to catch him, “But Bako has the flu. Homer has done well with Bako.” Instead, he gets Javier Valentin.
Bailey was to pitch in Monday night’s ‘A’ game against Toronto, while Josh Fogg pitched an afternoon minor-league game — 85 to 90 pitches that covered seven innings and in the words of Fogg, “It went well, I got my pitch-count up, stretched out my arm and I hope to be sore tomorrow, which will be good. It’s what I needed. I didn’t have good stuff last time I pitched and this time I did.”
Said Baker, “We figure it means more to Homer in an ‘A’ game. Fogg was there to get his work in, rather to prove himself — not that he’s on the team for sure, necessarily. But his track record is longer.
“Whether the guys make it or not, I try to give them the best opportunity. All I can do is give you your best opportunity and the rest is on your own,” Baker added.
Baker said Bailey should be used to a lot of attention, ever since he was the No. 1 draft pick in 2004, but he also knows what it is like to be compared to a superstar.
“No matter how much attention you get, you still have to produce,” Baker added. “I’ve been through it. I was supposed to be the next Hank Aaron and think about how heavy those shoes are. It rained one night and I almost drowned in those shoes.”
And what was Baker looking for from Bailey on Monday?
“Throw strikes, man, more quality strikes,” said Baker. “The problem has been the last couple of years a high pitch-count in a short period of time. He has to bring it down or he won’t be around very long and it taxes your bullpen.
“It’s the same thing I went through with young pitchers in Chicago,” he said. “They’d pitch five shutout innings and I’d take them out and they’d ask me why and I’d say, ‘Dude, he threw 100 pitches.’ “
Asked what he or the pitching coach or anybody can do to help Bailey, Baker said, “That’s the $64,000 question in my business. You want to help ‘em, but you don’t want to oversaturate his brain and confuse him. He has come a long way this spring and come a long way as a listener.”
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Cueto lays an Easter egg
The egg Johnny Cueto laid on the pitcher’s mound at Ed Smith Stadium on Easter Sunday was probably the biggest egg in Sarasota.
The normally unhittable and under control rookie righthander was a one-man disaster area in only two-thirds of an inning against the Tampa Bay Rays.
He gave up five runs, three hits, five walks. He threw 41 pitches and only 18 were strikes, three of which were jolted for a three-run homer, a two-run double and another double.
His outing was worse than the numbers.
After the Rays reached him for a double, walk and Carlos Pena’s three-run homer, he retired the next two. Then he issued another walk, earning him a visit from pitching coach Dick Pole. He immediately threw four more straight balls for another walk.
When it was 5-0 with a runner on second and two outs, Cueto threw two straight balls to Matt Garza and somebody in the stands yelled, “C’mon, Johnny, that’s the pitcher batting.”
Said Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times, “Wasn’t that (Reds general manager) Wayne Krivsky yelling?”
And somewhere back in the Reds’ clubhouse, Homer Bailey was stifling a wide grin and probably thinking, “See, kid. It isn’t that easy.”
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Easter - Just another day
On this Easter morning, a tale from Ken Griffey Jr. about one of his closest friends, Frank King.
At one point, little more than two years ago, Frank weighed more than 300 pounds. He used to sit quietly in the clubhouse at Griffey’s locker during spring training, arms folded over his chest - a foreboding sight and many thought he was Griffey’s personal bouncer.
Actually, Frank is a gentle guy, a teddy bear. Two years ago he was diagnosed with cancer and has battled gamely. He is below 200 pounds now, “About 185,” said Griffey.
Last week, King was rushed to a hospital in Orlando, suffering internal bleeding supposedly unrelated to the cancer. Griffey visited his friend, who was in and out of drug-induced unconsciousness.
“He nearly died,” said Griffey. “He was very close. And you know what he told me? He said, ‘I was at the gate but they wouldn’t let me in.’”
Pray for Frank.
For the Cincinnati Reds, Easter Sunday was just another work day, an exhibition game against the Tampa Bay Rays with eight days remaining before Opening Day. And there were 37 healthy players still in camp. One more cut was made Sunday, but manager Dusty Baker hadn’t told the unlucky subject so he didn’t say who it was and decided not to identify the player until after the game — the proverbial Player to be Named Later, or, in this case, Player to be Maimed Later.
Expect a slew of cuts by March 26. Players still in camp after the 26th get another month’s pay, whatever is on their contract. That’s a minimum of $65,000 and that’s to a guy making the Major League minimum of $380,000.
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Majewski takes the walk
It was only three steps from Gary Majewski’s locker in the major-league clubhouse to the door leading to another world, the minor-league clubhouse.
Majewski made that walk this morning when he and Jon Coutlangus were optioned to Class AAA Louisville.
While some fans dance in the streets over this demotion, it was a so sad and disconcerting to watch Majewski empty his locker, pack his baseball belongings into a cardboard box and lug stuff to the other side - cramped, musty, dank quarters where all the minor-league players dress.
“They told me they brought too many guys (pitchers) into camp and that didn’t give me much of an opportunity,” said Majewski. “I didn’t pitch much and that’s why I was frustrated. Same old stuff - I didn’t know exactly what they wanted me to do. Wish I had gotten a lot more opportunities to pitch, but when you have 35 pitchers in camp it is hard to really do anything to get consistent.
“I’ll go down there and pitch,” he said. “My arm feels healthy and it’s just frustrating that I didn’t get to use it as much as I’d like.”
Majewski had an awful first outing this spring, then in his last outing last Sunday he gave up three unearned runs on two hits and two walks. The inning began with second baseman Andy Green booting a ball for an error. Majewski got two outs, then the sky fell on his head, not to mention the clouds.
It would appear the bullpen is nearly set: Closer Francisco Cordero, RHP David Weathers, LHP Mike Stanton, LHP Jeremy Affeldt, LHP Kent Mercker, LHP Bill Bray, RHP Todd Coffey, RHP Jared Burton (or RHP Edinson Volquez is they strangely decided to keep Homer Bailey as the No. 5 starters, which shouldn’t happen). And Mike Lincoln, with his 95 miles an hour fastball is hanging in there.
It looks as if the main decisions are whether to keep Mercker or Bray as a third lefthander because Stanton and his $3 million contract are locked in. And the last righthanded spot is between Coffey (perfect all spring), Burton (a struggler and straggler) and Lincoln - out of baseball for three years after TWO Tommy John surgeries, but back throwing harder than ever.
That gives them three lefthanders and four righthanders, a nice balance.
Not far from Majewski’s locker catcher David Ross dressed with a smile after playing in his first game this spring Friday to test his achy back.
“I was 2 for 3 with a home run and two walks,” he said with a smile. “I knew I was good in ‘A’ ball.” Ross played for Class A Sarasota and said he’ll catch again Sunday, but didn’t know if it would be with the Cincinnati Reds, Sarasota Reds or Dayton Dragons.
“I caught good, no soreness,” he added. “Ran the bases fine, a good day, felt fine. Even though it was ‘A’ ball, it made feel good as far as confidence.”
Sitting next to Majewski’s now-empty locker was lefthanded pitcher Bobby Livingston, residing on the 60-day disabled list after surgery last season to repair a torn labrum. He had a wide grin on his face as he ate breakfast - raisin bread slathered with peanut butter and honey.
“I get to throw 160 feet tomorrow,” he said. “One more week and I get to throw off the mound. Man, it has been six or seven months since I threw off a mound. Weird. They’ve told me I’ll stay back for extended spring training. Although I know God has a plan and has a reason for everything, I see there are no lefthanders in our rotation and I wonder, ‘What if?’”
On a positive note, shortstop Alex Gonzalez tossed his crutches into a corner Saturday and was cleared to begin light baseball workouts - light hitting in the cage and light running. But he won’t be ready for Opening Day.
Kent Mercker continues to be the leader in the clubhouse for the Stand-up Comedian award. It was raining early Saturday and pitcher David Weathers asked, “It’s raining. What do we do?” Without hesitation, Mercker said, “Is it raining in the hot tub?”
And Mercker was talking about his yearly physical examination by the team when spring training begins.
“Great blood work. I have great bloodwork,” he said. “Every year (trainer) Mark Mann is amazed by my bloodwork. I tell him, ‘It must be genetics, because it isn’t clean living.”
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Tightness for Belisle
It looks as if the rotation decision for manager Dusty Baker is getting easier.
Baker reported today that Matt Belisle is experiencing tightness in his forearm. The club isn’t certain when he will be able to throw hard again.
It could be the disabled list for Belisle by Opening Day, making the decision for the fifth spot between Josh Fogg and Homer Bailey - if, indeed, Johnny Cueto and Edinson Volquez are in there.
“He has forearm discomfort from practicing his change-up,” Baker said of Belisle. “He has been throwing a lot them so there was some tightness there.”
Seems that the rotation might be getting even more clear.
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The $40,000 Question(s)
Some questions for you just 10 days away from Opening Day while wondering whether to go to the Ringling Brother Circus Museum or go to another exhibition baseball game (sometimes there isn’t much difference between circus clowns and baseball players).
As proof, there was the Boston Red Sox threatening to boycott an exhibition game unless their coaches and support people received the same $40,000 stipend the players get for gong to Japan.
While the coaches and support folks probably can use the money, all the players did was put a spotlight on the fact that these young millionaires are being paid an extra $40,000 to go do their jobs. Forty grand? Many, many fans don’t make that much money in a year and here we have guys like Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis getting an extra 40 grand to do what the schedule says they are required to do.
Geesh.
Anyway … the questions.
1 - Where do you think the Reds will finish in the NL Central this year? (I say third, maybe second. The Cubs will win it and the Brewers probably are second best, although if things break right, the Reds could take second. Houston and St. Louis are down this year and if any team in this division can’t beat out the Pirates then they should serve a five-year demotion to Triple-A.)
2 - Who should be in the rotation? (I say Aaron Harang, Bronson Arroyo, Johnny Cueto, Edinson Volquez and Josh Fogg. Homer Bailey only gave up one run and three hits in four innings Thursday night against the Twins, but was supposed to pitch five innings. He lasted only four because of another typically high pitch count and one person said he thought Bailey threw 1,435 pitches. Matt Belisle remains inconsistent and probably could use another dose of Louisville.)
3 - Who should play center field, Corey Patterson or Norris Hopper or Ryan Freel or Josh Hamilton or Jay Bruce? (I say Hamilton or Bruce. Whoops, Hamilton was traded to Texas and it probably was an excellent trade if Volquez continues to resemble a young Pedro Martinez. And Bruce is gone, sent skipping and whistling to the minors. The other three? I’m not thrilled with any of them. Cesar Geronimo is in camp looking pretty good. Jim Bowden would sign him.)
4 - Who should play first base, Joey Votto or Scott Hatteberg? (I say … and it’s obvious because I put his name first … Votto. He and I have a good cigar exchange going, but that’s prejudicial and one of the reasons I liked manager Jack McKeon so much. Votto is struggling this spring, but I’ll believe that he is a slow starter. Hatteberg is a great team player, an excellent hitter, a decent first baseman. But let’s hope the Reds don’t make the same mistake with Votto I think they’ve made with Bruce.)
5 - What do you think of manager Dusty Baker so far? (I say A+, but then I’m prejudicial again because he is a baseball writer’s dream. He gives us 15 minutes in his office every morning and fills our notebooks. He answers every question and spices his answers with delightful anecdotes and embellishments. He ducks nothing. As a manager? Let’s give the man a chance. He hasn’t managed a game that counts yet. I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do with this team.)
Finally, I can’t resist relating this story - loving Roger Clemens as I do.
The Huntsville (Ala.) Stars, a Class AA affiliate of the Brewers, went out of their way to hire a manager named Buck Rodgers (remember the long-ago space traveler of comic books and cartoons named Buck Rogers? The Stars probably added the ‘D’ in his last name for defense.
Anyway, the Stars have offered Clemens a job, since he can’t find one. They offered him a contract to be the team’s second-string mascot, Rocket. (Roger “The Rocket” Clemens, get it?) Homer the Polecat is their No. 1 mascot. Clemens would dress up in a space traveler’s suit and he would be paid $25 a game, plus vouchers for hot dogs and pop at the concession stand and, get this, a 15 percent discount on souvenirs.
“Clemens is a small-town guy (hey, watch it, buddy — Clemens was born in Dayton and we don’t consider ourselves small stuff), and he’d be a great fit in Huntsville,” said Rodgers.
Who says there is collusion in baseball? See, they’re offering Clemens a job. Now if some team would just offer Barry Bonds a job as a clubhouse attendant to take care of La-Z-Boy recliners, this collusion nonsense would go away.
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Jay Bruce sent to minors
As expected, the Cincinnati Reds sent outfielder Jay Bruce to minor-league camp today, one of five players removed from major-league camp.
Bruce and pitchers Tom Shearn and Josh Roenicke were re-assigned to minor-league camp, while pitcher Marcus McBeth and outfielder Drew T. Anderson were optioned to Class AAA Louisville.
None was a surprise, although many in Reds Nation, including me, disagree with the removal of Bruce, the 20-year-old outfielder who was Minor League Player of the Year both for Baseball America and The Sporting News.
But it was self-evident when the Reds signed free-agent center fielder Corey Patterson, a player from manager Dusty Baker’s past.
Early in camp, when asked about Bruce, Baker said, “There is more to baseball than hitting. There is defense and throwing and running the bases.”
Baker did admit that Bruce has a huge upside and is a future star, but that star will shine over Louisville to start the season — and when Patterson and Norris Hopper don’t get the job done, Bruce will be back.
The sooner the better.
There are conspiracy theorists out there who believe the Reds are doing this to prevent Bruce from becoming arbitration-eligible a year sooner. If they wait until June to call him up, his arbitration eligibility moves back a year.
If that’s the case, and nobody is about to admit that, it means the Reds might not be taking their best players north.
“That’s not the case,” said Krivsky. “I’ve never understood why people make that an issue or a big deal. We have a lot of young players, some of whom will make it, and the clock starts running on them.”
Krivsky, manager Dusty Baker and outfield coach Billy Hatcher gave Bruce the bad news this morning and Krivsky said, “He took it really well. He promised to go down and bust his butt. He will be back at some point this year, but with Ken Griffey Jr., Adam Dunn, Corey Patterson, Norris Hopper and Ryan Freel, he wasn’t going to be a fourth outfielder.
“He had a good camp and we’re real pleased with his progress. But we feel this is the appropriate move. It was his first big-league camp and it was beneficial for him. He observed and learned a lot and did some nice things.”
Indeed, Bruce zipped through the system in one year - from Class A Sarasota to Class AA Chattanooga to Class AAA Louisville, and 60 per cent of his at-bats last year was in Class A.
“He got a lot of attention and that’s great,” said Krivsky. “He created a lot of positive talk and that’s good for our future, too.
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Baker gets his dessert
On Tuesday night, Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel was having dinner at Bella Roma, an Italian restaurant on Siesta Key near Sarasota. On Wednesday, he received his dessert - the announcement by quarterback Terrell Pryor that he is going to be a Buckeye.
On the same day, Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker was talking about what amounts to his dessert, something he has looked for all spring.
That would be rookie pitchers Johnny Cueto (the pie) and Edinson Volquez (the ala mode).
A national writer, Bill Madden of the New York Daily News, started his conversation with Baker by saying, “I’ve been reading about your pitching, sort of coming out of nowhere.”
Said Baker, “Well, not really. It is out of nowhere for people who didn’t know them. Like I always say, and in the beginning of the spring, as I learned from the Dodgers, you look for a surprise guy that you didn’t count on. We have a couple of ‘em…maybe.”
Baker, as he should, is still hedging his bet on Cueto and Edinson in case they have late-spring meltdowns, but these two Dominican Dandies look for real.
“You have to give our scouting department credit for this so far,” Baker added. “They did their work in the trade for Volquez from Texas for outfielder Josh Hamilton. There are a lot of teams that would have liked to have had Josh but the package wasn’t right. And you still don’t know if the package is right until you have some final results coming in.”
Even with the spring success of Volquez that has him on a direct path to the rotation, some fans still lament the loss of Hamilton, who is hitting close to .500 and put together nine straight hits at one juncture this spring. And, yes, he is battling an injury - the second reason they traded him (injuries). The first reason was Volquez.
“That’s why they call it a trade,” said Baker. “A good trade is when both teams benefit. That’s a trade. Nobody is out to get the better of the other team. It isn’t who got the better of the trade or who ripped who off. You want it to work both ways.”
Does that remind anybody of the name Gary Majewski? But I digress.
Of this deal, Baker said, “They’re happy and we’re happy. And when both sides are happy that makes it easier for organizations to trade with one another in the future.”
Bake was asked if he worries about glossy springs by young pitchers like Cueto and Edinson, only to see them fumble and flounder when the season begins.
“Quite honestly, I worry more about hitters having great spring with no track record than I do pitchers,” he said. “If pitchers are throwing their breaking balls and changeups over the plate, now they are going to do about the same once the season starts. But a hitter who had done a lot of hitting in the spring - well a lot of pitchers aren’t getting breaking balls over the plate and they’re hitting fastballs. So you worry about hitters when pitchers starting getting control of their breaking ball.”
Yes, that means that Josh Hamilton probably is feasting on fastballs. But there is a slight downside to this. Both Cueto and Edinson pitched in winter ball and came to camp already in command of all their pitches, far ahead of the hitters.
Will the hitters catch up to them? Only the season will tell and that’s not far away.
“Our guys are showing both - change of speeds and some gas (Cueto at 97-98 and Volquez at 94-95),” Baker said. “If you don’t have the gas, you can step on that pedal all you want to and you don’t have no gas, know what I mean?
“And I’m not worried because these guys show composure,” he added. “They’ve gotten out of trouble.”
The Hamilton deal? Well, we all know the price of gas.
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Looks like Patterson in center field
Dusty Baker padlocked the complex today.
With no exhibition game, with no minor-league games, with no sideline sessions, with no extra work planned, Baker gave everybody the day off and the players scattered hither and yon.
Baker and his son, Darren, went fishing off a Siesta Key sandbar.
Meanwhile, I had breakfast at the Broken Egg in Lakeland Ranch with ESPN basketball analyst Dick Vitale, who talked baseball more than basketball while wearing a Reds cap and signing autographs for all comers between bites of fruit and toast.
Vitale said he attended Tuesday’s game against Pittsburgh and chatted with Baker.
“Dusty Baker really likes Corey Patterson, doesn’t he?” said Vitale, revealing why Patterson will start in center field for the Reds. “He said he needs speed, somebody quick, in center field to cover the gaps.”
That’s because Baker is worried about his corner outfield spots, Adam Dunn in left and Ken Griffey Jr. in right.
There are still 50 players in camp and 25 need to be trimmed quickly. Nevertheless, it is evident Baker is pretty set on his Opening Day lineup — not that I agree with it.
It is: CF Patterson, SS Jeff Keppinger (Alex Gonzalez remains on crutches with a bulky brace on his left knee), RF Ken Griffey Jr., 2B Brandon Phillips, LF Adam Dunn, 3B Edwin Encarnacion, 1B Scott Hatteberg, C Paul Bako (David Ross and his problem back have yet to play), RHP Aaron Harang.
I’d prefer Jay Bruce leading off and playing CF, but Patterson is hitting near .500 and earning the spot. Bruce probably starts at Louisville. I prefer Joey Votto at first base but at least it appears that Baker will keep Votto on the roster. Maybe. If Bruce and Votto are the future stars everybody thinks, why not jump-start their careers right now?
The rotation: Harang, RHP Bronson Arroyo, RHP Johnny Cueto, RHP Edinson Volquez and an either/or - RHP Josh Fogg or RHP Matt Belisle. RHP Homer Bailey starts in Louisville and since Belisle has an option he might start there, too — both ready in case somebody in the rotation falters or suffers injury.
The bullpen is sketchy. For-sures are closer/RHP Francisco Cordero, RHP/set-up David Weathers and LHP Jeremy Affeldt. With his $3 million contract, LHP Mike Stanton probably is in there, too. LHP Bill Bray and LHP Kent Mercker are on the bubble. RHP Todd Coffey, nearly perfect this spring, probably stays. Jared Burton, woozy all spring, might not make it and Gary Majewski shouldn’t.
The extra players are real iffy, especially with only five spots. They’ll keep C Javier Valentin, INF Juan Castro and OF Norris Hopper. INF/OF Ryan Freel is valuable as a guy who plays everywhere, but there may not be room and they are trying to trade him. Throw Votto in there, too, as a fifth guy.
That leaves some good guys out in the cold: INF/OF Jolbert Cabrera, INF Andy Phillips, INF Andy Green, INF/OF Jerry Gil, INF Jerry Hairston, Jr.
Baker best be doing some deep thinking as he sits on the dock of the bay.
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A man and his dog
Dog Lover’s of America, listen up. You have a hero in Dusty Baker. He actually said this Tuesday morning — and he was wide awake.
Asked about being back in baseball after a year off, he said, “I enjoyed spending time with my son, my wife, my daughter and my dog. My dog is 11 years old and I miss my dog. That’s the best woman in my life.”
Baker’s 9-year-old son heard that comment and quickly said, “I’m going to call mom and tell her.”
“I love my mom, my sisters, my daughters, everybody, and it’s no slight on anybody, but my dog (Bailey, a German short-haired pointer) … well, my wife knows how I feel about my dog. My wife ain’t never run and got no pheasant for me. Best hunting dog I ever had and don’t they always talk about man and his dog? Ain’t no slight on any women in my wife.
“I’ll never have a male dog,” he said. “Bailey is loyal, most loyal dog I ever had. Oh, she’s loyal.”
With that out of the way, Baker went on to talk about his two young pitching sensations — Johnny Cueto and Edinson Volquez — and how he relates to them.
“These guys know what is at stake and they’re hungry and I like hungry guys,” said Baker. “Do you know the pressure that is on these guys? They’re from another country (Dominican Republic) and probably their parents and family don’t have much. It’s the first time in their lives they have a chance to make some money. There is something to hunger — and need.”
Baker reverted to his childhood.
“When I was a kid, we weren’t poor by any means, but we were fishing and hunting for the meat. We’d stay out there all day until we caught some fish or I’d walk all day until we got a pheasant or two. As I got older and more well-off, I started fishing and hunting for the sport. If you don’t get anything, no problem. I had to trick myself to going back to hunting and fishing, trying to say I need it for the meat.”
Then the subject turned to the fact that Baker took left-hander Jeremy Affeldt out of the rotation mix and plopped him into the bullpen, already crowded with left-handed candidates Mike Stanton, Bill Bray and Kent Mercker.
The possibility of three left-handers in the bullpen doesn’t faze Baker, and once again he turned to veteran manager Jim Leyland for an outlook.
“The Pirates always had three left-handers in the bullpen when Leyland was there and they were winning,” he said. “I’ve found that more left-handers can get righties out than right-handers get lefties out.”
With Affeldt out of the rotation pot, the Reds are without a left-hander in the projected rotation, no matter who survives.
“I’d prefer a left-hander, but again, you want the best man,” said Baker. “You’d prefer one, definitely. But as I recall, didn’t the Red Sox go to the World Series without a lefty?”
Just like his dog, Bailey, Baker was right on point with that one.
Cueto’s escape act
For most of this spring it has been like a day of leisurely sailing on placid Sarasota Bay for rookie pitcher Johnny Cueto — no issues, no roiling waves or sandbars.
That changed Monday against the Detroit Tigers, and instead of sinking to the bottom of the bay the 22-year-old rookie pitcher responded with the savvy and verve of a pitcher twice his age — like his opponent Monday, 45-year-old Kenny Rogers.
In the first inning, Cueto was up to his neck in hungry alligators. Four of the first five Tigers reached base. And while two scored, the damage could have been much more dire. Instead, Cueto got out of that mess and pitched three nearly perfect innings after the first — no runs, no hits, one walk.
That’s a commendable worthy of a guy with 20 years on his resume.
Manager Dusty Baker was, of course, impressed with Cueto’s escape act and said, “He seemed unfazed and you know it upset him. But he handled it like a veteran and demonstrated damage control.”
With two weeks to go, is Baker ready to put Edinson Volquez and Cueto into the rotation? Not yet. Not officially, but he did say, “They’re painting a good picture.”
One significant move was made when Baker on Monday told rotation candidate Jeremy Affeldt that his quest was over, that he is in the bullpen. The leaves the five-spot argument contestants at seven, with two spots occupied (Aaron Harang, Bronson Arroyo). Barring a catastrophe, Cueto and Volquez are three and four or four and three, with Josh Fogg, Matt Belisle and Homer Bailey (Louisville-bound) the other candidates.
Baker tipped his hand a bit before his team’s 5-3 win over the Tigers by asking Detroit manager Jim Leyland about bringing in young and inexperienced pitchers from the minors to the majors, the way the Tigers did with Joel Zumaya and Justin Verlander.
Leyland smiled and said, “If you don’t want Cueto, we’ll take him off your hands.” And that was before he saw him pitch. Afterward, Leyland said, “Some of the best crude stuff I’ve seen. Good velocity, good breaking ball. One of the best-looking young pitchers I’ve seen. Very impressive.”
And remember Kenny Rogers? It was 2002 and the Reds were in second place, 4 1/2 games behind the Cardinals. Reds GM Jim Bowden made a trade with Texas for Rogers, but Rogers turned it down, didn’t want to come to Cincinnati.
On St. Patrick’s Day, manager Dusty Baker thought a moment about his team and said, “Let’s see, I guess St. Patrick’s Day is like New Year’s Eve to (catcher) Ryan Hanigan.”
At that moment, Hanigan was sitting by himself at a table in the middle of the clubhouse and the only green near him was some flakes in his cereal.
Ken Griffey Jr. looked around the room and said, “I guess I have to find our leprechaun for the day,” and chose Norris Hopper.
It is fast becoming drudgery time for everybody in spring training, two weeks until Opening Day. Even Baker notices it and sympathizes with the writers.
As we all sat staring at our notebooks at 8 a.m. Monday, Baker said, “Getting hard on you guys, too, huh? It’s to the point where you guys are asking, ‘What ifs?’ and ‘How abouts?’ Pretty soon it is going to be, ‘How comes?’ “
That’s when the big cuts begin and that should be soon. As soon as the writers left Dusty’s office, general manager Wayne Krivsky and special advisor Walt Jocketty walked in. The door shut behind them. Decisions, decisions, decisions.
Meanwhile, in the clubhouse the talk was about Sunday afternoon’s karaoke party — a command performance for the veterans by the rookies and newcomers.
Who won?
“It’s like the PGA Tour — the brother won,” said Griffey. “Marcus McBeth. When he sung Snoop’s Wine & Juice, it was all over. Bobby Livingston was second with Girls, Girls, Girls. And, yeah, we had some crash and burns. Johnny Cueto said he didn’t like ‘Born in the USA,’ so we gave him a song with Spanish lyrics and he couldn’t do that, either.”
Then there was Canadian-born Joey Votto. Canadian prime minister Steven Harper spent the weekend at a condominium on Siesta Key, heavily guarded by Secret Service personnel.
Asked if he knew Harper, Votto said, “I don’t know him, but we went to the same high school. I did a Wikipedia search on my high school once (Riverview Institute in Toronto) and it listed its graduates as Steven Harper and Joey Votto. And I said, ‘That’s the best they can do?’ “
Volquez mows ‘em down
Edinson Volquez wasn’t content to shut out the Philadelphia Phillies for five innings on three hits on a day with humidity so thick you could bite it and chew it.
After displaying another dazzling imitation of Pedro Martinez, he did his Lance Armstrong act, riding a bicycle at full-pedal for another 30 minutes.
Volquez possesses four pitches, “All of of which he uses at all time and isn’t afraid to throw to anybody at any time,” said catcher Javier Valentin. “But his changeup is his best.”
Indeed, in the first inning Volquez struck out National League Most Valuable Player Jimmy Rollins on a changeup to open the game, then struck out Ryan Howard on a changeup to end the inning.
“When I signed, I was afraid to throw the changeup,” said Volquez. “I knew the grip, knew how to hold it, but I was scared. I wanted to throw as hard as I could. I thought if I threw soft, they’d hit. I’m older and wiser now.”
And much better. In four appearances this spring, he has pitched 13 innings, giving up five runs, 15 hits, three walks and struck out 19. He fanned six Phillies and swalked one in five innings Sunday, throwing 69 pitches, 47 for strikes.
Can you spell r-o-t-a-t-i-o-n?
ROENICKE SURVIVING
They call it the Coffin Corner, a string of lockers to the right as players walk in the clubhouse doors.
It’s where young players getting their first taste of Major League life slip into their uniforms and watch as stars and studs walk by.
On Sundahy morning, there were eight empty lockers and one occupied locker. The empties were formerly the location of players sent back to the minors over the past week.
Still standing is pitcher Josh Roenicke — and that’s an accomplishment. While he is 25, he has pitched in only 67 minor-league games and 70 total innings.
He was the 10th round draft pick of the Cincinnati Reds in 2006 out of UCLA and he has thoroughbred blood lines - his father, Ron, and his uncle, Gary, were major-league players. They were outfielders, not pitchers.
With Roenicke still occupying a precarious spot in the big-league clubhouse, manager Dusty Baker was asked about his status. After all, he has made four appearances, pitched four innings, given up no runs, two hits, one walk and struck out four.
Pretty dazzling stuff for an inexperienced young man from Ruff & Ready, Calif.
“He doesn’t have enough experience and we’ll send him out to pitch pretty soon,” said Baker. “He certainly has pitched his way into future considerations. He has been on a fast track. He’s only pitched ‘A’ ball and a little ‘AA’ ball (19 games, 19 innings). You can only carry so many.
“We can only carry 12 pitchers and we have like 16 or 17 guys under consideration,” Baker added. “You can’t carry everybody and he is probably the least experienced of any pitcher in camp. But he IS on a fast track. For a guy who hasn’t pitched much, he is on a real fast track.”
A SAD FAREWELL
There was, though, one cut Sunday and it pained Baker because Adam Rosales, a 24-year-old infielder left an impression - on and off the field. Rosales played in 17 games and hit .321.
“We sent him out to play after he had a real good spring for us,” said Baker. “He played all over the place, hustled, showed great attitude and great aptitude for the game. He has a big future.”
Rosales played shortstop, second base, first base, third base, outfield - all over - and Baker said, “I asked him what