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Hall of Fame baseball writer Hal McCoy has retired from the Dayton Daily News after covering the Cincinnati Reds for 37 years. Hal's blog, though, will continue to be a must-read for Reds fans. He'll share his thoughts on the team this season and will file updates from Great American Ball Park. You also can catch Hal in print every Sunday in his popular Ask Hal columnHome > Blogs > The Real McCoy | Cincinnati Reds baseball news > Archives > 2008 > April > 10 > Entry
Get me to Pittsburgh
I thought I was being suave and debonair about my travel arrangements from Milwaukee to Pittsburgh.
While the other beat writers fled to Chicago to catch an early-morning flight from O’Hare to Pittsburgh, I smugly made arrangements to leave Milwaukee on Thursday night via Midwest Airlines (they actually bake chocolate chip cookies on board) for a nonstop flight to Pittsburgh.
On Thursday morning, Midwest grounded some of its MD80s for safety checks. So my fingers are crossed for after the game that my plane is a CRJ (Canadian Regional Jet).
See, it’s the little things on the travel front that reach up and bite you right through the suit cushions.
In 36 years, only once did I nearly miss a game due to the airlines. I had a flight from St. Louis to San Diego canceled. I switched to a flight to Los Angeles, rented a car at LAX and roared south on I-5, making the game about 10 minutes before the first pitch.
After the game, on the way to the hotel, my rental car had a flat. Had that happened on I-5, I would have missed the first pitch and maybe I wouldn’t be here to watch Aaron Harang throw pitches at the Milwaukee Brewers.
After letting slump-bitten Edwin Encarnacion watch Wednesday’s game, a 12-4 Cincinnati victory, manager Dusty Baker put Encarnacion back in the lineup. Baker said he thought about giving him two days off, but said it is too early in the year to give him back-to-back days.
So Encarnacion swung at the first pitch he saw Thursday, trying to pull an outside pitch, and grounded meekly to third base.
Speaking of Pittsburgh, after a three-game series in PNC Park, the Reds have an off-day Monday before beginning a three-game series in Chicago.
That off-day Monday is Josh Fogg’s turn, but Baker doesn’t intend to skip him. More likely he will push everybody back a day — except Harang, who will pitch on his normal fifth day Tuesday. That would have Fogg pitching on his seventh day and Edinson Volquez on his sixth, “But Edinson did well with an extra day his last start and when he did it in spring training,” said Baker.
Now I know I’ll get to the airport on time — my special cab driver in Milwaukee will be waiting — but who knows when I’ll get to Pittsburgh, although I can think of hundreds of places I’d rather be.
Encarnacion walked his second time up in the fifth and came around to score. But with Scott Hatteberg on third and a 0-1 count on Harang, Baker flashed the suicide squeeze sign.
Hatteberg dashing toward home with the pitch — OK, so Hatteberg can’t dash — Harang missed the low and outside bunt attempt and Hatteberg was hung out between third and home like Monday’s laundry (is laundry still done mostly on Mondays and why?).
Bunting practice in the Pittsburgh Omni Penn hotel at midnight tonight, clear the lobby.
Time out for the wiener race: Bratwurst wins in 20.9 seconds, probably distracting the other wieners with his bright green bowler hat.
Harang gave up a run in the second and nothing else, but the Reds had only two hits after six.
Then it happened in the seventh. Adam Dunn tried to check his swing and blooped a hit to left. Encarnacion, now in a relaxed mental state (I guess), reversed the first pitch thrown by Carlos Villanueva and lobbed it over the left-field fence, a two-run home run for a 3-1 Reds lead.
It was EE’s second home run and he was 0-for-18 in between.
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By Richard
April 11, 2008 9:22 AM | Link to this
In the 0-18, how many walks did he get? Walks are as good as a single and he has had 10 walks already.
By Dave
April 11, 2008 9:11 AM | Link to this
That’s funny about the Monday laundry, Hal! That’s when I do mine, too. Workin’ four 10-hour days, Monday’s my day off. Hope you had a smooth flight on a CRJ!
By Deaner
April 10, 2008 9:06 PM | Link to this
Hal, I’d like an in-depth report on the pierogi races in Pittsburgh.
By Will
April 10, 2008 3:41 PM | Link to this
Clearly, 0-18 is pretty bad. But I really don’t think that EE has been as horrible as his sub-200 average (now) would lead you to believe. His OBP is .368, he’s second on the team with 2 HRs, and he’s actually striking out less frequently than Phillips or Dunn (not that that’s a surprise). It’s a long season, and things will even out for him. Keep your head up, Eddie.