Home of the Week
Madison graduation 2012
Warren County CC graduation
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 > 21 > Entry
Welcome to the bigs, Matt
Matt Belisle, facing a major-league team (and at this point, with the Los Angeles Dodgers, that’s debatable) was not very good. In fact, awful is an insult to the word.
Final: Los Angeles Dodgers 9, Cincinnati Reds 3, and it wasn’t that close.
But let’s defer that for a moment.
What frosted my Spaldings during the game, before I checked with manager Dusty Baker, was what happened in the third inning when Ryan Freel led the inning with a single. Keep in mind, the Reds are down five runs, losing 5-0, way behind and struggling against Brad Penny.
And then I wrote, before checking with Baker:
So what did Freel do? He tried to steal second and was out from the distance between the Ohio River and downtown Columbus. If Freel has a license to steal, it should be immediately revoked. There is no way he gets the steal sign there. He ran on his own.
Instead of a green light, Freel needs ankle shackles. You have to applaud Freel’s hustle and will to win, but intelligent baseball plays into the equation somewhere along the line.
Now here is what Baker said. He sent Freel and his reasoning passed muster with me. So I’m wrong for the millionth time in my career.
“That was me — I sent him,” said Baker. “Even though we’re down 5-0, you still have to try to get something going early in the game. We were trying to get on the board. We were getting it taken to us and we wanted to try to reverse it and take it to them.
“You have two choices,” Baker added. “You can wait back and get beat up or you can fight back and try to do something,” Baker added.
Now Belisle, who constructed a 3-0 record and a 1.17 ERA while pitching three games on rehab against the Class A Tampa Yankees, the Class AA Birmingham Barons and the Class AAA Pawtucket Pawsox.
While that isn’t something to frighten a legitimate major-league pitcher, neither are the present-day Los Angeles Dodgers. They came to Cincinnati having lost nine of 12 and they were swept in Atlanta, scoring one run in each loss (4-1, 4-1, 6-1).
They had one run on Belisle’s second pitch, a 379-foot home run by Rafael Furcal, who is 4-for-4 with two homers for his first four at-bats against Belisle.
Then the Dodgers scored two in the second and two in the third and owned nine hits off Belisle after four innings. Belisle gave up three hits to start the fifth and was gone, sent to warm up the shower heads for his teammates.
His line: four innings, seven runs (five earned), one walk, three strikeouts and a real downer to everybody who thought maybe he had it together.
The Reds had two hits off Penny at the time, one by Freel, then they got two harmless but long-distance solo home runs from Edwin Encarnacion and Joey Votto.
And I’m still wondering — a little bit — about stealing when you are down 5-0 with no outs early in the game. But Dusty knows best.
Permalink | Comments (27) | Post your comment |
Tweet
Comments
By Michael in Monterey, CA
April 22, 2008 4:13 PM | Link to this
Arroyo will be allright. Someone just needs to convince him before the 1st inning that it’s actually the 3rd. Ross won’t be much help to Reds. Affeldt is fine where he is- why mess with a good era? Bruce needs to be in Center yesterday.
By Mr. Baseball
April 22, 2008 2:02 PM | Link to this
Mr. Baseball thinks that fans have been a little hasty in criticizing Dusty’s early performance. Like most good managers, Dusty has shown patience in allowing certain players to play their way out of slumps. In the case of Votto and Encarnacion, this patience has begun to pay off. (Encarnacion’s fielding will settle down once he becomes comfortable as a hitter.) Mr. Baseball also believes Brandon Phillips will get really hot soon. In the case of Adam Dunn, Mr. Baseball is less certain. There is no learning curve here; he has not matured as a hitter over all these years. He is lost against left-handed pitching. For now, Dunn needs to be plattoned with Hairston. In the case of Corey Patterson, Mr. Baseball has seen enough. He needs to go and make room for a Jay Bruce/Norris Hopper platoon in centerfield. Dunn and Griffey need to be dropped in the batting order. Votto needs to be elevated to the number three spot. He clearly has less holes in his swing than Griffey at this point. He also has better speed and will hit for a higher average. The writing is on the wall for Valentin. Dusty has shown no faith in his right-handed hitting and he’s a defensive liability. These changes need to be made soon: cut Patterson and bring up Bruce. Cut Valentin and bring up Ross. When Gonmzalez comes back, he should fill the Juan Castro role as a reserve, defensive replacement who has some right-handed pop off the bench. Keppinger is the best pure ballplayer on the team and more of the team should follow his example as a team player who does the little things well! The bench of Hatteberg, Hairston, and Freel is a good one and will produce over the course of the season. (By the way, Mr. Baseball agrees with Dusty’s decision to let Freel steal last night. The team needs a jump start and we should let players do what they do best!) Mr. Baseball will stand pat with the pitching for now. But Arroyo has to step up and be the number 2 pitcher that he is being paid to be. And Mr. Baseball will not show much patience in Belisle if he continues to pitch like last night. Mr. Baseball believes that Dusty should move toward the following starting lineup (with platoon situations against right-handed/left-handed pitching in three positions). What do you think? Bruce/Hopper CF Keppinger SS Votto 1B Phillips 2B Griffey RF Encarnacion 3B Dunn/Hairston LF Bako/Ross C (pitcher)
By Trev
April 22, 2008 1:40 PM | Link to this
Dunn’s going to have to move to the 2nd spot or leadoff spot. The best thing he does is ‘see’ a lot of pitches and walk. He’s killing this team in the middle of the order and always has for the most part. For goodness sake, bring up Bruce so that he can begin to rake like his buddy Votto. Here’s is a lineup for these disfunctional hitters: LF Dunn SS Keppinger RF Griffey 2B Phillips 1B Votto 3B Encarnacion CF Bruce C Bako/Ross
By Matt
April 22, 2008 1:00 PM | Link to this
There is a bigger concern than our #5 guy getting rocked…we CANNOT score runs. The average with runners in scoring position is abysmal, and why would anyone think that this would change this year? We basically have the same team as last year with the same problems. We have supposed ‘offensive stars’ who truly have been offensive for the past month in Dunn and Griffey. Tha fact is that without any real power threat in the lineup the team is destined to be mediocre at best. I would be happy with an 82-80 record this year after years of below .500. The highlight of the game last night was Brantley and Marty discussing sleeping habits…truly hilarious and entertaining radio even during a blowout. Hal, I am sure that you can’t listen, but pass on to the guys that it was great!
By MAC
April 22, 2008 12:33 PM | Link to this
Say what you want about MB, but remember he is the young pitching prospect so many rant about getting in any trade. His performance has largely been inconsistent at best, but remember he’s pitched some very good games as well. IMO, he’s a lot like Baily: dominate @ AAA, but inconsistent in the bigs. They dominate w/ the fastball in AAA, yet don’t have command of the breaking ball or no change-up to keep ML hitters off balance. It all comes back to minor league coaching & execution: 2 things the Reds are chroniclly short of.
By somethingbetter
April 22, 2008 11:09 AM | Link to this
It’s getting tougher to watch this team play. They should be grateful they have guaranteed contracts instead of performance based contracts. Imagine what the Reds salaries would be if they were paid for wins, RBI, hitting with RISP, come from behind wins, etc. Tennis, golf and racing all have it right…you perform, you get paid more.
By Broadway
April 22, 2008 10:52 AM | Link to this
Harrang/Cueto/Volquez/Bailey-Affeldt/ That’s right use a four man rotation! Trade or euthanize Arroyo/Belisle/Coffey/Fogg!
By Steve T.
April 22, 2008 10:40 AM | Link to this
I find Dusty’s reasoning behind Freel’s CS absurd. When you have a team that has not hit a ball the other way in weeks then what else do you do than not send the runner and wait for the home run. This team needs more selflessness. Watch for yourself tell me who even tries to hit the ball the other way. Way down on Baker and this assortment of selfish talent.
By Jack
April 22, 2008 10:19 AM | Link to this
If you dont think the sky is falling in Cincinnati, you need to look up. The Reds all winter tried to tell us Belisle was a #3 pitcher. Mr. McCoy was the only Reds writer who thought that idea was laughable. They keep trying the same old retreads and its not working. Doesnt it make more sense to see Bruce hit .250 then to watch Patterson hit…is he above .200. Doesnt it make more sense to have Homer pitch in the big leagues then someone (Belisle) who has proven he cant pitch in the big leagues. You just need to look at stats to see that Belisle, Coffey, Patterson do not have the numbers to play in the major leagues.
By ShockMonkey
April 22, 2008 10:17 AM | Link to this
It’s April so saying the season is done seems premature and crass. I had no problem with Freel trying to steal. We were dead in the water so make something happen. Besides, waiting for Dunn to bring anyone home is a waste. I’m willing to give Belisle a couple more starts but past history and career ERA doesn’t give me much faith. Bring up Bailey!
By Cait
April 22, 2008 9:38 AM | Link to this
Give Belisle 2 more starts (3 starts like Fogg had). If he doesn’t shape up, give Bailey or Alfelt a shot. All we need from Belisle is .500 - he’s the #5 starter, for Pete’s sake. The offense is the bigger concern. I remember the days when Soto would give up 2 runs and lose because the 1980s Reds offense stunk. Hate to see that happen to Harang, Volq. and Cueto. Arroyo is also a bigger concern than Belisle. We need a good #2 starter. #5 starters don’t matter so much.
By Howie Feltersnatch
April 22, 2008 9:22 AM | Link to this
The sky is falling, the sky is falling!! It’s April folks if the offense is this bad in a month there will be cause for concern. Belisle is never going to be more than a .500 pitcher at best. The Reds need to bring up Bailey for the remainder of the season so they can find out what they have. The number of young pitchers who come up and blow away the opposition is small so give Homer a long leash and let him pitch against the big boys.
By MikeFan
April 22, 2008 8:49 AM | Link to this
Anyway you state it, the Reds are simply awful. Dusty is a good manager, but the problems are going to take awhile to fix.
By Mike
April 22, 2008 8:20 AM | Link to this
Belisle is not very good. His record proves it. Baker sending Freel to steal down 5-0 was a bad baseball move. Baker not knowing Patterson was 1 for 28 is inexcusable.
By fiveisalimit
April 22, 2008 8:07 AM | Link to this
Having Freel attempt to steal was stupid. Hal, can you explain the logic in moving Fogg to the pen as a “long reliever”? If he can’t get through innings 1-3, why would anyone think he could get through innings 3-6?
By Y-City Jim
April 22, 2008 7:50 AM | Link to this
Why is there such a frenzy about Bellisle? The real problem on the Reds is the sudden disappearance of the offense ever since Dusty Baker became manager.
By John Shepard
April 22, 2008 1:35 AM | Link to this
Hal, do you think the Reds will soon call up Homer Bailey because if Belisle has another lousy start?
By John Shepard
April 22, 2008 1:35 AM | Link to this
Hal, do you think the Reds will soon call up Homer Bailey because if Belisle has another lousy start?
By Michael in Monterey, CA
April 22, 2008 12:38 AM | Link to this
Jack you are so right. Belisle has been given his fair share of opportunities and he just can’t get it done. The Reds just can’t seem to learn from their own history. Bringing in Patterson, Fogg and the rest of the leagues rejects is no way to build a ball club. You think they would have learned this by now. Wise up Cincy and give Bailey and Bruce their shots.
By Aaron Bradley
April 22, 2008 12:31 AM | Link to this
Wow I thought 100% like you did Hal that Freel did that on his own. That goes against every text book approach to the game. 5=0 comebacks are not unheard of but you need baserunners and crooked numbers. Playing small ball to eek out 1 run? I certainly hope Dusty is saying this to protect his player because if that truly was his call the evidence is starting to add up that he does not approach the game with one iota of logic. Well maybe one iota… but not much more than that.
By Broadway
April 21, 2008 11:28 PM | Link to this
What is most amazing to me, is the cost of my ticket—the salaries that people are paying for, so painfully!
By Broadway
April 21, 2008 11:23 PM | Link to this
Amen,Jack!
By Terry
April 21, 2008 11:08 PM | Link to this
What amazes me is the sky is falling attitude. How can tonight be the breaking point? Some people are making the “what have you done for me lately?” crowd look patient. It is becoming what have you done your last at bat. I saw Keppinger hit into a double play. He’s through.
By Nathan
April 21, 2008 10:56 PM | Link to this
Tonight was the breaking point. The season is done. I guess you can try Homer out but the fact is, we can’t hit. Isn’t it ironic you fix the pitching (a bit) and then the hitting fails. WOW, leaves me speachless every night. I might not watch tomorrow, they make me dry heave at this point.
By Nathan
April 21, 2008 10:55 PM | Link to this
Tonight was the breaking point. The season is done. I guess you can try Homer out but the fact is, we can’t hit. Isn’t it ironic you fix the pitching (a bit) and then the hitting fails. WOW, leaves me speachless every night. I might not watch tomorrow, they make me dry heave at this point.
By Ted
April 21, 2008 10:36 PM | Link to this
Belisle deserves a chance but if he can’t do the job, Dusty needs to look at other options. But the Dodgers were bound to have a break out game. Plus there still isn’t any offense for the Reds. Maybe when April is over they will get out of this terrible slump.Come May 1 there should be a big shake up.
By Jack
April 21, 2008 10:18 PM | Link to this
Belisle is not a major league pitcher, no matter what the Reds try to tell us. Coffey is not a major league picher. Time for changes, either way the Reds are going no where. I would rather watch Bruce, Baily lose then watch the same old crap.