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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 > 2009 > April > 06
Monday, April 6, 2009
Reds lifeless, listless in 2-1 loss in opener
As far as inducing excitement or causing fans to rush to the windows for seats for future games, the Cincinnati Reds were one big cold egg in the middle of Great American Ball Park Monday.
They lost their opener to the New York Mets, 2-1.
They had three hits.
They were sloppy afield.
Aaron Harang gave up only one run, but he could stick around for only five innings because it took him 114 pitches to get that far (62 strikes). It was one of those games, like many last year, where he pitched well enough to win with some pitching efficiency, but gobbled up to many pitches.
Outfielder Darnell McDonald, filling in at center field for Willy Taveras (flu) had a hit and scored the only run, but his defense was an Adventure in Motion, usually with his motion taking him the wrong way.
Jay Bruce had a hit and Joey Votto had a hit. And that was it.
The first two innings the Mets followed infield hits with stolen bases - Jose Reyes and Ryan Church. Neither scored.
Harang courted disaster but kept escaping - two on, two out in the first, leadoff man on in the second, a 1-2-3 third, a 32-pitch fourth in which he left the bases loaded.
It came apart in the fifth when No. 2 hitter and left fielder Daniel Murphy pumped a 3-and-2 pitch over the right center wall, Harang’s 95th pitch.
After the home run, David Wright dropped a ball into short left that should have been caught by any of three defenders - Alex Gonzalez, Darnell McDonald and Jerry Hairston Jr. None did. Carlos Beltran singled hard to right field, and Jay Bruce threw Wright out trying to score from second.
But by the time the top of the fifth was over, Harang was at 114 pitches - a major reason why he lost 17 games last season. Micah Owings pinch-hit for Harang in the bottom of the fifth and struck out.
In his four Opening Day starts the last four years, Harang has thrown 99, 111, 100 and 114 pitches in those starts.
Daniel Ray Herrera, unscored upon during spring training, replaced Harang in the sixth.
On the Reds side, they had only one hit after four, Jay Bruce’s two-out double and in the fourth. And Johan Santana walked four, but the Reds were up to doing anything about it.
Herrera didn’t carry his scoreless streak very far into the regular season. After getting an out, he walked two, including opposing pitcher Santana, and a run scored on Daniel Murphy’s ground ball that made it 2-0. He retired 26 of the 30 batters he faced in spring training.
THE REDS had the tying runs on base in the sixth - runners on second and third with no outs. Brnadon Phillips, the man who would be the leader is he can perform, flied to left, scoring McDonald, who had singles. But Jay Bruce popped out to third. Santana was replaced at this point by Sean Green to face Edwin Encarnacion, who lined to left, leaving the tying run, Votto (who had singled) on second base.
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The most depressing thing a fan can see on Opening Day: a tarp covering the infield 40 minutes before game time. They’ve already moved the starting time from 1:10 to 1:40 with a steady drizzle still falling.
The most depressing thing a writer can see on Opening Day: a box lunch. Counting Opening Days, playoffs and World Series, I figure today I ate my 337th box lunch - usually a ham or turkey sandwich, pretzels or potato chips, cole slaw or potato salad, an apple and a browning or a chocolate chip cookie.
The price, though, is right. Nothing. A normal media dining room meal is $7. And sometimes it is almost worth it.
Hey, they’ve just announced a 1:20 start. We’ll see.
They started at 1:20 and through 3 2/3 innings the Reds were still looking for their first 2009 base hit. Nothing even close. Johan Santana walked three, but nothing came of it. Finally, swith two outs in the fourth, Jay Bruce dropped a double into the left center gap, Edwin Encarnacion walked, but Ramon Hernandez grounded to short on the first pitch, leaving it 0-0
Aaron Harang gave up three hits in the first four innings and had runners on base in every inning, but got out of it. The problemj waqs that he needed 85 pitches to get through four and his time is short before the bullpen is pressed into action.
Before the game Brandon Phillips was presented with his Gold Glove. He didn’t drop it. When CEO Bob Castellini was presented the key to Sarasota before the team’s last game there this spring, he dropped it. Wouldn’t doubt if he did it on purpose. Sarasota dropped keys, balls and everything else in its weak-kneed attempt to keep the Reds in Sarasota.
Phillips on the team’s defense: “It’s all about Alex Gonzalez”, he said. “He motivates us and keeps us in place. And he helps (third baseman) Edwin Encarnacion. He thinks of things and tell us things that I never even think about. Alex is the best shortstop I ever played with and I played with Omar Vizquel in Cleveland.”
“We have to catch the ball thlis year and I think we will — no, I KNOW we will. With Alex leading the way - he talks\ to everybody and he is like a teacher out there.”
But what’s the over-and-under on how many games the injury prone Gonzalez will play. I’m saying 80, and that’s optimistic.
PITCHER Bronson Arroyo is back to starting Thursday afternoon against the Mets. Because of his carpal tunnel syndrome, he had been moved from Thursday to Sunday, but after playing long toss Sunday and throwing in the bullpen Monday he is back to a Thursday start.
“He said he feels great and I’m taking him at his word,” said manager Dusty Baker. “So we’re changing it back and he’ll pitch Thursday.”
Said Arroyo: “Even though you can throw and other people can’t tell, it’s like trying to shoot a free throw with a glove on your hand. It totally messes up your game. After getting a cortisone shot I got feeling back in my fingers. It was totally different. Before that I just sat and thought about my arm. It felt like I had a jolt of electricity going through my arm. It feels normal now, finally.”
SOME VIGNETTES:
Baker: “I’m optimistic that the fans are going to like what they see from this team.”
Baker on Chris Dickerson: “No reason he can’t hit .280 to .300. There is nothing he can’t do and there is no reason he shouldn’t have been up in the majors a lot earlier.”
Canadian Joey Votto on the weather: “We play hockey in this weather, not baseball.
Phillis on the weather: “I can’t wait for Opening Day. It’s a beautiful thing. I’ve prepared, like always. But I won’t lie. With the cold and the wet, it is pretty hard.”
Phillips on the team’s prognosis? “We have to show you’all, the media, and the fans something.”
Jay Bruce on his defense: “Last year, for lack of a better word, my defense was a debacle. I’m gonna play better.”
Votto on the team: “I’m anxious to get going. There is a little different look on this team. We have to change some people’s minds and give people a reason to come to the ball park.”
And now, it is nearly time to sit back and watch my 37th Opening Day game. Can the Reds score two or more runs off Johan Santana? Before they left Florida, they scored two runs or less in 15 of 32 games.
It’ll take more than defense to overcome that kind of offenive short fall.
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