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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 > 14
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
2009 Reds: Pretenders or contenders?
News flash from Louisville: Pitcher Homer Bailey showed some spunk tonight, a sort of “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore” attitude.
Toledo’s Mike Hessman hit a home run off Bailey with two outs in the third inning, the second home run of the night off Bailey. He drilled the next batter and was ejected. At the time, he had given up three runs (two earned), three hits, two homers and three walks in his second start of the year for the Bats.
IT IS BECOMING one of those, “How do you keep this guy out of the lineup?” with Jerry Hairston Jr. He walked in the first inning Tuesday and scored on Joey Votto’s double, then he drove a 2-2 pitch over the wall for a two-run home run in the third to give the Reds a 3-1 lead over the Brewers.
Then, of course, what do you do with Chris Dickerson, who has five walks, three hits and a sacrifice fly in his 16 plate appearances so far this year?
THIS IS AN ADMISSION I probably should keep to myself after only seven games, for it may come back to alligator me in the posterior, but I like what I’ve seen lately and maybe I’m biting into what the Reds are trying to do this season — starting pitching, relief pitching, defense, speed on the bases, manufactured offense.
Perhaps what I wondered most was: Where will the runs come from? How will they score? Well, they’ve won four of their last five and have scored 8, 2, 7 and 6 in the wins. And they scored 7 in one of the losses.
Maybe manager Dusty Baker is right when he says: “Things are only going to get better and I mean this year,” said Baker. “We’ve got a future, I’m telling you. Jay Bruce isn’t hitting. Ramon Hernandez isn’t hitting. Alex Gonzalez isn’t hitting. Edwin Encarnacion has only been so-so. It’s going to get better, much better.”
And I loved what Hairston said, if this is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
The Reds have won four of their last five and Hairston says the focus isn’t actually on winning, or wins per se.
“We’ve been playing good ball of late and I think we’ll continue to do so,” he said. “Believe it or not, we are not focusing on winning. Obviously we want to win, but our focus is to make sure we execute, when there is a play to be made, make the play, get the bunt down, move the guy over.
“When you do all that, you put yourself into position and that’s our focus and it has worked out the last four or five games.”
Bronson Arroyo looked savvy and sure on the mound, holding the Brewers to three hits over 6 1/3 innings, but he said trickery was involved.
He used his sinker a lot, “A pitch they haven’t seen much out of me over the last couple of years. I’m happy to be 2-0, especially when I feel I’m not nailed in yet,” he said. “Early on I didn’t have command of the outer half with my fastball. I was missing with the breaking ball as well, but the sinker kept me in there early. I haven’t really used it against these guys the last few years. Got me a couple of double plays that I needed and I got more comfortable as the game went on.”
What do you think? Only seven games. They’ve only played the Mets, the Pirates and the Brewers, who seem to try to hit every pitch out of the park and lead the world in balls hit to the warning track. Is this team a contender or a pretender?
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TweetOwings will bat ninth, like most pitchers
All hail Miller Park and its roof, leaky as it is. Walking in the tunnels beneath the stadium is like walking in a subway tunnel — you’re dodging puddles every few steps.
But without the roof, these games right now probably couldn’t be played. It is so cold outside I saw a pigeon walking down Water Street with a scarf around its neck and booties on its claws.
My good friend Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel tells me that summer arrives on August 14 and leaves on August 15. I stuck my head out the door today, felt a blast of Lake Michigan’s hello, and went back in to a food court attached to the hotel. The pizza slice was so-so and the breadsticks and dipping sauce were so-so, but my fingers did not get numb.
Before Miller Park, the Brewers played in County Stadium, built around the same time as Wrigley Field. In later years, it didn’t have the charm and traditions of Wrigley. It was just one big toxic dump. They used to set off fireworks often at County Stadium, which was near a retirement center for veterans. I’m told the fireworks used to send them scurrying for cover.
MANAGER DUSTY BAKER isn’t permitting any slumps to fester. SS Alex Gonzalez, 0 for 16 so far, was on the bench for Tuesday’s game, replaced by Paul Janish. Catcher Ramon Hernandez (.063) was on the bench, replaced by Ryan Hanigan.
That’s surprising to me in that the Reds won their last two games and Baker doesn’t like to rattle with success. But I applaud the move. The bottom of the order is a vast wasteland right now.
THE BIG QUESTION? Micah Owings makes his Reds pitching debut Wednesday. We all know how he can hit. The question? Where will he hit? Will Baker bat him in the accepted spot for pitchers, the nine hole? Or will he be bold and bat him seventh? I would.
My lineup for Wednesday: CF Willy Taveras, LF Chris Dickerson, 1B Joey Votto, 2B Brandon Phillips, RF Jay Bruce, 3B Edwin Encarnacion, RHP Micah Owings, C Ramon Hernandez or Ryan Hanigan, SS Alex Gonzalez or Paul Janish.
We’ll see how derring-do the skipper can be. The question will be asked when the media has its pre-game meeting with Baker.
And so it was done. Owings will bat ninth. Asked about batting him elsewhere, Baker said, “No, not yet.” Not yet? Does that mean maybe later. “Don’t know,” said Baker. “I do know that he is a pretty good ace in the hole in the ninth spot.”
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TweetVolquez: the mouse that got away
Edinson Volquez knew he was the mouse who escaped the cat.
As he walked from the players dining room toward his locker, carrying a beverage and a sandwich, he spotted media gathered near his locker and broke into a broad grin:
“You want to talk to me?” he asked.
Well, OK.
Volquez survived only five innings Monday night against the Milwaukee Brewers, giving up six runs and seven hits for his 99 pitches. He gave up two homers, He balked. He permitted an easy stolen base. He was late covering first base that cost him a run, and the margin too slim to give away runs — a 7-6 Reds victory.
“The best thing about the whole night was we got the win,” he said. “It wasn’t the best thing. It was the only thing. But it IS the most important thing.”
Volquez gave up a run in the first — when he was late covering first base.
“I was late,” he said. ‘I’m going to get fined for that one.”
Said manager Dusty Baker, “He was late getting there and we work and work and work and work on that. Guess we’ll have to work some more.”
Volquez gave up four in the second, three on Corey Hart’s three-run homer, but the Reds scored six in the third, four on Edwin Encarnacion’s home run with two outs after Joey Votto’s two-out run-scoring single.
“Two-out RBIs, that’s what wins you ballgames,” said Baker.
Volquez said he felt better his last two innings — although he loaded the bases with no outs in the fourth and said, “I knew I was going to get out of that with no runs. I just told myself, ‘No runs.’ ” And he gave up a home run to J.J. Hardy in the fifth.
“He wasn’t sharp, but he gave us all he had for five innings and got the win,” said Baker. “He is good at getting into jams and good at getting out of them.”
Now the Reds are 3-3, 1-0 on the road with nine left on this trip.
“Good to get the first one, that’s for sure, and to get us back to .500,” said Baker.
It wasn’t easy, but Volquez smiled and said, “Now I can enjoy my sandwich and my drink.”
ON THE UGLY SIDE, SS Alex Gonzalez is 0 for 16 on the year. C Ramon Hernandez finally got another hit, a hippety-hopper up the middle, but before that he hit into a double play and struck out and his average is .105, making the bottom of the Reds order a vast wasteland.
It might be time for Baker to make some bottom-feeder adjustments.
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