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Hall of Fame baseball writer Hal McCoy is in his 37th 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 > 2009 > April > 16 > Entry
Houston, do we have a problem?
Perhaps I speak too quickly, but so far, so good on the travel front after spending last year in a travel funk - canceled flights, late flights and missed connections, lost luggage, broken luggage, getting stuck in elevators and hotel rooms with keys that never worked.
I made it through Milwaukee with perfect flights, intact luggage and did not get stuck for 20 minutes in the press elevator, as I did last year.
And the Continental flight from Milwaukee to Houston was perfect today, my hotel room was ready and my luggage arrived at the same time as I did.
Now if the Reds can do as well.
They open a four-game series against the Houston Astros in Minute Maid Park Friday night. Last year, the Reds were 3-12 against Houston.
And Friday won’t be easy. They face RHP Roy Oswalt, whose lifetime record against the Reds is 23-1. Don’t they have to accidentally beat him once? Or twice?
The Astros had the worst record in spring training this year, but the Reds played them twice and lost twice. Now they are off to one of the worst starts in the majors.
Manager Dusty Baker and the Reds have made improving their awful record against NL Central teams a priority this season. They had a winning record against the Brewers (10-8), but a losing record against every other team, including the Pirates. Yech.
Like my travels, so far, so good. They split two at home with the Pirates and took two of three from the Brewers in Milwaukee.
Now it’s four in Houston and three in Chicago, so we’ll see if prioritizing really works.
Fortunately, Minute Maid has a roof. They are predicting five inches of rain the next two days in Houston. And I forgot my umbrella.
RHP Johnny Cueto gets the first crack at the Astros Friday. He started four games against them last year and was 0-3. He had a lead in the fourth game, but the bullpen blew a save.
And I’m going to be one happy camper. For three days, I didn’t smoke a cigar - probably an all-time record for me. There was no smoking in my hotel, no smoking in Miller Park and, frankly, it was too damn cold to stand outside and puff away.
I’m at my second favorite road hotel, The Inn at the Ball Park. And I have a smoking room. In fact, I’m puffing right now as I write this.
My favorite hotel? The Westin in St. Louis - a gorgeous place with flat screen HD TVs in all the rooms and rooms that make you feel as if you are in your own bedroom.
And Minute Maid is my favorite working pressbox. You walk in the front door and the pressbox is 20 feet away. It sits low in the stands so it is easy to watch the games. And it is very large with large individual working areas. And there is an elevator inside the pressbox that whisks you directly to the clubhouses after games.
Yeah, spoiled. It beats the Astrodome, where a large rat once crawled across my foot as I was writing a game story. They had so many rats in the Dome that they turned dozens of cats loose at night after games to reduce the rat population.
And then there was old Colt Stadium, before the Dome. It was outside and so hot that my mentor, Earl Lawson of the Cincinnati Post, once stripped off his shirt and pants and covered the game in his scivvies. And the mosquitos were so large they sometimes were mistaken for Bell helicopters.
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Comments
By Buster
April 18, 2009 9:43 AM | Link to this
Fair enough MAC … but how do you quantify whether Dunn “made others better”? For what the Reds asked of Dunn (create 160+ runs a year), he was a good investment. And the Reds have no one even close to that level of runs created in their platoon of players.By MAC
April 18, 2009 1:34 AM | Link to this
Buster, I miss Dune & his good numbers, but for the $$ he wanted, he wasn’t carrying the team or making others better. It was a $$-production dilemmaBy blogcopwatcher
April 17, 2009 7:22 PM | Link to this
Would someone please Bust-Her?By Dave
April 17, 2009 5:42 PM | Link to this
Steve M, the area around Minutemaid Park has a few cases of St. Louis encephalitis every year. I’d just as soon have malaria.By Buster
April 17, 2009 4:43 PM | Link to this
Adding to that … every player in baseball not on a team with a winning record is also not worth anything … under Mike’s thinking, unless you lead your team to “being good” (regardless of any other players on the roster), you simply are not any good and therefore bad … don’t pay attention to anything else but the win/loss of record of a club and work backwards to deciding is there are any good players.By Jacj
April 17, 2009 4:33 PM | Link to this
Mike-Cinci excellent analysis, Dunn has never made the Reds a winner, of course, here is a sample of other Reds’ players who have failed to make the Reds a winner, and thus under your logic, should evidently be traded/released: EE, Bruce, Harang, Arroyo, Weathers, Burton, Baily, Dickerson, Votto, Philips, Cordero, Gonzo, Volquez, Cueto, Hanigan, etc. One player does not make a team a winner. It takes a team. I would also assume under your logic, if Dunn had signed with the Dodgers or Angels, they would also be a bad team?By Buster
April 17, 2009 3:58 PM | Link to this
Nope - Dunn’s 160 runs created every year did nothing for the Reds … good thing we have a platoon in LF rather a 40-100-100-100 guy out there.By Mike-Cinci
April 17, 2009 12:58 PM | Link to this
I hate to bash Dunn but his doing good for the Nats will be typical. There is no pressure in DC. The team stinks. What is consistent is he did not help the Reds win and he won’t help the Nats either.By Press Box Cigars
April 17, 2009 12:15 PM | Link to this
McCoy, we heard you were a no show at McCoy’s smoke shop this moring, everything OK. Turn the ringer up on your cell phone you missing several callsBy steven ross
April 17, 2009 9:50 AM | Link to this
Hal, you’re the best. Mentioning Earl Lawson brought back a ton of memories. Great prose.By Cait
April 17, 2009 9:23 AM | Link to this
I’m not complaining since I like the trade for Owings, but has anyone noticed how well Dunn is doing for that woeful D.C. team? Maybe he’s just glad to be reunited with Kearns on the Reds’ East Division team?By Mike
April 17, 2009 1:41 AM | Link to this
Hal, The mention of your mentor Earl Lawson reminds me that I still have to cath up with his classic book, Is it? “My 34 Seasons with the Reds.” Could you give us your opinion of Earl Lawson’s virtues as a writer? his major influences on your own work? and the interest to be found in his book? Thanks, MikeBy Nog
April 17, 2009 1:35 AM | Link to this
Getting Sutton is a surprise. The guy can play. Could be a Kevin Seitzer type.By Clint
April 16, 2009 9:52 PM | Link to this
Great write up, Hal. I love reading about the intricate details. You are the best Reds read there is on the internet or in print. Keep up the great work and enjoy your cigars (hopefully after wins)!!!By Mister RedLegs
April 16, 2009 7:52 PM | Link to this
Sounds as if the Reds traded Keppinger for Keppinger. Better than nothing. I feel your pain with the travel. If anyone should know its me.By Aaron Bradley
April 16, 2009 6:58 PM | Link to this
Just read that Kepp is on a 6 game hitting streak for Houston. Hard to believe, considering how cold he was this spring. Just shows you how pointless Spring #s are, especially for a consistent hitter like Kepp. Look sgot we got a good prospect for him though, so I will stop complaining about that trade for now, though I’d be much happier if Rosales gets the call and AGON gets put on rehab. Hey Hal, is this kid Sutton related to Don the Dodgers pitcher?By Steve M
April 16, 2009 5:46 PM | Link to this
On the bright side, at least you don’t have to worry about catching malaria from the mosquitos.By Dave
April 16, 2009 5:40 PM | Link to this
Don’t worry about the large mosquitoes anymore around Houston. Someone brought in a load of tires from southeast Asia a few years ago, and the area is now loaded with Tiger Mosquitoes. They are much worse that the big ones!