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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 > 23
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Bottle up these messages and keep ‘em
Messages are meant to be sent in bottles, aren’t they? Or maybe by Twitter?
So what was the message the Cincinnati Reds dispatched over the last 11 days when they put goether a 7-3 road trip - 2-1 in Milwaukee, 3-1 in Houston, 2-1 in Chicago (the first series the Cubs have lost this season)?
The message? It is too early for messages. But it is better than going 3-7 and having everybody say, “Same old Reds? Can’t win on the road, can’t win against teams in the NL Central?
As for messages around the league, other teams probably are talking just as much about the Pittsburgh Pirates and their start as they are the Reds start. It’s nice. But does it mean anything? It’s only 15 games into a 162-game season.
But then it is also nice to see the enthusiasm inside the clubhouse walls. They believe. They think they’re good. They know the general public doesn’t believe it, but they sincerely believe it and if you ask they’ll tell you - with a straight face.
What carried them on this trip was pitching - starting and a nearly impeccable bullpen. Joey Votto is the only guy hitting (.373). The rest of the team batting averages can be found near the bottom of the league statistics:
-Edwin Encarnacion (batting cleanup) .146 and 0 for 8 with four strikeouts since moving to cleanup for the last two games.
-Brandon Phillips .184.
-Alex Gonzalez .125.
-Ramon Hernandez .205.
-Jay Bruce .239.
The team average is .229, up more than 10 points after the Reds had 13 hits in Thursday’s 7-1 win over the Cubs.
Messages?
Manager Dusty Baker says he isn’t into messages and added, “It’s too early for messages. You just gotta win. We ain’t about sending no messages, we’re just about trying to win. We’re worried more about our team than what other teams think of us.”
Joey Votto continued his bashing and blasting of nearly every pitcher he sees, banging four hits that included two doubles and a home run, driving in two and scoring one, pushing his average to .373.
Votto, though, is into messages.
“This was more of a message to ourselves,” said Votto. “As long as the road trip was (11 days, 10 games), to finish on such a good note by beating the division favorites two of three was so big for us.”
Some thought even a 6-4 trip record would be noteworthy, but that would mean the Reds lost two of three to the Cubs and to Votto that would be unacceptable.
“The world would have been bittersweet,” he said. “We would have left pretty unhappy and there would have been a lot of, ‘What ifs?’ A lot of guys have different mindsets now and there is a lot of confidence in this room.”
One of those is Jay Bruce, who was hitting .173 before missing three games in Houston with a sore hand. He returned for the Cubs series and was 5 for 12 with two homers.
“I’m just glad to be able to come back and help the team,” said Bruce. “They were playing well without me and we’re still playing well and we’re all having a blast. We’re not surprised by the way we’re playing. We’ve gotten on a roll early, which is what we needed with so many young guys on the team.”
Aaron Harang was the recipient of the seven runs, enabling him to level his record at 2-2 with a 2.00 ERA. The Reds scored one total run in his two defeats.
Like everybody else, Harang is more fired up by the wins than personal achievements or downfalls.
“It’ll probably come down at the end of the year with the Cubs, so getting some wins from them early means a lot,” said Harang.
It was the first series loss of the year for the Cubs and it was the first time the Reds won three road series on the same trip since 2004 (Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Chicago).
“We’re making it known we are going to battle everybody and we’ll come out on the field and put our foot down and let ‘em know what we’re about,” said Harang, who giave up no earned runs and seven hits over seven innings. “We’re sending a message, especially in our own division. We’re so evenly matched it is going to go to the end of the year.”
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TweetOne win away from a ‘great’ trip
What’s the difference between a great road trip and a good road trip? That’s an easy one for the Cincinnati Reds — win today against the Chicago Cubs and it’s a great trip. Lose and it is only a good one.
Why? Even if they lose today, isn’t 6-4 doggone good for a team that usually can’t win on the road if the other team spots it two runs?
Well, by winning today, the Reds take two of three from the Cubs in Wrigley Field, a solid statement to the team that is the acknowledged favorite to win the National League Central. Lose and the Reds have lost two of three to the Cubs, not such a good statement.
This is only the first trip of the year, too early to bring back the nickname I put on the 1999 team — The Big Road Machine. That team was stocked with a bunch of road warriors, led by outfielder Greg Vaughn. And it’s the last Reds team to have a road impact.
Unfortunately, the ‘99 Reds played their final game of the season at home, in Riverfront Stadium — a one-game playoff to determine the National League wild card team. The New York Mets won that game on Al Leiter’s three-hit shutout. I’ve often wondered what might have happened if they had played that game in Shea Stadium.
As for the 2009 Reds and the end of this 11-day, 10-game trip, Manager Dusty Baker said, “You can’t think that this is the end, the last game. You have to think that this is the first day of the trip. The last day of a trip is always one of the toughest days to play. That’s why I try to stress getaway day victories. They usually create a sweep or prevent a sweep or determine who wins the series (like today).
“It’s big. On getaway day you can’t be thinking about family or anything,” he said. “That’s why it is tough to play. You have to fool yourself. You have to think like it’s the first day of the trip.”
Baker agrees today’s game is the determinator between good and great.
“Exactly,” he said. “That’s the number I wanted (7-3) when we started the trip. That means you’ve won every series. You don’t want to lose any, but you kinda have to be real about stuff. You’re always searching for the perfect road trip and I’ve been searching for 15 years.”
THERE IS no way I can imagine this is the first day of the trip. Even the first stop, Milwaukee, seems like a month ago. As a reminder, all I have to do is open my suitcase and see the dirty clothes wadded and stuffed into every corner.
And the cash inside my money clip is dwindling toward nothing.
ON A SAD note, this is the last day to get something from the El Burrito Mexicano. Reds Director of Media Relations Rob Butcher and I get a burrito from the place every day. It is a hole in the wall joint on Addison Street a few doors down after you walk under the El tracks. No exaggeration — the burritos are eight inches long and so big you can hardly wrap your mouth around them.
And they are so good.
Are they good for you — other than creating indigestion? Well, Butcher is in training to run a marathon and he eats one every day. I’m in training to take one quick lap around the dinner table, so what’s it gonna hurt?
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