Madison graduation 2012
Warren County CC graduation
New Miami graduation 2012
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
April 2009
Rosales and Nix: more, more, more
Don’t know which was the most exhilirating thing to watch Wednesday when the Cincinnati Reds beat the Houston Astros, 3-0.
Was it Edinson Volquez?
Was it Adam Rosales?
Call it a tie. A dead heat. It was almost as much fun as watching the poor grounds crew trying to cover the infield during an afternoon deluge with the wind whipping the tarp and created cave-sized gaps in it.
How do you explain it. You don’t. You can’t. The last time Volquez pitched he couldn’t find home plate with a road map, a GPS and a Native American guide. He walked seven, five in one inning that forced two runs home against the Braves.
Five days later he pitches a one-hitter, shutting out the Astros for eight innings in a 3-0 win. He gave up a first-inning double that almost was caught against the wall by Jay Bruce. He hit a batter in the third and he issued his first and only walk in the eighth and later scrunched his nose and said, “I didn’t want to walk that guy.”
So how do you explain it? Manager Dusty Baker said it best and after covering baseball for 37 years I know he is rightl “That’s baseball,” he said. “Hopefully he’s back on track. Is he 3-2 now? (yes) He was still trying to find it and he found it big-time tonight. He threw strikes, first-pitch strikes. His pitch-count was down and they put the ball in play. If you can take the sting out of the bat when you make ‘em put it in play - and I don’t think they hit any balls hard. If they did it was right on the ground to somebody. A masterful game. Masterful.”
It was a Picasso on top of a Rembrandt on top of a Vargas. OK, so scratch the Vargas.
Then there was Rosales, the guy called up from Louisville yesterday, where he was hitting .431, and installed at third base. This guy runs hard on every play, runs hard to first on a walk, runs hard to his position and probably runs to the bathroom even if it isn’t an emergency
How bad did he want to play this game? Early in the afternoon a downpour flooded Great American Ball Park because the grounds crew had difficulty tugging the tarp onto the field. Shortstop and third base could have hosted the Olympics swimming and diving events.
What did Rosales do? He was out there helping the grounds crew get the field ready. If the flight crew doesn’t show tomorrow for the trip to Pittsburgh expect Rosales to slide into the cockpit and transport his teammates.
The fans love him. He swung at the first pitch he saw and drilled it deep to center. Almost a home run. Not quite;. And he sprinted to the dugout as the fans gave him a standing ovation. He said that gave him chills.
Then he broke a 0-0 tie with a single up the middle in the fifth, walked in trhesixth and drove in the third run with a sacrifice fly in the eighth.
After the game his face was a perma-smile and he constantly giggled like a teenager. How can you not pull for a guy like this?
Then there was Laynce Nix playing left field. He had a triple, drove in a run, scored a run and had a single.
Rosales and Nix. What see ye Dusty. Will we see more of them. Let’s hope so. As Baker himself said, “It’s going to take a lot of players to help us win this thing.”
Permalink | Comments (51) | Post your comment |
TweetJournalism 101 from Brandon Phillips
The sun was peeking brightly over the Great American Ball Park grandstands in mid-afternoon. Suddenly, a deluge. The Houston Astros were taking early batting practice and they sprinted off the field, soaked before they could reach the dugout.
The grounds crew hustled to get the tarp on the field but it, too, was quickly soaked and became heavy before they could cover the field. Twice it got stuck. Twice relief pitcher David Weathers raced onto the field to help tug the tarp.
No saves for that, Stormy.
The field was inundated. Shortstop looked like Lake Superior and third base looked like Lake Ontario. Fortunately, they had four hours to dry it out - if no more rain showed up.
MEANWHILE, inside the clubhouse there was a bizarre interview with Brandon Phillips, who was given his first day off Wednesday after he homered and doubled Tuesday. It was pre-ordained that Phillips would get Wednesday off and with the team off Thursday it gives him two days off.
Let me pretty much give you the full text of what Phillips said.
“I’ve been reading up on what you all say (write) and it’s funny stuff,” Phillips told the beat writers. “I’m not doing your jobs, but I’ll tell you-all one thing. You know what the funny thing is? I love you guys and I have nothing but respect for all you guys. But you know ever since you-all been writing about me not hittting, we haven’t been winning?
You-all know that? So you see, I hear a lot of people on my team and they’re worried about me. They’re worried about me and Edwin Encarnacion, instead of worrying about the team. I’m going to hit. That’s how confident I am. That’s the type of player I am.
“At the beginning, everything was flowing, everything was about the team,” he continued. “It was all about winning. First thing you know, everybody is writing about Phillips not hitting and Edwin not hitting. Everybody started paying attention to me and everybody started paying attention to Edwin and everybody lost focus about winning.
“I think we should start again writing about the Reds winning instead of writing about two players,” he added. “You should do that. But I love reading all your articles. I read them all the time. They make me laugh. But it’s real, all the stuff you write. You guys do a great job, especially Hal - you do a great job (Well, thanks, Brandon).
“We were winning, but ever since you guys have been calling people out on the team, worrying about me instead of worrying about the team winning. You can write whatever you want about me. It don’t bother me. Me and Hal talked a couple of times last year about what he wrote, but it is a matter of respect. I respect him and what he does.
“You can write anything you want about the bad things, just make sure you don’t write it real big, make it the big issue. We have a young team and they read that and they starting asking, ‘Brandon, you OK? Brandon, you OK?’ There is no point in people asking me if I’m OK because we’re winning and I’m a happy man. It’s all about us winning, because I AM going to produce and I am going to hit. I’m just happy it happened to me instead of one of the younger guys who is new to the team. I tell them, ‘Don’t read the papers,’ because it gets to their heads. In my case, I laugh about it, because I’ve been through.”
I loved it. It was quite a journalistic journey. I love it. Brandon Phillips as my Perry White, Clark Kent’s editor. But don’t ever, Brandon, ask me to put on those red and blue Superman tights.
I’m not sure I follow his logic, but he believes it and as he said about me, “I respect him and I respect what he says.”
Permalink | Comments (32) | Post your comment |
Tweet‘Cincinnati, YOU have a problem’
As Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker talked to the media after Tuesday’s 8-3 loss to the Houston Astros, a member of the media relations department laid a copy of the stat pack on his desk - a box score, play-by-play and up-to-date statistics.
Without looking at it, Baker wadded it into the size of an official baseball and fired it hard into his trash basket.
Who could blame him? Another home loss to the Houston Lastros, the Houston Disastros - the last place team in the NL Central, a team the Reds beat three out of four games in Houston just a week-and-a-half ago.
But when it comes to playing in Great American Ball Park, the Astros don’t treat it as if it is their own home, they treat it as if it is their own castle - complete with a moat and spikes across the top of the walls.
In the last three years, the Astros - who bear no resemblance to the 1927 New York Yankees or the 1976 Cincinnati Reds - are 16-1 in GABP and tonight’s win was their 11th straight here against the Reds.
Embarrassing? It’s downright mind-boggling.
“Hey, man, I mean everybody likes to come in here and hit here,” said Baker. “They all talk around the batting cage about how they feel comfortable and confident playing here. Maybe they are confident.”
But wait? Don’t the Reds play here, too?
Yep, they do. But if they ever knew how to hit - anywhere - they’ve forgotten.
Houston starter Wandy Rodriguez is 2-2 this year. Both wins came against the Reds and in 14 innings they’ve scored one run on nine hits. On Tuesday they scored one run on five hits over seven innings.
In addition, the Astros stole four bases in four tries and the Reds made three errors. Whatever happened to the New Era — defense, pitching and manufacturing runs? The Reds are manufacturing runs like GM is going to manufacture Pontiacs. And they brought in catcher Ramon Hernandez for defense. Four stolen bases. No, it isn’t always the catcher’s fault, but he didn’t come close to throwing anybody out.
“Defense? That’s the most frustrating thing is to look up there and see we have three errors,” said Baker. “We work so hard on it and are so conscious of it. We need an errorless streak and that would help everybody.”
A win over Houston tonight, the final game of this three-game homestand, might be nice, even if they make five errors.
And does anybody really care? Only 9,878 paid their way in, one of the smallest paid gathering in the seven years of GABP. You could hear the guy in the first row behind the dugout whispering sweet nothings into his girlfriend’s ear.
Permalink | Comments (32) | Post your comment |
TweetEncarnacion DLed, Rosales called up
Scratch all that mumbo-jumbo about Edwin Encarnacion and his wrist not being a serious problem.
Encarnacion was placed on the disabled list at 5:30 today with a chip fracture in his right wrist.
Taking his place is the man fans have been begging to see — Adam Rosales, known around the clubhouse as Pete Rose-ales for his all-out hustle.
Rosales was hitting .431 at Class AAA Louisville, second in the International League. He was 3 for 3 Monday against Indianapolis and is on a 10-game hitting streak, reaching base in all 16 games.
Permalink | Comments (16) | Post your comment |
TweetEncarnacion IS injured - wrist, shoulder
Just a day ago, 24 little hours, Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker was asked, “Is Edwin Encarnacion hurt?”
Baker said no.
Then, just a couple of hours before Tuesday’s game against the Houston Astros, Encarnacion was yanked from the original lineup. Sore shoulder. Sore wrist. And a real sore bat.
Baker said the injuries, the same ones that held him back in spring training, were not serious enough to keep EE from playing.
Encarnacion will rest tonight and tomorrow and there is an off day Thursday and Baker said, “We’ll heavily medicate him and hopefully he’ll feel better and be himself by Friday (in PIttsburgh).” Baker said the problem is that when your shoulder and wrists bother you, it is difficult to take a lot of extra batting practice without making it worse.
Baker added that it is not bad enough to put him on the DL.
NOR IS outfielder Chris Dickerson bad enough to put on the DL, although he, too, probably will sit tonight and Wednesday, with hopes of a Friday return, making Baker two position players short for the next two days.
Amazingly, the Reds have not made a single roster move since the season began.
Dickerson and Houston shortstop Miguel Tejada collided head-on at second base and it was feared Dickerson might have suffered another concussion - his fifth. He was still undergoing tests before Tuesday’s game and had a slight headache, but a concussion was not diagnosed.
His other concussions:
—“I ran into the wall in Dayton (Fifth Third Field), crashed into a TV screen out there.”
—“I crashed into the wall in college.”
—“I hit my head on a basketball backboard trying to slam dunk. Unfortunately, the backboard was metal. That was in elementary school and I underestimated myself that day.”
—“And in grade school I was messing with a tetherball and a tire that had cement in it. It was rocking it back and forth and lost my grip.”
And now the Reds are trying to get a grip on things against Houston without two position players and the Astros are 15-1 in their last 16 games in Great American Ball Park and have won 10 straight here.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
TweetConcussion? Oswalt gives ‘em out freely
The Cincinnati Reds have been extremely fortunate the first 19 games of the 2009 season - they have not been forced to make a single roster move since the start of the season. Not one.
That means no injuries - and somebody please knock on Edwin Encarnacion’s wooden bat because Lord knows he isn’t using it for anything else.
They are waiting to see what’s up with Chris Dickerson. Just when it looked as if he had found his lost confidence with a hit and a couple of dandy defensive plays Monday night, he and Houston shortstop Miguel Tejada clashed heads at second base. Tejada must have the harder head. He won.
Dickerson stayed in the game for a while but eventually left with concussion-like symptoms, but it doesn’t appear he has a concussion.
“He doesn’t have a concussion, even though he’s had some in his career - four or five,” said manager Dusty Baker. “They doctors say he doesn’t have one. He might be a little woozy tomorrow, so we’ll wait and see. They say 24 hours to 48 hours to make sure he’s all right.”
AS FAR AS Monday’s game went, the Reds didn’t have the chance of a spare hunk of chocolate in an orphanage, even though the Houston Astros have grown older than a leisure suit hidden in the back of a closet.
Closer Coco Cordero, brought into the ninth inning of a tie game, gave up three straight hits and three runs and the Reds lost, 4-1.
It was pre-ordained, it was written in the wind, it was beyond karma.
It starts with Houston pitcher Roy Oswalt, 23-1 for his career against the Reds when the night began, a guy the Reds couldn’t beat if he were a blanket dangling on a clothes line and the Reds all carried rug beaters.
He didn’t get the win, but he held the Reds to one run and six hits over seven innings.
“It has to be a psychological thing on Oswalt’s part and ours, too,” said manager Dusty Baker.
Then mix in the fact that the Astros were 14-1 in their last 15 games in Great American Ball Park (16-1 now) and owned nine straight victories (10 now).
Beat the Astros? The Reds were more likely to swim the Ohio River — length-wise.
And then there is Lance Berkman, who has more red on his hands than a barn painter.
His home run in the sixth inning off Johnny Cueto broke a 0-0 tie, Berkman’s 20th home run in Great American Ball Park, six more than the next most by a visiting player (Jason Bay, 14).
It was the only thing the Astros got off Cueto, who gave up one run and seven hits over seven innings.
It was 1-1 when the ninth began and Cordero gave up a broken-bat bloop single to Carlos Lee and a two-strike single to Miguel Tejada. Hunter Pence doubled for two runs and took third on right fielder Jay Bruce’s error, enabling Pence to score on Geoff Blum’s sacrifice fly.
Cordero was sincerely distraught because he coughed up a game pitched so well by Cueto.
“I’m not happy because of the way Cueto pitched, he was unbelievable,” said Cordero. “He gave the team a chance to win and that’s why I’m so upset. I should have made better pitches to give my team a chance to win.”
Cordero was upset with the two-strike pitch that Tejada whacked for a single and the two-strike pitch that Pence pounded for a double.
“I had good stuff, but two bad pitches — I tried to go in on Tejada and it stayed in the middle and I tried to go away to Pence and it was right there.”
Baker wanted to emphasize how well the Reds played — and they did — with left fielder Chris Dickerson making two excellent plays and shortstop Alex Gonzalez nailing a couple on defense.
“We had Oswalt on the ropes a couple of times and he threw up a couple of double play balls and worked his way out of a bases loaded jam (in the sixth),” said Baker. Edwin Encarnacion ended that uprising by dumping a little putt in front of the plate, then stood and permitted catcher Pudge Rodriguez to tag him.
“We played a good game, but we just couldn’t get the hit we needed off Oswalt and when you hit into three double plays, well, when you get two outs on one pitch, that’s a pitcher’s best friend and that was Oswalt’s best friend tonight.”
Permalink | Comments (40) | Post your comment |
TweetTwo shoulder thumps equals two hits
As I was leaving Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker’s office after Sunday’s game, he looked up and said, “Hal, no more days off, OK? You were with us on the trip when we went 7-3, then you took two days off and we lost, then you came back Sunday and we won easily. No more days off.”
Check with my boss and my wife on that one, Dusty. I won’t be taking any days the rest of this home stand (three with Houston) and then I’ll be on the next trip all the way, three in Pittsburgh and two in Florida.
It is amazing how managers and coaches can be superstitious. A few years back, Aaron Boone was struggling and on a whim before a game I tapped him twice on the shoulder and said, “Two knocks tonight.” Sure enough, he got two hits. The next day, same thing. Two hits. For the next three days he came looking for me for the two taps on the shoulder and it worked each time.
This spring Jeff Keppinger was struggling mightily. Before an exhibition game I tapped him twice and said, “Two knocks.” It worked. He had two hits - two of the few he had all spring. The next day, I couldn’t find him right away, so there were no shoulder taps. He went 0 for 4 and came up to me after the game and said, “Where were you?”
BROADCASTER Marty Brennaman’s take on the drafting methodology of the Cincinnati Bengals: “I have always maintained that if Ted Bundy played college football, the Bengals would draft him.”
IF YOU WATCHED Sunday’s game, you saw Brandon Phillips drive a ball hard to right field and go into his slow home run trot. One problem. The ball hit the wall and Phillips, who should have been standing on second base, was held to a single.
“It was addressed quickly,” said manager Dusty Baker. “I’ve already addressed it. He has been overall running harder than he did in the past. You agree? You haven’t noticed? Well, maybe it’s because he hasn’t been on base enough to run and be noticed.”
Asked if Phillips knew what he did was wrong, Baker said, “He internalizes a lot of stuff. With Brandon, not one to hold his tongue, no answer is as good as a yes answer with him.”
HOMER BAILEY is on a big-time roll at Class AAA Louisville. He was named International League Pitcher of the Week for last week when he went 2-0 with a 2.92 ERA, striking out 18 in 12 1/3 innings, including nine in a row at one point. He struck out 15 in 6 1/3 innings Sunday against Toledo.
“That’s great,” said Baker. “I told him when he went down to win seven a row. We’re pulling for him. Big-time.”
WHEN JACOB ELLSBURY stole home Sunday night against the New York Yankees, it was the first straight theft of home in Fenway Park since 1994. That theft was performed by Billy Hatcher, now the Reds’ first base coach, but then a Boston outfielder.
“Chuck Finley (a lefthander) was pitching and we were up one run,” said Hatcher. “Mo Vaughn had trouble hitting Finley. And Finley wasn’t paying any attention to me at third, so I took off. I stole home one other time when I was with Boston, against Juan Guzman when he pitched for Toronto. He was slow to home and didn’t pay attention to me.”
Hearing Hatcher talk about running the bases reminded me of the time when utility player Champ Summers hit an inside the park home run in Riverfront Stadium. After he slid home he remained in the dirt, flat on his back for several minutes before he finally got up and staggered off the field.
Asked if he hurt himself sliding home, Summers said, “Nope. I swallowed my chewing tobacco.”
FORMER REDS general manager Wayne Krivsky, the guy who traded for Bronson Arroyo, Edinson Volquez and Brandon Phillips (among others), is now a special advisor/scout with the Baltimore Orioles. He was in Great American Ball Park Monday, still lamenting his dismissal as Reds GM and said, “I really thought I’d be here for the long haul. Wish I was.”
Permalink | Comments (13) | Post your comment |
TweetBack on the beat and winning
OK, I’m taking some credit here.
I went on the road trip and the Cincinnati Reds went 7-3. After working 11 straight days on the road, my boss and my wife FORCED ME to take the first two days off on the homestand and the Reds lost to the Braves both times.
I returned Sunday to the pressbox and the Reds annihilated the Braves, 8-2.
And what did I do? I visited with Manager Dusty Baker before the game both in his office and at the batting cage. I gave no advice.
I visited with Atlanta manager Bobby Cox before the game in his office. I put no hexes on his head.
I ate breakfast in the media dining room, paying my $7, which included an extra glass of orange juice which I took to the pressbox.
Then I watched. That’s all I did. I watched.
I watched Micah Owings mow down the Braves. I watched Jay Bruce slam two home runs. I watched Joey Votto clear the bases with a three-run double.
Owings, not so good in his first two starts in Milwaukee and Chicago, held the Braves to one run and six hits over seven innings. Afterward, Baker handed me the lineup cards to give Owings as a keepsake.
Bet you didn’t know that Baker doesn’t sign his lineup card, “Dusty Baker.” Nope. He signs it, “Johnnie B. Baker Jr.” And that’s the truth.
So how did this juggernaut lose the first two of this series?
A chat I had with Baker at the batting cage might explain it a little bit. Maybe.
“A young team is like April in Ohio — hot and cold,” said Baker. “Young players have so much to deal with, especially their emotions. How do you deal with adversity. Other teams are looking at you to see how you react.
“What a young player must do is learn how to control those emotions,” said Baker. “I’ve been there. When I first started I was throwing water coolers and throwing bats and throwing tantrums. You have to learn to control that.”
Votto, as easy-going as they come, has that down. He might be too nice. The Braves hit him with pitches three times in this series and the more he hits the more he is going to get hit.
We’ll see how that plays out and see if at some point he charges the mound to challenge the offending pitcher.
Bruce is more emotional, but is usually under control, too. He is a guy who probably will be more up and down than Votto. Both, though, are destined for stardom and one wonders how long it will be before the Reds lock up Votto on a long-term contract. They don’t have to do it yet with either because they aren’t into their arbitration years or even close to their first free agent year.
But that time is coming.
SPEAKING OF Tantrums and emotions, you may have noticed that during the 11-day three-city trip, not once did I relate any travel-related problems. That’s because I didn’t have any - until the last day.
Midwest Express left Dayton on time and arrived on time, serving those hot chococlate chip cookies they bake on board. Contentinal delivered me on time from Milwaukee to Houston and from Houston to Chicago.
Then it was time to come home. The cab ride from Wrigley Field to O’Hare Airport Thursday afternoon, mormally a 20-minute trip, took 1 hour and 15 minutes - bumper to bumper all the way.
Fortunately I had a lot of time - I thought. Good ol’ United took care of that. When I checked in I was told my departure gate was C3. When I arrived at C3, the TV monitor said now the departure gate was B22 - one terminal over. That’s not all. When I got to B22, they told me, “Naw, wrong gate. You’re going out of F7A.” That’s THREE terminals away. And time was running out.
I huffed and puffed my way there, my shoulder bag turning my lower back into a pain parlor, but I made it. Shortly after I did, an older couple, both on canes, hobbled to the gate and gave the gate agent a couple of big ol’ “Are you trying to kill us?” speeches.
Then, of course, when we got to Dayton they wait at the United carousel for the luggage was a solid 25 minutes. But at least the wheels were on my suitcase.
Permalink | Comments (39) | Post your comment |
TweetBottle 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.”
Permalink | Comments (41) | Post your comment |
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?
Permalink | Comments (11) | Post your comment |
TweetOff the canvas they came again
Just when it looks as if the Cincinnati Reds have fallen on their faces and can’t get up, they leap to their feet and karate-kick somebody, somebody tough like the Chicago Cubs.
On Tuesday they looked moribund in a 7-2 defeat.
On Wednesday they looked like world-supremacists, shutting down the mighty, might Cubs, 3-0.
Johnny Cueto, who struggled in his first two starts, held the Cubs to no runs and four hits over seven innings. Best of all, he didn’t walk anybody. Nor did David Weathers or Coco Cordero. Nor did any of the Cubs pitchers.
It was the first game involving the Reds and any other team where no walks were issued since July 8, 2001, in Minnesota when the Reds beat the Twins, 7-1.
LOT OF GOOD THINGS:
Cueto was the best.
Manager Dusty Baker finally dropped Brandon Phillips out of the cleanup spot and after making an out in his first at-bat to go 0 for 22. Hhe had two hits the rest of the night. But Edwin Encarnacion, now batting cleanup, was 0 for 4.
While something surely had to be done about Phillips, he and Encarnacion have about the same numbers - Phillips is hitting .174 with one homers and five RBIs and Encarnacion is hitting .159 with one homer and six RBIs.
- WITH THE score 1-0 in the eighth, Joey Votto doubled home a run and in the ninth Jay Bruce homered for a third run - big, big insurance.
“Those two runs, one in the eighth, one in the ninth — that was big,” said Baker. “Especially in this ballpark. At 1-0 against that team you are sitting on the edge of your seat. And 3-0 isn’t enough but you feel more comfortable with three than one.”
So the Reds beat Lilly, despite the fact he is lefthanded, always a dilemma for the Reds, and the fact he was 2-0 before Wednesday.
The Reds accomplished what Baker wanted them to accomplish after he said before the game, “We have to get Cueto on the board, big-time.”
They did. He is 1-1 now.
“He stayed ahead all night with first-pitch fastball strikes,” said catcher Ramon Hernandez. “You fall behind on this club and you get damaged pretty bad.
“He was aggressive in the strike zone, got ahead with fastballs and put them away with fastballs,” Hernandez added.
And how did Cueto feel about all this, including his two hits?
“Relaxed,” he said.
David Weathers gave up no runs and one hit in the eighth and Coco Cordero no runs and one hit in the ninth for his 100th National League save, becoming only the 11th pitcher with 100 saves in both leagues.
“That means he has gotten good hitters out in both leagues and that’s quite an accomplishment,” said Baker. “He has been throwing the ball great (six saves this year in six opportunities).”
Permalink | Comments (21) | Post your comment |
TweetFinally: Phillips dropped out of cleanup
After waiting longer than many folks (mostly fans) thought he should wait, Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker made THE MOVE Wednesday: He dropped Brandon Phillips out of the clean-up spot in the batting order.
Even though Phillips was 0-for-Houston and hit the ball out of the infield only one time in four games, even though he was 0 for 21, even though his batting average was .143, Phillips remained in the four-hole.
Probably because the Reds were winning - two of three in Milwaukee and three of four in Houston. Baker is superstitious and hates to tempt fate. But when the Reds lost Tuesday to the Cubs, 7-2, and Phillips was a feeble 0 for 4, Baker slept on it and decided it was time.
Usually the lineup is posted in the clubhouse by 3 o’clock, but at Wrigley Field it wasn’t hanging on the wall at 3:30. And Baker usually meets in his office with the media at 3:40 for night games. He pushed it back to 4:30.
Phillips wasn’t in the clubhouse and the speculation was that Phillips wouldn’t play and Baker was waiting for the team bus to arrive so he could tell Phillips before the card was posted.
That was nearly the case. The scenario was just a bit different. Instead of benching him, Baker dropped him from fourth in the batting order to sixth and replaced him with Edwin Encarnacion.
Phillips walked into the clubhouse and before he could get past Baker’s office he was called inside. Baker told him, “You’re batting sixth tonight and Edwin Encarnacion is batting fourth.
Phillips entered Wednesday’s game 0 for 21, hitting .143, and in four games in Houston he hit one ball out of the infield.
“I don’t care what your name is, we’ve all been there,” said Baker. “I just want to take a little pressure off Brandon. We’ve all been there. Plus Brandon is 1 for 28 and he is 1 for 19 off Ted Lilly (Chicago’s pitcher Wednesday) doesn’t help.
“I told him, ‘Hey, when you start banging on it again, we’ll move you back up. We’ll try this a couple of days.’”
Asked if he considered giving Phillips a day off, Baker said, “Not really. He ain’t tired. And he is still a good option in this ballpark to scald one. I believe in the law of averages and they are definitely on his side.
“This is too big of a series to take any of your big boys outs,” he said. “Brandon is OK with it. You know when you’re struggling. I know he got a hit in Milwaukee on this trip, but that seems like a month ago.”
So what is the new cleanup hitter, Encarnacion hitting? .175. One homer. Six RBIs. Lilly was not quaking in his spikes.
Permalink | Comments (13) | Post your comment |
TweetThe first test earns Reds an ‘F’
The first test against The Big Boys (Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals) was a big, red ‘F’ for the Cincinnati Reds Tuesday night on the banks of Lake Michigan.
Chicago Cubs 7, Cincinnati Reds 2. Not even close. It seemed like 17-2.
Winning two of three in Milwaukee (fifth place) and three of four in Houston (last place) is a nice ego boost for the 2009 Cincinnati Red — even if it could be a mirage.
Winning division games and winning on the road last year was something the Reds did only in their dreams or in their imaginations.
So this kick-start early in the season is welcomed, even though the team is hitting .215, the bottom feeders of the National League.
Now, though, is the time to see how the Reds stack up against a real team, the Chicago Cubs. They played the first Tuesday night and have two more chances to show some muscle.
The Cubs aren’t as likely to roll over the way the Astros did. The Reds won the last two 4-2 and 4-3 as Houston went 0 for 16 with runners in scoring position and stranded 19 runners.
Manager Dusty Baker, former manager of the Cubs, knows what lies ahead.
“Now we have three tough games and we’re facing their big dudes,” he said, referring to pitchers Rich Harden, Ted Lilly and Carlos Zambrano.
The test against Harden was a big fat flop - three hits in six innings, which is how the Reds have hit most of the season.
Baker acknowledges that on paper the Cubs are the National League Central favorites after winning the division the last two years.
But on paper only.
“We’re supposed to be a pitching team and so far that’s the way it has been,” he said. “Before it’s over we’ll be a hitting team, too.
“The Cubs should be the favorite,” said Baker. “That doesn’t mean they’ll win, but they should be the favorite. The thing with the Cubs is that they are able to go get what they want and what they need, which they’ve done the last couple of years.” So the next two days mean a lot to both sides — a chance for the Reds to shout, “Hey, look at us, we’re for real,” and a chance for the Cubs to say, “Ah, you’re a bunch of frauds beating up on weaklings.”
So far it is the Cubs doing the shouting. Jay Bruce, fresh off of missing three games in Houston with a swollen right hand, had two of the three hits off Harden. His homer gave the Reds a 1-0 lead and his single tied the game, 2-2.
Reds starter Micah Owings wasn’t electric, or even a bright bulb, but he deserved better. Left fielder Chris Dickerson dropped a routine fly ball that would have been the second out of the fifth inning, then the Cubs scored three unearned runs to take a 5-2 lead and never looked back.
Instead of taking a half-game lead in the NL Central at 8-5, the Reds fell back to 7-6 and are in third place, 1 1/2 games out of first.
Permalink | Comments (23) | Post your comment |
TweetKing Arthur wants no court
Writers from other cities where Arthur Rhodes pitched warned me: “He’s different. He’s, ah, a bit intimadating.”
If you’ve seen his stern, intimidating look on the mound, well, that’s the way he looks all the time - in the clubhouse, on th team bus, probably in church, if he goes.
Admittedly, I’ve avoided the guy. During spring training as I was heading out the clubhouse door outfielder Darnell McDonald was coming in from the other side. He saw me and stopped and held the door for me. Seeing that, Rhodes said, “Why are you doing that? He’s only a reporter.”
I was tempted to say, “Well, you’re only a 39-year-old relief pitcher,” but I value my teeth.
On Monday, Rhodes pitched an exciting eighth inning with the Reds up, 4-3. He filled the bases with two outs and then engaged in a 10-pitch battle with Houston’s Hunter Pence. He threw 10 straight fastballs, finally striking out Pence to end the inning.
“That was awesome,” said manager Dusty Baker. “That was like the playoffs, fans standing and screaming.” Rhodes gave up a leadoff double to pinch-hitter Jason Michaels, “on a breaking pitch, not his best pitch. From there, though, he went with his best pitch (including the 10 straight fastballs to Pence).”
So I decided to chat with Rhodes about that Pence at-bat and the inning. As I approached his locker, he said, “Nope. I’m done. No talking. You’re not going to mess up my rhythm.” And he got up and walked into the trainer’s room.
Yeah, strange dude. But he’s doing his job, so I’ll give him the space he wants and not step all over his rhythm.
JOEY VOTTO granted somebody from Yahoo.com an interview in the clubhouse Tuesday, being polite as usual.
“But the guy started asking me a bunch of strange questions,” said Votto. He asked about bowling and mustaches and why didn’t Votto play for the Italian team in the World Baseball Classic instead of Canada? Votto, polite as always, let the guy finish but shook his head later and said, “I was nice to him, polite to him. But I should have shut him down. That was a good learning experience for me.”
THE TEMPERATURES were expected to be near freezing at game time Tuesday and manager Dusty Baker said, “The guys I feel sorry for are the guys in the bullpen. It’s not covered, you just sit out in the open.”
David Weathers, a guy who doesn’t appear in games before the eighth inning, smiled and said, “You’ll see me go out there about the seventh inning,” implying he’d be in the warm comforts of the clubhouse until then.
The lineup? Yes, Alex Gonzalez and Ramon Hernandez were back in the lineup and Paul Janish and Ryan Hanigan were back in the dugout.
JERRY HAIRSTON Jr. was watching himself on video - the play in left field Monday in Houston where he ran into the corner of the left field wall. “I wasn’t even trying to catch the ball because it was too far up on the wall. I was just trying to brace myself for the collision with the wall.”
Hairston stayed down a few minutes and trainer Mark Mann ran to his aid, but he stayed in the game. Pitcher Bronson Arroyo was listening and said, “I missed it. But I hear you put on an Academy Award performance.”
BAKER TO a Chicago writer: “I really like my team and we’re going to get better. In our division, everybody is capable of beating everybody else so that should keep things close.”
How about the money aspect and the Cubs’ $140 million payroll, twice as high as Cincinnati’s? Does that make a difference in any part of a team’s makeup, like the bench? “All aspects,” said Baker. “The lineup, the bench, the relief pitching, the pitching.” So far, though, it hasn’t helped the last place Houston Astros, who have a $105 million payroll.
Permalink | Comments (6) | Post your comment |
TweetA gamble that paid off for Baker
Sometimes in baseball things work out when they shouldn’t work out. In the case of the Cincinnati Reds, things are going their way so much these days that even when manager Dusty Baker thumbs his nose at fate it smiles and shakes his hand.
That was the case Monday night against the Houston Astros when the Reds held a 4-3 lead in the eighth inning. A string of righthanded batters awaited, the usual spot for righthander David Weathers.
But wait. What’s this? That’s lefthander Arthur Rhodes walking in from the bullpen. Where’s Weathers? Where’s Mike Lincoln? Where’s Jared Burton?
Baker explained that he wanted to stay away from Weathers because he threw 28 pitches in one inning Sunday. And Burton has been bad his last two attempts, so this wasn’t the spot to let him work out his troubles. Lincoln? Who knows.
It wasn’t pretty — it was damn ugly. But Rhodes wriggled free in the eighth. He gave up a leadoff double, the would-be tying run, to righthanded pinch-hitter Jason Michaels. Kazuo Matsui bunted Michaels to third. One out, tying run on third.
Rhodes then walked righthander Miguel Tejada, bringing up switch-hitter Lance Berkman, who is much better lefthanded than righthanded. Berkman homered early in the game against starter Bronson Arroyo (3-0).
Berkman hit a weak, shallow fly ball to right, too short to score Michaels after the catch. Two outs, two on.
That brought up Carlos Lee, who homered against Arroyo immediately after Berkman homered. Rhodes fell behind 3-and-0, caught up at 3-and-2, but still walked Lee to fill the bases.
That brought up Hunter Pence, 0 for 3 this year with the bases loaded. Now he’s 0 for 4. Rhodes got him looking at strike three on a 3-and-2 pitch.
Baker: “We wanted to stay away from Weathers if we could. We knew Berkman was better lefthanded than righthanded, so Rhodes would turn him around. He didn’t have much of a record against Lee (1 for 3, home run) and Pence hits righthanders much better than lefthanders.”
Then Baker smiled and said, “But I was saying in the dugout, ‘C’mon, Arthur. C’mon, dude, you can do it.’”
He did.
WHAT’S WRONG with Brandon Phillips? He is 0 for 17 on the current road trip and didn’t get the ball out of the infield Monday - 0 for 4 with a strikeout. His average: .158.
PAUL JANISH played shortstop Monday and was on base three times with two hits and a hit by pitch. His single to open the seventh started the Reds’ two-run winning rally. Janish is hitting .400.
RYAN HANIGAN started at catcher, as he has all three games started by Bronson Arroyo (3-and-0). Hanigan had a hit and threw out a base-stealer. He is 3-for-3 at throwing out base thieves and he is hitting .273.
ARROYO is the first Reds pitcher to win his first three decisions since LHP Pete Schourek in 1996. He, too, started 3-0. RHP Jack Armstrong, a rookie, started 5-0 in his first five starts in 1990.
Schourek’s nickname was The Riverboat Captain, so dubbed by manager Davey Johnson because Schourek liked to spend his off-hours on casino boats playing blackjack.
Armstrong’s nickname was The Tuna Boat Captain, so dubbed by yours truly the year after his rookie season. He was not happy with what the Reds offered him monetarily and refused to report to camp. When I visited him at his condo he said, “I could make more money working on a tuna boat than what the Reds offered me.”
I dubbed him The Tuna Boat Captain and wrote it. When he finally agreed to terms and reported to camp, his teammates were ready. His locker was filled with a yellow rain slicker, a large pair of yellow rain boots, a very large compass, a fishing net, a fishing pole and many other nautical items.
He laughed, held up his arm as if it were a whistle and said, “Toot, toot.”
Permalink | Comments (22) | Post your comment |
TweetHubcaps: Eat ‘em or wear ‘em
What you see on the streets of a big city is amazing.
On Monday afternoon in Houston, while sitting in McCoy’s Fine Cigars enjoying an Ashton VSG, a guy walked by the shop wearing a Buick hubcap around his neck, dangling from a large chain. That’s strange enough, but nobody gave him a second glance. And why Buick? Why not Mercedes?
And no it wasn’t a member of the Reds batting order trying something different to shake the doldrums.
SPEAKING OF HUBCAPS, I discovered a burger joint in downtown Houston called Hubcaps. It’s a dive of a place down a side street and the building is covered with old hubcaps and maybe that’s where the guy got his hubcap.
Anyway, the burgers are some of the best I’ve ever eaten and the french fries are scrumptious, too. I had a cheeseburger with jalapeno peppers (fresh ones). OK, so today everybody knows I’m coming from 20 feet away and my cholesterol is off the charts.
MANAGER DUSTY BAKER switched up the lineup a bit, finally benching Alex (.069) Gonzalez and inserting Paul Janish at shortstop. Ryan Hanigan also was in the lineup at catcher in place of Ramon Hernandez, but Hanigan is the catcher of choice for Bronson Arroyo. Hanigan started the previous two games Arroyo started.
And Darnell McDonald was in right field instead of Laynce Nix, who started the last two games in place of injured Jay Bruce.
Bruce hopes to play Tuesday in Chicago, where it is supposed to be 30 degrees with snow/rain/sleet — all that stuff postmen hate and all that stuff Wrigley Field’s Bleacher Bums ignore by going without shirts.
“At least they got the swelling out of Bruce’s (right) hand,” said Baker. “They’ve got some kind of miracle patch they put on and it works fast. They did it with Jerry Hairston Jr. and Willy Taveras. Amazing stuff.”
As for Gonzalez, the day off is part of a plan and has nothing to do with his close to zero batting average. As for Hanigan, “Bronson is 2-0 with him, so it’s a perfect time. And Gonzo? What’s he played, three games in a row? I’ll try to push him to four (three in Chicago and Friday night at home). We’ll give him Saturday off, a day game, and then we’ll push him to five or six games in a row.”
In other words, Baker has a plan to rest Gonzalez at periodically to rebuild the stamina he lost from not playing at all last season and not playing much in spring training.
“And tonight gives Janish a chance to play, and a chance to play in front of his home, in front of family and friends,” said Baker. “It means a lot for guys to play in front of the home folks.
“I just knew (Texan) Laynce Nix would play good Sunday (a double and a single in two at-bats) after having a bad game Saturday (0-for-3 with three strikeouts),” said Baker.
BAKER INSISTS he isn’t big on a pitcher selecting a personal catcher, but he heard Arroyo express concerns during spring training when catcher Ramon Hernandez was away playing in the WBC and they didn’t work much together.
“Hanigan and Arroyo work well together, plus Arroyo has a different set of signs,” said Baker. “I don’t like that designated catcher sort of thing, but the way things have worked out is good. Hanigan has caught everybody, but Ramon probably caught Arroyo the least amount of time from the time he got back to spring training.”
Of Arroyo’s spring training concern, Baker said, “I heard him. He didn’t say anything to me, but I heard him. It’s important. Very important that guys work together.”
Permalink | Comments (10) | Post your comment |
TweetOwings: the man who swings the bat
I’m thinking the same thing all of you are thinking, especially with the Reds hitting .210 as a team.
Micah Owings. Can you play left field? Every day?
After his game-winning pinch-hit two-run double off the screen in left center field in the seventh inning Sunday during a 4-2 win over the Houston Astros, I thought to myself, “Shouldn’t this guy be a position player rather than a pitcher?”
His career batting average is .322 with 12 doubles and five home runs in only 121 majhor-league at-bats. He is a pitcher first, a pinch-hitter second. He hit .354 in the minors in 65 at-bats.
Get this: as a senior at Gainesville (Ga.) high school, he led the team to the state championship, going 12-1 with a 1.03 ERA - AND he hit .448 with 25 homers. Yikes. His 69 home runs in high school was one short of the national high school record.
But…
Remember a guy named George Herman Babe Ruth? He was an outstanding pitcher for the Boston Red Sox - great numbers. He also could hit a little bit, so he was turned into an outfielder.
And if memory serves correctly, he did pretty good with the bat, didn’t he?
Owings is nowhere close to The Babe as a pitcher - a 14-18 career record with an ERA over 5.00.
Anyway, after Owings’ game-winning double Sunday, I approached him said, “Have you ever thought about…?”
That’s as far as I got. He knew where I was going with the question and he smiled and said, “Don’t even go there, Hal. I’m a pitcher. I know what you’re thinking. I’m working on getting ready to pitch Tuesday (in Chicago). I worked hard and I think I’ve made a lot of strides since what happened the other night.”
He pitched in Milwaukee Wednesday and gave up four runs and five hits in five innings of a 9-3 loss to the Brewers. “It’s a long season and all I’m doing is focusing on each outing on the mound and each pitch.”
And the pinch-hitting is a bonus. Like most good pinch-hitters, Owings goes to the plate thinking the pitcher wants to get quickly ahead in the count, so a first-pitch fastball strike is likely. Right?
“That’s right,” said Owings. “When I was in Arizona I liked to pick some of the pitchers’ brains about how they attack pinch-hitters and I talked to Tony Clark (former deluxe pinch-hitter) and he gave me some advice that helped out. I don’t want to share it. But i’m grateful for the advice he gave me. And don’t go ask him about it?”
Clark is now a coach for the Houston Astros.
Permalink | Comments (24) | Post your comment |
TweetHarang boils over (rightfully so)
Aaron Harang, usually as calm and composed as the preacher at a wedding, pulled a Mount Vesuvius Saturday.
And who could blame him?
When Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker removed him from Saturday’s game in Houston, the score was 3-0 and the Astros had two on and nobody out in the seventh.
Harang walked to the dugout and lost it. He banged on the Gatorade container and he picked up a bat and threw it - a genuine eruption.
Afterward he said it was from the frustration of watching five or six ground balls find holes for hits, four in the first inning - all grounders that escaped infielders and went for hit.
He didn’t mention the frustrations of pitching your posterior off and watching your teammates do zero offensively. Harang has too much class for that, but he is entitled to blow a double gasket on that one.
He could have pitched a no-hitter Saturday and still might have lost. His teammates provided him with no runs and two motley singles in the 7-0 loss. Wandy Rodriguez, a slop-throwing lefthander, used a wide-bending curve to strike out 10 Reds in seven innings and then the Reds got zero against the Astros bullpen in the eighth and ninth.
Said Harang, now 1-2 with a 2.70 ERA, “You get six grounders that go right where everybody is notand it is frustrating. You make good pitches and don’t get a good outcome. It’s tough. They had four seeing-eye hits in the first and a couple of more later. It’s frustrating.”
Without pointing a finger at his offensive brethren, Harang said, “We couldn’t do anything to Wandy Rodriguez. He just had our number.”
And that number is zero.
Of his tantrum, Harang said, “You have to take your beating and walk away and get ready for tomorrow. But it’s frustrating when you have to pitch hard all night and not get any luck. It’s been a tough year-and-a-half and it is going to grind on you eventually and tonight it got over the boiling point, trying to get the frustration out.”
He was too soft. He should have burned every bat used by his offense on this putrid night.
Permalink | Comments (40) | Post your comment |
TweetBaseball spectating: watch for nuances
Baseball nuances are fascinating and can happen at any time. Some folks think baseball is boring, but as one of my writing heroes once penned, “Baseball is boring only to boring people.”
Another one happened Friday night in the third inning with the speedy Willy Taveras on first and no outs.
Joey Votto singled to right and many pressbox observers were stunned that Houston right fielder Hunter Pence threw Taveras out at third base. Easily.
How can that happen?
Manager Dusty Baker’s dissection:
“No. 1, Pence can throw,” said Baker. “No. 2, Willy hesitated just ever so slightly going around second base. And this park is similar to our park. The right fielder usually plays a little shallower because of how shallow the right field fence is. Therefore, anything over your head is almost a home run anyway. That makes it tough to go from first to third on a guy playing shallow with a good arm.
“That’s Hunter Pence in this park,” Baker added. “I knew it was going to be close and I was hoping for an inaccurate throw. He has an unorthodox throwing style, but he sure can throw.”
WITHOUT THE Minute Maid Park roof, there would be no game tonight. At noon, it was so dark outside it looked like midnight. And then it didn’t rain, it poured. Not cats and dogs. Cattle and sheep.
It was raining so hard when it was time for me to go to the park that I had to have a courtesy van take me the half-a-block from my hotel to the ballpark. And I still got wet. Having a Dome or roof, though, doesn’t guarantee a game. There was a time when Houston played in the Astrodome that a game was called due to rain.
It rained so hard that the parking lot and the streets surrounding the Dome were flooded and folks couldn’t get to the park unless they arrived by cruise ship. Game called.
ROY OSWALT, 23-1 for his career against the Reds, was en route to making it 24-1 Friday, shutting the Reds out for six innings and leaving with a 1-0 lead. The Reds didn’t beat him, but they won the game in the ninth on Ramon Hernandez’s two-run home run off closer Jose Valverde.
“We didn’t beat him, but he didn’t beat us, either,” said Baker. “That would have been the ultimate moral victory for him if he had won, 1-0, with the run coming on a bases loaded walk (by Johnny Cueto) and with him (Oswalt) scoring the run.”
MIKE LINCOLN answered with a straight face after Friday’s game when I asked him, “Do you have any kid of a history with Carlos Lee?” Said Lincoln, “No.”
Well, Baker knew the history. Lee was 5 for 7 against Lincoln when Baker brought him into Friday’s game with the bases loaded and two outs. Lincoln ended the inning with a fielder’s choice ground ball.
Said Baker, “Ordinarily, I don’t use Lincoln in that situation. But Jared Burton is trying to get himself back together.” Baker paused for a laugh and said, “And Lincoln is trying to get himself together, too. I got all the stats and I knew Carlos Lee was 5 for 7 against Linc. It was like, ‘C’mon, Linc,’ throw the stats out the window.’ And, yeah, I was holding my breath.”
Nothing like baseball nuances.
Permalink | Comments (5) | Post your comment |
TweetHow a win was almost a loss (in the paper)
Some of you who went to bed early Friday night and did not listen to or watch the ninth inning of the Cincinnati Reds-Houston Astros game almost received a surprise this morning. A bad surprise.
Your morning Dayton Daily News almost had a story in it that said the Astros beat the Reds, 1-0. In actuality, catcher Ramon Herandez hit a two-run homer off Houston closer Jose Valverde for a 2-1 Cincinnati victory.
AND HERE’S what I did.
With the game ending close to deadline, I had written a story saying the Reds lost, 1-0, once against losing to Roy Oswalt.
But when the Reds came back to win, I had to re-write quickly, a whole new story. But what I did was stupid, stupid, stupid. I didn’t erase the first story and accidentally sent the old story, Reds lose, 1-0. Then I trashed the new story by accident.
I was saved by my alert desk, Greg Simms and the guys. When Simms told me I sent a story with the Astros winning, 1-0, I panicked. But I quickly wrote a new top on the old story - and here’s hoping it made sense.
That’s a first in my 37 years.
AT LEAST the Reds didn’t lose to Oswalt. They didn’t beat him. He stood to go 24-1 for his career against the Reds if Houston won, 1-0. Oswalt pitched six scoreless inningsw, giving up five hits.
But when Houston closer Jose Valverde, who couldn’t pitch Thursday because of a sore mid-section of his back, walked Edwin Encarnacion and Hernandez homered, Oswalt lost his victory but wasn’t charged with the defeat.
And this is how it is when the Reds face Oswalt, the ghost of Houston who refuses to lose to Cincinnatil
—Reds starter Johnny Cueto pitched three hitless innings.
—The Reds had five hits in the first four innings and stranded six runners, including the bases loaded with one out in the second, all against Oswalt.
—Willy Taveras drilled Oswalt with a line drive. Did it knock him out of the game? Nope. The ball ricocheted to third baseman Geoff Blum and he threw Taveras out at first base.
“As usual, we had Oswalt in trouble a few times and in some kind of way he always gets out of it,” said Baker.
So despite all their efforts, the Reds were scoreless with the Astros after four innings.
It came unraveled for Cueto in the fifth and Oswalt pulled the first string on the spool. With two outs, Cueto walked Oswalt. Walked the pitcher.
He also walked Michael Bourn, gave up a single to Miguel Tejada to fill the bases and walked Lance Berkman on a 3-and-2 pitch to force in Oswalt.
Baker was quick with the hook and pulled Cueto in favor of Mike Lincoln, who ended the inning by getting Carlos Lee to ground into a fielder’s choice.
“He hit a curveball down and put pretty good wood on it, but it went right to Alex Gonzalez, so it worked out OK,” said Lincoln.
‘Cueto only gave up two hits, both to Tejada, in his 4 2/3 innings, but he walked six and threw 88 pitches.
All the talk was about Hernandez’s dramatic home run, but it doesn’t happen without the bullpen.
Even Hernandez acknowledged that and said, “Without our bullpen stopping those guys for no runs, my home run doesn’t mean a thing.”
Lincoln, Daniel Ray Herrera and Nick Masset combined for 4 1/3 hitless innings.
“Each guy came in and did his job, which is what we have to do,” said Lincoln. “Our bullpen is pretty tight, a good group of guys, and you can put any guy in any situation. Obviously, we have a set-up guy (David Weathers) and a closer (CoCo Cordero), but we have a lot of parts we can interchange.”
Cordero gave up a one-out single in the ninth to Geoff Blum, the tying run. Pudge Rodriguez became the potential winning run with a single to center, but Cordero coaxed a game-ending double play out of Jason Smith.
There was an oddity just before the double play when Smith hit a high pop foul. The ball hit a girder on the roof, which made it out of play even though Alex Gonzalez caught the ball.
“Some of the guys were upset that the ball was called out of play, but I said, ‘Hey, that’s better. Now we can get a double play,” said Baker.
Done.
Hernandez even called his home run off a Valverde fastball a lucky stroke, “Because I was just trying to put the wood on the ball, trying to get a single, so I can get something going.
“When I hit it I just took off running in case it hit the wall,” he said. “We were losing, 1-0, and I got lucky when it got out.”
But they still can’t beat Oswalt.
Permalink | Comments (9) | Post your comment |
TweetSometimes it’s a fruitless waiting game
I wouldn’t want somebody to tell me how much time in the last 37 years I stood around waiting to talk to a baseball player - but it is part of the job.
And sometimes not successful.
A perfect example was Friday in Minute Maid Park. I wanted to talk to Jeff Keppinger, the infielder the Cincinnati Reds traded to the Houston Astros at the end of spring training.
I wanted to ask him about his back, which he injured Thursday in Pittsburgh sliding into third base with a triple and might keep him out of this four-game series.
I wanted to ask him about his game-winning hit in his first at-bat for the Astros that beat the Cubs in the 10th inning.
I wanted to ask him about his .467 batting average and I wanted to ask him about his home run and five RBIs.
NOT ONLY did I not get to talk to him, I didn’t get to see him. I waited a half hour by his locker, but he was in the training room taking treatment. I waited the length of Houston’s batting practice session so I could go back into their clubhouse after BP (the media isn’t permitted in the clubhouse during batting practice), but he was still in the training room getting treatment from a doctor.
Maybe tomorrow?
Instead, how about the player the Reds received from the Astros, identified yesterday as infielder Drew Sutton. The trade was made at the end of spring training, but the Astros had to wait to announce their part of the deal because Sutton had mononucleosis and the Reds had to make sure he is OK.
While Keppinger is helping the Astros (he took the place of Aaron Boone, who had heart surgery this spring), Sutton goes to Class AAA Louisville.
“I talked to some Astros people and they tell me they liked him,” said manager Dusty Baker. “He’s a good player who can run. He can play second base and first base and we think he can play the outfield with his speed and instincts.”
THE REDS are facing Roy Oswalt tonight, he of the 23-1 career record against them. Baker was scirbbling numbers and scratching his head and reading figures when he was asked, “Have you figured out a way to beat Oswalt?”
Said Baker, “Trying to figure it out right now. We’ll get him, we’ll get him. The law of averages are on our side, they’ve been on our side for a long time.”
PITCHER MICAH Owings was wearing a bright green Team Mexico t-shirt during batting practice Friday. Lost a bet.
“He challenged me and lost, so now he has to wear my Team Mexico shirt during batting practice,” said Jerry Hairston Jr. Owings said he would hit a home run this year before Hairston and Hairston connected in Milwaukee this week.
THE SUBJECT was pitchers who throw 100 miles an hour and Edinson Volquez said he is in that class. He was standing in the middle of the clubhouse as he talked and his nose didn’t grow, so I figured he wasn’t telling tall Texas tales.
“I threw 100 once when I was with Texas, in the minors at Frisco (Tex.),” he said. “The gun said ‘100’ and I got dizzy. Then I tried to throw 100 and was throwing 93 and 94. The next time I pitched, I was real tired and I was throwing 98 and 99. My last pitch of the game was 99 and even I said, ‘Oh, wow.’”
TEXAS-BORN Jay Bruce left 75 tickets last year for his first visit to Houston, but this year it is down to 28. He lives about an hour and a half from Minute Maid Park and is staying with his parents.
And Houston-born Paul Janish got off easy and said, “Only 22 or 23 tickets tonight. I dodged a bullet because my dad works in downtown Houston for El Paso Engineering and he got 10 tickets from work.” Janish grew up just 35 minutes from Minute Maid and owns a townhouse at which he is staying that is even closer.
Permalink | Comments (9) | Post your comment |
TweetHouston, 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.
Permalink | Comments (18) | Post your comment |
TweetMaybe we jumped the gun (and shot ourselves)
Can we put a hold on those playoff tickets? I may have lost my composure for a day or so - maybe it’s the antibiotics for the malaria.
The Cincinnati Reds were issued a dose of reality Wednesday night in Miller Park. It ain’t gonna be easy, my friends.
Did everybody get excited last year when they were 4-2 and 6-3? Well, now they are 4-4 and the 9-3 beating at the hands of the Milwaukee Brewers shows what happens to this team when the pitching is subpar.
Micah Owings, absent from the mound for 10 days, let the rust fly and wasn’t too bad. He held the Brewers to four runs and five hits over five innings, but he couldn’t figure out ex-Reds outfielder Mike Cameron. Cameron homered his first two times up against Owings.
Still, it was 3-3 when Owings left after Prince Fielder dropped a double that spit chalk on the right field line. Jared Burton came in and got the first out, then had the outfielders plahying chase the baseball in the grass.
Before the inning was over, Burton had given up a walk, a run-scoring double to Bill Hall, a two-run double to Jason Kendall and a two-run home run to Rickie Weeks.
“This is frustrating because I felt so good coming out of spring training, ahead of where I’ve been my whole career,” said Burton. “But I’m having trouble with the feel on some of my pitches.”
Burton checked the video immediately after the game and said, “My stuff is just not there and I’m not finishing my pitches. That’s what happens when you’re feeling for stuff instead of letting it go.”
That inning was pretty much the ball game, the end of a three-game losing streak and the drop to 4-4 in the standings.
NOW THE BIG test. Houston is awful. Houston was awful in spring training. They were 1-14 when the Reds played them. And lost. And the Reds lost another game to them this spring. And the Astros are awful right now.
Last year the Reds were 3-12 against Houston. And guess who is waiting for them? It is Roy Oswalt, whose career record is 23-1 against the Reds. Oswalt could take the night off, sit at home sipping Lone Star, and the Astros cut stand a life-sized cardboard cutout of Oswalt on the mound. And the Reds would lose.
AT LEAST we get out of cold, chilly Milwaukee and get to spend the next five days in Houston, including Thursday’s day off. There is a fabulous steakhouse, Vic & Anthony’s, next to my hotel to which I’ll take advantage Thursday night (nice rib-eye slathered in cajun sauces). Last time I was there the entire Detroit Pistons basketball team walked in and by the time they left about 15 head of cattle had disappeared from the face of the earth.
And my days will be spent at McCoy’s Fine Cigars (no relation, darn it), listening to the inhabitants of the smoking room telling tall Texas tales.
Astros baseball? Naw, they talk University of Texas football and Houston Texans football.
I don’t care. Just pass me that Montecristo White Churchill, please.
Permalink | Comments (17) | Post your comment |
TweetOf green, ‘42,’ pinch-hitting and walks
Jerry Hairston Jr. was walking around the clubhouse this afternoon wearing his green Mexico Baseball t-shirt, a souvenir from the World Baseball Classic.
“I’d like to wear it for batting practice,” he said. “Heck, I’d like to wear it on the plane under my suit coast,” he said.
Hairston is a proud guy - proud to wear No. 42 like every other major-leaguer Wednesday in honor of Jackie Robinson.
Hairston’s grandfather, Sam, played in the Negro Leagues, “And won the Triple Crown one year, plus he played with and against Jackie on All-Star teams,” he said.
“I remember the stories my grandfather used to tell,” Hairston added. “And Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier? What a tremendous feat, not only from a baseball standpoint, but socially. Some may argue that it started the civil rights movement. Martin Luther King Jr. said it helped things get going.
“To see the way Jackie thrived and succeeded on the baseball field, well, this definitely has a significance,” Hairston added. “The good thing about it is that whether you are black, you are white or you are Latino, you’re wearing 42. And that’s the way it should be. It’s great for baseball to be unified in this way.”
MANAGER DUSTY Baker said Robinson died the first year Baker signed a major-league contract, “So I never met him, but I remember watching his funeral procession when I was in West Palm Beach, Fla. with the Braves.”
Baker, though, did obtain a videotape of The Jackie Robinson Story and have his 9-year-old son, Darren, watch it.
“Most African American kids were Dodger fans because of Jackie Robinson, including my dad,” said Baker. “My brother and I were the only African American kids in our school and we got into a lot of fights. I remember my father always telliing us, ‘Just remember, what would Jackie do?’ I heard those words from my dad all the time.”
AFTER A one day absence, shortstop Alex Gonzalez and catcher Ramon Hernandez were back in the lineup Wednesday for the season’s finale against Milwaukee.
“They worked hard Tuesday when they didn’t play and had a good day of doing extra stuff,” said Baker.
LAYNCE NIX had his second straight pinch-hit double Tuesday and Baker acknowledges how tough that job can be to somebody who was an every day player.
“Most guys have nevere been in that role - guys on our team like Nix, Darnell McDonald, Chris Dickerson. I talk to them all the time about their approach to pinch-hitting. I have some knowledge from being around some of the best pinch-hitters of all time - Manny Mota, Jay Johnstone, Vic Davalillo, Lee Lacy.”
An out of town writer asked, “What do you tell them?”
“Can’t tell you,” Baker said with a laugh.
THROUGH SEVEN games the Reds had 39 walks, only less than league-leader Los Angeles, which had played eight games.
“That’s something we’ve really been preaching,” said Baker. “Every pitch changes the equation of every at-bat. You swing at a bad pitch, like Brandon Phillips and Edwin Encarnacion were doing last year, and now you are 1-and-2 instead of 2-and-1 or 2-and-2 instead of 3-and-1.
“Just by concentrating and focusing on that one pitch makes a huge difference,” he said. “The one young guy on our team that still needs to learn that is Jay Bruce. And he will.”
Permalink | Comments (4) | Post your comment |
Tweet2009 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?
Permalink | Comments (24) | Post your comment |
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.”
Permalink | Comments (12) | Post your comment |
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.
Permalink | Comments (21) | Post your comment |
TweetKalas: the voice from on high
Nobody could say, “Hi, Hal McCoy, how are you?” like Harry Kalas. It was like the voice of God, a deep, low rumble that sounded as if it came from the clouds.
When Kalas spoke to you, he could be behind you and across the room and you knew instantly who it was. If you turned around and didn’t see him, you still knew — Harry Kalas is in this room.
Kalas, the legendary Philadelphia Phillies broadcaster and the voice of NFL Films, died today. He was 73. They found him in the broadcast booth at the Washington Nationals stadium.
Knowing Kalas as I did, that’s the way he preferred it. If he had to go, take him in a broadcast booth. As good as he was as a broadcaster, he was a better person. He was everybody’s friend with a kind, thoughtful and upbeat word for everybody.
I used to play tennis with and against him in the 1970’s. It would be me and another member of the Reds traveling party — trainer Larry Starr or fellow journalist Greg Hoard — against Kalas and Richie Ashburn. It was intense. All four of us were intense competitors and many “discussions” developed over line calls. Harry was always the first to say, “Ah, give it to ‘em. It’s only a game.”
Baseball was more than a game to Kalas. It was his passion and his life. He was 73 and was not even thinking about retirement.
Marty Brennaman made an interesting remark. Kalas and Ashburn were very, very, very close. Like twins. “When Richie died (about 10 years ago), I don’t think Harry got over it.”
And they’ll never get over Kalas in Philadelphia and I’ll never forget the way he said, “Hi, Hal McCoy. How are you?” Nobody else could send shudders through me just by uttering those simple words.
LATER IN THE DAY it was announced that former Detroit pitcher Mark “The Bird” Fidrych died. Fidrych was famous for standing on the mound and holding the baseball in his palm as he leaned his head forward and actually talked to the baseball, told it what to do. For one year, it obeyed and Fidrych was a one-year legend.
Then the baseball quit listening and Fidrych faded away.
Said manager Dusty Baker, with oh-so-true words: “Death has no season.”
THE REDS OPEN an 11-day, 10-game trip through three NL Central cities tonight in Milwaukee, the first of three, followed by four in Houston and three in Chicago.
Interesting matchup: Cincinnati’s Edinson Volquez vs. Milwaukee’s Yovani Gallardo (1-0, 2.70), two Latin zingers. One difference: Volquez has the bullpen to back him up, Gallardo has the bullpen to make him sick.
Amazingly, the two 39-year-old Reds in the ‘pen have done nothing so far but throw strikes. LHP Arthur Rhodes and RHP David Weathers have combined to retire all 13 batters they’ve faced. And between the two they have thrown 42 pitches, 35 strikes. Rhodes is 27 for 31 with strikes and Weathers is 8 for 11.
Permalink | Comments (8) | Post your comment |
TweetThe Second Coming: Aaron Harang version
Please don’t consider me irreverent or blasphemous or a heathen. I just can’t resist this one:
On Easter Sunday, Cincinnati Reds pitcher Aaron Harang had his Second Coming. He is risen.
I just dodged a lightning bolt. Sorry, sir.
But after going 6-17 last year and losing on Opening Day this year, Harang was the Harang of a couple of years ago.
Even on days when Harang is unhittable, untouchable and unbelievable, his Cincinnati Reds teammates treat him as a third cousin from the bad side of the family.
On Easter Sunday, Harang threw a bunch of uncolored eggs at the Pittsburgh Pirates, a three-hitter in which he had batters nibbling at jelly beans all afternoon during a 2-0 victory, the first complete game in the majors this season.
Brandon Phillips gave him a 2-0 lead in the first with a home run, then the Reds twice left runners on second and third with one out and even hit into a triple play, forcing Harang to be at his dominant best.
He was overly dominant. He threw 108 pitches, 80 for strikes. He went to three balls on only one batter and two balls on only seven.
“That’s the Aaron Harang I remember from 2006 and 2007,” said Phillips, who homered with two outs in the first on a 2-2 pitch after Willy Taveras led the inning with a double.
Harang gave up a single to Nyjer Morgan opening the game. He hit Morgan with two outs in the third, Brandon Moss singled with two outs in the fifth and Morgan singled with one out in the ninth.
Not one Pirate put a foot on second base.
Closer Francisco Cordero was warming up in the ninth when Morgan singled with one out, causing manager Dusty Baker to think about replacing Harang.
“He would have had to drag me off the mound,” said Harang, who needed 114 pitches to get to five innings on Opening Day.
“That’s a tough position for a manager — what if you take him out and something happens and what if you leave him in and something happens? He had good tempo and good rhythm, so you look at his pitch count and see how his throwing,” said Baker.
Decision? Easy. Leave him in.
“You try to handle a decision like that, but you don’t handle it very well,” said Baker. “But he was dealing and you could tell he really wanted that one.”
And since it was Harang, Baker worried about his team cluttering the bases with stranded runners and said, “I was hoping the whole game that those baserunners we left with less than two outs wouldn’t haunt us. But Aaron was masterful.”
And, as usual, not that impressed with himself.
“I threw some good games a couple of years ago, including a complete game at Pittsburgh to end the season,” he said. “It was nice to get a complete game early in the season because they don’t happen very often any more. I wanted to give the bullpen a day off and give us good energy heading for the road.”
That’s Harang, thinking of the other guys, who give it their best but seldom give him much help.
“They knew I was throwing strikes and had to swing,” he said.
Permalink | Comments (24) | Post your comment |
TweetNow you have to cheer on your own
One of the best moves the Cincinnati Reds did for this season had nothing to do with acquiring a big righthanded bat or finding a fifth starter or even the new mammoth HD scoreboard (so far there have been a lot of zeros in HD on that board).
The best move? No cheerleaders. And I’ll bet nobody has noticed because nobody has missed them. I haven’t received a single e-mail that said, “Hey, what the heck. No cheerleaders? I’m not coming to any more games. No cheerleaders? That’s un-American.”
Nothing against the hard-working young ladies and gentlemen who performed that duty last year, but cheerleaders at a baseball game doesn’t fit, doesn’t work. They don’t belong. They were like hood ornaments on cars. Why?
THE BEST thing for the Reds Sunday (maybe) had nothing to do with Easter baskets. It was the fact Pittsburgh started righthander Ian Snell. So far this year, it is just like last year. If the Easter Bunny is lefthanded you could stick him on the mound and he’ll beat the Reds.
That’s why acquiring a big righthanded bat in the offseason was so important but we’re still waiting to see his magical appearance. Maybe HE is the Eastern Bunny.
NICE ANECDOTE: Manager Dusty Baker was really angry after Saturday’s game, the one that ended with Jay Bruce getting doubled off first base because he ran hellbent for third base on a one-out fly ball.
Baker was definitely angry at Bruce. Then before Baker could summon Bruce into his office for a little verbal undressing, Bruce walked into his office.
“Jay came into my office before I could go to him,” said Baker. “I was going to wait until before today’s game. But he felt so bad he came in himself. He knew the situation and he even told Edwin Eincarnacion before the play, ‘One out.’
“He felt terrible,” said Baker. “I was so mad afterward, but after I saw how he felt it was hard to stay p.o.’d. It’s like your kid coming to you and saying, ‘Dad, I messed up.’ You are about to spank him, but you say, ‘OK, son, don’t do it again.’ “
Bruce is a lot like Homer Bailey. People forget their ages. Both are 22. “And Jay just turned 22 like last week,” said Baker. “I didn’t know that he was only 22.”
Yeah, Dusty, very young for a ball play but too old to spank, even for running bases that way.
It was the way Chris Sabo used to run the bases. It was like tee-ball. Run until you’re out. Run until you either score or somebody tags you out. We called it the Chris Sabo School of Baserunning. You had to wear goggles to graduate.
Permalink | Comments (20) | Post your comment |
TweetQuantity (of pitches) eliminates quality starts
Still waiting for that wonderful (as we all believed) starting pitching to surface for the Cincinnati Reds.
Pittsburgh Pirates 10, Cincinnati Reds 2 - or, as our favorite broadcaster said as Ryan Doumit’s grand slam home run off Mike Lincoln sky-vapored into the right field seats, “It is now officially a butt-whipping.”
It is now four-deep into the 2009 season and the Reds are still looking for a quality start (six innings, three earned runs or less).
It was Johnny Cueto’s turn Saturday and it was a thing of ugliness with a tinge of beauty. In six innings, he struck out nine Pittsburgh Pirates. But sandwiched around that like whole wheat were eight hits (five for extra bases) and four runs.
He threw 109 pitches in six innings, a recurring theme so far for the Reds rotation - way, way too many pitches, much too much wasted effort.
Cueto was down 2-0 before he got his second out of the game. Nyjer Morgan opened the game with a single and after Freddy Sanchez struck out, Nate McLouth reached the right field seats with his second home run.
Cueto got out of a mess in the fourth when right fielder Jay Bruce threw a runner out a home tring to score from second and Willy Taveras leaped against the wall to snag the third out of the inning with two on.
The Pirates scored two more in the fourth on two doubles and a triple, then Cueto retired seven in a row before he was lifted - the string of outs coming way too late.
MEANWHILE, it was as if the Reds were once again facing Johan Santana on Opening Day. Pirates lefthander Paul Maholm retired the first 11 before he walked Joey Votto. Brandon Phillips singled and Edwin Encarnacion singled, all with two outs, but Votto was thrown out at home trying to score from second.
That was the only threat the Reds had.
PIRATES LEADOFF batter Nyjer Morgan is an African American out of Los Angeles who somehow wandered into hockey and played for Regina in the Western Hockey League until he was 21. In the seventh inning he scored from second on a single. He could slid across home, but his hockey instincts took over and he drove a shoulder into catcher Ramon Hernandez as if pounding him into the boards with a body check.
It was better than Joey Votto’s slide home (he was out) in the fourth. His left foot was driven up into his body and he came up hopping on his right foot, dancing in a circle. But he stayed in the game.
Typically, the Reds scored in the seventh without a hit. Brandon Phillips walked, stole second, took third on Edwin Encarnacion’s ground ball and scored on Jay Bruce’s ground ball.
Not a good day at the old ball yard for the local nine, which is now 1-3.
Permalink | Comments (13) | Post your comment |
TweetFrom malaria back to good ol’ baseball
So, the diagnosis is - - - - - malaria. Malaria. You kidding me? Do I like as if I worked on the Panama Canal?
Apparently, I might have been bitten by a mosquito in Cancun last October and I contracted malaria. That’s what the doctor thinks after ruling out 84 other things. And after only a couple of days of some heavy antibiotic, I feel beter than I have in a year. Fortunately it is not contagious - unless if maybe I bit somebody - so I’m back to work today, getting a kick out of watching everybody take a step or two back after I tell them I have malaria.
WAS FUN standing on the dugout step at 10:30 this morning watching Paul Janish take about 100 hard-hit ground balls hit by coach Mark Berry.
“I’m going to do it three or four times a homestand,” said Janish. “You can take all the grounders you want during batting practice, but in these private sessions Mark really hits the ball hard and to my left and right. In my role, going into games in the eighth and ninth innings, well, that’s not the time to be sharpening up.”
MANAGER DUSTY BAKER had Edwin Encarnacion batting fifth and Jay Bruce dropped to sixth for Saturday afternoon’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
“Just because we’re facing a tough lefthander (Paul Maholm), a guy who is really tough on lefthanders,” said Baker. “Jay is struggling a little bit (.167), so this takes a little pressure off him. No slight on Jay, it just depends on the lefthander and how tough he is on lefthanders.”
The thing is, Encarnacion isn’t putting too many smudge marks on baseballs right now (.143), although he does have five walks.
“He’s knocking fire from the ball in BP, so it seems he is just around the corner from getting hot,” said Baker. Encarnacion, though, sees to have more hot and cold corners than a house with air-conditioning in only half the rooms.
Of his walks, Baker said, “That’s good, especially this early in the year because it shows you’re recognizing pitches. That’s the toughest thing this part of the year because you haven’t had enough reps to really zero in on recognition of pitches.”
MICAH OWINGS isn’t scheduled to make his starting debut for the Reds until Wednesday, so for now the Reds have another long man in the bullpen and Baker said he has to find a way to keep him sharp if he isn’t used between skipped starts.
“We have to find a way to keep his endurance and pitch-count up,” said Baker. “We can’t overuse him in case we go extra innings and need him. I have to be more careful now about using him as a pinch-hitter, unless I’m going to keep him in the game to pitch. Then I have to figure out how to warm him up (to pitch) before bringing him in to pinch-hit. He hits a lot in batting practice, he loves to hit.”
IF YOU THINK my malaria is strange, Pirates manger John Russell has gout in his left arm and is wearing a bulky brace, which will be in place for a week. That may make it difficult for Russell to call in any lefthander from the bullpen.
THE SUBJECT was the changing consistency of the field from weather changes and Baker said, “I’d like to come up with new spikes for baseball, like they have for football - longer spikes and shorter spikes depending on the field and the weather. The only trouble would be sliding and with spike injuries.”
And, no, we’re not talking about women’s high heels when we talk about spikes.
Permalink | Comments (5) | Post your comment |
TweetIf I’m bored, I’m going to bore you, too
I’m not a hypochondriac. I’m not a hypochondriac. I’m REALLY not a hypochondriac.
In 37 years of covering the Cincinnati Reds, I’ve missed one road trip to which I was assigned and that was two years ago when I fell in Times Square in New York. I proudly saved a $3.65 cup of Starbuck’s Vente Non-Fat Latte in my left hand and even more proudly saved $50 worth just-purchased Montecristro White Label Churchills in my right hand.
It only cost the insurance company $28,000 to repair the torn meniscus in my left knee. And I missed a trip to Washington and Pittsburgh.
That’s it. Thirty-seven years.
But now it’s 2009 and I’ve missed two of the first three games of the season and I’ll miss tonight’s game, too. And I’m still not sure why.
On Wednesday, believing I might have a urinary tract infection or a kidney infection or a bladder infection, I visited a urologist. All I found out was that Dr. Miller once hit a home run off Mike Schmidt in a Little League game. High fastball, I think he said. And with where he had his hands at the time, I congratulated him profusely and screamed, “I believe it, I believe it!”
Nothing was urologically in disrepair, but they took blood (I’ve donated blood eight times in three days and qualify as a pin cushion for Aunt Matilda’s quilting party).
They sent the bloodwork to a G.P. and made an appointment for me for at 1 o’clock Thursday. When I called Thursday morning to confirm the appointment, the doctor said he was looking at my bloodwork and I should get to emergency immediately.
I called my wife, Nadine, at school, and she fled her classroom in mid-lecture, racing down the halls of Our Lady of the Rosary shouting, “I gotta go. I gotta go right now.” And out the door she fled.
Meanwhile, Thursday was the best I’ve felt in three weeks — until the doctor said my white cell count was way too high and to get to emergency. As I waited on the Englewood Paramedics, believing I had about 6 1/2 hours to live, I said my last goodbye to my dog, Barkley, who walked to his dish to eat breakfast.
The paramedics arrived quickly, but because I looked healthy and walked to the ambulance under my own power, they didn’t turn on the siren. What a disappointment.
On my way, my sports editor, Brian Kollars, called on my cellphone and asked how I was doing. I told him, “I feel great, but I’m on my way to the hospital in an ambulance.” He, too, was disappointed that the siren wasn’t on.
When I got to emergency and they wheeled me into a room, some guy in hospital attire walked into my room and with a sly grin said, “Mr. McCoy, may I have your autograph before you die?” Hospital humor. Ya gotta love it. I signed it Hal McCorpse and I don’t think he noticed.
I was there six hours and we now know 84 things that I DON’T have. They even have this test where they take a very long Q-Tip and stick it painfully up your nostrils to check if you have the flu. Negative. But it isn’t fun having chopsticks stuck up your nose.
A very personable female doctor who cursed like a sailor — you gotta love that — gave me one of those, uh, prostate tests where they stick a finger where no finger should go. Negative. But I was saying, “Negative, negative,” before she proceeded.
And, of course, Thursday was one of the few games the Reds didn’t televise, so I got to watch things about the real world — like Jerry Springer and Judge you-fill-in-the-name because there are so many.
So they think — they’re not sure, of course — I might have a viral infection. They put me on strong antibiotics so I feel very good right now. But I’ve slept so much the last few days that I was in bed from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. and wasn’t close to grabbing a wink. So it’s after 5 and here I am telling you more than you want to know about my experiences the past two days.
I have one more doctor’s appointment today, but I know one thing: I’ll be at my seat in Great American Ball Park on Saturday if the Englewood Paramedics have to deliver me — and the driver volunteered. So starting Saturday, I’ll actually have some baseball to write about.
Meanwhile, some advice. Don’t urinate just before going to the urologist. They always want a urine sample and if you can’t come through (no, I couldn’t) they make you sit in an exam room for about two hours as punishment and every 15 minutes a nurse embarrasses you by saying, “Still can’t go, Mr. McCoy?” I don’t think I’ve gone two hours my whole life without having to go, but dammit, she intimidated me.
OK, enough, enough. Can you tell I’m bored?
Permalink | Comments (51) | Post your comment |
TweetSick and tired of being sick and tired
Observations from flat on my back:
Yes, the flu bug that nailed Jerry Hairston Jr. and Willy Taveras dug its dirty fingernails into me again — the second time in three weeks.
I could feel it coming on Opening Day and by Tuesday I was fulls of cold chills, fever, the shakes and no appetite. I was flat on my back Tuesday and Wednesday. I feel a bit better today, but the doctor says stay home one more day, so be it.
Hope to be back at The Yard Friday.
I covered Opening Day and I watched Game 2 Wednesday night under two covers on a couch in the sun room — all four hours of it. It was enough for a relapse.
— Taveras was flat on his back for four days, but pinch-hit and ripped a triple. Did you see that speed as he rounded second? Wonder how fast he can run when he feels good. I couldn’t even walk to get the paper.
— Somewhere along the line, Reds pitchers are going to have to be more efficient. If they don’t start getting beyond the fifth inning, the bullpen will be armless by July.
— And what was it with the Mets’ Mike Pelfrey? He gave up four runs, three hits and three walks in the first inning — and threw something like 54 pitches. Then over the next four innings he holds the Reds to no runs and two hits. Bizarre.
— While the Reds did score seven runs, they still haven’t found a way to get runners in from second and third with less than two outs. And they filled the bases against closer Francisco Rodriguez with one out in the ninth and couldn’t score a run, down only two.
— Jonny Gomes accepted an assignment to Class AAA Louisville. How soon can the Reds get him up here?
— Injury-prone Jerry Hairston Jr. fouled a ball off his left leg in the sixth inning and left the game.
— We all know how Bronson Arroyo despises pitching day games. And today we’ll see how effective the cortisone shot was on his sore wrist.
Meanwhile, I think I’ll lay down on the couch with my orange juice and coffee and wonder how I am so lucky as to get this same damn flu twice within three weeks. If it’s luck of the draw, pull me out of the drawing.
Permalink | Comments (13) | Post your comment |
TweetReds 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.
Permalink | Comments (97) | Post your comment |
TweetReds having bat trouble against Santana
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.
Permalink | Comments (8) | Post your comment |
TweetSome surprises on a tumultuous day
Some surprises emerged from today’s workout, one day before the Cincinnati Reds meet the New York Mets on Opening Day tomorrow (dress warm - gloves and scarves recommended, and maybe snow goggles).
And not all the surprises are for the good.
Jonny Gomes did not make the team. That’s a surprise. Gomes started fast, hitting nearly .300 for half the spring, then hit an unfortunate dry spell and his average tumbled to the .220s. Yet, he led the team in home runs (four) and tied for the lead in RBIs with 12.
What hurt him is that he did not play well at first base and did not play well defensively in right field and left field.
Instead, the Reds kept 30-year-old Darnell McDonald (he is not a kid and is two years older than Gomes with far less major-league experience). McDonald, a No.1 draft pick by the Orioles in 1997, has speed and can chase down fly balls. He had a great spring hitting, but the back of his baseball card tells you why he has bounced around the minors his entire career, playing only 21 major-league games and hitting .143. His minor-league career average is .269 with 11 homers in 4,815 minor-league at-bats.
Gomes was designated for assignment, meaning he has 72 hours to decided if he will report to Class AAA Louisville or become a free agent and try to sign with another team. At this moment, the stunned Gomes is not certain of his immediate future.
THE OTHER surprise is that the Reds optioned infielder/outfielder Adam Rosales to Louisville, keeping shortstop Paul Janish instead. What does that say? That says the Reds are uncertain about shortstop Alex Gonzalez and Janish is back-up insurance.
IT IS NOT surprising that the Reds optioned Homer Bailey to Louisville, but the guess here is that he won’t stay there long. He may quickly replace Bronson Arroyo in the rotation. Arroyo is battling carpal tunnel syndrome and the Reds have moved him back from his scheduled Thursday start to Sunday. In his place Thursday Micah Owings will pitch. Owings pitched in a minor-league game today - five innings, one run, five hits, no walks, two strikeouts.
Nor is it surprsing that the Reds optioned both catcher/infielder Wilkin Castillo and lefthanded relief pitcher Bill Bray to Louisville. There was no room for Castillo and Bray was awful all spring, losing his lefthanded bullpen spot to Daniel Ray Herrerra, who won it fair and square by not giving up a run all spring.
LAYNCE NIX made it as the lefthanded bat off the bench and Nick Massat was a survivor in the bullpen because he has experience there and Bailey doesnt.
ANOTHER OMINOUS note is that Willy Taveras, acquired to bat leadoff and play center field, has the flu and won’t be in the Opening Day lineup against Mets lefthander Johan Santana, making it a difficult debut for the lefthanded McDonald if he plays center field. Of course, Chris Dickerson could be the center fielder on Opening Day, with Jerry Hairston Jr. playing left field.
That’s a lot of turmoil and tribulation for a team that desperately needs to get off to a fast start.
THE ROSTER:
Pitchers
RHP Aaron Harang RHP Edinson Volquez RHP Micah Owings RHP Johnny Cueto RHP Bronson Arroyo RHP Francisco Cordero RHP David Weathers RHP Jared Burton LHP Daniel Ray Herrera RHP Mike Lincoln LHP Arthur Rhodes RHP Nick Massat
Catchers
Ramon Hernandez Ryan Hanigan
Infielders
Joey Votto Brandon Phillips Alex Gonzalez Edwin Encarnacion Paul Janish
Outfielders Jay Bruce Willy Taveras Chris Dickerson Darnell McDonald
Infielders/Outfielders
Jerry Hairston Jr. Laynce Nix
MY PREDICTION FOR THE NL CENTRAL: 1. Cubs, 2. Brewers, 3. Cardinals, 4 Reds, 5, Astros, 6. Pirates.
Permalink | Comments (38) | Post your comment |
TweetSome unsolicited advice: Don’t sign Sheffield
At dawn’s early light, after a night of reflection, here’s my take on signing Gary Sheffield:
Don’t.
Why should the Cincinnati Reds take on a 40-year-old DH when the National League doesn’t have a DH? Sheffield has rarely played afield for three years and when manager Dusty Baker was asked if he can play left field, he shrugged and said, “I don’t know. I haven’t seen him.”
Nor has anybody else.
And Sheffield carries a rough and gruff reputation, something the Reds don’t need in their clubhouse. Why give playing time to a guy on the downside when so many candidates are on the upside of their careers with the Reds?
A better alternative, if they MUST sign a veteran? How about Geoff Jenkins, released this week by the Philadelphia Phillies. He would be more receptive to a bench and part-time role than Sheffield.
“He got released, too?” said Baker. “I better check on that.” General manager Walt Jocketty already is checking.
As for Sheffield, Baker said, “I’ve known Sheffield forever, ever since he came into the league with Milwaukee. He was real tight with a couple of my homeys from Sac. I’ve been knowing him a long time.
“I’m sure he has some offers,” Baker added. “I asked Walt for permission to make the call to him. I made the call and Walt talked to Bob Castellini. I talked to Jim Leyland (Tigers manager) just to see because Shef hasn’t played the outfield in a long time.
“I’m told his teammates like him, even though he is straight-forward and says what he wants, which is what he gets publicity for,” Baker said. “But I’m told he keeps quiet and is off to himself in a corner of the clubhouse.”
Then Baker got into the crux.
“I don’t even know if we’re in the running,” he said. “He wants playing time. I don’t know how much he’d get here - probably a ‘no’ against righthanders because Chris Dickerson has come a long way, coming quick. I’m not going to lie to him. I told him he might spell Joey Votto some at first base since Sheffield has played there. He’d play against some tough lefthanders and be a guy off the bench.
“Guys we have now are doing a heck of job, Jonny Gomes and Darnell McDonald,” Baker added. “That’s no slight against them because Gary Sheffield is available.”
Bottome Line: If that’s what Baker told him and Sheffield has opportunities elsewhere that includes playing time, he won’t come to Cincinnati.
And to me, that’s a good thing.
HOMER BAILEY took another gigantic stride Wednesday against the Astros in Kissimmee - two runs, four hits, one walk, eight strikeouts.
And you heard it here first: Bailey may beat out Micah Owings for the No. 5 spot. Nothing has been decided, but I detect a leaning that way.
“Bailey was getting some swings and misses I hadn’t seen before,” said Baker. “Might have been the best I’ve ever seen him.”
When told that, Bailey laughed and said, “Does that mean I need to send a crate of oranges to him.”
No, the messages on the mound have been enough.
“We have to confer with (pitching coach) Dick Pole, the coaches, Walt, me and a couple of advisors upstairs,” Baker said about name the No. 5 starter. “That’s how you do things. I’m the one talking to them, but it is a joint thing. If not, why have advisors if you don’t use them.”
And Bailey?
“I don’t want it easy,” said Baker. “Usually, they’ve been sifting to fill some spots, searching between who’s better. I don’t know if my partner, Hal (that’s me and I don’t remember becoming a partner, but I’ll look for the check) believed me or not, but I told him I was just going to give Homer the ball, ‘Here’s the ball.’ That’s all you can do is give them an opportunity and be as far as you can. The rest is up to them. You can’t pitch for them.”
Bailey was more thrilled with his one four-pitch walk than his eight strikeouts.
“I’m proudest of the fact I’ve walked only four guys this spring (20 2/3 innings),” he said. “That’s a big key, not giving up free passes. The walk yesterday was on four pitches so I guess if you are going to walk somebody you don’t want to wase seven or eight pitches. That’s the biggest thing. It shows fastball command and my offspeed pitches have been better.”
Permalink | Comments (83) | Post your comment |
TweetReds have interest in Gary Sheffield
The Cincinnati Reds have interest in outfielder Gary Sheffield and there probably will be a meeting with him and/or his representatives tomorrow at Ed Smith Stadium.
Sheffield, one shy of 500 home runs, was released this week by the Detroit Tigers. While he makes $14 million, the Reds could sign him for as little as the major-league minimum.
“Sheffield and (manager) Dusty Baker have a history and they talked yesterday,” said Reds general manager Walt Jocketty. He has to clear waivers tomorrow, but we’ll talk. We have interest because he would be a legitimate bat to add to our lineup.”
Sheffield’s agent, Rufus Williams, confirmed the interest, although he said Sheffield has interest from other teams.
“Gary is a wonderful talent,” said Williams. “His plan was not to stop playing after last year and to not stop playing after this year. The doors are open and teams have been contacting us expressing interest.
“We’re willing to listen to all of them and looking to determine what’s in Gary’s best interest and what’s in the best interest of the team he goes to,” Williams added.
That, as usual, is mostly agent gobbletyspeak, but when asked if Baker and Sheffield had talked, Williams said, “Dusty doesn’t like to you, does he?
“Gary and Dusty have had a relationship for some time,” Williams added. “The notion of playing for him would be an interesting one. There have been a lot of interesting possiblities and there probalby will continue to be some until we get to the point where we can make a good decision.
“There’s a reasonable timetable. Obviously, the season begins Sunday. We’re challenged to be some place by then, and most challenged to be sure Gary’s in the best situation,” he said.
When he was released by the Tigers, Sheffield told writers, “I’ve got a lot left. I know that. If one person doesn’t think you can play in the field, that’s their opinion. I know I can. Nobody understands my body better than me. Unfortunately, I got hurt here and (have) never been able to show what I can really do. But I fought real hard to get back to this point. I just feel like I’ve got more to give.
Sheffield, 40, feels he can play every day and would like to prove it.
“As many (games) as I need to play, I can play,” he said. “I can go out there on an everyday basis and play in the outfield. That’s what I yearn for. I want to be in the outfield.
“When I heard that word, versatility, I’m [thinking], ‘I’m probably the most athletic guy on the team.’ But at the same time, that’s their opinion and I have to respect that.”
At this point, would you prefer AL to NL: “Like I say, if I can play outfield, it doesn’t matter. I know I can play the outfield, so I’m not putting myself in that box. I know what I can do. I know I can throw better than most people. I still can run, and I still can hit. So that’s all I can say.
“I wanted to play until I was 40, and I’ve accomplished that,” he said. “I know I can still play this game. If somebody wants me, I’ll be willing to look at the situation. Other than that, I’ll stay home, play with my kids.”
Permalink | Comments (66) | Post your comment |
TweetBailey dazzles - now where does he go?
Homer Bailey keeps making it tougher and tougher on the Cincinnati Reds, which is what manager Dusty Baker wants - too many rather than too few.
Bailey held the Houston Astros to two runs and four hits over six innings today, walking one and striking out eight. And he had two hits in two at-bats, so take that Micah Owings. Bailey is hitting .667 this spring.
So, should the Reds take him north to Cincinnati as a long guy, should they send him to Louisville to start every fifth day and stay ready? Who knows the outcome of Bronson Arroyo’s carpal tunnel syndrome, although he said today his medication is working and he feels better.
“This game is tough enough when you’re perfect, but it’s real tough if any little thing goes wrong with your body,” he said.
As of now, Bailey’s pickup truck is scheduled to be hauled to Cincinnati and the two guys in charge of shipping cars said, “That’s where it is going right now. It could change, but we haven’t been told.”
Ah, you get news is such diverse places.
ADAM ROSALES, perhaps celebrating the trade of Jeff Keppinger and realizing he is a whisker away from Cincinnati, hit a home run against the Astros today in a 7-2 loss. Jeff Keppinger batted twice for the Astros and went hitless. Rosales had another hit and drove in both Cincinnati runs.
BILL BRAY most likely sealed his doom bhy giving up two runs and two hits in one-third of an inning and most likely lost his spot in the bullpen to lefthander Daniel Ray Herrera.
MEANWHILE, Opening Day starter Aaron Harang, pitching for the Class A Dayton Dragons, zipped through six innings on 68 pitches, a plethora of strikes, against a Class A Tampa Bay Rays team.
Just pumping in strikes to get in his work, Harang threw only five pitches in the first inning - “five heaters, all strikes,” he said.
SHORTSTOP ALEX GONZALES worked out today, but did not play in a game. He’ll play nine innings today, but not in the Ed Smith Stadium finale for the Reds. He play in a minor-league game, but insists he is ready for Opening Day.
AH, THE WONDERS of modern medical science. For two days, my lower back has hurt so bad I haven’t been able to lay in one position to sleep. But I was given Celebrex today and within an hour the pain was gone. Getting old is such a pain, but doesn’t it beat the alternative?
Permalink | Comments (17) | Post your comment |
TweetThe last days of good times in Sarasota
Oh, sadness. Made my last stop, probably ever, into Gus’s 12th Street Cafe for breakfast this morning - my last bowling ball-sized Western omelette.
Diane, Gus’s wife, wanted a picture of me so I gave her the one that has hung on the door of the media workroom for several years, indicating that the room is the Hal McCoy Media Workroom & Dining Room.
A few years ago I was working at my desk when I heard somebody stop at the door to look at the picture. It was a Toronto writer and he said, “I didn’t know Hal McCoy died.”
Hey, it doesn’t say Hal McCoy Memorial Media Workroom and Dining Room.
THE CINCINNATI REDS, what amounts to a team of back-ups, made the 2 1/2 trek to Kissimmee today to play Houston. The only regulars on the trip was third baseman Edwin Encarnacion, who needs the at-bats, and pitcher Homer Bailey.
Bailey started because Aaron Harang opted to stay back in Sarasota and pitch against a minor-league team. The rest of the staff is up to 100 pitches, “But they’re holding me to 75 today, let me back off and get a little rest,” said Harang, who starts Opening Day.
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, though, would like to pry Harang away from the Reds and they’d like to send them outfielder Gary Matthews Jr.
Deal or no deal?
Just remember, one of manager Dusty Baker’s closest friends is Gary “Sarge” Matthews Sr.
LOST IN all the late afternoon hub-bub that included the trade of Jeff Keppinger, was the fact that manager Dusty Baker was ejected from the game against the New York Yankees.
In 37 years, I’ve only seen only other manager ejected from a spring exhibition game. It was in the early-1990s and the Reds were in Kissimmee, a short trip at that time because the Reds were in Plant City, the capital of strawberry shortcake.
The manager was Lou Piniella and he began arguing with the home plate umpire. Sure enough, as he usually does during an argument, Piniella began kicking dirt on home plate. And he was ejected.
“Don’t understand why I was ejected,” said Piniella. “All I was doing was kicking away fire ants.” Piniella IS a fire ant.
Asked if he had ever been ejected from a spring training game, Baker said, “Nope.”
It stemmed from a pitch on which minor-league umpire D.J. Reppley called Chris Dickerson out on a pitch that he couldn’t have hit with a back hoe. Next time up, Dickerson asked the umpire where the pitch was.
“Dickerson asked twice and the guy never answered,” said Baker. “Then somebody yelled from our dugout and he thought it was Chris Speier, and Speier was sitting next to me by the wall next to the dugout.
“I told him, ‘You don’t talk to people like that,’ and then you know how baseball arguments are. Things escalated and he threw me out and then I really got mad,” said Baker. Baker eventually walked the long walk to his office behind the right field wall and followed the game on a computer.
JERRY HAIRSTON JR. is still suffering the effects of the influenza he contracted at the WBC in Mexico, “Still feel weak, man,” he said. But he planned to play in a Triple-A game today, “Because I feel pretty good and maybe I can play against the Pirates tomorrow.”
PRETTY QUIET AROUND camp right now. Biggest activitiy is the two guys from Cincinnati who are here with car haulers to truck away about 42 personal cars, most to Cincinnati and some to Louisville and even a couple to North Carolina (where the Class AA Carolina Mudcats play.
I’m watching the gray Ferrerari real close to make sure they don’t dent or scratch it.
I’D TELL YOU about my bad back, but I’m so tired of complaining…
Permalink | Comments (22) | Post your comment |
Tweet
