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Hall of Fame baseball writer Hal McCoy has retired from the Dayton Daily News after covering the Cincinnati Reds for 37 years. Hal's blog, though, will continue to be a must-read for Reds fans. He'll share his thoughts on the team this season and will file updates from Great American Ball Park. You also can catch Hal in print every Sunday in his popular Ask Hal columnHome > Blogs > The Real McCoy | Cincinnati Reds baseball news > Archives > 2009 > May > 12
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Another fun night in the desert
Admittedly, the Arizona Diamondbacks are bad, bad, bad — maybe worse than the Washington Nationals. But so what? In the past, the Cincinnati Reds would lose to teams like this.
This year? So far, so good. Like Bachman Turner Overdrive, they are taking care of business. Bad team? We’ll whip up on you and feel no sorrow about it.
On Tuesday night, Micah Owings made his former teammates look helpless (they are). He held them to one run (which Arthur Rhodes actually permitted to score) on four hits over seven-plus innings. He said he was not extra-pumped because Arizona traded him, but it was his most aggressive outing of the year.
The D-Backs were hopeless and helpless and Owings was even better than three starts ago when he beat the Atlanta Braves, holding them to one run and six hits. He walked three that day and didn’t walk any Tuesday.
And there was stunning defense. Jerry Hairston Jr., playing shortstop in place of injured Alex Gonzalez, made at least three above-and-beyond plays. And just think, Gonzalez is coming back Friday and Hairston will be displaced.
Hey, put me in coach … someplace.
Speaking of displaced persons, catcher Ramon Hernandez made two stupendous plays at first base after he took over for Joey Votto, who got dizzy (nothing to fret about, all is well, all tests were negative) in the fourth inning.
Said Hernandez, “For me, playing first base instead of catching is like taking a day off.”
Offense? Mostly Brandon Phillips. He singled home a run in the first, went from first to third on a shallow single, and scored a run when the Reds scored twice in the fourth inning off Dan Haren.
And how about Haren? It is almost spooky how close his name is to Aaron Harang. Haren. Harang. Both are misfortunates as to getting offensive help from their teammates. Incredibly, Haren is 3-4 with a 2.06 ERA. How do you do that?
Anyway, Cincinnati’s third run came on a Phillips home run that traveled so far it probably would be a flat rate for a cab ride — 452 feet.
So the Reds are five games over .500 and tied with Milwaukee for second place, only one game behind the Cardinals. And they face somebody named Bryan Augenstein Wednesday night — a kid making his major-league debut.
“We don’t know anything about him,” said manager Dusty Baker. “We’ll have to do our homework, call around and try to find somebody who has seen him before.”
BIG SCARE of the night — first baseman Joey Votto was protecting first base in the fourth inning when a foul ball hit by Miguel Montero whizzed past him. It didn’t hit him, not even close. But Votto signaled for help and used manager Dusty Baker’s shoulder to hobble off the field.
Nothing serious. Dizziness. Probably the residue of the flu that cost Votto four starts last week and he’ll probably be OK for Wednesday’s game. If not, he’ll be back Friday in San Diego. All tests were negative — which reminds me of the Yogi Berra story. He reportedly had his head X-rayed and told teammates, “The X-rays showed nothing.”
But I digress.
MEDIOCRE MASCOT? D. Baxter of the Diamondbacks. D. Bax. Get it? But Chase Field does have a Fatburger concession stand. Not as good as Five Guys (there’s one open now in Cincinnati by the UC campus) or the West Coast-based In ‘n Out Burger, but pretty good.
D-BACKS FANS are getting hostile. They booed a lot in the latter innings of Monday’s 13-5 loss to the Reds. Rightfully so. They were awful. And Tuesday, after about the fifth inning when their team was doing zip, nada, nothing against Micah Owings, they loudly booed every out the D-Backs made.
MANAGER DUSTY BAKER has a friend, Joe Babich of Sacramento who comes to the park with him and sits in his office during the game. He looks like Tony La Russa and I asked him, “Anybody ever tell you that you look like Tony La Russa?” And he said, “No, but because of my nose, I guess, they think I look like one of the Rolling Stones — can’t remember which one.” I said, “Keith Richards,” and he said, “Yeah, that’s the guy.”
I still think he looks more like Tony La Russa — but you are more likely to find a lion and a zebra sitting quietly in the same room as Baker and La Russa.
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It was 105 today and service was lousy at P.F. Chang’s. I have a stiff neck from sleeping on it wrong and my cigars are coming unraveled in the desert heat.
But I’m not going to complain. Not even Delta can get my heart rate up today.
I have a job. When other baseball writers ask me, “How you doing?” I say, “Great. I have a job.”
A lot of my pals don’t any more, a lot of talented people victimized by the economy and newspaper cutbacks. One of the best is Tony Jackson, who covered the Cincinnati Reds for the now-defunct Cincinnati Post. He was covering the Dodgers for the Los Angeles Daily News until a week ago. He was laid off. So long, farewell, thanks for coming.
Hall of Fame writer Tracy Ringolsby and Jack Etkin, two of the best beat writers in the country, were without jobs when the Rocky Mountain News in Denver published its last edition this year.
Another good friend, Jack Magruder, was covering the Arizona Diamondbacks for the East Valley Tribune — until the EVT decided to no longer print a newspaper and Jack was swept out the door. Saw him today and he is hanging in there by doing freelance work.
And how heartless was this? A backup beat writer and a columnist with the Baltimore Sun were in the press box at Camden Yards. They received phone calls. In the press box as they worked. Their services were no longer needed and please leave your laptop computers before you walk out the door. Don’t forget the power units, too.
More sad news today, which is what prompted this. Tom Krasovic has covered the San Diego Padres for at least 10 years, maybe longer, for the San Diego Union-Tribune. He is from Dayton, a Carroll High School graduate, and worked as a copy boy at the old Dayton Journal Herald. He was part of 150 jobs eliminated by the Union-Tribune this week and has a job only until July 31.
So go ahead, Delta, crush my luggage. Lose it. And if P.F. Chang’s wants to serve my chicken with bean sauce ice cold, I’ll use my lighter to heat it up. Malaria? I’ll take it. Stiff neck? Bring it on.
I have a job.
FOR THOSE who like what Jerry Hairston Jr. has done at shortstop and batting second in the order while the Reds have won 11 of their last 15, well, enjoy it now. Alex Gonzalez is coming back Friday in San Diego and he IS going to be at shortstop.
“Everybody knows there is nobody like Alex Gonzalez,” said Baker.
Looks as if Hairston is headed back into a platoon situation, playing left field against lefthanded pitchers. At least Laynce Nix remains in left field against righthanded pitchers and somebody in the clubhouse wanted to know, “Has Chris Dickerson ever heard of Wally Pipp?”
Know what I like about Adam Rosales, other than his all-out hustle? He isn’t the most talented guy in the world and knows it. And he isn’t afraid to admit it. Nor is he afraid to take responsibility and talk about it when he comes up short — as he has recently on defense.
Rosales knows he should be fielding all those rockets and missiles that have been thundering past him at third base and he knows he should field cleanly some of those balls he is bobbling on routine grounders.
“Those are definitely playable balls, plays I should make,” he said. “I need to make them. It’s a matter of slowing things down. I’m pretty tense and I need to trust my hands.”
Nobody is more concerned about it than Rosales himself.
“I know I will, but I’m kind of hyped up, in case people can’t tell,” he added. “I have to be patient. What’s frustrating is that pitching and defense is so important and that’s why I’m putting too much pressure on myself.
“So it snowballs on me,” he said. “The pitcher is battling his behind off and I need to step up for him. I’m not fielding as well as I should be. I’ll start fielding them cleaner and make the double plays and the routine plays I’m supposed to make.”
Manager Dusty Baker said his fielding is the main reason Rosales was sent to Class AAA Louisville after spring training.
“The one thing we told him to get across to him was to slow the game down defensively,” said Baker. “It’s easier said than done, but it is something he has to do. Just relax and slow the game down.
“He had a couple of those plays (Monday) and it gets in your head,” Baker added. “That’s what we didn’t want to happen. Things compound similar to what happened to Edwin Encarnacion since he’s been here.”
And I still have a job (I think). I’m holding my breath to find out who among my baseball writing brethren are no longer employed. So sad, so sad.
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