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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 > 21
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Homer Bailey faces the Tribe Saturday
The less said about the game, the better. The Philadelphia Phillies vs. the Cincinnati Reds Thursday was a blood-letting, and the Reds donated all the blood, losing 12-5, their fifth loss in six games.
Micah Owings lasted only three innings and gave up five runs and six hits and the bullpen let the hits just keep on coming. The Phillies had 14 hits, nine for extra bases that included four homers.
It was the ugly duckling and the ugly stepsister rolled into one mess.
THERE IS NEWS, THOUGH.
Homer Bailey is coming Saturday to pitch against the Cleveland Indians and Edinson Volquez has landed on the DL with a stiff back.
And as revealed early this morning, Joey Votto has nothing more than an inner ear infection and could return to the lineup in a couple of days.
Bailey is coming to town and he’ll walk to the mound Saturday night in Great American Ball Park and pitch against the Cleveland Indians.
Volquez was placed on the 15-day disabled list Thursday after an MRI and will be skipped at least one turn with stiffness is his back.
Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Bakewr said Volquez’s MRI showed no structural damage, but the team thought caution is the right course.
“It’s muscular and nothing in his vertebrae, so that’s positive news,” said Baker. “We decided that instead of sending him out there at 75 or 80 per cent, we’ll skip one start, get him well and back to 100 per cent.”
Bailey, 22, battled for the No. 5 spot this spring and pitched well enough to win it, but the club decided to keep Micah Owings, who gave up five runs and six hits in three innings Thursday in a 12-5 loss to Philadelphia.
“Hopefully Homer can up here and do the same thing he has been doing at Louisville — good except for a couple of outings,” said Baker. “We need him and he needs it and wants it.”
Bailey’s numbers are not glossy at Louiisville: 3-5 in eight starts, 4.57 ERA, nine homers in 45 1/3 innings, 17 walks, 43 strikeouts.
The Reds’ No. 1 draft pick in 1994 and a native of La Grange, Tex., was 0-6 with a 7.93 ERA in eight starts for the Reds last year and was 4-7 with a 4.77 ERA in 19 starts at Louisville last year.
THE INNER EAR infection is mostly gone, replaced by a broad smile that was missing for most of the last 10 days from the face of Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto.
The inner ear infection hurt, but Votto is thankful it was only that — just an inner ear infection that made him dizzy, nauseous and made him lose focus.
“With all the tests I went through, it was a pretty scary few days,” he said. “A lot of the tests were pretty imposing, tests I’d never experienced before. But to get them all back negative is a big relief. None of the tests were fun and I feel like a pin cushion.”
But he is a smiling pin cushion who hopes to be back in the lineup by Sunday — maybe Saturday —after he does all the pre-game work tonight before a game against the Cleveland Indians.
“Scared? Of course,” he said. “That’s everybody’s instinct going through different tests and it was such a shock, staying overnight in a hospital (the Scripps Clinic in LaJolla, Calif.). Finally getting the results back gave me not only peace of mind, but a sense of confidence.”
Votto said he won’t predict his return, that trainer Mark Mann and manager Dusty Baker will let him know, “Although sitting on the bench and seeing the game today (Thursday) — I wanted to get in there, but Mann’s common sense kept me out.”
Baker plans to let Votto settle in gradually and said, “Hopefully we will have him back in a couple of days. We’ll get him some reps (hitting and fielding), get some baseball work in.”
Votto left two games on the last six-game trip, once in Arizona and once in San Diego and said, “Up until yesterday (Wednesday) I wasn’t feeling very well, but it was a combination of getting over what I had and dealing with the anxieties of the unknown. Being with the club and hanging out with the guys helped, because this is what I love to do.”
Asked about reactions from people on the street when he saw them, Votto laughed and said, “While I was sick, I didn’t leave my place or I was in the hospital. I didn’t spend much time interacting with people because, frankly, I wasn’t in the mood.”
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TweetVotto diagnosis: inner ear infection
And the Joey Votto diagnosis is: INNER EAR INFECTION.
After two weeks of testing for everything imaginable it came down to the simplest of the simple. Inner ear infection.
First, Votto had an upper respiratory infection that caused him to miss four games and it is believed that when the team flew to Phoenix from Cincinnati that brought on the inner ear infection and caused his dizziness and loss of focus. Then when he flew to San Diego from Phoenix it happened again.
Votto has not had any of the symptoms since he returned from San Diego to Cincinnati and took indoor batting practice today. Manager Dusty Baker said he’ll do all the pre-game activities with the team Friday and see where he is.
“I’m glad they found out what it was, that’s No. 1,” said Baker. “Thankful and grateful. There was a lot of stuff floating around out there from a lot of neighborhood doctors. He told me last night he was feeling good, but we’ll give him a couple of days to let him get his feet under him.”
Trainer Mark Mann met with the media to reveal Votto’s problem. Mann said Votto told them he had an inner infection two or three times in his left ear as a kid and the current infection was in his left ear.
“After doing a battery of tests over the last four days, (internist) Dr. Steve Cleves has come to the diagnosis of an inner ear infections that causes the dizziness,” said Mann. “All the tests were normal and the only thing that came back irregular was the audiology test, indicating the inner ear infection that was secondary to the upper respiratory infection he had 10 days ago.
“Dr. Cleves said that’s a common occurrence,” said Mann. “It’s a day-to-day thing and he has felt much better over the last four days, no more symptoms. He is on medication to reduce infection and inflammation. He went through a light workout yesterday before the game, no symptoms. Same thing this morning, hit in the cage, and we’ll go from there.”
Votto is on an anti-inflammatory to reduce the infection in the ear and has also been on antibiotics for the upper respiratory infection.
Why wasn’t it detected sooner?
“When you talk about the inner ear there is a lot of testing in greater depth that has to be done by an audiologist to look at his balance and inner ear fluids,” said Mann. “It’s a completely different battery of test than what you typically do.”
Mann said flying brought on the symptoms after the upper respiratory infection. And Dr. Cleves told Mann that recovery time is different with everybody, “But over the course of not flying during this homestand and getting on proper medication it should be something that resolves itself in the next few days.”
Mann said they’ll have him running, doing physical work in the weight room and ease him back into baseball activity, with full pre-game activity Friday, “And we’ll go from there. It’s a day-by-day process.”
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