SI cover features area model
Winter weather photos
Madison vs. Waynesville
Hall of Fame baseball writer Hal McCoy is in his 37th year of covering the Cincinnati Reds, the longest tenure for any active writer covering one team. Counting spring training and postseason games, McCoy has covered more than 7,000 major-league baseball games, written close to 18,000 baseball stories and eaten enough hot dogs to give Babe Ruth indigestion.Home > Blogs > The Real McCoy | Cincinnati Reds baseball news > Archives > 2009 > May > 29 > Entry
Dusty Baker: Take a bow, dude
Midwest Express jumped to the top of my list, for this week anyway, and not just because the flight attendants serve two chocolate chip cookies hot out of the oven on every flight.
My flight from Dayton to Milwaukee left 13 minutes early and arrived 20 minutes early - all 10 of us, including two guys whose names I didn’t catch who stopped me to tell me they were from Troy and Dayton and were flying to Milwaukee just to see the Cincinnati Reds and Brewers.
WATCHING the Brewers take early batting practice and Corey Hart finished a session and flung his bat farther than most balls he had just hit. I’m no hitting coach, but I don’t think that’s good. Former Brewers beat writer Drew Olsen saw it and said he once saw Scott Posednik come into the clubhouse in Pittsburgh’s PNC Park and take his bat to his dressing stall after a soft-toss session in whic a coach stands five feet away and lobs pitches to you and you hit it into a net.
“It was on a Sunday and Podsednik lost it at 10:30 in the morning,” said Olsen.
THERE WERE several Brewers taking extra hitting at 3 o’clock Friday. The Brew Crew has scored 24 runs in their last nine and 12 runs in the last six.
Is that Johnny Cueto, Aaron Harang and Micah Owings licking their chops and rubbing their hands together. Well, if they’re rubbing their hands together it might be because, yes, it is colllllllld again in Milwaukee. One time I asked Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel beat writer Tom Haudricourt if the sun ever shines in Milwaukee and he said, “Oh, yeah. Every year on August 10.”
LOOKS AS if The Brandon Phillips Plan didn’t work. Even though he has a hairline fracture on the tip of his right thumb, he hoped to play tonight against the Brewers in this mammoth series. No go. He isn’t in the lineup.
The lineup: Willy Taveras, CF; Jerry Hairston Jr., 2B; Joey Votto, 1B; Ramon Hernandez, C; Jay Bruce, RF; Laynce Nix, LF; Alex Gonzalez, SS; Adam Rosales, 3B; Johnny Cueto, P.
And here is a dilemma for manager Dusty Baker to figure out. He is platooning Laynce Nix and Jonny Gomes in left field — Nix against righthanded pitchers and Gomes against lefthanded pitchers. And both are hot.
The problem? Milwaukee is throwing three righthanders at the Reds and the Cardinals are throwing two righthanders in the first two games and haven’t announced their pitchers for the third and fourth games.
Other than pinch-hit, how does Gomes get any playing time?
Now isn’t that a nice problem to have, for once? Instead of running players out there who are more likely to strikeout than put the ball in play, Baker has options. And the options are good options.
And I don’t know about many of you, but I’m a bit weary of the whiners who want Baker fired. Gimme a break, guys. If you are going to strut and brag about the Reds being 26-20 right now, you have to aim plenty of the credit to Baker. The players are responding to him. They are hustling, they are having fun, they are confident. We all put a lot of the blame on past managers for the team having no fire and no desire, so now that it has it - take a bow, Dusty Baker.
Permalink | Comments (24) | Post your comment |
Comments
By Cynthiacgv
February 8, 2010 8:24 AM | Link to this
very useful article. I would love to follow you on twitter. By the way, did any one learn that some chinese hacker had busted twitter yesterday again.
By Marthacgt
February 8, 2010 7:10 AM | Link to this
very useful article. I would love to follow you on twitter. By the way, did you guys know that some chinese hacker had busted twitter yesterday again.
By Steve
May 30, 2009 10:53 AM | Link to this
You will have to forgive nyc. He was putting on his ‘look like an empty seat behind home plate’ outfit and his ‘a 160 million still can’t beat the Rays’ hat.
By Roho Radio
May 29, 2009 11:03 PM | Link to this
A well pitched game and we came up short. Happens. Dickerson… He can’t lay off the low inside pitch and all he does with it is hit weak grounders to second. Dude, everyone’s pitching you that way. Make the adjustment…please! Does anyone else notice or am I just hallucinating?
By Mike-Cinci
May 29, 2009 10:48 PM | Link to this
I agree with Hal! Dusty has done a fine job. This team is pitching rich and hitting just so-so.
By Donald Collins
May 29, 2009 10:44 PM | Link to this
The question asked is, Why so few people attending home games? Until the Reds learn how to do the fundamentals, the crouds will be less than quality. Fridays game against the Brewers is a prime example. Dickerson doesn’t know how to bunt, so the runners can’t be moved to scoring position. Then in the nineth Phillips comes to bat with the team needing one run, bunts. If he is the only one that can bunt why not bat him for dickerson and let’s take our chances with Micaah.
By Someone with a brain
May 29, 2009 10:23 PM | Link to this
Could you be any dumber nyc than to type “intensive purposes” … man that is demonstrating a superior level of stupidity … perhaps nyc is flowing with dopes like you … what a dumbass.
By Brett Barnes
May 29, 2009 10:14 PM | Link to this
I usually give Dusty Baker the benefit of the doubt, but I just watched him have first and second and no outs down one run and not bunt. Not even attempt a bunt. I now know he is a moron, and I am done defending him. This team could win with a manager.
By Dawg Pound
May 29, 2009 7:41 PM | Link to this
Hey nyc, if you’re going to snipe on a Reds board as a Yankee fan, the least you could do is represent your team proudly and spell correctly. It’s “intents and purposes.” Moron.
By JBabs
May 29, 2009 7:31 PM | Link to this
It’s obvious to me looking in from Cali that many of the dump Dusty guys dislike him for reasons other than his managerial skills. They will lie in wait until the Reds go into the slightest skid and then start their unwarranted attacks again. These guys are neither Dusty nor Reds fans. They take pleasure in all Reds failures so they can start complaining about Dusty again. Let’s hope for a winning road trip so we don’t have to read their venom for the next 7 days.
By nyc
May 29, 2009 7:21 PM | Link to this
they same guys kissin dustys butt..are the same ones hating on him earlier this year..anyway the reds meltdown will occur in june - july..their season is over for all intensive purposes..thats a fact NOW GO YANKS!!!!!
By Gerry
May 29, 2009 7:04 PM | Link to this
If Phillips can’t play then why don’t they put him on the DL. It seems rather stupid for the Reds to be shorthanded for a road trip this important. Where’s Jocketty’s head?
By Mike
May 29, 2009 6:28 PM | Link to this
Don’t forget. Not only did the Reds jettison Griffey and Dunn’s attitude but added Massett and Owings, both have done fairly well. Baseball is won with pitching and losing Griff and Dunn for solid pitching has made as much if not more of a contribution to the wins than a better team attitude.
By Mike
May 29, 2009 6:20 PM | Link to this
People think just the absence of Griffey and Dunn has caused a better attitude in the club house. Don’t forget that Massett and Owings replaced Dunner and Griff. Pitching wins baseball and both of them have pitched well and made this team stronger.
By Michael
May 29, 2009 6:17 PM | Link to this
I think BP needs to go on the DL. These next 10 games are too important to have a short bench. The Reds cannot continue playing with 22 and 23 players and expect to win. The Cubs place a guy on the DL after flu for two days.
By jason hickey
May 29, 2009 6:13 PM | Link to this
Totally agree, Hal. Dusty has had to make out some odd lineups of late and to his credit its worked. I am also heading to Milwaukee this wknd just to see Reds vs. Brew Crew from my abode in Toledo (ugh), I am downright giddy for its my first time at Miller Park.
By ptownfan
May 29, 2009 6:01 PM | Link to this
Gomes also likes to catch. But no one’s let him do it since little league ;-)
By Napoleon Dynamite
May 29, 2009 5:42 PM | Link to this
Hal, we should give credit where credit is due. Dusty has this team playing well and playing hard. We should also credit Jocketty for bringing in good talent!
By DavG..AP
May 29, 2009 5:30 PM | Link to this
Bob C, Dusty and Jock have all done a great job. Hope your trip is worth the trouble.
By DavG..AP
May 29, 2009 5:29 PM | Link to this
Bob C, Dusty and Jock have all done a great job. Hope your trip is worth the trouble.
By George
May 29, 2009 5:29 PM | Link to this
I think the departure of Griffey and Dunn also contributes to the Reds having a more professional approach. But so has Dusty…
By Florida Buckeye
May 29, 2009 5:12 PM | Link to this
Hal, if nothing else I always held the position that the Reds were a better team by subtraction by what they let go during the off-season, and with the Dunn and Griffey deals…Now if we could just find a power hitting 3rd baseman…I wonder: Will the EE project continue, or will they try to trade him while there’s still value in him? OR, will they put their hopes into him finally reaching his potential…interesting dilema, no? Kuddos to Baker this year…I’m not a fan of his; but I do recognize that he is the capt of this ship, and you cant argue the sucess the Reds are having early on…
By Deaner
May 29, 2009 5:10 PM | Link to this
As I see it there are three reasons for this new attitude on the field in Cincy: 1) Emergence of young talent and those players taking ownership in the team, 2) The absence of a couple of veteran mainstays (you know who I’m talking about), and 3) Dusty Baker.
By BB
May 29, 2009 5:02 PM | Link to this
baker came to cincy with the rep of not liking young players. he has taken these guys and made huge strides with them. I agree, Hal..he gets the credit for these guys being so fired up!