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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 > June > 12 > Entry
‘Going to Kansas City, Kansas City here they come’
I hadn’t been to Kansas City since 1999, so maybe it is understandable that I forgot that the Kansas City airport actually is closer to St. Louis than it is to downtown Kansas City.
When I got into a cab at the KC Airport I wanted to RIDE in a cab, NOT buy a cab. But I almost did.
Once we left the airport, there was no sign of civilization until the meter hit $41.35. No buildings, no restaurants, no hotels, no houses. Nothing but trees, more trees than are in the Black Forest.
The meter hit $41.35 when we reached the Claycomo exit. (Where?)
The meter hit $44.08 when I saw a sign, “Kansas City” limits. Still nothing but trees and a ribbon of concrete highway. The cabbie was humming. Is there a song, “Easy Money?”
The meter hit $47.65 when I saw a Super 8 Motel off an exit ramp. Civilization!!!
The meter hit $56.89 when we passed a sign that said, “Harry S. Truman Museum,” this exit. Give ‘em hell, Harry, who would have been giving this cabbie hell, but, hey, he was taking a direct route unless The Roadrunner was putting up false signs, “This way to Kansas City.”
The meter hit $66.77 when we exited and there, voila, The Sheraton Hotel. Only $66.97 on the meter. Welcome to Kansas City, city boy.
HOW MANY of you have flown US Airways commuter flights out of Washington Reagan Airport. Unfortunately, my hand is waving up in the air with the rest of you.
ALL, and I mean ALL, US Airways commuter flights go out of ONE gate, 35A. A flight leaves about every five minutes and the gate area resembles what the counter area at a McDonald’s would be if they were giving away all-you-can-eat french fries.
When your flight is called, you scramble downstairs or to an escalator to a door that leads to … a shuttle bus. About 20 commuter jets, CRJ’s, are lined up on the tarmac like Air Force Bombers at Wright Patterson AFB.
You board the bus and it takes you to your plane, but there are many, many shuttle buses weaving in and out of airplanes. It’s an Indy 500 for shuttle buses. I spent more time on the bus, which sat and sat and sat, than I did on the flight from Washington to Kansas City this morning.
AND WHATEVER happened to pillows and blankets on airplanes? If they are going to keep the plane temperature at North Pole level, they need blankets. By the end of the flight I needed an ice pick to get out of my seat. And without a pillow I had a stiff neck.
Travel? I just love it these days.
OK, NOT that I’ve purchased a cab and seen the Kansas City backwoods, how about some baseball.
What great reporters we Cincinnati beat writers are. With the three games in Kansas City this weekend, the Reds will use a designated hitter. None of us thought to ask manager Dusty Baker who would be the Reds DH. Probably because we’re not used to the DH and don’t think about it.
Before Baker posted his lineup today, I pondered the question. Kansas City is pitching a righthander so I thought it probably would be Chris Dickerson.
Wrong, rosin bag-breath. It’s Jonny Gomes.
DESPITE GOING 0-for-Washington (0 for 14) and 0 for his last 24, Willy Taveras was back at the leadoff spot Friday.
THE MOST AMAZING thing of all right now about the Reds is that they were 4-4 over their last eight games. Why amazing? They have hit .204 in those eight games and scored 27 runs, 3.38 per game.
How can this be? The pitching staff has a 2.48 ERA over those eight games and the starters have a 1.86 ERA.
THIS IS THE REDS’ first appearance in Kansas City since 1999 when the Reds and Royals played the first interleague doubleheader. It wasn’t scheduled. The first game never got started because of a power outage. All the lights went out. So the game was postponed and they played a doubleheader the next night.
Pitcher Steve Parris, the scheduled starting pitcher that night, actually sat on the Reds’ dugout, with lightning dancing all around, and signed every autograph anybody asked for. And he did it by himself.
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By PTownFan
June 13, 2009 12:33 AM | Link to this
@Amy: Jonny might have been calling his high school coach. It’s his big 4-0 today. I can see him saving his first NL dinger for Mayo ;-) Very Gomesian.
By PTownFan
June 13, 2009 12:25 AM | Link to this
Hmmm… I thought Gomes couldn’t hit RHP. 3-for-4 the last few days and .278 on the season. Ride the hot bat Dusty. Let’s have some fun.
By wizard
June 12, 2009 11:07 PM | Link to this
Steve m: You may not have heard this on the Reds radio pre-game tonight—“Well, I’m trying to take advantage of a hot bat.”—Baker- when asked about Gonzo hitting second. WIZARD: Oh, I guess ‘HOT’ bats are important to Dusty, when it is a ‘VETERAN’ ONLY! I see, so VETERANS are the ONLY players whose HOT bats can help this team win!!! This guy is a manipulative liar and fraud!
By wizard
June 12, 2009 10:58 PM | Link to this
wizard June 12, 2009 10:21 PM One game off the pace takes in a lot of reasons, including lack of pitching and competitive performance by those teams expected to win, in the Central division… In looking at this team and its mgr, and tonight’s lineup, I now believe that the Reds pitching, even if all are healthy, can not overcome Baker’s stupidity, and its lack of offense
By david
June 12, 2009 10:54 PM | Link to this
A rock has more life than our offense. We need votto and EE back bad. Im still upset that we spent 12 million on a new scoreboard and not used that money to finish out the bailey-dye trade (we had the trade complete we just ran out of money to pay dyes salary)
By ron dunn
June 12, 2009 10:53 PM | Link to this
Hal, my real name is Willie T Patterson and I play centerfield. Please forward this to D.Baker
By ron dunn
June 12, 2009 10:52 PM | Link to this
Hal, my real name is Willie T Patterson and I play centerfield. Please forward this to D.Baker
By Roho Radio
June 12, 2009 10:37 PM | Link to this
Right on Mark. We sure treated that pitcher like he was Greinke. Taveras then Gonzalez? Huh? Oh well. Are we up to 10 runs in 4 games now? And taking more than 36 innings to do it? Exciting!!! Here’s a nice note: The last place teams in the NL Central were only 5 out when the night started. Will the Astros turn up the heat after the All-Star Break? It’s anybody’s title to win!! Unfortunately, I see my Reds crashing before the finish line.
By Mark in Sun Valley
June 12, 2009 10:24 PM | Link to this
Wow. Good thing we do not have to face the “good” Kansas City pitcher. We probably get no hit.
By rlgadp1
June 12, 2009 10:23 PM | Link to this
Game after game watching feeble at bats. I have never seen the Reds in this inept a hitting slump for a two week period. Time to shcake things up.
By silver quill
June 12, 2009 10:08 PM | Link to this
AMY: He was ordering a pizza, but that wasn’t his first MLB home run. Not even close. He had 66 for Tampa Bay, which actually is really an MLB team.
By Amy
June 12, 2009 9:45 PM | Link to this
Gomes got his first MLB HR Friday night. He was on the dugout phone after - who was he talking to? Thanks!
By BrarHopper
June 12, 2009 8:46 PM | Link to this
This is Baker’s dumbest lineup yet. Traveras leading off and playing center? It’s Corey Patterson all over again. Baker is a dumbazz and a simpleton. Time to dig out Hal’s headline yesterday with a slight edit. “Baker trying to lose and succeeds.”
By Ryan-Madison, IN
June 12, 2009 8:25 PM | Link to this
We’re going to the playoffs…who cares what the line up is? We have the best pitching staff in all of baseball and they will continue to pick us up!
By JOE
June 12, 2009 6:36 PM | Link to this
My Opinion is that Dusty is playing with the lineup until he finds it gives the team a spark, you can’t go all season with same batting order if that order is hitting only .200
By Steve M
June 12, 2009 5:00 PM | Link to this
As ridiculous as it is for Taveras to be batting first - Dusty has Gonzalez batting second tonight. Gonzalez has an even more shocking OBP of .266 - which is embarassing. No one on the team has worse bat discipline than Gonzalez. Could someone ask Dusty why he insists on having our players who are the WORST hitters batting in the places where they will get the most AB? I like how the Reds are doing this year, and think Dusty has done some good things. But his blind spot in playing these guys who DON’T GET ON BASE is just terrible. Sigh.
By dennis
June 12, 2009 4:43 PM | Link to this
I was expecting Taveras to steal 100 bases this year. I was expecting to see lightning running down the first base line. Is there some reason why he’s running on average? I wonder if this hamstring issue hasn’t been going on all season.
By Steve M
June 12, 2009 4:34 PM | Link to this
Taveras leading off is unbelievable. He hasn’t had a walk in his last 40 plate appearances. One RBI in the last month. 2 SB in the last month. There is no way he should be playing ahead of Chris Dickerson. Hal, I don’t know if you like BBQ, but if you do, then I’d recommend LC’s. It’s about 15 minutes from the ballpark, but worth the ride. Way better than Gates and Bryants. I suspect you’ll be firmly planted in some of the famous KC steakhouses, but if you have a taste for Q, you simply can’t beat LC’s.