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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 > 16 > Entry
A rainy night turns out to be a sunny day
Let’s play Good Omen/BadOmen:
Good Omen: Aaron Harang threw 13 pitches in the first inning, all 13 for strikes.
Bad Omen: Chipper Jones singled with two outs in the first, breaking an 0 for 21. Didn’t score, though.
Good Omen: Willy Taveras led the Reds’ first with single, snapping his 0 for 32 lifeless stretch. Then he stole second base. Said Reds media relations director, “God bless America. Denis Menke is safe.” Denis Menke went 0 for 33 in 1973. And Bobby Adams, who died in 1997, is safe, too. He was 0 for 34 in 1954 for the Reds.
Bad Omen: Taveras only went from second to third on a double by Brandon Phillips because he had to wait to see if center fielder Nate McLouth made a diving catch. He almost did, but the ball skittered off his glove.
Good Omen: Taveras scored from third on Laynce Nix’s grounder to second on which his bat splintered into 4,234 pieces. It was the first time a Reds leadoff batter had scored a run in any inning in eight games.
Bad Omen: Jay Bruce ripped what looked like a three-run homer in the first, but McLouth crashed into the wall in right center to make the coach.
SPEAKING OF McLOUTH, when the Braves obtained him from the Pirates the Cubs were in Cincinnati and Cubs Manager Lou Piniella was livid. He wanted McLouth and was unhpapy he landed in Atlanta. Lou kept calling him McLooth. The second syllable rhymes with mouth (McLouth) Not to Lou.
“McLooth? I love McLooth. I kept telling our GM to get that kid McLooth,” said Piniella.
A Chicago writer said, “Lou, it’s McLouth.” Piniella heard him, looked at him, then said, “Yeah, I like McLooth.”
BAD OMEN: A heavy rain arrived in the third inning. Reds lead, 1-0. Will they continued. As the placed the tarp on the field, a female grounds crew person fell ans was trapped under the tarp. Eventually she crawled out from under and she was so wet her pony-tail looked like a fish tail.
Then two imbeciles, both shirtless, ran on the field. One was captured and the other escaped into the stands. To show how stupid he is, he ran back on the field and was eventually caught. Let’s hope they got their $1,000 worth (that’s the fine) and enjoy their night in jail (that’s the punishment.
SOMEBODY ASKED ME if the rain was going to stop and I said, with all sincerity, “It always does. The record is 40 days and 40 nights.” (And you can look it up.) The delay began at 7:55 and at about 9:30 umpire crew chief Joe West came out and ordered the tarp of the field and said play would resume by 9:50. And it was still raining hard enough to fill empty beer bottles. The delay was an hour and 54 minutes and when they resumed play it began pouring again.
THIS REMINDED me of the time the Reds played a game in similar situation (it wasn’t raining as hard at the game) and afterward somebody asked Adam Dunn how the conditions were in left field.
“Dude, I needed a rowboat,” he said. On this night left fielder Laynce Nix needed a snorkel.
THEY FINISHED THE top of the third and West came to his senses and at 9:54 the tarp came back on the field. They played for five minutes.
When play resumed, the Reds went on to win, 7-2, breaking open a 3-2 game with four in the eighth. Laynce Nix had three hits and drove in three and Brandon Phillips had three hits and scored three.
THE STORY of the night, though, was the first major-league victory of his career for lefthander Danny Ray Herrera. First, the 5-foot-5 dynamo avoiding drowning by stepping around every puddle he saw. Then he pitched three scoreless innings and was reward with the tired old gag of a teammate slapping a shaving cream pie in his face while he did a TV interview.
Herrera features a screwball and several slow-moving pitches that barely break the interstate speed limit. But he gets guys out.
“I just try to get them out ahead on their swings and hope I miss the barrels of their bats,” he said.
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By The Professor
June 17, 2009 10:29 PM | Link to this
One could stand in amazement watching Taveras continue to try to bunt. How many times this year has he tried to bunt for a base hit—only to bunt the ball two feet, or less, so the catcher can field the ball, and throw him out? Someone please have Cueto show him how to bunt for a base hit. How hard is it to bunt down the third or first base line? Pros we are talking about here, folks. Damn.
By Deaner
June 17, 2009 4:01 PM | Link to this
St. Louis Cardinals broadcaster, Mike Shannon, always calls McLouth “McLAHth”
By Scott
June 17, 2009 12:24 PM | Link to this
Nothing would boost Joey’s confidence more than playing in front of 9,000+ screaming fans who support him. His rehab should be in Dayton.
By BigD
June 17, 2009 10:46 AM | Link to this
Jod, they showed Votto on FS-Ohio taking BP before the game and dressed in the dugout. I would say that the situation is improving more than it is going away.
By BigD
June 17, 2009 10:46 AM | Link to this
Jod, they showed Votto on FS-Ohio taking BP before the game and dressed in the dugout. I would say it is improving more than it is goin away.
By Scotty J in WV
June 17, 2009 9:43 AM | Link to this
Big congratulations to Daniel Ray!!! That kid sure packs a lotta “tough” into a 5’ 6” frame!
By Michael
June 17, 2009 8:56 AM | Link to this
Anyone see the woman on the ground’s crew who fell while putting the tarp on the field? (She was fine.) She made ESPN and had some fun with the players and fans after.
By Jod
June 17, 2009 8:45 AM | Link to this
Why is Sutton playing 1st down in Louisville? This Votto situation doesn’t seem to be going away. Time to hammer in his loose screws.
By pat
June 17, 2009 3:04 AM | Link to this
D Ray was a regular Eddie Gaedel at the plate. He might start pinch hitting with a permanent take sign.
By josh
June 17, 2009 1:31 AM | Link to this
congrats d-ray!
By AP-FLORIDA
June 17, 2009 1:31 AM | Link to this
Guess you can win with the no-hit twins batting 1-2 in the lineup. Bet we win 11 in a row that way. Any takers?