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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 > June > 27 > Entry
Pulling for Homer Bailey’s succes
Former Chicago baseball writer Jerome Holtzman wrote a book, “No Cheering in the Pressbox” and, for the most part, that credo is followed. No cheering.
The only time in my 37-year career when I saw everybody in a pressbox cheer was when Pete Rose slapped his 4,192nd career hit off San Diego’s Eric Show to pass Ty Cobb. Everybody in the pressbox stood and cheered and applauded.
To me, that was acceptable. I was one of those who stood and cheered. We’ll never see that happen again.
I SAY THIS because I didn’t stand and cheer for Homer Bailey Saturday night. It’s hard to stand and applaud when a guy staggers through five innings and walks seven guys.
But, to be truthful, I’m pulling for him.
Here is a guy who signed out of high school, an 18-year-old drafted No. 1. Talk about pressure. So he has struggled with his tastes of major-league baseball, bouncing back and forth between the minors and the majors like a Standard Duncan yo-yo.
Think about it this way - and manager Dusty Baker says it all the time. If Bailey hadn’t signed and gone to college, he would have been drafted last year and probably been in Class A ball. Instead, he has pitched some in the majors for three years.
“He is an underclassman pitching against upperclassmen,” said Baker. “The guys who didn’t sign out of high school the year Bailey did and went on to college, well, they’re just starting their pro careers and Homer is three or four years ahead of them.”
It wasn’t pretty or fun Saturday night watching Homer stagger and struggle with his command. Despite the seven walks in five innings, he gave up only three hits and the best party? He won. The Reds won, 7-3, beating the Cleveland Indians.
It was Bailey’s first win in the majors since September 30, 2007 against the Cubs and after the victory he said, “Truthfully, all I thought about today was getting a win. And thanks to great help from my teammates, I got that win and the team got that win. I was terrible, but we won, so who cares?”
What I like most about Bailey is how much he has changed as a person. His first four years he was short and snotty and condescending to the media. But either somebody got to him or he has matured. This year he is a delight - cooperative, smiling, throwing out good quotes, self-deprecating.
So I pull for him. I don’t cheer. That’s not allowed. But inside my gut, I’d like to see him succeed. He has had it rough, battling high expectations at a young age. A lot of kids would have folded, but Bailey hasn’t.
And here’s a tip. If you meet him, put your hands in your pockets. DO NOT shake hands with him. I shook hands with him today and my knuckles still ache. His grip would squeeze the head off a rattlesnake.
I’d like to say, “Homer, this Blue’s for you.” But after shaking hands with him, I can’t hold a beer.
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Comments
By Wizard
July 1, 2009 11:25 PM | Link to this
Cincinnati AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR W K AVG Chris Dickerson CF 4 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 .283By W.Va. Fan
June 30, 2009 9:34 AM | Link to this
I’m also pulling for Homer Bailey. I think when it all comes out in the wash, he will be a successful picture for the Reds. He’ll be as good as Aaron Harang. He is still just a kid. He has good stuff, but is still learning to pitch. His new split fingered fastball shoulde help him. True fans need to give him support.By Ghost Of AllButt The Fraud
June 28, 2009 7:54 PM | Link to this
We should have known that Mat11 is really ‘Allbutt The Fraud’. Whoever he wants to be called-we’ll still have to insist that he return to his english class at Purdue-since his sentence structure and proper word usage leaves quite a bit to be desired-not to mention sounding like moronic gibberish.After that come back and we’ll give you some more things to work on-so you don’t sound quite as ignorant and uneducated when you post. Bet Paul can spell and write!By Wisdom
June 28, 2009 7:43 PM | Link to this
Matt11: Pay a little closer attention to the skills of Mr. Janish! And after you go back to typing class; and work again on your sentence structure, and proper word utilization- we’ll discuss other things you can work on, so you don’t appear so ignorant and poorly educated, when you post.By LetsgoReds
June 28, 2009 7:42 PM | Link to this
It will be different for Homer this time. I saw him pitch last year vs. St. Louis, and from my seats behind the plate, he looked VERY hittable. He got rocked. I saw him June 22 in Louisville, again I was behind the plate, and he was a different pitcher. He was nasty. He hit 99 once and was at 96-97 about half a dozen times. Lots of break on his pitches. Homer is here to stay and he’s only going to get better.By Mike-Cinci
June 28, 2009 6:12 PM | Link to this
The fact this team is 37-37 on June 28 is amazing. They have lost Votto, Volquez, Encarnacion, Gonzalez for long periods. Bruce and Taveras have been disappointing. Harang(had some tough luck) and Arroyo have been just OK. Nix and Gomes were unwanted by anyone over the winter. Baker has them competing with the Cards, Cubs, and Brewers who have much more money to spend with their full stadiums. This team has played over its head. They are over achieving and it is fun to watch. If this team wins the Centrao Division they will be the “miracle Reds” of 2009. Look at the line-ups in Chicago, St.Louis, Milwaukee and compare them to the Reds. The Reds results are very impressive with this group of players. They deserve credit for true grit. To be fair Dusty has done a fine job. Not sure if it can continue but if it does…wow!By Evan
June 28, 2009 6:00 PM | Link to this
I’d like to see Bailey do well too. Was at the game in Cleveland and Bailey did struggle, but got the outs when he needed. The Indians line-up is one of the best in the majors too—-their bullpen is what has killed them. If Bailey can give the Reds quality starts while Volquez is out, that will set the table for him next year unless Owings repeats what he did today more often.By matt11
June 28, 2009 2:26 PM | Link to this
Janish boots routine balls cant hit a lick. A AAA lifer hes terrible. I wish Jocketty could have got DeRosa he cant do anything to help this club. That way ship Janish outBy Klu's Shirt Sleeves
June 28, 2009 1:17 PM | Link to this
I think getting Homer more starts, a few at home will be good for him. I’m only 24 and I sure haven’t totally figured my job out, but everyday you learn how to improve. That goes pretty much for this whole team, it’s not an excuse, and it gets said a lot, but c’monBy MisterRedLegs
June 28, 2009 12:08 PM | Link to this
Bailey will do well this time up. He will live up to his expetatioins as they have been lower. He will be a legit middle of the order type pitcher. He is not a number one type starter and no one expects him to be one. Now if we can only get Hannigan in there and up in the order.By stlredsfan
June 28, 2009 10:36 AM | Link to this
I choose to look on the positive side and say Bailey’s glass is half full in his 2 starts this season. He got squeezed by the umpire in both games and DeRosa and Sizemore are the only hitters to hit the ball hard. He was undoubtedly amped up last night, and with his first victory in nearly 2 years maybe Homer can settle down and find a groove. Lord knows, Reds fans are waiting for that to happen.By Steven Ross
June 28, 2009 10:28 AM | Link to this
Reds just need to keep Bailey in the rotation. Quit yo-yoing him back and forth. Put him in every 5th day and see what we get. Stop messing with his head.By Florida Buckeye
June 28, 2009 8:52 AM | Link to this
Hey Hal, I know what you mean w/r to wanting Bailey to succeed…I’d like to see him mature into a quality pitcher, and then the Reds can decide whether or not to keep or trade him with a higher value…I also agree with earlier posts that the Ump was squeezing the pitchers in the zone. Matter-of-fact, Welsh even commented that the strike zone seemed to be smaller than a size 10 envelope…I dont get it when Umps shrink the zone to such a degree…Lastly I like the move of Dickerson to CF, and would like to see him given a fair chance to prove his abilities…it seems to me, Taveras is a marginal player at best, and all the speed in the world wont help him, unless he learns how to get to first base!By MAC
June 28, 2009 8:28 AM | Link to this
Good stuff Wiz and Mr. Redlegs. Hal, I appoligize for my earlier post on another thread; you’ll know what I mean if you read it…it’s nice to see U give Homer a little love. The Reds need Homer to succeed so they can at least think about moving AH or Bronson & their $$ in an attempt to get some offense.By AP-FLORIDA
June 28, 2009 8:16 AM | Link to this
Come on Hal, do you expect us to beleive that you did not have a beer? Go ahead you deserve it!! I’ll buy you a six pack if you can get Rusty to leave CD leadoff/centerfieldBy goredlegs
June 28, 2009 4:02 AM | Link to this
I think the best thing we saw out of Bailey was his fastball. He’s always had speed on it, but now it actually moves! I agree with Redlegs, that if there had been a different ump, Bailey’s night would only have been better. Let’s hope he can continue to build.By Mr. Redlegs (Original)
June 28, 2009 1:49 AM | Link to this
Bailey’s numbers might not have looked good on paper but for the first time since he’s been coming to the big leagues I saw things in his pitches I liked very much. For one, that’s the best fastball we’ve ever seen from him. For another, we saw his curveball used earlier in counts just as something for the batter to know existed. He didn’t seem to use that cutter very much—hard to throw it for an “out” pitch when you’re behind in counts so often—but when he did you saw its potential. But most of all, he got squeezed something awful by plate umpire Tim McClelland. According to pitchFX, Bailey had eight pitches that could have or should have been called strikes. So to me, that’s three fewer walks and changes the dynamic of his outing. Was it pretty? Oh, no. But it’s one of the few times Bailey has pitched in the majors where I felt he had something to build on in his next start. He had some stuff that might just work yet.By Bill
June 28, 2009 12:42 AM | Link to this
HomerB looked terrible at times but the team result was OK in the end. On the other hand, this may have been one of the first times we saw the true depth and raw quality of Bailey’s stuff at the MLB level. Consistently above 95MPH. An outstanding slider at times. Close to the strike zone if not quite in it. And he made some some big out pitches against some very good hitters from behind in the count. Consider that he walked 7 and yet allowed “only” 3 runs over 5 innings versus the same line up that abused Aaron Harang, who walked zero, for 7 runs over a similar stretch of innings the nite before.By Wizard
June 28, 2009 12:04 AM | Link to this
I cheer for Homer, too. And, I am also cheering for Chris Dickerson; even though it seems to be an uphill battle to get Baker to realize that he is the best we have for center field. He keeps performing in CF, his natural, and most comfortable position on the field. He doesn’t belong in LF, he belongs in CF, period. Marty suggested tonight that in his opinion CD should play against EVERY RH pitcher—Marty, once again, is dead wrong! CD should be in the lineup in CF, playing against LEFTIES and RIGHTIES,period! He’ll hit them both; whereas, Willy will not. CD has a much better ‘eye’ than WT. He will walk much more than Willy; and getting on base is what our leadoff man should be all about. If Willy plays, it should only be as a sometimes reliever of CD. Talent? Willy can’t touch Chris for athletic ability! It’s a no-brainer; and always has been.