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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 > August > 12
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Bailey misses by a foot (his own)
You couldn’t get me to walk onto a baseball field occupied by the Cincinnati Reds for all the caviar in Russia - even if I’ve never had caviar in my life.
That’s a minefield. I’d need double indemnity insurance. Reds players should wear army helmets and Kevlar jackets.
Neither would have helped Homer Bailey Wednesday. He’s the latest victim. He didn’t even survive the first inning. After giving up two hits, Bailey faced Albert Pujols. On a 3-and-2 pitch, Pujols squashed one back through the box and it kicked dust in front of Bailey and short-hopped off his foot. Bailey retrieved the ball and inexplicably heaved it toward first, with no chance of getting Pujols.
The ball hippety-hopped down the right field line as two runs scored, then Bailey walked off the field, done for the day - and who knows for how long.
Bailey suffered a bruised left foot and X-rays were negative - no fracture - but he’ll be checked out Thursday in Cincinnati by Dr. Tim Kremchek when the club returns home to begin an oh-so-exciting four-game series against the Washington Nationals and Adam Dunn.
Bailey was walking without a limp and had his boots on after the game and said he thought he’d make his next start. Manager Dusty Baker agreed.
The Cardinals eventually scored three in the first and with Chris Carpenter pitching, mark this one down in the ‘L’ column for the Reds. It is only the third inning as I write this, but it is as over as over gets.
It was spot-on. Cardinals 5, Reds 2.
Carpenter held the Reds to no runs and two hits for five innings. The Reds threatened in the sixth and seventh. They scored two in the sixth and had runners on the corners with two outs. Carpenter went to 3-and-0 on Willy Taveras, who then went into his beggar’s stance as if to say, “Please throw ball four.”
Carpenter pumped three pitches through the strike zone and Taveras has yet to flinch his bat, which didn’t please manager Dusty Baker
“Carpenter is not going to walk many (none on this night) andf we went down looking (Taveras),” said Baker. “Hate to see guys go down looking. If you’re going to go down, go down swinging.
“Carpenter is one of the best there is in baseball and if you can pitch your way out of trouble the way he can, well, that’s what makes him one of the best pitchers in baseball,” Baker added. “He isn’t 12-3 for nothing. It isn’t just us. And he doesn’t have a 2.20 ERA for nothing. It isn’t just us.
THE MILWAUKEE Brewers optioned former All-Star shortstop J.J. Hardy to the minors today. It is an accepted assumption that Reds shorstop Alex Gonzalez won’t be coming back and here’s a suggestion, no charge for it, either - Hey, Mr. Jocketty. Why don ‘t you give the Brewers a call and do a deal for Hardy. The guess here is that he already has made the phone call.
JEFF Peicoro and Chris Welsh of FSN/Ohio took me to lunch today, a little neighborhood place called Johnny’s.
Uh, nice place. I think the food was good. I even remembered what I ordered - cajun chicken sandwich and rice, bean and sausage soup.
At 11:30, the place was packed. Why? Well, shall I just say, Johnny’s puts Hooter’s to shame - and I’m not talking about the chicken wings. I’m talking about the chicks. The waitresses were beyond description.
I’ve been coming to St. Louis for 37 years and not once did I hear about Johnny’s. The Chamber of Commerce is missing out on this one. What’s the highest rating Zagat gives? Put it at the top because the food was good.
SOME INSIDE STUFF: Even though Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo were placed on waivers and cleared, they will not be traded before season’s end. Bank on it. Francisco Cordero? That’s a different story. If somebody comes calling, looking for a closer, Coco is gone-o.
Now in the off-season, that might change. But with Edinson Volquez gone for the season, can the Reds afford to trade Arroyo and/or Harang? Not if they have plans to finally keep a promise and be competitive.
SOME NUMBERS furnished to me by a close media friend who pays attention:
Remember how we all (and I stress ‘we’ because I was among them) wanted Ryan Hanigan to catch every day. Be careful what you/I wish for because it may come true. As a backup to Ramon Hernandez, Hanigan was a hitting fool and his average hovered around .330. Now that he is a regular, matters have changed drastically.
Since July 1, Hanigan has one extra base hit, eight walks and zero RBIs - zero, zip nada. In fact, he hasn’t had an RBI since June 13. He has had two doubles since June 4 and he is currently on a 0 for 20 slide going into tonight’s game. In 230 at-bats, he has eight RBIs, the worst since Eric Owens had nine in 232 at-bats in 1996.
(Thanks Mr. Redlegs-Original.)
THE REDS paid catcher Ramon Hernandez $8.5 million this year and have an option for next year. Should they pick it up? With what Hanigan has done and with what we’ve seen from Craig Tatum, it appears the Reds need a No. 1 catcher. So far their No. 1 draft pick in 2007, catcher Devin Mesoraco, has not shown a whole lot of promise in the minors.
What do you think. Pick up Hernandez’s option, go with Hanigan, or go catcher-hunting?
CHRIS DICKERSON has immense speed on the basepaths, but he has had trouble using it the right way many times this season - like twice Tuesday night. Is baserunning an innate skill or can he be taught?
“It’s something you can teach, bu you don’t want to teach it with trial-and-error in games,” said manager Dusty Baker. “And we don’t have a shock collar to put on runners. I think Dickerson was so excited to be back (off the DL) that he was like a kid in a candy store out there. I mean (first base coach) Billy Hatcher told him at first base to be aware that the pitcher, Justin Lehr, was on second.”
But Dickerson nearly ran him over on a base hit. When Lehr stopped at third, Dickerson was halfway to third, forcing Lehr to break for home and he had a home plate collision trying to score. He was out.
“Baseball is like football, or any other sport,” said Baker. ‘You have to run with your head up. You have to pick up the ball. If the ball is in front of you, where you can see it, you shouldn’t even need a coach.”
Dickerson also missed a diving catch on St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina. He dove to catch it, gloved it, and the ball squirted away for a double. Shouldn’t that have been an error?
“Chris had a long way to run, then lost it in the lights,” said Baker. “He had it, but it also had him.”
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