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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 > September > 29
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
A peek at the future? (maybe, maybe)
THERE WAS A snapshot Tuesday of what the Cincinnati Reds hope is a big, big part of their future — photos of Homer Bailey and Jay Bruce.
If the Reds are to improve in 2010, if they are to finally shake the anvil weight of nine straight years of losing, Bailey and Bruce must be a big part of it next year.
And as the sun sets on this season, both are giving quick views of what could be a mangificent photograph next year.
Bruce and Bailey were the main operatives in a 7-2 mauling of division-champion St. Louis in Great American Ball Park.
Bruce hit two home runs and produced a career-best five RBIs, giving him 22 home runs in 330 at-bats.
The beneficiary was Bailey and he breezed to his seventh victory, holding the Cardinals to one run and seven hits over seven innings while striking out seven and walking only one.
There was a defining moment for Bailey in this game and it came in the fifth inning with the Reds leading, 4-0. The Cardinals had the bases loaded with one out and Albert Pujols was the batter, owner of five grand slams in 15 bases loaded at bats this year.
Conventional wisdom? Walk the guy and pitch to Matt Holliday.
But they pitched to Pujols and he nearly did it again, driving one to the center field warning track that Willy Taveras caught, a sacrifice fly for one run instead of a home run for four.
“I knew he got under a little bit, but it was still kinda scary in this ballpark,” said Bailey. “How do I approach it? Take a step back, slow the game down, walk around a bit, then look at the glove and throw it as hard as you can.”
Said Baker, “That was big for him to get out of that inning with the dangerous Albert Pujols up there. Albert has been known to make it 4-4, so we’ll take that sacrifice fly.
“Homer is now pitching like he belongs here and he believes he belongs here,” Baker added. “In the past he might not have got out of that Pujols situation, trying to give up nothing and giving up a lot. That’s damage control right there and that’s a big lesson in itself.”
What buoys Baker is the recent progress of the two former No. 1 draft picks, Bruce and Bailey, and what it might mean for next season.
“We drafted them to build on top of them,” said Baker. “Those guys don’t have to prove anything to me. They only have to prove things to God, family and themselves because you can’t fool those three entities.”
Baker said Bruce’s approach to hitting has changed since he came off the disabled list September 13, “Because he is taking pitches that he was swinging at. You see him staying off bad pitches. The key to hitting is hitting high-quality, high-percentage pitches.”
Bruce clubbed three-run homer in the second on a 3-and-1 pitch and crushed a two-run homer in the sixth on a 2-and-2 pitch.
“Bruce stayed off a couple of tough pitches to get to 3-and-1 before he hit the pitch for his first home run,” said Baker. “He’s not out of the woods, but he has come a long way.”
Bruce watched everybody play for eight weeks while his fractured wrist recovered and he learned a few things.
“That’s going to be the biggest thing for me, from Day One, swinging at good pitches,” said Bruce. “Before I broke my hand, it was obvious I was swinging at bad pitches.”
How did it change?
Bruce went into a detailed explanation about how stopped double tapping in his swing, something he noticed that San Diego’s Adrian Gonzalez quit doing, too. Simply put, he adjusted his footwork and keeps his feet planted more.
“It gives me more time to see the ball and make decisions,” he said. “That’s the biggest thing. It is hard enough to hit so you need to give yourself as much time as you can.”
And it appears the time for Bruce and Bailey is upon them, with next year the teller of the tale.
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TweetSmile and pass the Gelusil
Is this fair? Pitching coach Dick Pole walked up to me this afternoon and said, “Thanks for the Gelusil.”
Huh?
In the paper, part of my Reds Notebook is a Quote of the Day and last week in Pittsburgh I quoted Pole as saying he wanted to remain pitching coach as long as he didn’t have to resort to Gelusil to calm his stomach.
“I got an e-mail from the Gelusil people offering me a year’s supply of Gelusil,” said Pole.
What did I get for writing it? Nothing. Not a darn thing. I told Pole that perhaps the next time he mentions a product maybe it should be Porsche or Mercedes.
SPEAKING OF POLE, manager Dusty Baker has endorsed the return of his entire coaching staff, including Pole and hitting coach Brook Jacoby. And I double endorse it.
Fans always want to fire the pitching coach, fire the batting coach, fire the manager when things don’t go right - as if they are the reasons for losing. Seldom are they. And if you criticized them heavily earlier this season, where is the praise for the 23-11 record in their last 34.
The hitters are batting .299, scoring six runs a game in those 34 games, and the pitchers have posted a 2.64 ERA in their last 13 games.
Where’s the love?
Yeah, we all know the team was eliminated long ago and there is no pressure, but these also are not the same players. Seven players have undergone surgical procedures, 19 players made 21 appearances on the DL.
The projected starting lineup out of spring training played 10 games together all season. Hey, that probably was a good thing.
Anyway, what happened to this team is not the fault of Pole or Jacoby or any other coach - or the manager.
Pole said nobody has talked to him yet about next year, but added, “I’m not worried about it. Ten years ago I would have worried, but I’m not worried now.”
SPENT 45 MINUTES before today’s game in front of a camera and bright lights for MLB Productions answering questions about the 1975, 1976, 1979 and 1990 Reds. As my forehead broke out in persipiration, a young lady asked me pertinent questions about those teams.
Obviously she didn’t realize I’m 68 years old and can’t remember if I zipped my fly this morning or buttoned my shirt in all the correct holes.
“What do you remember about Willie Stargell in the 1979 playoffs?” she asked.
“Uh, big guy. Big bat.”
“Don’t you remember what he did to the Reds in those playoffs?”
“Uh, if you’re asking, probably something devastating,” I said. “But that was 30 years ago and unless I can check box scores to refresh my memory, well, excuse me. I have to go zip up my fly.”
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