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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 > 2010 > May > 12 > Entry
And now comes the ol’ acid test
Unsolicited observations from the Man Cave while wondering if the Pittsburgh Pirates are asking, “Where’s that Cincinnati Reds team we played the last time they were in town?”:
Forgive me, Reds fans, if I’m not yet overly excited and making playoff plans.
Oh, what is happening now is awfully encouraging, this five-game winning streak and this sudden rush of unhittable pitching and the Reds bolting to four games over .500.
Remember, it WAS the Pirates. And remember that while the Reds are now 19-15 that they were even better at this point last year at 20-14. And they were 26-20 after 46 games last year.
While it is great to enjoy this surge, let’s hold judgment until this weekend when they play the division-leading St. Louis Pujols.
OK, that said, it is an eye-popping surge, particularly with the starting pitchers. It was Homer Bailey’s turn Wednesday and he follwed Johnny Cueto’s complete-game shutout Tuesday with his own complete-game shutout, a 5-0 victory during which Bailey held the Pirates to four hits while walking none and striking out six.
Just as it was with Cueto, it was Bailey’s first complete game and first shutout. Man, does he love seeing those guys wearing Pirates uniforms. He is 5-0 for his career against Pittsburgh and 3-0 in PNC Park.
Bailey’s success came the same way it came for Cueto - he pounded the strike zone, threw first pitch strikes, stayed ahead of hitters and never broke sweat in fear of a rally.
Mix in Bronson Arroyo’s 2-1 victory Monday and Reds pitchers gave up one run over 27 innings. The Pirates third base coach was as lonely as a cop directing traffic in the Arctic Circle.
On Wednesday, Joey Votto torched it off in the first with a two-run homer, his third home run in four games as he continues to carry the heavy freight of a suddenly crunching Reds’ offense.
And what else does it take to win with regularity besides pitching and offense? Defense, course. The Reds have gone eight straight games without an error and are second in the National League in defense.
Now comes an acid test. It won’t guarantee a pennant if the Reds take all three against the Cardinals and it won’t doom the team to despair of they lose all three this weekend. But it is a nice measuring stick.
The Reds will face three pitchers with earned run averages below seal level. On Friday, Aaron Harang faces lefthander Jaime Garcia, whose ERA is 1.18. But his record is only 3-2. On Saturday, rookie Mike Leake faces his sternest test when he matches deliveries with Adam Wainwright, who is 5-1 with a 2.08 ERA. On Sunday it is Bronson Arroyo against Brad Penny, whose ERA is 1.70, but he is only 3-3.
So far this season the two teams have met six times, once in Cincinnati and once in St. Louis and the Cardinals took two of three both times.
Can the Reds avoid the Demon Pujols? What he has done to the Reds in recent years can’t be erased from the memory, if you have Alzheimer’s. In six games this year Pujols has nine hits, two homers, two doubles and nine RBIs and had a direct hand in three of the four victories over the Reds.
Over his career, he has beaten the Reds like a woman swatting a blanket hanging on a clothesline.
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July 26, 2010 5:22 AM | Link to this
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June 15, 2010 12:23 AM | Link to this
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By Christian Louboutin
June 10, 2010 2:21 AM | Link to this
wonderful share, great article, very usefull for me…thanks
By George Hale
May 15, 2010 3:53 AM | Link to this
Lest your enthusiasm spins out of control, Harang is still here.
By Colgar
May 14, 2010 9:18 PM | Link to this
Pitch to Pujols. How can you develop a winning attitude if you play scared or not to lose? I don’t care how good he is you have two chances in three to get him out. Be aggressive go after him. Sometimes he will beat you but so what?
By jeff
May 13, 2010 12:50 PM | Link to this
5 Words DON’T LET PUJOLS BEAT YOU!!!!!
By David from Lexington
May 13, 2010 12:08 PM | Link to this
Hey Hal, I think most of us that have been watching the Reds for the last few years are always waiting for the rug to be pulled out from under the team. Yes, I did grow-up watching the Reds from the 1970’s, watching the Big Red Machine in action, but those days only seem to be a fading memory… (Thanks to media I can replay the games when I need a boost!). My point is, I think it’s a shame that now we feel quilty for getting our hopes up, afraid that the losing ways will show their angry head and we will be the joke of our friends that don’t understand why we would follow a team like the Cincinnati Reds. As for me, I am going to enjoy this run for as long as it last. I don’t want to need to apoligize for getting a bit excited during times like this… For goodness sake, I think we’ve earned the right!! Go Red’s!!
By Michael in Monterey, CA
May 13, 2010 11:20 AM | Link to this
Who are these guys and what have they done with the Cincinnati Reds?
By David
May 13, 2010 11:00 AM | Link to this
Walk Pujols. Don’t care if the bases are loaded. Don’t care if he’s the last out of the game. Walk him.
By Steve F
May 13, 2010 10:51 AM | Link to this
Yes it was the Pirates,BUT the Reds are winning with pitching and defense and hitting with RISP and especially with 2 outs. Not to mention their doing this with a lot of young players…a very good sign.
By Steve F
May 13, 2010 10:47 AM | Link to this
True it was the Pirates, BUT the Reds are winning with pitching and defense and hitting with RISP especially with 2 outs. Not to mention their doing this with a lot of young players…a very good sign.
By Jim
May 13, 2010 7:28 AM | Link to this
Pujols can handle low pitches. Many ML hitters can handle low strikes. Keeping the ball down is not the best way to get some hitters out. The Oakland pitcher that threw the perfect game said he threw his breaking ball low and his fast ball high. Pitching to the whole strike zone and changing speeds is the ideal. The way the Reds organization does their Johny one note emphasis on pitching low, it is a safe bet for the opposing hitters to look for low strikes. Especially Pujols.
By Richard
May 13, 2010 7:25 AM | Link to this
Yea, we beat up on the Pirates and these are games we should win,but at the same time look who is putting a butt whoopin on the Cardinals. We can surely do the same thing. This team is pumped now and have the mind set of a winning team.
By MAC
May 13, 2010 4:15 AM | Link to this
Great job by Homer & Cueto! Obviously they threw Ks & stayed ahead in count. Was there more to it than that; were they able to throw all their pitches for Ks? Likewise, it’s obvious the lineup changes have helped…Stubbs is more comfortable lower in the order, BP @ top has helped him get on track & giving Gomes more ABs even against RHPs has paid dividends. Can’t help but wonder why these moves weren’t made earlier?
By J Hamilton
May 13, 2010 12:22 AM | Link to this
Reds only 1 game out of 1st. Go Reds! Hal, when are you coming out of retirement? I am tired of reading the DDN/Cincinnati Enquirer.
By Aaron B
May 12, 2010 10:14 PM | Link to this
First things first, we need to stop being in awe of the Cardinals. Right now, believe it or not, Pujols is in a slump and they benched their SS Ryan because he is not hitting and actually committed two errors in their loss the other night. Shumaker has been demoted to 7th in the lineup because he is not hitting… LaRussa is grasping at straws, moving Rasmus to leadoff and batting his pitcher 8th. This isn’t the uberconfident team we always assume they are. The Reds just need to play ball as they have been and not get stupid desperate / overly aggressive where they start becoming their own worst enemies. I like what I am seeing, and I think the lineup chemistry has improved drastically by moving Phillips to second in the order. Everyone that says lineup construction is over rated needs to look at this winning streak and how Phillips has been playing since being moved.
By dude
May 12, 2010 9:02 PM | Link to this
The last three games were great. I dont care if it was the Pirates. They still came to the plate with bat’s in hand. This had to be a great boost expecially for Cueto and Bailey. Maybe what they needs to get them going. Look forward to this weekend.
By Ridnaway
May 12, 2010 5:42 PM | Link to this
Every time a Reds pitcher throws Pujols a strike he gets fined $1,000. By game 3 he’ll be swinging at everything.
By Mike-Cinci
May 12, 2010 5:04 PM | Link to this
I agree with ol’ Hal that the weekend series with the Cards will be important. This is good news by the way. It sure beats the alternative. Pujols going into today is hitting .320 with 7 HR’s and 25 RBI. Votto is hitting .309 with 6 HR’s and 24 RBI. Not bad for Joey who is arguably the best Reds first baseman since Tony Perez. The Cardinals have the edge in pitching until the Reds prove other wise. Pujols may just be one of the top 5 hitters of all time. His first 9 years are better than anyone ever. He not only hits against the Reds…he hits against everyone. He is a special player and can be compared to Williams, Ruth, Dimaggio, Mays, Mantle, Musial, Aaron. He is something to watch and worth the price of admission.
By Tom
May 12, 2010 4:34 PM | Link to this
Hal, Remember most of this team today were all ex Dragons. How about Ryan Hanigan now there is a hot bat When it comes to the Cardinals give Prince Albert four straight balls. Walk him every time if need be. Keep up the good work and I hope your dog is taking his treatments well.