Madison graduation 2012
Warren County CC graduation
New Miami graduation 2012
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 > August > 19 > Entry
Reds’ suicide squeeze opens run vault
UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave while wondering if there EVER has been a bullpen as awful as Arizona’s:
While Dusty Baker was serving his two-game suspension over the weekend, the Reds pulled off a suicide squeeze called by stand-in manager Chris Speier.
Many of Baker’s legion of critics said haughtily, “Dusty never would have called a play like that.”
Wrong.
On Tuesday night, with the game tied, 7-7, in the ninth, Baker flashed the suicide squeeze sign to Chris Heisey. He dropped a perfect bunt and Jim Edmonds scored from third to break the tie.
From there, the door to the run vault opened wide and the Reds scored an 11-7 victory that gave them a three-game lead in the NL Central over the St. Louis Cardinals.
Matters looked bleak entering that eighth inning. The Reds trailed, 7-3, but they scored eight runs in the last two innings, annihilating the worst bullpen in baseball.
It was the Reds’ 35th come-from-behind victory, second to Atlanta in the NL, and their 16th victory recorded in their last at-bat.
JOEY VOTTO was a late scratch with a bad back and Edmonds replaced him. He furnished his first home run as a member of the Reds and doubled to lead the eighth, enabling him to score on Heisey’s bunt.
Heiser was a pinch-hitter. In the eighth, pinch-hitter Miguel Cairo started a four-run rally with a double as the Reds Bench Brigade continues to provide daily doses of huge contributions.
The Reds gave starter Edinson Volquez a 3-1 lead in the fourth, but he couldn’t protect it. He gave up four runs in the fifth, including a two-run homer to Chris Young to fall behind, 5-3.
It looked desperate in the seventh when Adam LaRoche blasted a two-run homer off Jordan Smith for a 7-3 Diamondbacks lead.
Then it was Comeback Time, as Baker would say, “Big-time.”
CAIRO STARTED it in the eighth with his one-out double. Jay Bruce, who bunted for a single and homered in his second at-bat, doubled Cairo home. 7-4. Ramon Hernandez doubles. 7-5. Paul Janish, continuing his excellence as shortstop Orlando Cabrera’s stand-in, singled for his second hit. Laynce Nix hit a sacrifice fly on right-fielder Justin Upton’s overthrow (the Arizona defense is as awful as the bullpen). 7-6. Brandon Phillips doubled. 7-7.
Now it’s the ninth.
Edmonds doubled and took third on Rolen’s grounder to the right side - giving himself up to move the runner, proving once again how professional he is. Heisey suicide bunted and was safe at first. 8-7. Bruce singled and Hernandez was hit by a pitch, loading the bases. Janish hit a sacrifice fly to left that was a foot short of a grand slam homer. 9-7. Nix doubled for two runs. 11-7.
So the Reds are 2-0 after two games of this nine-game west coast swing.
The Reds had 18 hits - nine in the last two innings. And they did it with their best hitter, Votto, watching from the dugout.
In-cred-i-ble.
YES, IN head-to-head (or fist-to-fist) confrontations this year, the St. Louis Cardinals own the Reds like a rich landlord, winning 10 of 15 games between them so far this season.
But here is why the Reds are ahead of the Cardinals in the NL Central standings: The Cardinals are 15-18 against division rivals Milwaukee, Houston and Chicago. Against those same three teams, the Reds are 21-5 - a plus-nine games in the standings for the Reds.
PRONUNCIATION CHALLENGE: Anybody know how to pronounce these three names of American League players? Matt Tuiasosopo of Seattle, Kila Ka’aihue of Kansas City and Marc Rzepczynski of Toronto? And don’t say Matt, Kila and Marc.
IT’S ASK HAL question day. Fans have been fantastic with questions and comments so far this year and let’s keep it flowing. Need some questions quickly for this Sunday’s paper, so send them now to halmccoy@hotmail.com.
Permalink | Comments (17) | Post your comment |
Tweet
Comments
By Bud Wizer
August 21, 2010 11:31 PM | Link to this
I’d like to know why anyone would want our second best SS to come off the DL to replace Janish—AT ANY TIME? Janish play behind second base vs the Dodgers tonight makes it plain that Cabrera ain’t gonna make that play.
By Kyle
August 20, 2010 12:00 AM | Link to this
I’d like to give a little shout out to all the Cardinal fans who littered the blog for a few days. It’s gotten awfully quiet.
By Worn Cleat
August 19, 2010 7:39 PM | Link to this
‘Say Hey, Heisey’ in left field tonight/Tomorrow/ and on and on… Dickerson in CF, forever! Rock on, Janish! Go Reds!
By steven ross
August 19, 2010 6:23 PM | Link to this
Cowboy: your comments about Janish and Reynolds is spot on. Janish is so much better than OC. Maybe Dusty finally figured it out? Well see. To me, Mark Reyonlds is more in the mold of Gomes than Stubbs but still solid humor! Good post.
By Patrick
August 19, 2010 4:07 PM | Link to this
Spoon, Hal’s already addressed all that plenty of times in previous blog posts. Please try and stay current before you ask questions that have already been answered.
By Brian
August 19, 2010 3:46 PM | Link to this
Hey Spoon…give it a forkin’ rest.
By Pat Monahan
August 19, 2010 1:30 PM | Link to this
Heck, I have trouble pronouncing Paul Janish. I was at the game last nite. It was magical.
By MarioSoto
August 19, 2010 12:51 PM | Link to this
We have our own similar hard name to pronounce for the Carolina Mudcats. Jake Kahaulelio, a second baseman with a little pop.
By Tom
August 19, 2010 12:44 PM | Link to this
Nothing like a well placed bunt to turn the tide of a ballgame.
By Spoon
August 19, 2010 12:13 PM | Link to this
The ruckus with St Louis is over and kudos to Brandon Phillips for paying Johnny Cuetos fine,but why did you write the article in the first place?Shouldnt that have been locker room fodder, after all it wasnt a reporter from Espn, associated press or even a writer from St Louis interviewing Phillips,you even said online you were surprised Brandon didnt come after you after the fiasco.I am sure Phillips was shocked to see what you wrote verbatim and wouldnt have responded with those words with a writer from StLouis.
By Cowboy
August 19, 2010 12:10 PM | Link to this
Get out the brooms. Janish has been solid - don’t miss Cabrera at all. Watching Mark Reynolds bat makes me appreciate Drew Stubbs.
By bob
August 19, 2010 11:52 AM | Link to this
Hal, Please don’t call Paul Janish a “stand-in”. He is so much quicker and covers much more ground and with a major league arm. Hey, he can hit,too. The only reason Baker called a suicide squeeze was Speier called it the only day and it reminded Dusty there was such a play in good manager’s playbook.
By Mike
August 19, 2010 10:36 AM | Link to this
Even when Joey Votto can’t play he is productive-indirectly. It seems his replacements always produce.
By Muzak
August 19, 2010 8:59 AM | Link to this
I was at the ballpark this past Saturday, sitting along the 3rd base line, and got to see the Jonny Gomes/Paul Janisch suicide squeeze unfold right in front of me. It was probably the best, most exciting play I’ve witnessed inside a ballpark. I loved it.
By Mike-Cinci
August 19, 2010 8:24 AM | Link to this
Another team win! Very impressive.
By Rick
August 19, 2010 7:50 AM | Link to this
MAN John, you’re good! SWEEP tonite!!!
By John Kasupski
August 19, 2010 2:47 AM | Link to this
Matt Tuiasosopo’s last name is pronounced Too-ee-ah-so-SOAP-oh. He’s not the first pro athlete in his family. His grandfather (Manu’ula), father (Marques), and uncle (Zach, who is Marques’ brother) played football in the NFL. With respect to the native of Hawaii who is playing for the Royals, I believe KEY-luh Ky-uh-HOO-a is the correct pronunciation, though I’ve also heard his surname pronounced as Ky-uh-hoo-ee. The surname of the Blue Jays’ Marc Rzepczynski is pronounced zep-CHIN-ski.