Ohio Players at Fraze
Spotted: H.S. football Week 2
YBS: Oakwood vs. Wyoming
Reds see both sides of Bailey's pitching in debut
2004's top draft pick struggles early in his first spring game, but works out of a jam.
Saturday, March 01, 2008
SARASOTA, Fla. — Exchanging verbs and adjectives with the media is not on Homer Bailey's chart of "Top Ten Fun Things I Like To Do."
After two innings — one awful and one sensational — the 21-year-old Cincinnati Reds pitching prodigy said he would meet with the media at 2:30 p.m., more than an hour after he left the 7-6 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday, Feb. 29.
Extras
At 2:45, the press was ushered in for an audience. He said, "Hurry up," and the first question was a harmless, "How did it go out there?"
Said Bailey, the veteran of 451/3 major-league innings, "You watched the game. You tell me."
Ohhhh-kaaaay.
First inning awful. Second inning good.
Bailey needed 27 pitches in the first inning and went to three balls on four of six hitters. He did strand the bases loaded with one out by striking out Willy Aybar and getting Jonny Gomes on a fielder's choice grounder.
With one out and the bases loaded, Reds pitching coach Dick Pole visited Bailey on the mound. His words were magic, because Bailey retired the final five batters he faced, needing only six pitches in a 1-2-3 second inning.
"Sometimes you just go out there to slow the game down," said Pole. "He was excited and overthrowing. Once he slowed down, he found his rhythm."
Reds manager Dusty Baker was anxious for his first eyeballing of the highly touted No. 1 draft pick of 2004.
"I hadn't seen Homer pitch, other than bullpens and batting practice," said Baker. "But Dick Pole told me that each time he threw on the side this spring he was getting better and better, which is what you want to see."
From Baker's position, Bailey has gone from all arms and legs to all ears.
"He is in a better position because his mechanics are better, allowing him to throw more strikes," Baker said. "I heard he was all arms and legs last year. Sometimes you need to fail to find the need to listen. Now he has been all ears."
After the game, Baker agreed there were two different Baileys out there.
"The first Homer Bailey was overthrowing a little bit," Baker said. "Then he settled down, and the second inning he was throwing it really well. It was two different Homer Baileys, for sure, but a lot of times that first inning is tough on him anyway."
Bailey's assessment was more cryptic.
"It was all right. With men on base, I was rushing to the plate, then I settled down and got people out. The second inning, throwing from the windup, I felt fine. I had to pitch out of the stretch with some really fast guys on base and I rushed in the first inning."
Asked about his velocity, clocked at 93 mph, he said, "I wasn't sitting behind a radar gun. First game. I had jitters. The first taste of competition in a couple of months."
Told that Pole and Baker were happy with his bullpen sessions, Bailey said, "Bullpens are overrated. It's how you do out there in games."
Tampa Bay won the game in the ninth by scoring a run off Tom Shearn and the Reds left two on in the bottom of ninth, one of them Jay Bruce, after his second hit of the game.
