QUESTION OF THE WEEK
Q: Is Devin Mesoraco the next coming of Johnny Bench? — TOM, Kettering
A: I will defer to former Reds manager Sparky Anderson who, during the 1976 World Series, said in reference to a question about New York Yankees catcher Thurman Munson, “Don’t embarrass anybody by comparing them to Johnny Bench.” Mesoraco is in his first year as the Reds’ No. 1 catcher and is off to a fabulous start. But it is a finite sampling. And even he will tell you he has a long, long way to go to have his name attached to the best catcher of all-time.
Hall-of-fame baseball writer Hal McCoy knows a thing or two about America’s pastime. If you’d like to tap into that knowledge, send a question to halmccoy1@hotmail.com.
Q: When the Reds are on the road the center field camera is right behind the pitcher, but in Great American Ball Park the camera is off-set to the pitcher’s right, which makes it difficult to call balls and strikes. Why is that? — DAVE, Miamisburg/Centerville/Beavercreek
A: It isn’t your job to call balls and strikes. That’s what that guy dressed in dark blue behind the catcher is hired to do. And you are wrong on this one. All the center field cameras are off-set and none is right behind the pitcher. If they were, they would be a distraction to the hitter and they have enough distractions as it is, like pine-tar balls thrown by Michael Pineda.
Q: What are the plans to get Billy Hamilton to cut down on his strikeouts, which he is doing too much as a lead-off hitter? — MARK, Batavia
A: How about Pittsburgh lead-off hitter Starling Marte? He leads the league in strikeouts, and after the last game with the Reds last week had struck out at least once in 17 of his last 18 games. Hamilton is young and extremely inexperienced. He works hard, seeks advice and listens. I’m more concerned about how often he hits the ball in the air rather than hitting it on the ground to give him a chance to beat out hits.
Q: Outfielders tend to skip or one-hope their throws to the catcher and infielders, and it seems that makes it harder to catch. Wouldn’t it be easier to throw the ball all the way in the air? — CRAIG, Fort Loramie
A: You are referring to the throw Jay Bruce made to home plate last week against Pittsburgh that skipped over catcher Devin Mesoraco’s shoulder, permitting the winning run to score, aren’t you? I wondered about that, too, because it was a short throw and Bruce has a bullet-train arm. Most throws are longer than that, making it difficult to throw it all the way on the fly. And baseball people tend to believe the ball picks up speed when thrown on a hop, although my Scientific Journal has never done research on it that I know about.
Q: The Sabermetric people have come up with all sorts of new mathematics like OPS and WAR to measure a baseball player, but in your mind what is the true statistic that truly measures a player’s worth? — LARRY, Dayton
A: I am not a stats guy. You can do about anything you want with numbers. Mark Twain once wrote, “There are three types of lies — lies, damn lies and statistics.” For me, it is raw talent and heart. Or the three D’s — determination, desire and dedication.
Q: Broadcaster Chris Welsh is proud of the fact that when he pitched he once threw over to first base 17 times during one at-bat. In these days of pitch counts, would those count on his pitch totals? — RICK, Vandalia
A: If you watch the pitch-count totals on your TV screen you will see that tosses to first base are not counted as pitches. Most pitchers just lob the ball to first to keep the runner close and rarely throw hard. Welsh did that against St. Louis base thief Vince Coleman with Willie McGee batting. Guess what? After 17 throws to first, a major-league record, Coleman still stole second.
Q: Which Reds player works the hardest on his defense? — JOE, Englewood
A: While Brandon Phillips works hard, nobody works harder than first baseman Joey Votto. During spring training he shows up early nearly every day and wears out the coaches taking ground balls and working on different plays. My friend Gary Andersen was astounded this spring when he watched Votto on a back field for 30 minutes straight working on taking ground balls and making the throw to second base to start a double play.
Q: Would baseball and the fans be better served to have the season start two weeks later and end two weeks earlier? — VINCE, Monroe
A: I have long advocated that. Baseball is not designed to be played in 20 degrees and cold rain or snow flurries. They could add the weekly doubleheaders on Sunday that every team used to play and they could trim the schedule by 20 games. That, though, would ruin the history of the game’s statistics, so don’t bet your house payments that it will ever happen.
Q: When you go position-by-position for the Reds, who would you get rid of? — MICHAEL, Grants Lick, Ky.
A: I’m not going to say Brandon Phillips because he isn’t talking to the Cincinnati writers because he said we tried to get him traded in the off-season. But he does seem distracted this year. His defense isn’t as sharp and his run production as the No. 3 hitter isn’t good. But we’re only one month into the season so it is too early to start re-arranging the team’s dynamics.
Q: Why is it that when pitchers are talked about, except by Reds fans, nobody mentions Johnny Cueto? — DALE, Greenup, Ky.
A: Ask opposing hitters if they talk about Johnny Cueto. He is one guy they’d rather not face. If you are referring to ESPN, well, most of the time you have to play for the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox to get high praise. If Cueto pitched for the Yankees they’d have him on the outskirts of Cooperstown.
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