Q: Will Reds players be doing summersaults to celebrate Dusty Baker's return to the dugout?
— Dave, Miamisburg/Centerville/Beavercreek
A: I know you officiate high school football, so why didn't you apply to be an NFL replacement? You would have been perfect with those guys. They will be doing neither summersaults (whatever those are) nor somersaults. They'll welcome him back standing on their feet, shaking his hand and giving him manly hugs as a manager they love and respect. He is missed.
Q: If the Reds open in San Francisco, wouldn't it make more sense to start Mat Latos, who beats up on the Giants, and Homer Bailey, who is much better on the road, and pitch Johnny Cueto in Game 3?
— Stocc, Miamisburg
A: No sense, really. Cueto is your No. 1, and if he pitches Game 3, he is not available if there is a Game 5. You want him for Game 1 and Game 5. And with more acreage than Wyoming in the AT&T Park outfield in San Francisco, I want fly ball pitcher Bronson Arroyo in Game 2 out there. Does it matter that much? Reds pitching is solid. It's the hitters that need to step it up, and fast.
Q: Why is baseball the only sport where the manager and coaches wear the same uniforms as the players?
— Brad, Greenville
A: Now wouldn't the Bengals' Marvin Lewis look silly standing on the sidelines in helmet and shoulder pads and wouldn't Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski look goofy in front of his bench in baggy shorts? Most managers and baseball coaches pitch batting practice or hit ground balls and fly balls during batting practice, so they wear uniforms. In the other sports coaches either stand or sit on the sidelines with headphones and clipboards.
Q: I seem to remember that as a teenager Pete Rose played on an amateur team in Dayton. Am I right? — Jack, Fairborn
A: You are as right as a rose in a bouquet. Before he signed with the Reds, Rose played for Lebanon Frisch's in a Dayton Amateur Baseball Federation League at Howell Field, now under weeds and in disarray. And you won't believe this: Rose was a catcher.
Q: Since Melky Cabrera missed 50 games and was still eligible for the batting title until he requested not to be considered, if Joey Votto can accumulate enough at-bats in his final games, can he qualify for the batting title?
— Bob, Bellbrook
A: As of this writing, Votto had 447 plate appearances with seven games left. A batter needs 502 plate appearances to qualify for the batting title. Assuming he plays all seven games and makes 28 plate appearances, that gives him 475 plate appearances. To qualify, they would add an 0 for 27, and if his average was still the highest with that figured in, he'd win the title. As it stood Thursday, an 0 for 27 would drop his average from .342 to .318. Sadly, he has no chance.
Q: Everybody wants to know the origin of the howling in Great American Ball Park. I've heard several claims, but the originators were four Wittenberg University baseball players in left field on Sept. 10, a "Bark in the Park" game that went 14 innings.
— MiSue, Springfield
A: I've heard it was people imitating dogs. I've heard it is mimicry of the yowls of female tennis players. I've heard it is what pro wrestler Ric Flair used to do. Know what? It's none of the above. The howl was started by Pittsburgh fans long before the first yowl was heard in GABP. So, it's stolen. And I wish they'd return it.
Q: Under baseball rules, a manager must go to the home-plate umpire first before going to the mound to remove a pitcher and make a double switch, so does he have to do this between innings and why is this?
— Charles, Dayton
A: Yes, a manager must always make his intentions known to the home-plate umpire before every double switch. That's because the umpire keeps a lineup card and the manager must tell him where each substitute is going to bat. The umpire writes it on his list so he knows players come to bat in the right order. If a manager doesn't want to do that, he can always go to the American League, where a double switch is as rare as a bad throw by Ryan Hanigan.
Q: Although it is too early to evaluate the 4-for-1 trade the Reds made for Mat Latos, can you think of any other 4-for-1 or 3-for-1 trade that worked to the advantage of the team that got the one?
— Terrence, Alpha.
A: Oh, so many. Usually that kind of trade involves one veteran star for a package of prospects. How about these two involving the same player with the Reds. In 1977, the Reds traded Doug Flynn, Steve Henderson, Dan Norman and Pat Zachry to the New York Mets for Tom Seaver. The Reds should have been arrested for grand larceny. Then in 1982, the Reds traded Seaver back to the Mets for Jason Felice, Lloyd McClendon and Charlie Puleo. With that trade, the Mets got even.
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