A Only you, Dave. Actually, Pujols is struggling, so maybe it benefits the Reds to have him leaving men on base for the Cardinals. He has gone 91 at-bats without a home run (as of Friday). Now if somebody could only make Chris Carpenter go away, I’d help pay for it.
Q What is the strangest thing you have ever seen happen in a baseball game? — Steve, Kennard, Ind.
A Even after covering more than 7,000 games, I see something every week I’ve never seen before, so that’s a tough one. I saw Champ Summers swallow his chewing tobacco sliding into home plate on an inside-the-park home run. I saw a ball bounce off Deion Sanders’ head and over the fence for a home run. I saw pitcher Rob Dibble on the bottom of a pile during a fight being choked by Pittsburgh coach Ed Ott while Dibble’s face turned from red to yellow to blue. I saw Billy Bates race a cheetah. I saw elephants defecating on the Riverfront Stadium field on Opening Day when Pokey Reese later made four errors (three in one inning) and heard him say after the game, “I should have been behind those elephants with a trash bag, but I probably would have missed.”
Q Fifty years after the original Cuban missile crisis, the Cincinnati Reds have their own Cuban Missile crisis with Aroldis Chapman. Why don’t they just send him to Triple-A to figure it out while the Reds figure out what to do with him? — Keith, Brookville
A If JFK were still around, the Reds could ask him how you handle a Cuban missile crisis. While he is on the disabled list, the Reds can’t send Chapman down. When his shoulder feels better, they can send him out on rehab and keep him on the big-league roster. If he doesn’t figure it out in the 30 days he can stay on rehab, then they can option him. That should be enough time for Chapman to re-locate the strike zone that suddenly became an unsolvable mystery. My humble opinion? Chapman is trying too hard to hit 105 and 106 again on the radar gun.
Q A pinch-hitter batted for the Reds leading off an inning and he made an out, but the Reds batted around and he got a second chance and walked. What is the most unusual instance do you recall when a pinch-hitter batted twice in an inning? — Bill, Dayton
A It happened just last month. Eric Hinske of the Braves pinch-hit in the ninth and singled. The Braves batted around and he homered on his second at-bat. He became only the 25th player in MLB history to pinch-hit and collect two hits in an inning. Did you know that Pete Rose was 8-for-21 in his career as a pinch-hitter?
Q Does it look as if Dontrelle Willis will be brought up after he returns from his injury? — Mark, Columbus
A It is believed that Willis would have been called up when Aroldis Chapman went down, but Willis injured his groin. With Chapman down, the Reds could use another left-hander in the bullpen, and in addition to providing that left arm, Willis could give the Reds a matching pair of dazzling smiles — Willis and Brandon Phillips.
Q I love the intensity of Jonny Gomes and believe he would take a pitch on the forehead to win a game, but with his .180 average why is he the Reds’ designated hitter this weekend? — Stocc, Miamisburg
A In the words of Dusty Baker, “manager’s decision.” Baker said Gomes has the most experience as a DH, “and it is a very difficult job.” As good as Ken Griffey Jr. was, he hated being a DH “because I never knew what to do during all the down time between at-bats.”
Q Does Chris Heisey need to wear a Corey Patterson mask to receive more playing time? — Parsin, Dayton
A No, he needs to hit better when he does start. As a pinch-hitter, he is awesome. As a starter, so far, he is average. But he is getting more and more starts as he learns to hit all pitches, not just high fastballs, and if Jonny Gomes doesn’t snap to it, he’ll get more. Heisey would do better if he wore an Ichiro Suzuki mask.
Q When a team puts a player on the disabled list, are they subject to any third-party verification? — Dan, East Amherst, N.Y.
A No, they’re not. It’s the honor system — nod, nod, wink, wink. I’m sure if other teams smelled foul play and complained, MLB would ask for X-rays and medical charts. Are you questioning the integrity of the Reds’ Doc Hollywood Kremchek? He knows shoulder inflammation when he sees it — this year’s injury du jour.
Q You have said Homer Bailey could be a No. 1 starter for the Reds. Have you changed your opinion that the Reds don’t need a No. 1 starter? — Rob, North Star
A With the way Bailey has pitched since coming off the DL, I still say he is a potential No. 1. And Johnny Cueto, too. And I still say I prefer five solid starters instead of one grossly overpaid so-called ace, who pitches only every fifth day, and four Joe Schmos.
Q Wouldn’t it solve Dusty Baker’s problem with Edinson Volquez’s bad first innings by starting a relief pitcher for one inning and then bringing in Volquez for the second and beyond? — Bill, Sweet Owen, Ky.
A No matter what inning Volquez starts, that’s still his first inning — be it the second, fourth or fifth. Maybe they should have him warm up in the batting cage under the stands facing real teammates wearing the other team’s uniforms and tell him, “This is the first inning,” then send out for the real first inning. Why not? Nothing else seems to work.
Q After seeing Houston, Arizona, Pittsburgh and the Chicago Cubs, I think the Cubs are the worst team I’ve seen since some of the late ’70s-early ’80s Mets team managed by Joe Torre and George Bamberger. Agree? — Vin, New York City
A As one veteran baseball man told me after the Cubs gave up seven unearned runs to the Reds last week, “That’s Cubs baseball.” Ouch. Yeah, the Cubs appear to handle fundamentals like speaking Swahili and they give awful a bad name. But they are loaded with more talent than Houston, Pittsburgh or Arizona and still have a chance to be dangerous to other teams instead of dangerous to themselves.
Q Please explain to us why Edgar Renteria feels he cannot play third base when it makes more sense to have him there instead of shortstop when Paul Janish is so much better? — Fred, Hamilton
A Renteria has never played third base and I guess it is the old “teaching old dog new tricks” theory, although I once taught a 10-year-old blind cocker spaniel to march around the kitchen table. If a guy is afraid to play there, why make him and severely weaken the team? It’s like asking me to cover politics instead of baseball when I can’t tell you the difference between a Republican and a Democrat. Besides, Scott Rolen is back and hopefully remains healthy enough to man third base most of the time.
Q The off-center camera location in center field at Great American Ball Park causes a distorted view and has fans questioning balls-and-strikes calls, while cameras in St. Louis and Chicago are perfect. What gives? — Dez, Dayton
A The camera in GABP is off-center because it is right on top of the wall. If it were dead-center it would distract the hitters and umpires. I suspect the cameras in St. Louis and Chicago are higher up and are not distractions. To me, that’s the best picture of telecasts, puts you right in the game. I hadn’t noticed any distortion in Cincinnati, though.
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