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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 > 2008 > April > 09 > Entry
Milwaukee: round two
Some observations before the Reds play Game 2 in Milwaukee:
-Downtown Milwaukee drivers believe people in cross walks are targets and take deadly aim. My jeans have grease (and other) stains.
-On the other hand, the employees at Miller Park are the nicest in baseball. They all say, “Hi” and “Hello” and “How are you.”
-The cab driver who brought me to the ballpark Monday drove sanely and was a nice guy. He gave me his card, asked me to call whenever I needed a ride. I did. He actually showed up within 30 seconds of my call for my second ride to the park.
OK, baseball.
Fearing that Edwin (0 for 17) Encarnacion might be found perchede atop the roof of Miller Park, manager Dusty Baker gave him Wednesday off, a much-needed day off. Since hitting a three-run home run to win a game, EE is 0 for 17, hasn’t driven in a run (the three are all he has this year) and hasn’t sniffed a hit.
Ryan Freel was at third base Wednesday and if EE’s deadly dive continues it seems inevitable that when (and who knows when that will be) Alex Gonzalez returns to shortstop, Jeff Keppinger should move to third.
This could be a big start for Josh Fogg, a bust in his debut. Matt Belisle is dazzling Class A hitters (as he should be) but don’t make too much fun of that because Johnny Cueto’s worst stop last year was at Class A Sarasota, where Belisle is now, and Cueto was 4-5 with a 3.33 ERA in 14 starts. It was his highest ERA anywhere last year - 3.10 at Class AA Chattanooga and 2.05 at Class AAA Louisville.
And then there is Homer Bailey and his constant companion, a knife on his hip, just in case he encounters a bear on the way to work. Bailey has been outstanding in his last two starts and one gets the impression that manager Dusty Baker is anxious to have him back in the rotation.
The Reds traded lefthanded relief pitcher Jon Coutlangus just before this trip began and a lot of you are asking, “Why?” You say he was good last year.
He was third on the staff in appearances last year with 64 and was 4-2 with a 4.39 ERA, not a solid ERA for a relief pitcher. He was involved in many of the eighth-inning meltdowns last year.
Nevertheless, Baker mentioned his name several times in the off-season, but once he watched him throw this spring, his name was not mentioned. He lost his command somewhere and kept walking people.
I do wonder, though, why they would trade a possibly good lefthanded relief pitcher for, ta-dum, another outfielder? The Reds have outfielders in the system to populate a small Vietnam village (one of the quotes I loved from former manager Bob Boone, known in media circles as Abner Boonieday).
After the Reds stranded a lot of baserunners, Boone would say, “We left enough runners to populate a small Vietnamese village.”
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By wow gold
April 23, 2008 8:36 AM | Link to this
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By ryan
April 9, 2008 5:44 PM | Link to this
Why in the world is Javy playing tonight? Do we expect him to hit a long ball or strike out every time? He did not look comfortable running last night on a play where we needed him to hustle.
By jarrod
April 9, 2008 4:52 PM | Link to this
hal’s wit is razor sharp today…the lineup today has freel at 3rd and im thinking thats not a bad thing. only thing is it seems patterson would bat 5th or sixth and freel would lead off. but an interesting line-up by dusty and a much needed change.
By Nick
April 9, 2008 4:50 PM | Link to this
Hal, I love this blog just a pinch less than I love the REDS. Keep up the good work.