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Hall of Fame baseball writer Hal McCoy is in his 36th year of covering the Cincinnati Reds, the longest tenure for any active writer covering one team. Counting spring training and postseason games, McCoy has covered more than 7,000 major-league baseball games, written close to 18,000 baseball stories and eaten enough hot dogs to give Babe Ruth indigestion.Home > Blogs > The Real McCoy | Cincinnati Reds baseball news > Archives > 2008 > April > 27 > Entry
High voltage Volquez
As soon as fans evacuate the glorious ballpark in San Francisco that is AT&T Park, the sea gulls swoop in. Scores of them. As I write this, at least 30 are walking around the infield, cawing and strutting.
Most of them are on the pitcher’s mound. On this day they recognized the locale of greatness, where earlier Cincinnati pitcher Edinson Volquez wasn’t cawing, but he certainly was strutting.
It is hard to lay that greatness label on a 24-year-old guy who has pitched in only 25 major-league games, five this year for the Reds, but the man is good. Real good.
He is 4-0 right now with a 1.23 earned run average in five 2008 starts after the Reds beat the San Francisco Giants, 10-1. He gave up five hits. He struck out a career-best 10.
How good is he? He said his best pitch Sunday was a curve. His catcher, Paul Bako, said that, well, the curve was better than usual, but his fastball and changeup were better.
Three pitches from which to chose - and one zips up there at 97 miles an hour and another at 78 miles an hour.
What a contrast Sunday. On the other side, lefthander Barry Zito tried to pitch for the Giants, a guy that cost them $126 million. He wishes he had one of the three pitches Volquez displayed.
The Reds beat on him like raindrops from heaven for six runs in the first inning and it was as clear as the skies over San Francisco Bay that Zito soon would be 0-6.
Meanwhile, Volquez is 4-0 for his five starts, wearing the same No. 36 once worn by his fellow Dominican and his mentor, Mario Soto. Any veteran player knows Soto had one of the all-time best changeups, but he didn’t complement his with a 97 miles an hour fastball.
That’s OK, though, because 93 miles an hour was good enough for Soto.
The Reds hope that Bronson Arroyo paid attention. When the Reds open a three-game series in St. Louis tonight, Arroyo takes the mound, lugging a 0-3 record, a 7.56 ERA and no game pitched behind 5 2/3 innings among his six starts.
But back to the good stuff. Volquez. Everywhere he goes he leaves folks wide-eyed.
Said San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy, “That kid’s got a great arm. We knew it coming into the game. He’s been throwing the ball well and we knew we needed a well-pitched game because of the way he has been throwing.
“You’ve got a kid out there throwing 95 to 97 with that kind of change-up. That’s a tough job for a lineup. I’m not surprised looking at his numbers and why they are where they are because he has a really good arm.”
Now a smidgen of bad stuff. Second baseman Brandon Phillips has his nose out of joint. After getting three hits (two homers) Sunday, he refused to talk to any media, telling them, “Just get out of my space and leave me alone. I don’t feel like talking. Nobody talks to me when I’m going bad. They just write crap. When I’m going good, everybody wants to talk to me. So just leave me alone.”
And he was left alone. There was too much good to contemplate over the last two days, 10-9 and 10-1 wins over the Giants, to play games with a moody second baseman. That wide smile can fool you. It isn’t always there in the clubhouse.
But if he wants to be left alone, so be it.
Permalink | Comments (26) | Post your comment | Categories: Brandon Phillips
Comments
By Jerry
April 30, 2008 1:07 PM | Link to this
Hal, You are a Hall of Fame Writer. You earned it and deserve it. I have enjoyed your writing for many, many years. Don’t let the idiot bloggers get to you. You kndly say 2% are bad. I would put that a lot higher. However the real fans appreciate all your hard work. I for one hope you never retire and don’t stop blogging. I would rate you right up there with the great Si Burick and over your other mentor Ritter Collet. I too get frustrated reading some of the cow flop that is on the blogs. I just skip over them and disregard them for what they are. Any moron with a computer can criticize you but you are a true class act. Forgive them, they know not what they say. Please keep up the great work. A true fan of yours and the Reds.By WOHBuckeye
April 28, 2008 9:30 PM | Link to this
Ah, come on Brandon. Don’t go down this road, you’ve been too good of a story.By WOHBuckeye
April 28, 2008 9:29 PM | Link to this
Ah, come on Brandon. Don’t go down this road, you’ve been too good of a story.By Max D
April 28, 2008 4:33 PM | Link to this
Omnired: Thanks for setting the record straight. Too many people take sports talk radio as gospel instead of opinion.By Y-City Jim
April 28, 2008 4:01 PM | Link to this
BTW, Coffey has been sent down and Bray has been called up today.By Y-City Jim
April 28, 2008 3:59 PM | Link to this
Before attributing the 10 runs to small ball and the absence of Dunn and Griffey, consider that Barry Zito is horrible. Most high school teams could have scored 10 runs off Zito yesterday. Most high school pitchers throw harder than Zito did yesterday.By omnired
April 28, 2008 3:51 PM | Link to this
Ah, blog commenters and sports talk radio callers. Good sources. So, you get your news from Bill Cunningham and Tracy Jones, too? Homer got sent down because he walked 6 guys and couldn’t make it through the 5th inning in his last start. He also walked two without striking out a batter in his second-to-last outing. Other than control, he did well in spring training. His last two starts (8 innings) he only gave up 5 hits and 1 earned run. He needed to work on his control, pitch efficiency, and pitching with runners on. He’s improved and been coachable in all those areas. I’ve heard it from multiple sources, including external sources like Baseball-prospectus’s Will Carroll.By cincykid72
April 28, 2008 1:48 PM | Link to this
Hey Hal, it must be nice to have a job where people don’t write about your demeanor on a daily basis in a national newspaper. It’s no wonder why people like Jr. shy away from the media and end up getting a bad wrap. I’m all for keeping players humble and accountable for their actions, but ripping on BP is just plain rude. So what if he was a little snippy, his team has gotten off to a somewhat slow start ,if you haven’t noticed, so of course he’s probably not in the best of moods. I’m glad, it means the season actually means something to him. So cut him some slack, because he’s been a breath of fresh air into this organization.By cincykid72
April 28, 2008 1:48 PM | Link to this
Hey Hal, it must be nice to have a job where people don’t write about your demeanor on a daily basis in a national newspaper. It’s no wonder why people like Jr. shy away from the media and end up getting a bad wrap. I’m all for keeping players humble and accountable for their actions, but ripping on BP is just plain rude. So what if he was a little snippy, his team has gotten off to a somewhat slow start ,if you haven’t noticed, so of course he’s probably not in the best of moods. I’m glad, it means the season actually means something to him. So cut him some slack, because he’s been a breath of fresh air into this organization.By Kyle
April 28, 2008 1:33 PM | Link to this
I say get of BP’s back. To me, over the winter, he was the only untouchable on this team for trades. If they had traded him, I’d have been done with them for the whole year. Bring Homer up. Too much time down there is bad. Read Hoard’s Nuxy book. Nuxy talked about how the hitters down there swing at pitches the bigs don’t. Homer doesn’t need confidence, he needs experience pitching against the big boys and learning what pitches get real hitters out.By Richard
April 28, 2008 1:33 PM | Link to this
Listen to WLW and you will hear about his attitude. that is why they said he got sent back to the minors from spring training. He thought he knew more then anyone else. He was told to sit down with Mario Soto and it was my understanding he said that he couldn’t tell him anything he didn’t already know.By omnired
April 28, 2008 1:16 PM | Link to this
Homer has an attitude problem? Why do I only read about this from blog posters and rarely from the team’s writers and other media coverage. Bailey is working on the things he was told to work on. He’s become more pitch efficient and worked on cutting down the opponent’s running game. If you want to call Bailey up, I would agree with that. Move Belisle to the bullpen and let Bailey take his spot every 5th start in the rotation.By Scott O,Indiana
April 28, 2008 1:10 PM | Link to this
Why cant Homer come up and be long relief for now,send Coffey down to get straightened out,do Hatterberg a favor and trade him and get a right handed hitter with pop up here. Get the five slot fixed,and put Bronson on a short leash.By Scott O,Indiana
April 28, 2008 1:10 PM | Link to this
Why cant Homer come up and be long relief for now,send Coffey down to get straightened out,do Hatterberg a favor and trade him and get a right handed hitter with pop up here. Get the five slot fixed,and put Bronson on a short leash.By Pete
April 28, 2008 12:18 PM | Link to this
Hey, here’s another pitching possibility that the Reds could get! The A’s just sent Kirk Saarloos back to the minors. He could come back here & replace Coffey, Belisle or Arroyo, & remind everyone how it’s not his fault that his pitching stinks.By Michael in Monterey
April 28, 2008 11:44 AM | Link to this
I was at the game yesterday and saw Volquez absolutely dealing. The kid was throwing 95 plus in the 7th inning. I was sad to see Hamilton leave, especially with Dunn looking like Dave Kingman more and more every year, but maybe this trade will work out for both teams. Pitching wins pennants. Let’s see if Arroyo can turn in around.By Cait
April 28, 2008 11:40 AM | Link to this
Ryan is correct - Archdeacon tried to talk to Phillips about why he and the Reds were going badly and BP made some smart remark and wouldn’t talk about it. Can’t have it both ways, dude. Man up during good times and bad and the press will follow you around like puppies. Despite the criticism of Dunn, this is one reason I like him - he’ll talk, good or bad. Oh, and love those young pitchers!By Don Lewis
April 28, 2008 11:23 AM | Link to this
To bad about Brandon not wanting to talk to the press. Obviously the 2 homers went to his head. Although he could have talked about how BAD his swing looked popping up his first 3 at-bats. Since Dunn can not be traded until June sometime I think he should bat in the 8 hole if he has to play at all. Why? Because Dunn likes to walk more than he likes the pressure of getting a base hit with runners on. With the pitcher behind him Dunn can walk even more. The pitcher can then either try to sac bunt or make the last out of the inning allowing a fresh start the next inning. Everybodies happy. Will be even happier come June!By Mike
April 28, 2008 11:04 AM | Link to this
Brandon, perhaps it was because you were in SF you caught the Barry Bonds attitude bug. Criticism comes with the job. Be thankful you are not playing for a NY, Boston or Chicago team and have to deal with the brutal press there.By Richard
April 28, 2008 10:15 AM | Link to this
They don’t need to bring Homer up, until he gets over his attitude problem.By Steven Ross
April 28, 2008 10:14 AM | Link to this
Arroyo, Belisle, Coffey, Valentine & Dunn all under the Jocketty microscope. Bronson must pitch well tonight with Matt needing solid outings in his next two starts or one thinks Homer gets the call. Bray is ready but he’s a lefty so his recall is on hold unless managment has seen enough of Coffey. We don’t need Valentine anymore and Dunn’s lack of production is already a hot topic. A few tweaks here and there can turn this team into a winner.By Jimm1Time
April 28, 2008 8:55 AM | Link to this
What a nice few days to be a Reds fan. Small ball, long ball. And PITCHING, my god the PITCHING! I’m a big guy to but maybe Coffey needs o add the weight ck on? Just send him down already. Bring Homer up for some help. Watching Johnny and Edinson might light a firer under his A$$!!! BUt leave Bruce were he is. Just give him time Reds fans.By Richard
April 28, 2008 8:06 AM | Link to this
It is like I said one day last week, when they play little ball and play as a team they score runs. Do what you do best and quit trying to do something you can’t. In other words, if you aren’t a home run hitter, quit trying to be one. Home runs are nice, but little ball will most always score more runs and makes for a more exciting game.By donb51
April 28, 2008 6:47 AM | Link to this
All those runs, and without Dunn or Griffey in the lineup. Maybe Baker has stumbled upon something.By Ryan
April 28, 2008 3:50 AM | Link to this
Erm, “about doing him struggling” should just be “about him struggling.” Feel free to edit the original and delete this post.By Ryan
April 28, 2008 3:47 AM | Link to this
BP should know by now that people are more interested in hearing the good than the bad; especially with the way the club has been playing this year. Didn’t Tom Archdeacon talk to him on Friday about doing him struggling? Egos will be egos, I guess.