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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 > August > 08
Friday, August 8, 2008
Volquez learned the hard way
As expected, Aaron Harang will pitch Sunday against the Houston Astros and Edinson Volquez gets two extra days of rest due to Monday’s off day.
While it is OK with Volquez, to a point, he is not happy that people keep saying he is tired because he pitched in winter ball.
“I pitched eight innings of winter ball,” he said. “How can that make me tired? I pitched more innings in spring training.”
Volquez also is keeping Johnny Cueto on a positive level, despite the fact Cueto was 0-3 in his last five starts before facing the Astros Friday.
“He’s lucky,” said Volquez. “He’s 7-11 in his first year. I was 1-11 when I started - 0-6 my first year and 1-5 to start my second year.”
Of his extra days off, Volquez said, “I threw a bullpen today and felt really good. I’m ready to pitch. But I told Dusty Baker that it’s OK (the extra days). It just gives me two extra days to work.”
So how did he keep his confidence above the water table? How does a guy like Homer Bailey, 0-6 this year, keep from climbing atop the Roebling Bridge?
“I had a lot of old guys next to me, like Vicente Padilla and Francisco Cordero (in Texas),” said Volquez. “They kept telling me, ‘You know you can pitch in the big leagues, just keep working.’ That’s what I kept in my mind, even when I was 1-11. Keep confident. I knew I could sometime have a year like this year.”
Said Baker, “Volquez is very upset that people think he’s tired. Actually, sometimes you just go through stretches - I mean like Bronson Arroyo. For a while it looked like Bronson couldn’t beat anybody. Now look at him (a winner in six of his last seven start). It’s hard to go a whole year and just be great. I haven’t seen many. When you do, that’s a Cy Young year.
“Does it make it any easier? No. But you’re going to go through it,” Baker added.
And then there is the case of Bailey - about the same age now as when Volquez went 1-11.
“Correrct, exactly,” said Baker. “Then Dick Pole assured Bailey about how Greg Maddux, John Smoltz and Tom Glavine started in their first years. They were terrible - bad records. And they’re headed for the Hall.”
And what does Baker tell Bailey?
“No. 1, he has to believe in himself,” said Baker. “No. 2, that’s why I left him in there in his last start, to give him an opportunity to win. Whenever I can give a kid a chance to win early in a game, I’m going to give it to him. That’s part of the building of a pitcher.
“And most of the time you learn more from losses than wins,” Baker added. “You learn more about yourself, learn more about the opposition, more about the importance of every pitch and how to win. That’s a tough lesson sometime.”
Bailey’s learning curve should be very high, although it is a tough, tough lesson. But he can ask Volquez how to be a survivor.
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