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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 > August > 10 > Entry
Harang-a-bang-bang-bang
Before Aaron Harang threw his first pitch, a scout asked, “Why are they pitching him after only one rehab start in Louisville? Have they looked at the standings? Do they want to ruin the guy? Bad idea.”
As it turned out, it was about as bad of an idea as the Edsel. In fact, Harang looked like an Edsel Citation with that sour lemon grille (ask your grandpa). He gave up five runs in the first inning before some fans tipped the ushers on the way to their seats.
You do tip the ushers, right?
In four innings, Harang gave up eight earned runs, the most in his career and nine hits.
As another scout said, “This is real ugly.” That’s the nicest thing I heard about the 13-4 leg-breaking the Astros handed the Cincinnothing Reds - their sixth straight loss, their ninth loss in 10 games since they traded Ken Griffey Jr., their 14th loss in 16 games and they are 1-7 against the Astros this year.
Gary Majewski was in the spirit this day - in that the Reds gave away stuffed dogs to the fans (fill in your own canine comment). Majewski faced seven batters and retired one in the eighth inning, giving up five runs.
As one press box occupant said when Houston scored its 13th run, “A Baker’s dozen.”
How bad is it? After games these days you could spray the post-game clubhouse with an Uzi and not hit a player. There are more places for players to hide in the Reds clubhouse than in a Colombian jungle and who can blame these guys for hiding their heads?
What else can we talk about?
Well, Mr. Redlegs was sitting mid-game in the media dining room, head off, enjoying a soft drink.
“Hey, Hal McCoy,” he said.
“Man, you’ve gone and lost your head,” I said. Well, what else do you say to a mascot with his head off when the game on the field is boredom personified?
When I returned to my seat and wasn’t paying attention (who can pay attention to this?) Houston’s Lance Berkman fouled one into the press box. It hit just to my right, chipping wood on the frame in front of my working space, and bouncing past.
Please hit me. Please. Put me on the DL. I’ve had enough. UNCLE!
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Comments
By tom
August 11, 2008 3:34 PM | Link to this
Someone said that Patterson is engaged to Dusty Faker’s daughter? Wow! That is what I call a conflict of interest!!By Babs
August 11, 2008 3:29 PM | Link to this
The comment made by Dusty Baker that this was not his team has the whole clubhouse upset and they could care less if they play well for him. He and Walt have been with the team since January and took an active part in spring training, so why blame someone else for the team. It also does not help that Patterson is engaged to his daughter.By mike cahill
August 11, 2008 3:22 PM | Link to this
Great trade. I wouldn’t have let Dunn go for anything less than Dallas Buck and two guys to be named later. I’ve always wanted us to have two guys to be named later and Dallas Buck is just icing on the cake.By null
August 11, 2008 3:21 PM | Link to this
So who is this Dallas Buck and what can he do for the REDS in 2010?By ShockMonkey
August 11, 2008 3:19 PM | Link to this
Yep, the Dunn-er is gone to the Desert. I wish him well but it was time to go. He’s our past, which ain’t good, and not our future, which I will put faith in Jocketty to correct.By victor mickunas
August 11, 2008 3:13 PM | Link to this
It’s a DUNN deal.By Y-City Jim
August 11, 2008 3:04 PM | Link to this
The great offensive machine known as the 2005 Reds has its’ last part stripped and discarded. I told you Dickerson would get called up and Patterson would stay put. Here it is.By Reds Authority
August 11, 2008 2:42 PM | Link to this
In return, the reds will receive 3 prospects, including minor-league pitcher Dallas Buck. The Jocketty house-cleaning continues. Again, YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST! —Reds AuthorityBy Reds Authority
August 11, 2008 2:38 PM | Link to this
MAJOR BREAKING NEWS: Adam Dunn has been traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks!!! Remember, you heard it here FIRST! —Reds AuthorityBy michael
August 11, 2008 12:13 PM | Link to this
Y-City, You have point about the RBIs. As for Ross, I have always felt he would be a fine back-up Catcher. The Reds should have kept him and let Bako go, but I think Ross was making too much money, as Steve said he cashed in. I have heard that no other team has made an effort to pick up Ross and his contract.By Bob
August 11, 2008 12:07 PM | Link to this
Who are these people attending games? I’ve been a true fan since 1951, but there is a limit to what one can endure. This is supposed to be an upgrade from last year, but Baker has screwed it up completely. Please eat one more salary and bring McKannin back. You blew your chance for Lou.By Y-City Jim
August 11, 2008 11:15 AM | Link to this
It is amusing that one rationale used to support the Ross DFA is that they might be able to get something in return for him from a team picking him up. In other words, he is the most valued of the Reds catchers but the Reds let him go. Plus what quality of a prospect are the Reds going to get? The next Albert Pujols? Michael - It would be impossible for the Reds to have any kind of an RBI guy, veteran or otherwise, when there are so few runners to drive in.By Steven Ross
August 11, 2008 10:48 AM | Link to this
Mark in Sun Valley wrote: Baker makes bad line-up decisions, bad double swtiches, and cannot motivate anyone. Agreed! He also favors players who hurt more than help the team. Batting Griffey in the 3-hole was one, Bako another and we’d be remiss not mentioning Patterson. Inexcusable decisions on Baker’s part most of the year. He’s just as culpable for the morass as the players. Shall I also bring up the perpetual nonsense of lefty-righty lineups? He is NOT the manager to lead the Reds next year or beyond.By michael
August 11, 2008 10:40 AM | Link to this
Pete, I think you may be correct. I think the Reds just keep moving pieces around that don’t matter. We need to get some big time players in CF, SS, 3B and C, and some credible coaches at Hitting and Pitching. In other words, we need a major overhaul. This team has some good young prospective talent, but that will not get us anywhere anytime soon. Good teams have a great veteran RBI guy or two and we have not had one. Good teams have good all- around SS, CF, and Catchers. We do not. These are crucila positions that have to be filled, or we will just stay in the basement.By Nate
August 11, 2008 10:15 AM | Link to this
I think Ryan Hannigan and Homer Bailey pretty much summed up how things are going for the Reds this year. Hannigan essentially said, I wish I was staying in Louisville because we’re winning, but I guess they want me here. And Bailey, essentially said, I’m glad I’m going to Louisville because they are in the hunt, hopefully my bad vibes (from being in the Majors) don’t blow it for them. Sad stuff when guys have the opportunity to play for the big league team and express otherwise.By vicki
August 11, 2008 7:25 AM | Link to this
You should know brother you had an edsel once upon time and as I remember it was a lemon.By AP-FLORIDA
August 11, 2008 7:14 AM | Link to this
Matt-per you-the reds are a better team this versus last year. per you they are a terrible team this year. per you this team lacks motivation/fundelmentals. per you dusty is a great manager..While I agree that he may not be 100% responsible-FACT IS-he his the manager and this is happening under his watch. He was not the correct hire for this team. Still isn’t!!!! Facts are facts as you sayBy sick of it all
August 11, 2008 5:41 AM | Link to this
say what you want..when the coaches tell the outfielders where to play and they get burnt on a daily basis,when 120 hitters bat in the 8th and 9th with runners on and when a second grader could make more sense in his lineup decisions one would tend to believe that the coaching staff leaves much to be desired..cowboy sets behind the mic and tells what listeners are left that a pitcher is doing something wrong in his delivery but the coaches do not see it???where is the team eye doctor??By Y-City Jim
August 11, 2008 12:05 AM | Link to this
Matt, how can you call a catcher with the second highest OBP on the team “awful?”By Don
August 10, 2008 10:47 PM | Link to this
Hal,I just got back from Chicago.Took your advise and ate at The Saloon.Great Steak.I knew you wouldn’t steer me wrong.Took my boys to Cincy the weekend the Rockies were in town.Worst two Reds games I ever witnessed in person. I’ll soon turn 53 and I’m beginning to wonder if it’s worth it.Thanks again Hal.By Jack
August 10, 2008 10:00 PM | Link to this
Dusty may not have thrown in the towel, but I am officially done for the year. I can watch some Browns’ preseason games, await the Buckeye’s…but for the Reds, I will wait until April. Cant support a team that plays like this, cant support a manager who takes no blame, and blames it on Krivisky…yet was personally responsible for some of the players, and certainly can not support a owner who promised “winning,” but allows players to continue to play who cant bat .200, pitchers who cant pitch…etc. There is plenty of blame to go around.By Mark in Sun Valley
August 10, 2008 9:31 PM | Link to this
How is this not Baker’s team? He knew who the players were when he took the job. And 10 of the 25 roster spots are filled with players aquired AFTER he was hired. Was Baker not consulted on aquiring Cordero, Affeldt, Fogg, Lincoln, Volquez, Patterson, Hairston, Bako, Cabrera, Andy Phillips? Was Baker going to say “I do not want Brandon, EE, Dunn, Harang, Arroyo, Griffey, Votto? And how many Managers get to “turn over” their entire team? Baker makes bad line-up decisions, bad double swtiches, and cannot motivate anyone. Successful Reds managers, Anderson, Pinella, Davey Johnson, even Rose, knew how to motivate. Baker by his own admission cannot “motivate anyone, he can only light a pilot light”. These other managers could light a pilot light, and fan that flame until it became an inferno. Baker sits back and does nothing. How Baker could have played with Tommy Lasorda in Los Angeles and not get the value of motivation is beyond me. Baker’s “success” came with largely veteran clubs. He does nothing to inspire young players. Add to that the woeful lack of fundamentals in the entire organization. One of the reasons I hated to see Hamilton go was he was the most fundamentally sound player to play for the Reds in years. The Reds would have been wise to hire his High School coach. He obviously did things right. There needs to be some screaming. Yes, these are professionals and should not need it, but obviously their individual professionalism is not pushing them to play hard. Someone else has to.By Matt
August 10, 2008 8:53 PM | Link to this
David Ross has filled up a roster spot this year, as well as last year. Both years have been awful, and I can’t say anything bad about DFAing Ross. As far as Castellini admitting he made a mistake in hiring Baker, again, how is the hiring of Dusty Baker a “mistake”? How is he worse than Mackanin, Narron, Miley or Boone? Dusty Baker being hired was not a mistake. When given a team capable of winning, he gets them there. He is the most capable and competent manager this team has had since McKeon left in 2001.By Mike-Cinci
August 10, 2008 7:51 PM | Link to this
donb51 and Matt made a lot of sense. The Reds need better players. It is management’s job to get them and it starts with superior scouting for the amateur draft and building a robust farm system.By AP=FLORIDA
August 10, 2008 7:39 PM | Link to this
Matt, you’re right! Bob C has some big decisions to make. Fist he must admit he was wrong in hiring Baker and let Walt hire ‘HIS’ manager. Then they can work together to build us lifetime fans a better team. Ross was not the catcher that should of left. Hanigan is a good move, but why don’t they do it when an outfielder is needed ie corey? Also, i thought we watched baseball so we could forget politics????????By donb51
August 10, 2008 7:28 PM | Link to this
Hal, It’s time. It’s time to take all the wisdom from the great baseball people, and use it to build a good Reds team. I will only quote people who know what they are talking about - people who spent their whole lives in baseball. First of all, let’s put the responsibility for losing and winning to rest: “The players make the manager, it’s never the other way.” “Baseball is a simple game. If you have good players and if you keep them in the right frame of mind then the manager is a success.” “I don’t believe a manager ever won a pennant. Casey Stengel won all those pennants with the Yankees. How many did he win with the Boston Braves and Mets? I’ve never seen a team win a pennant without players. I think the only thing the manager has to do is keep things within certain boundaries.” “If a team is in a positive frame of mind, it will have a good attitude. If it has a good attitude, it will make a commitment to playing the game right. If it plays the game right, it will win—unless, of course, it doesn’t have enough talent to win, and no manager can make goose-liver pate out of goose feathers.” “Players have two things to do. Play and keep their mouths shut.” “Managing is getting paid for home runs someone else hits.” “In order to become a big-league manager you have to be in the right place at the right time. That’s rule number one.” 7a. “The secret of managing is to keep the guys who hate you away from the guys who are undecided.”” So, now that we know that losing is not Dusty Baker’s fault, let’s see what we need to do to get good. “Give me some scratching, diving, hungry ballplayers who come to kill you. “Nobody ever won a pennant without a star shortstop.” “Win any way you can as long as you can get away with it.” “You don’t save a pitcher for tomorrow. Tomorrow it may rain.” “Good pitching will always stop good hitting and vice-versa.” “How you play the game is for college ball. When you’re playing for money, winning is the only thing that matters.” Statistics and Adam Dunn: 14. “Say you were standing with one foot in the oven and one foot in an ice bucket. According to the percentage people, you should be perfectly comfortable.” 15. “They both (statistics & bikinis) show a lot, but not everything.” And, no matter what you do, if you don’t win: 16. “If you don’t win, you’re going to be fired. If you do win, you’ve only put off the day you’re going to be fired.” 17. “I cannot get rid of the hurt from losing, but after the last out of every loss, I must accept that there will be a tomorrow. In fact, it’s more than there’ll be a tomorrow, it’s that I want there to be a tomorrow. That’s the big difference, I want tomorrow to come.” Let the rebuilding begin.By Y-City Jim
August 10, 2008 6:29 PM | Link to this
There has been no GM around long enough to be responsible for half the players on the team. I agree that it is foolhearty to say that management doesn’t care (though that may have been true with Carl Lindner) but one does have to question what part of their anatomy they are doing their thinking with.By Matt
August 10, 2008 6:14 PM | Link to this
I am a Reds fan today, a Reds fan tomorrow, and a Reds fan until the day I die. I, like all fans, am desperate and hungry for a winner. But to say that this team’s management “doesn’t care” about what is on the field I believe is incorrect. The Reds have spent the past 8 years going nowhere fast. The majority of the current team on the field is not the doings of GM Walt Jocketty or Manager Dusty Baker. This club needs to make changes, and to add key pieces this offseason in order to compete in 2009, and in the years to come. When I say changes, I mean the right changes. Just calling up players from Triple A and playing them for the knee jerk sake of doing so is not appropriate or prudent. To promote the players who are in the Reds’ future plans (i.e Ryan Hanigan) is the right thing to do at this point. Adding veterans at key positions on this team (C, SS and CF) should be the highest priority this offeseason. Firing Dusty Baker is not the answer. This club needs stability at the GM and manager positions. How many have the Reds gone through over the past 8 years? And none of those managers, or GMs for that matter, have been as qualified or appropriate for those positions as Baker and Jocketty. Baker is not a miracle worker, he is a baseball manager. Give him a slightly better team to work with and things will be better around here. Castellini, Jocketty and Baker have some serious, huge decisions to make this offseason that will tremendously impact and determine the future of this team for years to come. Here’s hoping they make the right ones.By Y-City Jim
August 10, 2008 6:01 PM | Link to this
Answer to Question #2 - Because Hanigan caught his rehab start. I kid you not. That was their rationale. That’s what seat of your pants decision making gets you.By BIRDIE41
August 10, 2008 5:54 PM | Link to this
I am with you Marrietaboy1 and I will not be back until Dusty Baker is FIRED!!!! Let’s all root for the Cubs(the team that was smart enough to fire Dusty)By Florida Buckeye
August 10, 2008 5:46 PM | Link to this
Three things I didn’t understand about todays game: 1) Why were they so quick to bring Harang back? 2) Why have a rookie catcher behind the plate when you bring him back? 3) Why did I watch the entire game?!?By Mariettaboy1
August 10, 2008 5:46 PM | Link to this
Does the Red’s management care a hoot about the fans? I’ve been a Reds fan since 1966. And the team they have on the field now is an insult to us the fans. How can you allow the team you put on the field to be worse then the Pirates flunkies? Bring the youngun’s up. At least they get a hit now and then by accident. You could go up in the stands and pick 9 guys that wouldn’t lose by more then the present team. I’m done with them. If the Red’s fans had any backbone they’d totally boycott the team until mangagement makes some wholesale changes. We need a grassroots effort by the fans. A couple nights of an empty stadium would finally get management’s attention. How many are with me? Pass the word! Personally, I’m going to watch the Redsox. They at least care about the product they put on the field!