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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 > September > 19
Friday, September 19, 2008
Votto-Bruce: Friendly competition
Questions and comments:
Is Milwaukee’s Prince Fielder the heaviest vegetarian in the world or does he just keep eating very big carrots?
When first baseman Fielder couldn’t scoop a throw out of the dirt, somebody in the press box said, “The only thing he can scoop is ice cream.”
It’s a tough crowd, a tough crowd.
ANOTHER ONE from a Milwaukee person, this one about former Reds pitcher Todd Coffey, now pitching for the Brewers.
“When he took his shirt off we thought his name should be Todd Coffey & Donuts.”
ON THE BRIGHTER side, Rita Butcher, mother to Reds media relations director Rob Butcher, brings homemade pies to the press box a couple of times a year. This week she brought some apple and some pumpkin.
Best pumpkin pie I ever had. Then I tried a piece of the apple. Best apple pie I ever had. That’s makes Rita Butcher three-for-three, because her strawberry pie is not only gthe best strawberry pie I ever had, but the best pie EVER.
MILWAUKEE BREWERS were 5 1/2 games up in the wild card two weeks ago. They are 4-14 in September. Some teams have a pennant race, the Brewers have a sausage race.
The fun at the expense of so-called contenders continues for the Cincinnati Reds — a bunch of guys who entered late with no marbles and are taking away everybody else’s marbles.
It all began two weeks ago when the Reds took two of three from the Chicago Cubs in Great American Ball Park.
Then they took two of three in Milwaukee, two of three in Arizona and came home to take two of three from St. Louis.
Every one of those defeats were dagger-stabs to the losing teams.
On Friday night in Great American. they began torturing the Milwaukee Brewers again, an 11-2 annihilation that put another carpenter’s nail in Milwaukee’s playoff door.
Before the game, manager Dusty Baker said emphatically, “I’d like to end this weekend on a very-high note.”
How about a high ‘C?’
The Reds slammed seven home runs, two each by Joey Votto and Jay Bruce, plus one each by Jerry Hairston Jr., Jolbert Cabrera and pinch-hitter Andy Phillips.
First baseman Yonder Alonso, the Reds’ No. 1 draft pick in June, was in the park and Votto figured he would show the kid that he won’t be giving up his job without a skirmish.
Both Votto and Bruce own 21 home runs. They are friends, yes. They are in friendly competition, yes.
Asked if they were, Votto said, “Very, very much so. We get on each other and there is a little half-smirk when one or the other does something. I guess it is called one upmanship. He is one of those guys who is just so good that it is nice to have someone at that level to compete with.”
Votto hit the longest, but he smiled and said, “A homer is a homer. He hit two today and so did I.”
Bruce smiled equally wide over the competition question with Votto.
“It is friendly competition,” he said. “We push it other unconsciously — I mean subconsciously. If we were unconscious we wouldn’t be awake.”
Both are wide, wide awake.
“We just have a good time, play the game hard and let our abilities take care of itself,” Bruce added.
Baker sees the competition, too, and likes it;.
“It is good to see them matching each other and it shows how bright our future is and how bright their future is,” he said. “They’re good friends. They hang together, they play catch together. That’s what you want. You want those guys close. There is no envy and no jealousy involved.”
Baker asked what the record is for a rookie hitting home runs, since Votto and Bruce are rookies and when somebody said, “Frank Robinson, 38,” Baker laughed and said, “Whoa. That’s one that is going to stand for a long time and has stood for a long time.”
Rookie Ramon Ramirez won his first major-league game, holding the Brewers to two runs and seven hits over six innings.
The Reds had five runs in the first inning before starting pitcher Jeff Suppan recorded an out — on his 17th pitch — enabling Ramirez to coast as if he were on The Beast at Kings Island.
Hairston led the bottom of the first with a single, Wilkin Cabrera beat a bunt single and Votto drilled his 20th home run. Cabrera singled and Bruce crashed his 20th home run to make it 5-0.
Adam Rosales grounded out for the first out record by Suppan.
Votto’s 21st home run, leading off the third, made it 6-0, then Hairston’s fourth homer, a two-run shot in the fourth, made it 8-0.
The home runs kept coming and it looked as if the stacks in center field would run out of smoke or the Reds would be charged by the Environmental Protection Agency with pollution.
It added up to Cincinnati’s eighth win in their last 11 games and another victory over a contender fast becoming a pretender. Milwaukee is nine games behind the Cubs in the National League Central and 2 1/2 games behind in the National League wild card standings.
It was the second time this season the Reds hit seven homers in Great American, a park record. On May 7 against the Cubs Votto hit three, while Adam Dunn, Brandon Phillips, Paulo Bako and Hairston each hit one.
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TweetFun, games and comedy, too
The Mike Birbiglia comedy show at Dayton’s Victoria theatre Thursday night was outstanding. Very funny guy. And he doesn’t resort to potty talk to make you laugh.
Had seats in the front row (me and Bob Uecker) and at the end of show he did his little gig about me and how he inadvertently made fun of me at the New York Baseball Writers MVP dinner in 2003, not knowing that I am legally blind.
Then he said I was in the audience and introduced me. A fun night.
Wasn’t sorry I missed the Reds 5-4 loss to the Cardinals, though. Am sorry that nobody from out newspaper was there - probably a first since about 1940 or maybe since pterodactyl’s flew over Rockpile Stadium.
But it has been a tough week on the paper, as well as residents all over the area. Because we had no power at our printing plant, our paper was printed by the Columbus Dispatch, so our deadlines were ungodly - like 5 p.m. Wednesday.
That meant there would be nothing in the paper about the game, just a news story about the Reds 2009 schedule and a Reds Notebook.
But today’s paper had nothing on the Reds and the web-site had an Associated Press story. Sorry about that. But I needed a few good laughs and Birbiglia provided them.
Yonder Alonso was wearing jeans and a navy blue sport coast as he sat in the home dugout, but he envisioned himself wearing a Cincinnati Reds uniform.
“I picture myself being here right now playing against the Milwaukee Brewers,” said Alonso, the first baseman out of the University of Miami (Fla.) the Reds drafted No. 1 in June. “I’m ready to put on a uniform and play.”
Alonso signed late and played only 16 games at Class A Sarasota, where he batted .316 with one double and two RBIs, the double coming on his first at-bat.
He’ll catch up on his playing time, though. After he takes batting practice with the Reds today, he is going to play ball In Hawaii, then he is going to play winter ball in the Dominican Republic as the Reds fast-track him toward the majors.
“My first six games in pro ball were nerve-racking and the first couple I wasn’t really myself,” he said. “Baseball is baseball and I loved it.”
When Alonso signed, he said he was anxious to meet Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn. Instead he met Jay Bruce, a rookie who Griffey and Dunn helped during spring training.
“My goal always has been to play pro baseball and when you love the game so much you just want to get to the highest level,” he said. “Bruce has helped all through this. That’s good because once I get here the young guys here now will help me out. That’ll make my transition easier.
“Jay told me just to be cool every day and that this is a great place and a great city,” said Alonso. “He told me it is a great franchise with a great fan base.”
Alonso played first base and third base at Sarasota, “And I can play the outfield, but I didn’t play any outfield. Whatever they want me to do, I’ll do.”
THIRD BASEMAN Edwin Encarnacion missed his third straight game with a sore left wrist, but neither he nor manager Dusty Baker have plans to shut him down for the season.
“If he can play, he’ll play,” said Baker. “I’m sure there are some things to wants to accomplish. Like I tell them all, round off your numbers — if you have 69 RBIs, go for 70. If are hitting .269, go for .270.”
Encarnacion said his wrist remains sore after he tried to check a swing last Saturday in Arizona against Randy Johnson.
“Maybe tomorrow (today),” he said. “I still want to play. I want to finish strong and a lot can happen in seven or eight games.”
Encarnacion leads the team with 25 homers now that Adam Dunn is gone. He always seems to be way up way down on his performance level and was on an up when was injured — .343 over his last nine games.
THE MILWAUKEE BREWERS changed their rotation, moving C.C. Sabathia from Sunday to this afternoon, the first time in his career he has pitched on only three days of rest.
Taking Sabathia’s place Sunday to face Bronson Arroyo will be Seth McClurg. Sabathia (9-1, 1.82 for Milwaukee) goes against Johnny Cueto.
AS WRITERS walked into Baker’s office, Hall of Famer Frank Robinson was getting up to leave and somebody said to Baker that there were a lot of major-league hits in the room and Baker point to Robby and said, “Yeah, mostly his.”
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