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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 > 2009 > February > 19 > Entry
Some spring training odds and ends
Starting the morning the way Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker started it Thursday isn’t the way you want your day to start. The toilet in his Siesta Key condo was stopped up and overflowed.
Just what you want to do first thing in the morning - plunge right in.
“Usually I’m on my way to the park by 6:45 a.m., but today it was 7:30,” said Baker. “I started to get mad, man, but I said, ‘Cool it, man, it’s only 7 a.m.’”
MEANWHILE, Jay Bruce calmly ate his breakfast at a table in the clubhouse. Wheaties? Nope. Cheerios.
“Plain Cheerios, no Honey-Nut Cheerios,” he said. “I like my cereal sweet, but I like plain Cheerios with sugar better than Honey-Nut,” said Bruce. Was he angling for an endorsement?
MEANWHILE (again), seated around Bruce at the same table, eating their cereals, were three former Reds, all wearing their uniforms and their numbers from when they plauyed - Eric Davis (44), Mario Soto (36), Ted Power (48).
THERE IS a possibility CEO/owner Bob Castellini is to be in Sarasota today on business and might pop in to camp for his first spring visit and first look at his 2009 Cincinnati Reds.
RESTAURANT ADVICE from Joey Votto, whose mother runs a restaurant in Toronto and Votto said if he didn’t play baseball he would be a chef: “In Sarasota try the Word of Mouth for breakfast. Outstanding.”
Had some pizza at Demetrio’s on Tamiami Trail Wednesday night. Also outstanding. The place, a rather large place, was full on a Wednesday night and it isn’t even tourist season yet. That says a lot right there.
JUST WHEN I was about to turn blue wondering why I let brown see what it could do for me, UPS delivered my box of shorts and polo shirts - four days after it said it would.
FOR THOSE WONDERING: Yes, Brandon Phillips will be the team’s clean-up hitter again this year.
And, no, Chris Dickerson doesn’t have left field firmly wrapped in his fingers. That’s why Jacque Jones, Jonny Gomes and Laynce Nix are in camp.
That’s because Dickerson has to prove he is what he was last August and because the team needs back-up in case of injuries - not only just Dickerson, “But in case something happens in center or right, too,” said Baker. “Remember last year when we were down to three outfielders after we traded Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn and had injuries to Norris Hopper and Ryan Freel?”
THERE WILL BE no captain named by Baker and he has no idea who will be the team leader this year.
“It ain’t up to me who is the leader,” said Baker. “Whoever steps up. And I believe in leaders in different departments - like the bullpen, the infield, the outfield. We need some leaders on the bench.
“And I’ve always said, leaders are not appointed, they are anointed,” he added. “The teammates anoint - somebody they know they can talk to under any circumstances, who they can trust with their utmost secrets. You hope it is somebody with a consistent personality so you can approach them the same way every day.
“Just because you are the best player and the highest paid player doesn’t make you a leader,” he said. “And not everybody wants to lead. That’s why I don’t appoint.”
SOME INTERESTING managers and coaches in the system: David Bell, son of former major-league manager and player Buddy Bell, is managing Cincinnati’s new Double-A team in Carolina. Tom Browning is his pitching coach.
Delino DeShields, who stole 463 major-league bases, is the hitting coach at Class A Billings and former major-league pitcher Bob Forsch, who owns two major-league no-hitters, is the Billings pitching coach.
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Comments
By HuberTucky
February 23, 2009 2:09 AM | Link to this
Yeah! Matt crawled back out from under his rock. Looks like six more weeks of his boring posts about how great Griffey & The Toothpick are. Yawn.By Matt
February 22, 2009 5:29 PM | Link to this
Or maybe Hubertucky can post an intelligent comment for once.By HuberTucky
February 22, 2009 10:54 AM | Link to this
OR, Buster can be Matt’s designated Ignorer!By buster
February 20, 2009 6:47 PM | Link to this
Matt - I believe friggin gets to join michael on the list of people to ignore … don’t lower yourself with a response.By friggin'
February 20, 2009 5:44 PM | Link to this
matt, dumbya n’ laura-belle is waiting fer yer visit to his ranch down there in loserville. castellini and baker n’ bako and patterson are already there keepin yer seat warm. lol! uh, what’s an sn?By Matt
February 20, 2009 1:29 PM | Link to this
Well, first “Friggin”, pick one of your 50 different SNs and stick with it please, so as not to confuse everyone with who you are day by day. Second, my name isn’t sonny boy, it’s Matt. When you are ready to talk to me in a dignified way, let me know.By RRF
February 20, 2009 10:43 AM | Link to this
Good question rob in stl. Hard to answer though. At times he seemed to be playing really well, and then he would get a sprain and it just lingered. He would try to come back (mostly likely a little early) and re-injure himself. So perhaps altitude/weather could have been a factor. The Rockies didn’t want to pay him the salary and are counting on their younger guys at less pay to come through. I hope WT does well in Cincinnati. He will be a threat to bunt and get on every at bat that he leads off. I just hope he can get on base 3 out of every 5 at bats minimum. If so, he will no doubt steal 2nd most of the time when the situation allows so the Reds’ 2-5 hitters could knock in some runs if they are hitting. Perhaps I am counting on too much!BTW I am a huge Cards fan from the days I had releatives living in O’Fallon.By Friggin'
February 20, 2009 10:40 AM | Link to this
Oh sweet jeezus…he we go already with another whiney retort from matt about those big bad ol’ dreaded “dusty haters.” you gonna whine again all season on behalf of that incompetent boob baker, sonny boy? just because someone questions or criticizes baker doesn’t mean that YOU have to take it personally and become so defensive. in so doing, you violate the rules of free speech.By Bill-Georgetown
February 20, 2009 10:19 AM | Link to this
Reds 2009: 88-90 wins;2nd place finish,and wild card—overcoming all the dumb manager moves. If only Rusty wouldn’t try to think.I’m convinced now—the only reason he is announcing, already, that BP is hitting 4th, is—he hasn’t seen ME hit!By Sonny
February 20, 2009 10:10 AM | Link to this
Mr. McCoy, I’ve enjoyed your writings during your entire tenure covering my Redlegs. However, unless the entire starting rotation wins 20 games each like the Orioles staff did years ago then we will find ourselves in last place. the talk about changing the face of the Reds was all talk. They changed it alright into a rag tag singles and doubles team. Castellini should have either traded Dunn to Texas instead of Hamilton and kept Hamilton or he should have signed Dunn. You have to have a legitimate power hitter in the middle of your order. Putting Brandon, Edwin or Jay there causes them to over swing and put pressure on themselves. I guess we’re going to have to bring Astroturf back for this team to compete.By rob in stl
February 20, 2009 9:43 AM | Link to this
Hey Rockieredsfan, Could Taveras’ injuries with the Rockies be due in part to the altitude/weather in Denver? I don’t know, I’m just speculating.By Rockieredsfan
February 20, 2009 9:17 AM | Link to this
Living in Colorado and watching the Rockies, WT is a good fit for LO. He bunts for base hits often and has the speed to steal many bases. The problem will be how long will he stay healthy. If he can, he will be a good CF. He can run down the balls - Coors Field has a huge outfield, and he got to most balls hit deep both to his left and right. He just was injured most of the time and that will be the fear.By michael
February 20, 2009 8:58 AM | Link to this
When you look at the roster, Brandon Phillips is as qualified to hit cleanup as anybody. I think we would be OK with him just about anywhere in the lineup because he is that kind of athlete. I have to believe that he has matured some as a player. He probably would be a good leadoff hitter as well.By MAC
February 20, 2009 2:32 AM | Link to this
I have to agree w/ most here….Dusty and his comments…brother. Have U ever noticed how contradicting his comments are? Dickerson performed great in limited duty last season, yet he says LF isn’t his. In contrast, WT has a very mediocre season and OBP last season, yet they’ve all but handed him the CF job? Even WJ has said he will bat lead-off and play CF for the Reds; I guess that means he’s going to play no matter how good or bad he’s going? Same thing could be said for CP last season….he wasn’t performing, yet he got start after start to prove his worth. Dickerson performs well and looks promising, yet all DB can say is, “What took U so long?” To make matters worse, here we go again w/ the line-up war….BP will hit 4th. I realize BP has good pop and you’d like to give him RBI opportunities, but I’m not so sure he shouldn’t be batting Lead-off? If they pitch to him, he has a good chance @ an extra base hit; if they walk him, he has the speed to make them pay. Batting him 4th gave BP homeritis & limits his SB opportunities IMO. If not LO, then he should be in the 3 hole. Why not bat WT in the 8 hole as a second LO position?By fundy
February 20, 2009 12:14 AM | Link to this
aaron b. : hire an interim manager for 100k and he will be “stoked”? good reason. how many pitchers can you name that dusty baker has “ruined”? wood, prior…once again spoken like a true cub fan. Support your team or move to Chicago, you sound like you beling there.By rob in stl
February 19, 2009 10:57 PM | Link to this
Hal, Use FedEx! Might pay a little more, but you will get your stuff ON TIME.By Matt
February 19, 2009 9:50 PM | Link to this
Well perhaps the Reds feel that Phillips has matured as a hitter and that he is more suitable as a cleanup hitter than he was last year. If it doesn’t work, I’m sure they’ll adjust as the season moves along. I know that in some folks point of view, a man with 1,259 career victories is a terrible manager, but that certainly is not my point of view. I forgot though, all of those victories are just dumb luck though. Baker had absolutely nothing to do with any of those victories. Silly me. As far as Dusty’s comment about his toilet overflowing, who doesn’t get a little irritated when the toilet overflows? Can the Dusty haters give him a break on anything? Mercy.By Friggin'
February 19, 2009 8:50 PM | Link to this
Bob Castellini is a friggin’ liar and Dusty is a friggin’ idiot. Why else are we seeing friggin’ BP batting cleanup AGAIN? Will one of you Dusty lovers or CastelLindner believers please explain this to dumb little ol’ me? Shanks.By HuberTucky
February 19, 2009 8:41 PM | Link to this
Pete McKannin was a better manager than Dustbag. Dusty’s toilet an omen? LOL!!! That’s prefect! And millionaire Baker is whining about THAT? Call a plumber, cheapskate! And BP batting 4th again? Given THIS team, I’d bat Votto cleanup. BP is terrible terrible undisciplined clean-up hitter. Lookin’ like another long hot dusty season with poor managing. Sigh. Yawn. ZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzBy Jimmy1Time
February 19, 2009 8:05 PM | Link to this
Maybe we could ask Ken Jr. back for his LEADERSHIP!!! HAAHAHHAHAAHAHHAHA, love Jr. but he had zero leadership skills. Unless he was ordering steaks for the guys at Morton’s steakhouse! Let’s back off our future team captain, BP! Listen people, its the season for small ball. SINGLES, SINGLES, STOLEN BASES! We have to stop thinking about power here people. We won a world championship in 1990 with Sabo leading the team in homeruns with 25, and 71 rbi’s. So lets give BP a break. The season hasn’t started yetBy Marty
February 19, 2009 7:27 PM | Link to this
Man, there’s nothing like Baker talking some “jive” with us over his sewage backup this morning….ain’t that right, man? Phillips batting “cleanup” is the reality of broken promises by a lying ownership. Had management came through on their promises of garnering a consistent, producing “right handed bat” this franchise wouldn’t be forced to bat Phillips in the 4th position to break up Votto and Bruce. LOL…..such is life as a Reds fan. But I’m getting tired of the lies. I guess we’ll see another letter “to the fans” come late June offering more “explainations”. Good new though. EE’s new contract is back loaded, so if he doesn’t pan out and fails miserably this year, there will be NO CHANCE to trade him in 2010. Ugh……By Y-City Jim
February 19, 2009 7:24 PM | Link to this
BP last year as a #4 hitter- .274 BA .326 OBP .477 SLG .802 OPS. Votto last year as a #4 hitter - .308 BA .438 OBP .569 SLG 1.007 OPS.By Ryan K.-Madison, IN
February 19, 2009 7:10 PM | Link to this
B. Phillips will hit 30 home runs this year and knock in 100 steaks. Don’t be surprised if he takes 40 stolen bases with him also. Phillips in the clean up spot is awesome Dusty. Our 1-5 hitters are strong! Not to mention our pitching staff which is going to be one of the best in the league, if not all of baseball. Yes…all of baseball. This is gonna be Dustys year to prove his critics wrong and take the Redlegs to the playoffs.By Fudd
February 19, 2009 6:13 PM | Link to this
Getting some deeply experienced coaches in the system to help the youngster along - GREAT idea! 9Forsch, DeShields, etc.)By sun deck lover
February 19, 2009 4:51 PM | Link to this
Love Phillips’ intensity, but that is part of his problem hitting 4th. He thinks he has to hit everything out of the park. Not his fault he there - another great managing strategy from the mind of madness. Jr. is gone, so Brandon is allowed to hit 3rd now.By Aaron B.
February 19, 2009 4:18 PM | Link to this
I just figuered it out: CLOGGED TOILET = Dusty’s inability to flush the sh*t down… i.e. his infatuation with mediocre players such as Bako and Patterson. As for eating his contract, big deal you hire an interim manager like the dude that took over for Narron two seasons ago for $100K. The guy will be stoked to just have an opportunity to manage in the big leagues. 100k is chump change, and it just may save the careers of Volquez and Cueto which could potentially save the club MILLIONS.By Y-City Jim
February 19, 2009 2:57 PM | Link to this
BP is not a clean-up hitter. If it needs to be a LH then it should be Votto. If a RH then it should be Encarnacion.By Cincinnati Kid
February 19, 2009 2:37 PM | Link to this
For all you “experts” who said Jr. was going to be with the Braves, his signing was imminent, etc., all it took was a call from his good friend Willie Mays and that sealed the deal to the Mariners. Go to MLB.Com to read the story.By Cait
February 19, 2009 2:23 PM | Link to this
Love BP, but not as a 4-hitter. I’d like to see Votto there. Votto is consistent and drives the ball. He seemed to hit RH and LH pitching well and doesn’t seem to alter his swing regardless of where he’s hitting in the lineup. I like BP at #3, Votto 4, EE or Bruce at 5 (it doesn’t have to be righty lefty throughout the lineup, Dusty). And then whoever’s left (EE/Bruce) No. 6By Michael
February 19, 2009 2:02 PM | Link to this
Sheldon and BG, just don’t bother to read or post, if you are going to be haters. Does anyone else think it is interesting that Delino DeShields is a hitting coach? I haven’t looked it up, but I cannot imagine his career average tops .275.By bg
February 19, 2009 1:49 PM | Link to this
Hal Heck of column today. Posted awful early. Not your best stuff. Looks line Floorman or Scrapman was helping. Ok now you can go sit in the sun for the rest of the dayBy sheldon
February 19, 2009 12:58 PM | Link to this
Hal - do the Reds require you and Mark Sheldon to write the same stories every day or is that by choice?By Fundy
February 19, 2009 11:48 AM | Link to this
Interim: a temporary or provisional arrangement; stopgap; makeshift. Hire an interim manager, hah. Theyve all been interim in Cincinnati lately.By Fundy
February 19, 2009 11:45 AM | Link to this
Wow. I was wondering how long it would take before the wolf-criers started calling for Dusty’s head this year. Sign an interim manager and eat his contract? Youve been listening to too many Cubs fans my friend. While batting Blips in the 4 spot is suspect, you got to hope he is savvy enough to adjust his approach better this year. I have to hope Dusty sat everyone down this year and said “more hits, fewer longballs”. Regardless, Dusty can do much more with a team then Boone, Miley or Narron. You cant just hire a manager and win a hundred games, it takes time kids. Give the old man a chance. This team has been terrible for too long, and now you want to hire an interim manager? Intelligent.By Aaron B.
February 19, 2009 11:37 AM | Link to this
Dusty’s toilet is an omen of what we can expect out of him this season. HORRIBLE MANAGER, stupid statements to the media, faulty logic, etc. etc. Get him outta town FAST! Eat the contract and pay someone just a few bucks to manage on a interim basis. It would be the best investment Bob ever makes.By BPcan'tclean-up
February 19, 2009 11:24 AM | Link to this
I’d take just about anyone BUT BP in the four spot, ruined his whole approach last year hitting in the 4 hole.By dwr
February 19, 2009 11:24 AM | Link to this
BP hits about as well as Juan Castro against RHP (look up Brandon’s splits some day when you’re in the mood to read something painful), yet Dusty’s already anointed him as our everyday four-hole guy. How is this dude a major league manager?By timb
February 19, 2009 10:59 AM | Link to this
Yay, Rusty. No 6 hitter with an OPS under 800 should hit clean-up. Meanwhile, my clean-up hitter is still playing right-field for the White SoxBy Parker in Cincinnati
February 19, 2009 10:44 AM | Link to this
I tend to agree with you, I think that BP in the 3rd spot would be better,By rusty
February 19, 2009 10:26 AM | Link to this
why o why does phillips have to bat cleanup. give ee the chance to bat between votto and bruce. we saw how that phillips cleanup nonsense turned out last year