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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 > 2009 > July > 01
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Who is the Reds’ All-Star? Cueto
RICK STOWE’S DILEMMA:
The Cincinnati Reds equipment manager has to send uniform sizes to MLB for the player or players that will be on the All-Star team. Stowe isn’t sure whose name or names to send and asked several members of the media, “Who is our All-Star or All-Stars?”
Great question. Every team has to have one. Joey Votto would be a candidate had he not missed so many games and if he weren’t a first baseman, a position loaded with talent throughout the National League.
I could think of only two names: Johnny Cueto and Coco Cordero.
Any ideas out there? Who should be the Reds All-Star(s)?
CUETO MADE his strongest statement thus far tonight when he ignored a stiff, tight back and held the Arizona Diamondbacks to one infield hit over six innings during a 1-0 victory.
Cueto is 8-4 with a 2.69 ERA. Does he want to go to St. Louis? Does he ever. His eyes widened and brightened when asked and he said, “I don’t know. Maybe. Yes. Yes, I want to go. I’m fighting hard for it.”
Said Manager Dusty Baker, “I haven’t thought about it. But Cueto’s ERA is indicative of being an All-Star. But there are a lot of good pitchers in our league.” And Cueto won’t have another chance at a win before they pick the team Sunday.
Cueto started Wednesday’s game by walking four in the first two innings. His back was tightening up. After the second, he went up to the clubhouse and conditioning coordinator Matt Krause stretched him out. Lights out from there - no more walks, eight strikeouts, just the one infield hit.
Johnny Cueto, All-Star.
LIFE’S LITTLE AGGRAVATIONS:
Took me an extra 45 minutes to get home Tuesday night due to construction on I-75. Expect it tonight, too. In 37 years of covering the Reds, there has been construction on I-75 somewhere between Dayton and Cincinnati every single day.
And you never know where. They like to sneak up and surprise you.
Took me an extra half hour to get to Wednesday’s game because a truck loaded with paint tipped over and spilled paint everywhere on I-75 near downtown Cincinnati. Had to go around on I-275 to I-71 and down to the ballpark that way. In 37 years, hardly a day goes by that there isn’t a traffic-snarling accident somewhere between Dayton and Cincinnati during my trips to the ballpark.
Now here I sit in the pressbox. It is July, right? It is Ohio in July, right? Then why am I sitting here in a short-sleeved shirt drinking coffee and shivering?
AND HAPPY Canada Day to Joey Votto, who was the only guy in the ballpark who knew it was Canada Day, that country’s version of our Fourth of July. After his bloop single drove in the only run Wednesday, Votto laughed afterward and said, “It’s Canada Day. Happy Canada Day to me. God bless me.”
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TweetA meeting in a crowded office
Manager Dusty Baker’s office is a spacious place, about 20 by 20 - big enough to accommodate maybe a dozen people.
But 25?
That’s how many were in there early Wednesday afternoon - all 25 members of the Cincinnati Reds. A team meeting. Lasted about 20 minutes.
Baker wouldn’t say what it was about, but one can be certain he wasn’t passing out special achievement awards and taking measurements for World Series rings. Most likely it was a wake-up message, especially after the lethargic 6-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday.
“Sometimes a crowded room breeds togetherness,” said Baker. “Anybody comes from a big family knows how a crowded room is. We were just talking. That’s all.”
Baker admits he hasn’t had many team meetings and said, “Maybe a couple of times. You can’t have too many because then they lose their effectiveness. How do I know when I need to have one? Just a feeling.”
Asked how the team took it, Baker said, “As long as you look and listen with your eyes - at least fool me that you’re paying attention. That’s all. And sometimes you need to use your office more than for just to chastise.”
THE REDS made a roster move, sending relief pitcher Jared Burton to the minors and calling up infielder Drew Sutton for his major-league debut.
Burton was not a happy man.
When approached, he said quietly, “I have nothing to say. I’m not trying to be rude. I’m just not happy right now. Go ask Dusty about it, if you want.”
Burton was not in the team meeting. He was packing for his trip to Louisville.
Said Baker, “I told him I didn’t want him to be happy. I don’t expect him to be happy. If he is mad at me, Dick (pitching coach Dick Pole) or Walt (general manager Walt Jocketty), pitch like it. If he’s happy about it, he doesn’t belong here. And he belongs here. He’ll be back.
“I told him he was getting close to the Jared Burton that we know,” Baker added. “We need him to come all the way back. He is throwing better. He’ll be back. The good thing about this is we have 12 days before the All-Star break, then we have the three days of the break and we’ll make another decision at that time.
“I told him to go down there and do his thing because we have high hopes and big plans for him. We’ve seen what he can do last year,” said Baker. “We hope this is just a temporary booster shot.”
And where does Sutton fit in? He was acquired the last week of spring training from Houston for infielder Jeff Keppinger.
“I have to see him first,” said Baker. “I talked to Jose Cruz (Astros coach) and some Astros guys and they liked what they had in him. I’m going to take a couple of days for Chris Speier (infield coach) to look at him at different infield positions and for Billy Hatcher (outfield coach) to look at him and work with him at the corner outfield spots. We’ll see.
“This is his first taste of the big leagues - another one for us,” Baker added. “And he gives us a switch-hitter with some speed.”
HAD A heart-to-heart chat before Wednesday’s game with Brandon Phillips. A clear-the-air sort of thing. He has been short with the media and we’ve pretty much ignored him since the incident in Kansas City where he ignored the take sign on a 3-and-0 pitch with the bases loaded and two outs. He popped up.
As I said earlier, until that time B.P. had been great with the media, full of good quotes and good analysis.
Both sides were wrong - me included. Especially me. The media should have gotten Brandon’s side on the issue of a fine, but we didn’t. And as it turns out, he WASN’T fined. It was a misunderstanding when we talked to Baker about it. He didn’t deny that he fined him. But he didn’t confirm it, either. But we all ran with it.
Now the air is clear. Brandon and I shook hands and he thanked me for approaching him and apologizing. Then he said, “I respect you. I have to because my mom respects you.” Thank you Brandon’s mother. And I do respect your son’s fantastic ability, big-time, and his willingness to talk things out.
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