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Hall of Fame baseball writer Hal McCoy is in his 37th 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 > July > 04 > Entry
Masset: The Man of the Moment
With his rugged good looks and his chiseled frame, it is no surprise that Nick Masset is a tough guy. He is the kind of guy you like walking with you on a dark night in a big city’s seedier parts - although I don’t inhabit those kinds of places.
‘And it isn’t often I get to extoll the virtues of a middle relief guy. Usually he gets interviewed when he screws up. But when a pitcher stares down Albert Pujols with the game on the line, that guy is worth writing about.
Sometimes a baseball game is reduced to one at-bat, one confrontation, one me-against-you moment.
On the Fourth of July it was Nick Masset vs. Albert Pujols, mano y mano, in the seventh inning.
The Cincinnati Reds owned a three-run lead over the St. Louis Cardinals, but the Cardinals had two men on base with two outs.
The batter was Pujols, arguably baseball’s best hitter, especially in crucial times, and the memory of his Friday night grand slam was still on the surface of every brain wearing a Reds uniform.
Manager Dusty Baker brought Masset in from the bullpen and the battle raged and waged until the count was 3-and-2. Pujols then grounded to second base. Battle over. Game over.
The Cardinals never threatened again and the Reds pocketed a 5-2 victory in Great American Ball Park.
That Masset was even able to walk to the mound was a shocking surprise. That Masset walked into Baker’s office in the morning and said, “I’m ready, I’m a go,” was a shocking surprise to Baker.
On Friday, Masset started the ninth inning and Yadier Molina scorched one directly into the biceps of Masset’s pitching arm. He picked up the ball and threw out Molina, but left the game, his arm dangling like wet linguini.
“I had him as a ‘no’ for today originally,” Baker said of Masset. “This guy wants to pitch and is a tough guy. And they gave him some kind of miracle patch that stops swelling, bleeding, bruising and everything else. I was real shocked that he could pitch. I’m glad he was able to pitch.”
Masset had extra incentive. His parents and grandparents were in the stands, so what’s a little pain in the biceps and what’s a big pain in the batter’s box like Pujols matter?
“It hit me flush on the muscle and it was really sore this morning,” said Masset. “But when I started moving it around it wasn’t as tight as I thought it would be. Some heat made it fine.
“As long as I’m not ill or dying, I’m going to be out there to try to help the team,” he said. He wore a large flesh-colored patch on his arm, but laughed at Baker’s reference to a miracle patch and said, “Just something to keep the inflammation away.”
Of his confrontation with Pujols, Masset said, “I tried to stay away from his power zone and throw my best stuff at him.”
Masset and everybody in the baseball world knew what Pujols did to David Weathers Friday with the grand slam that turned Cincinnati’s 3-0 lead into a 4-3 deficit, but Masset blanked it out. Well, he said he did.
“I never think about what happened in the past, just the present,” he said. “I don’t even think about facing Pujols. I just think about throwing my best stuff at whoever is batting. I had a plan and I executed it and I was excited because my pitches end up where I want them to be and he did exactly what I wanted him to do.”
After Masset, Arthur Rhodes pitched a scoreless inning and Coco Cordero pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his 20th save.
Bullpens learn to forget.
“You really don’t want to face Pujols in any situation, but Albert is going to make an out sometime. You have to face him sometime. But that’s nothing you want to do too often,” said Baker.
“The life of a reliever is to forget yesterday if it was bad,” Baker added. “Build on it if it is good. Bullpen work is tough duty. You are either a hero or zero. All the good relievers I’ve been around have an ability to forget yesterday.”
Even if a baseball nearly tore your arm off and left Bud Selig’s signature stenciled on your biceps.
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Comments
By JImmy1Time
July 5, 2009 3:54 PM | Link to this
No matter what the reds do, it seems we play 2nd fiddle to the Cards. I’m tired of it!!! Can we go get a hitter that is feared like Albert already! Are the guys in the minors really worth holding onto for the next few years of waiting? Just go get Holiday already. This team needs what Fred Mcgriff did for the Braves back in the day.By Mark in Sun Valley
July 5, 2009 1:45 PM | Link to this
4 first basemen on the NL All Star Team, none of them named Votto. That’s a crime.By meee
July 5, 2009 10:24 AM | Link to this
Listened to you Marty during the game. Seems you both would have walked Pujols Friday night. Good thing you and Marty are media people instead of baseball people, because you would have walked him Saturday also, no mano y mano, no game over.By Michael
July 5, 2009 12:26 AM | Link to this
Can someone tell me why Ramon Hernandez was batting eighth and Edwin Encarnacion was batting sixth? Strange move by Dusty. The most clutch hitter is hitting eighth and a person who is batting 125 and been gone for months hits sixth? Makes no sense. A new reality show should be “What is Going On in Dusty’s Mind.”By Old Kiser Coach
July 4, 2009 10:42 PM | Link to this
It was really a pleasure to watch Homer, Micah and Nick at their best. I think this group may have a chance even though Toothpick uses the wrong lineup most of the time. Maybe Bronson and Aaron will match the young pitchers in effort.By AlbertsNemesis
July 4, 2009 10:33 PM | Link to this
Thanks for the warning Albert… “aka Internet tough guy/dipshit” What a great comment! My god these places are a magnet for dumasses arent they?By jason
July 4, 2009 10:09 PM | Link to this
Just wanted to say, Hal, I appreciate all you’ve done the last 37 plus years. You are the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be. From 2 generations of Hickey’s, thank you for all you do..By Mark
July 4, 2009 9:12 PM | Link to this
I know it sounds better for the story to say “the battle waged and raged until the count was 3 and 2.” Problem is, the count was 0 and 2.By Albert
July 4, 2009 7:48 PM | Link to this
Enjoy your moment, Nickie. Next time I face you, I’ll put some of sh.. your throw into Ohio River.By StuttgartTim
July 4, 2009 7:10 PM | Link to this
“You really don’t want to face Pujols in any situation, but Albert is going to make an out sometime. You have to face him sometime. But that’s nothing you want to do too often,” said Baker. Uh, that’s two games in a row you did just that, Dusty. I’d have walked him BOTH times. I am glad we got past him tonight. Great game for Owings and Reds!