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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 > 2010 > March > 03 > Entry
Harang is not Mr. Excitement
The thing about Aaron Harang is that you don’t know when he is excited. He might say he is excited, but his body language and voice indicate he is about as excited as a lump of coal on a shovel in front of a furnace.
That’s his demeanor. And maybe that’s why he never seems flustered on the mound. You can’t tell when things are going good or things are going bad.
So when he said today that he is excited about pitching Opening Day for the Cincinnati Reds, you listen to his words and take his word for it.
AND HERE is what he said about being named the Opening Day starter against the St. Louis Cardinals.
“Dusty let me know yesterday,” Harang said with a droll voice. “I’m excited about it. It is an honor to get to start Opening Day in Cincinnati.”
Harang loves it that he ties Mario Soto for consecutive Opening Day starts at five because Soto is in camp as an instructor.
“That’s an honor, too, to be mentioned in the same category as Mario Soto,” said Harang. “He is a quality pitcher and it is nice having him around to learn some stuff.”
And Harang says he is new and improved after making some adjustments this winter.
“I made some tweaks mechanically and figured some things out when I talked with some guys at home,” he said. “Then I talked with (new pitching coach) Bryan Price, who had watched video of me, and he mentioned the same things that I tweaked. I told him I was working on fixing those and he said, ‘Well, you’re ahead of what I was going to do to help fix stuff.’’ So I feel good the way things are going in camp. The ball is coming out free and easy.”
WHEN Harang walked into the clubhouse today his head was shaved and somebody said, “Happy haircut.” Ah, haircuts.
Hairstyles in the Reds clubhouse run the gamut. There is Jonny Gomes with his full brush Mohawk. And then there is Johnny Cueto and Edison Volquez. At the risk of not sounding politically correct because this is the only way to describe their hairstyles, they have the Buckwheat cut from the old Our Gang movies.
Coach Ted Power pointed to catcher Corky Miller and said, “Now that’s my kind of haircut.” Miller doffed his hat to reveal no haircut at all, just very long, stringy hair.
MANAGER DUSTY Baker revealed his rotation by turn as Harang, Johnny Cueto, Bronson Arroyo, Homer Bailey and whomever is No. 5. When somebody asked about the rotation farther down the pike, Baker laughed and said, “What? You want me to name my starter for the first game of the playoffs? (He wishes he could do that.) Then he pointed to a book on his desk and said, “You better read what I’m reading.”
The book? The Power of Now, by Eckhart Tolle.
THE REDS play a six-inning intrasquad game Thursday before Friday’s opener in Goodyear Stadium against the Cleveland Indians. Aaron Harang starts for one team and Homer Bailey for the other. Both will pitch one inning. Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman is schdeduled for an inning, too.
Goodyear Stadium is nearly a half-mile, maybe more, from the Reds practice complex and clubhouse.
Baker laughed and said, “I’m going to tell the players that if they have a bad game in Goodyear I’m going to make them walk home (back to the clubhouse).”
Baker said he is happy to be able to put pitchers on the Goodyear mound, all by themselves. “After pitching for a couple of weeks side-by-side with five or six other pitchers, when you stand alone on the mound in the stadium the field looks huge. This lets them get comfy.”
NOW IT’S time to find a place for dinner. So far, near my hotel in Goodyear I’ve spotted: Augie’s Sports Grille, Panda Express, McDonald’s, Subway and Pollo Loco. Looks like a long drive for an upscale meal.
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By cantbeatagoodfilet
March 4, 2010 5:07 PM | Link to this
Augie’s is a good place - give it a try, Hal.
By Kevin
March 4, 2010 11:48 AM | Link to this
Both Johnny and Edinson have much better arms than Buckwheat ever had.
By Gary
March 4, 2010 11:24 AM | Link to this
Who cares about the hair. How about they fix their pant legs before someone trips running the bases?
By hank
March 4, 2010 9:33 AM | Link to this
Wow a guy who went 6-17 and 6-14 the last two seasons is the best the Reds can do for opening day?! If Bailey and Chapman don’t take huge steps forward (they are both very talented but are they ready to be full time starters) this Reds team will prolly get worse before it gets better.
By Mike
March 4, 2010 8:05 AM | Link to this
Go ahead and sound politically incorrect. I’m old enough to remember “Our Gang” and couldn’t agree more! But those lads sure can pitch on a good day!!!!
By yodasbrother
March 4, 2010 7:12 AM | Link to this
Good for Harang. Slow and steady wins the race, emphasis on steady.
By MAC
March 4, 2010 1:02 AM | Link to this
Hal, I don’t C the value in naming your opening day starter, or LF or CF etc. now? I thought Spring Training was about winning a spot on the club & or in the lineup?