Hal McCoy, the hall-of-fame baseball writer for the Dayton Daily News, knows a thing or two about America’s pastime. If you want to tap into that knowledge, send an e-mail to hmccoy@daytondailynews.com. For more Ask Hal, log on to DaytonDailyNews.com/reds.
Q You have been so critical of the Reds’ averages with runners in scoring position, but are these numbers any worse than their numbers with runners not in scoring position? — Dave, Miamisburg/Centerville/Beavercreek
A Anybody who knows a rosin bag from a dirty sock knows the importance of hitting with runners in scoring position. Example: On Thursday against Arizona, after eight innings the Reds had 10 hits. They had one run. They stranded 12. Lots of hits, no hits with runners in scoring position. Theoretically, a team could have the bases loaded in every inning with hits and walks and not score a run if they didn’t get a hit with runners in scoring position. That’s how important hits with runners in scoring position are.
Q Since Willy Taveras couldn’t hit water if he fell off the Titanic, why is Drew Stubbs still in the minors? — Greg, Fairborn
A Since the Titanic has been at the bottom of the ocean since 1912, Taveras would have drowned by now had he been on it. Taveras has been a whipping boy all season, but over the last week he had a seven-game period where he hit .367 (11-for-30, including three three-hit games). Stubbs made the International League All-Star team, but he is hitting .277 with a .364 on-base percentage and a .375 slugging average (only two homers and 22 RBIs). This is only his third year of pro ball and he is not on the Reds’ 40-man roster. Let him grow a bit down on the farm.
Q The Cubs designated Ryan Freel for assignment, so why don’t the Reds sign him? — Keith, Brookville
A The Reds traded him for a reason — many reasons. He has been awful this year with Baltimore and Chicago so why would the Reds bring him back? Maybe he needs to have a talk with Farney, that little guy Freel once said perches on his shoulder and talks to him. Freel is immensely injury-prone and fell into disfavor on the Reds by not showing up much in the clubhouse while he spent most of last season on the disabled list.
Q You gave third-base coach Mark Berry a pass for running the Reds out of an inning by sending Danny Richar to an out at home plate after chastising Arizona third-base coach Chip Hale for doing the same thing the night before. Why? — Mark, Bloomington, Ind.
A Every situation is different. Any coach who sends a runner when Reds right fielder Jay Bruce has the ball is asking for unemployment. Bruce’s throw beat Chris Young to the plate by so much time that catcher Ramon Hernandez had time to autograph the baseball before tagging him. Hale didn’t learn, though. On Thursday he sent Alex Romero home on a short fly ball in the 10th inning and Bruce made him his 10th assist of the season, tied for most in the National League. On Wednesday, Berry sent Richar homeward on a ball hit into the right-field corner and it took a relay throw to get him. And Richar suffered a torn labrum in his shoulder, foolishly sliding home head-first.
Q Will the Reds ever have more than a few consistent .300 hitters other than Joey Votto? — John, Louisville
A Tough question. No real answer. It takes a player with solid talent, a solid swing and a solid knowledge of the strike zone (we’re describing Joey Votto here) to hit .300 every year, plus a lot of luck. You’d think with all the watered-down pitching in the majors, there would be more .300 hitters. But watered-down pitching means a lot of watered-down hitting, too.
Q I have a solution for the weaknesses in the Reds lineup — Felipe Lopez, Mark Reynolds and B.J. Upton. We might have to give up one or two names to do this, but we could at least try. — Mea, Dayton
A You mean Arizona’s Justin Upton, not his brother B.J., who played for Tampa Bay? The Reds had Felipe Lopez once. Not good. And even though the Diamondbacks are in last place, do you think they would trade Reynolds and Upton, two of their best young players? Trades always have to work both ways and if Reds manager Walt Jocketty asked for Reynolds and Upton the D-Backs would say, “Sure, we’ll take Joey Votto, Johnny Cueto and Brandon Phillips.”
Q Isn’t it time for something extreme like burning all the bats in a trash can? The ride in the dryer worked for David Concepcion, maybe something drastic is needed. — Bill, Villa Hills, Ky.
A As equipment manager Rick Stowe says, “It’s not the bats. It’s the hands that surround them.” Concepcion’s ride in the industrial dryer in Wrigley Field was not to shake a slump. He just climbed in as a gag and pitcher Pat Zachry flipped on the switch and there was Davey’s face in the glass window going around and around and around. Concepcion did once take a shower in his uniform to wash away his slump, but all it did was shrink his uniform to match his shrinking batting average.
Q None of the 104 names on the rumored list of those who tested positive for steroids in 2003 surprised me except Aaron Boone, considering his on-going heart problems from his youth and you’d think that would deter him from taking steroids. — James, Dayton
A As far as anybody knows, that list is bogus, somebody’s wild guesswork. No credence. And if Aaron Boone took steroids, then I’m a nuclear physicist. He was always skinny, no big muscle mass, and none of his numbers suddenly jumped off the chart. Aaron Boone? No way.
Q Is Travis Wood, the Reds’ Double-A player in Carolina, any relation to former major-league pitcher Wilbur Wood? — Scott, Seattle
A They only things they have in common is the last name and both are left-handed. If they were related, Travis certainly would be throwing knuckleballs, which he doesn’t. Wilbur Wood’s No. 1 pitch for 19 years in the majors was a knuckleball and he had three straight 20-win seasons. Travis, by the way, the 22-year-old No. 2 draft pick in 2005, is 8-3 with a 1.36 ERA for Carolina. Look for a promotion to Class AAA Louisville soon.
Q What is it with the Reds than they can’t beat teams on the weekend? When they took two from Cleveland last weekend it was the first time this year they won games on both Saturday and Sunday? — Dirk, Hamilton
A So they’re not Weekend Warriors, eh? Entering this weekend the Reds were 3-9 on Saturday and 6-6 on Sunday. Hey, nobody likes to work on weekends, right? Sunday pretty much matches their close-to-.500 season, but Saturdays are a washout. A reason? Can’t find one, just the same as I can’t explain why they are 9-4 on Wednesday.
Q Can you find out why Homer Bailey threw only six or seven split-fingered fastballs last week against the Indians when much fuss was made about the new pitch and how it helped him turn things around? — Sean, Cincinnati
A Bailey said after the game that the baseballs were slippery and it made gripping the pitch difficult. And catcher Ryan Hanigan probably didn’t call for that many. Bailey has been told not to shake off the catcher’s signs, something he did often in his first start this year. And Hanigan is given a game plan by pitching coach Dick Pole. Bailey walked seven that night in five innings, so it probably didn’t matter what pitch he threw, or tried to throw.
Q In 1947 Ewell “The Whip” Blackwell has 23 complete games for the Reds and are there any records to indicate his pitch-count in those games? — Bob, Centerville
A Different times, my friend. Pitch counts are a relatively new things and for some reason 100 is the magic number. In Blackwell’s day they didn’t bother with pitch counts. I sat with Bob Feller in Cleveland last weekend and he told me it was nothing for him to throw 150 or 160 pitches a game. I won’t tell you what he said about modern-day pitchers because I don’t want to make you blush.
