A: Joey Votto hit 36 in 2021, but the last true home run hitter was Adam Dunn in the early 2000s when he launched 40 four straight years and 46 in another. The answer is simple. Home run hitters cost a lot of money and the Reds don’t seem willing to pay the big bucks to get a big bopper. And, no, Kyle Schwarber isn’t coming to Great American Ball Park. The Phillies have the dollars to keep him.
Q: I see pitches drop straight down and announcers call it a curve when it looks like a sinker, so what’s the difference? — PENNIE, Springfield.
A: I played organized baseball from when I was 11 in Little League to when I was 19 at Kent State. And I’ve covered and written about baseball for 52 years. I can tell a fastball from a curve, but cutters, sliders and splitters are a mystery to me. I watch on TV and they instantly flash what pitch it was. I remain perplexed how they know and I envy Reds broadcaster John Sadek because he knows immediately. Maybe that’s why I could never hit my freshman year at Kent State.
Q: Cincinnati Reds manager Tito Francona calls his team a bunch of good guys, but why can’t good guys bunt or hit sacrifice flies? — DAVID, Kettering.
A: I’ve been critical of Francona for not bunting more, but the dastardly analytics folks say bunting is not beneficial. And hitting a fly ball on cue is not an easy thing to do, no matter how good a hitter is, when a pitcher throws 100 miles an hour or has a dancing splitter. Remember what Leo Durocher said: “Nice guys finish last.” That’s a downright falsehood.
Q: Maybe you can tell me how a blister can land someone on the injured list indefinitely? — BOB, Aurora.
A: Maybe, but maybe not. You are referring to Reds pitcher Nick Lodolo and his battle with blisters. I never pitched and never tried to throw a baseball with a blister. A blister on a pitcher’s finger makes it impossible for him to grip a baseball the way he needs to make it sing and dance. In Lodolo’s case, it takes time for the blister to heal to the point where it won’t pop up again. And Lodolo is back pitching and doing right well with a fully healed finger, so his stay on the IL was not indefinite.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Q: In extra innings, who gets tagged with the run if the free runner scores? — BOB, Mariemont.
A: Since the ghost runner doesn’t belong there in the first place, in my opinion, if he does score it is always an unearned run. The pitcher who starts the inning is charged with the run, but it is unearned and doesn’t fluff up the pitcher’s earned run average. For example, when the Reds and Padres were tied, 3-3, in the 10th inning, Nick Martinez started for the Reds and gave up a walk-off sacrifice fly. The run scored goes on his record, but it is unearned and, of course, he is charged with the loss. The Pitcher’s Union should go on strike.
Q: Elly De La Cruz has publicly expressed an interest in playing for the New York Yankees or the Los Angeles Dodgers, so with his struggles shouldn’t the Reds trade him while they can get something for him? — MIKE, Indianapolis.
A: If asked, I say the kid is a bit overrated right now, overhyped, and the pressure that puts on a 23-year-old kid is significant. But his physical talent is evident and enormous. Trade him? No, not while they still have him under contract control for four more years. But it would make sense to do it in 2028 to get something for him because when free agency pops up, he’s gone.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Q: Who is a player or manager you could not get to talk despite your Hall of Fame diplomacy? – GEORGE, Morton Grove, Ill.
A: Just one. Joe Morgan. In 1979, after a column I wrote, Little Joe wagged a finger in my face and said, “Don’t ever try to talk to me again.” And I didn’t... for 35 years. Finally, in 2014, Joe came up to me in the Reds clubhouse and apologized. I apologized right back and said we were both childish. Is a 35-year grudge a record?
Q: You played a lot of tennis on the road against MLB people, but did you ever play with professional tennis players? — GREG, Beavercreek.
A: The closest I came was when I played Reds outfielder Paul O’Neill, a great tennis player who destroyed me with a serve that knocked the racquet out of my hand. And he used to hit with touring pro Jim Courier. I used to hit with local star Beth Herr and beat her once in a while. She played in a Cincinnati tournament and took a set from Martina Navratilova. Does osmosis count?
Q: What do you miss most about the way baseball used to be played? —ALAN Sugarcreek Twp.
A: Everything. I miss pitchers pitching nine innings. I miss bunts and hit-and-runs and moving runners over. I miss hitters making contact instead of swinging for Downtown Covington and striking out. I miss .300 hitters. I miss when batters did hit home runs, they ran the bases with their heads down instead of staging a Broadway play at home plate. Now get off my lawn.
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