Question of the week
Q: Why are the two teams with the NL’s best records (Cincinnati, Washington) playing the first two games of their playoff series on the road. What happened to home-field advantage? — Charlie, Cincinnati
A: They call it home-field advantage because those two teams get to play the last three games at home after two on the road. Some advantage, huh? It’s a one-year deal. The extra wild-card game was added after the schedules were set and they needed to eliminate one travel day. Under the 2-3 format, there is a travel day between games two and three. Under the usual five-game format of 2-2-1 (two at home, two on the road, one at home, if necessary), there were two travel days, between games 2-3 and between games 4-5. Next year it goes back to 2-2-1, but that doesn’t help Cincinnati and Washington this year, does it?
Hall-of-fame baseball writer Hal McCoy knows a thing or two about America’s pastime. If you’d like to tap into that knowledge, send a question to halmccoy1@hotmail.com.
Q: Because Bronson Arroyo throws harder to first base on pickoff throws than to home plate, as a precaution, shouldn’t his pickoff throws be included in his pitch count? — Dave, Miamisburg/Centerville/Beavercreek
A: Because Arroyo doesn’t throw hard enough to tear wet tissue paper, pitch counts mean nothing. He could throw 200 and not lose velocity. And he doesn’t throw that hard to first. Didn’t you see Joey Votto once catch an Arroyo pickoff throw barehanded?
Q: What’s your opinion on the American League MVP, Miguel Cabrera or Mike Trout? — John, Vandalia
A: I don’t get to vote on the AL MVP, just the NL MVP. And I will tell you my top selection was (OK, call me a traitor) San Francisco catcher Buster Posey. If I had an AL vote it would go to Cabrera, and he should be unanimous. How can there be much discussion when he won the first Triple Crown since 1967 (Carl Yastrzemski) and did it for Detroit, which won its division. By the way, did you know that Yastrzemski didn’t win the Triple Crown outright? He tied in home runs with Minnesota’s Harmon Killebrew with 44.
Q: Do you expect manager Dusty Baker to be renewed or will he retire? — R.T., Springboro
A: If Baker wants to come back and the deal is to his liking, he’ll be back. Baker wants to retire about as much as Connie Mack ever wanted to, even when he was still managing at age 87.
Q: Grantland Rice or Ring Lardner and why? — Gary, Jacksonville, Fla.
A: Are you asking if I worked with either of these legendary sports writers? Yeah, I taught Rice everything he knows. Which do I prefer? I’ll take either career, but Rice is the godfather of sports writing and Lardner was known more as an author. If anybody these days tried to write Rice’s flowery prose, complete with poetry, they would be guffawed out of the press box.
Q: Doesn’t the star (Joey Votto) have to step up and hit in the postseason, like Pete Rose (1975 World Series), Johnny Bench (1976 World Series MVP) and Eric Davis (1990) for the Reds to win? — Mark, Bloomington, Ind.
A: Somebody, anybody, needs to step up. Actually, Billy Hatcher was the 1990 hitting star (.750) and pitcher Jose Rijo was MVP. Davis hit .286. One “star” can’t do it alone. It doesn’t work that way in baseball. They all need to step deep in the batter’s box and bang away.
Q: Adam Dunn is sitting on 406 home runs for his career. If he joins the 500 club, is he a Hall of Famer (and we know he never used performance enhancing drugs)? — Steve, Fairfield
A: As the years pass and with the way the game has changed into a power game, the magic number may no longer be 500 for automatic election. Dunn’s career batting average is .240 and he hit .204 and .159 the last two years. Those numbers will keep him out. As far as PEDs, the only thing Dunn used was a daily bag of McDonald’s sausage and egg McMuffins.
Q: The Reds had both Sean Casey and Paul Konerko and traded Konerko. Casey hit .302 with 130 home runs and 735 RBIs to Konerko’s .283, 421 homers, 1,134 RBI, and he’s still playing. Bad trade? Doug, Washington, Twp.
A: This was a deal made by former GM Jim Bowden, who made a ballroom full of bad decisions. But he can’t be faulted for this one. Konerko came to the Reds with pitcher Dennys Reyes, who was a useful bullpenner. Then Konerko played only 26 games for the Reds in 1998 and hit .216. At the time, Casey looked like much the better prospect so Konerko was traded to the Chicago White Sox for outfielder Mike Cameron, a decent player for the 1999 Reds. Who knew what Konerko would become? And Casey wasn’t a flop. Not even close.
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