By Hal McCoy
UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave, wondering when Hunter Greene will pitch a no-hitter or a perfect game. . .well, maybe a complete game if his manager permits it.
—OH, NO. . .NO NO-NO: Corey Seager, pitchers hate you. On Tuesday night, Houston’s Framber Valdez was one out away from his second no-hitter, two outs in the ninth inning. Seager ruined it with a home run.
Only one player in baseball history has broken up a no-hitter with two outs in the ninth inning twice.
And that’s Seager. In 2016, San Francisco’s Matt Moore was one out away, two outs in the ninth. Did Seager homer? Nope. Just a chintzy bloop single to right.. .. but just as heart-breaking.
Remember a Reds pitcher named Travis Wood? In 2010, he took a perfect game into the ninth inning against the Phillies, but Carlos Ruiz led the ninth with a double.
The Reds lost that game, 1-0, in 11 innings. Sound familiar?
Remember a Reds pitcher named Ron Robinson, ‘The True Creature?’ In 1988, he had a perfect game with two outs and two strikes on Montreal pinch-hitter Wallace Johnson. . .one pitch away.
Johnson ruined it with a soft single to left. Then Tim Raines homered to draw the Expos within 3-2. John Franco came in to get the last out and Robinson didn’t even get a complete game. Sound familiar?
Remember a Reds pitcher named Mario Soto, the maestro of the changeup? In 1984, he had a no-hitter against St. Louis with two outs in the ninth.
On a 3-and-2 count, one strike away, Soto hung his famous change-up and Hendrick swatted it over the fence, tying the game 1-1. Fortunately for Soto, he Reds scored a run in the bottom of the ninth and won, 2-1. So at least got the win.
—METRICS. SCHMETRICS: Another in the many reasons why I trust baseball analytics as far as Lou Piniella can throw a base.
Jim Bowden, Ol’ Leatherpants, former Cincinnati Reds general manager, now writes for The Athletic. He wrote this when the Reds were 53-58:
“The Reds expected won-loss record, according to metrics, is 59-52. Their run differential is the second best in the National League Central, yet they’re in last place.”
Throw those metrics into a paper shredder. Do analytics take into account that they constantly get thrown out at home trying to score from third on hard grounders to third and short? Do analytics take into account how many timess they strand runners on third with less than two outs? Do those metrics figure in how many times the bullpen ruins what the starters put together?
—WHAT IS HE SEEING?: Who said this and if you said David Bell go stand in a corner because it’s wrong, even though Bell has said similar things.
“This is a good ball club right here. These guys have the potential to do some special things.”
Those words came from the mouth of Pedro Crifol. Who? He is the manager of the Chicago No Sox and he said that after his team lost its 21st straight game and slithered to 27-88 on the season.
The guess is that could be categorized as doing something special. Not many teams lose 21 in a row. The longest losing streak for the 1962 New York Mets was 17.
Mercifully, the losing streak ended Tuesday night when the No Sox beat Oakland, 5-2. But the No Sox could still be record-bound.
The ’62 Mets lost a record 120 games but the ’24 No Sox at 29-88 are on pace to lose 123. And at the trade deadline, they traded everything but Crifol’s office swivel chair.
As Hall of Fame baseball writer Jayson Stark pointed out, Cincinnati’s Elly De La Cruz stole 14 bases since the No Sox last won a game.
And here is one that is stupefying: The No Sox had more blown saves (28) than they had wins (27) during their 27-88 campaign. More? Durilng the 21 losses, the No Sox had scored three or few runs 18 times.
—INSIDE INFORMATION: The most famous home run ever hit is probably Bobby Thomson’s ‘Shot Heard ‘Round the World,’ the walk-off homer hit off Brooklyn’s Ralph Branca in a playoff game to give the New York Giants the 1951 pennant.
What is not generally known is the Thomson knew what pitch was coming. The Giants had coach Herman Franks peering with binoculars from a clubhouse windown in center field.
He would pick up the catcher’s signs and flash them to the hitter, as he did for Thomson on the historic homer on which books have been written.
To his credit, Branca didn’t rage or moan when he heard about the sign-snitching. Instead he said, “He hit a hell of a pitch.”
—WHAT A DATE: Did you know that Ken Griffey Jr. is not the best baseball player born on November 21 in Donora, PA? Stan Musial, also born in Donora, has a November 21 birth date.
But the two combined for 1,019 home rulns, 3,787 RBI and 6,411 hits.
Oh, OK. Ken Griffey Sr. wasn’t born on November 21, but he is a native of Donora. So if we mix in his numbers, Musial, Junior and Senior combined for 1,171 homers, 4,641 RBI and 8,544 hits.
Donora should have signs posted at its city limits: “Donora: A Baseball Hitter’s Haven.”
—BUY A VOWEL, ANY VOWEL: This might be the longest name for any guy who ever played for the Cincinnati Reds.
He was a pitcher named Jean Joseph Octave Arthur Chauncey Dubuc.. He was 7-11 in two years with the Reds over 14 starts and 20 relief appeances. And despite his name, he was not born in Paris. He was born in Vermont.
Speaking of names, do you know who Sonny Flores Graves is? That is the given name to former Reds closer Danny Graves, known to Reds fans of the past as ‘The Baby-Faced Assassin.’ His 182 saves is No. 1 on Cincinnati’s all-time list.
—IRON IN HIS VEINS: Old-time, real old-time, pitching stastistics, are so fascinating. For example:
Iron Man Joe McGinnity of the New York Giants pitched more than 300 innings eight times, once throwing 434 innings. One year, he made 51 starts and completed 44 while going 35-8.
Iron Man? You betcha. But that’s not where his nickname orginiated. It was because as a youth he worked in the iron mines.
He often pitched both ends of a doubleheader and if he ever had a sore arm it was never reported.
—PLAYLIST NUMBER 80: Hey, the number is close to reaching my age and my selections often reflect my octogenarianism.
Funny How Time Slips Away (Willie Nelson) I Wonder Why (Dion & The Belmonts), Tears On My Pillow (Little Anthony), Diggy Diggy Lo (Doug Kershaw), If There’s A Phone In Heaven (Mike Manuel), I Love You (Climax Blues Band), The Race Is On (Sawyer Brown).
Fool Around And Fall In Love (Elton Bishop), Stubblin’ In (Chris Norman & Suzi Quatro), Reflections Of My Life (Marmalade), Layla (Eric Clapton), My Sweet Lord (George Harrison), Jessie’s Girl (Rick Springfield), Jesse (Carly Simon), My Maria (Brooks & Dunn).