McCoy: Where’s Baseball Going?
By Hal McCoy This is the time of year when optimism in Arizona and Florida fills the air like the inside of a hot air balloon. On the first day of spring training during their first meeting with the writers, all 30 major league managers prop their feet on top of their desks and say […]
McCoy: Suarez Returns ‘Home’
By Hal McCoy When the Cincinnati Reds hit at least one home run in a game last season, they were 58-36. When they hit no homers in a game, they were 25-44. Why bring that up? It was as obvious as the wishbone-C on their uniform chests that the Reds hungered for a consitent power […]
Some Sunday OBSERVATIONS
By Hal McCoy UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave thinking about being a great grandfather several times over. People ask me if that makes me feel old and I say, “No, being a great grandfather doesn’t make me feel old. Knowing that my son is a grandfather. . .that makes me feel old.” —PUSHY PEDRO: […]
Some mid-week Observations…
By Hal McCoy UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave and as I sit in front of my laptop listening to Do Wah Diddy Diddy by Manfred Mann, it sounds like something baseball commissioner Rob Manfred would say at a rules meeting. —‘WE’RE NUMBER FOUR’: Jim Bowden was a general manager with the Cincinnati Reds during […]
Some post-hospital Observations
By Hal McCoy UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave after a mild scare, a 30-second mini-stroke. After a one-night stay in the hospital, I passed all the tests with the so-called ‘flying colors.’ But they told me it was a warning and I need to change a few things. And I thank all you great […]
A Quick, Bitter Ending
By Hal McCoy The Cincinnati Reds are now a band of not-so-merry men. Their 2025 post-season came to a quick and crashing conclusion Wednesday night in Chavez Ravine, just two games into it. The Los Angeles Dodgers ended Cincinnati’s up-and-down season on a downer, another beatdown, 8-4. After a long, drawn-out scratch and scramble during […]
LA Blasts Reds With 5 Homers
By Hal McCoy Nobody living between Portland, Maine and Portland, Oregon was shocked when Shohei Ohtani ripped Hunter Greene’s fourth pitch of the game into the left field seats. It was a portend of things to come, a preview. The Los Angeles Dodgers hit five home runs Tueseay night in Dodger Stadium, tying the franchise […]
Some Pre-Playoffs Observations
By Hal McCoy UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave, chair reclined, cigar in hand, ready for baseball’s post-season. As Willie Stargell once said, “They don’t say, ‘Work ball.’ They say, ‘Play ball.’” —LOOK OUT, LA: The Cincinnati Reds stagger into Los Angeles carrying cement blocks, the barely-made-it third wild card team matched against the defending […]
The Reds Are IN!!!
By Hal McCoy Never has a baseball team celebrated after a loss the way the Cincinnati Reds celebrated Sunday afternoon. They lost, but they won. They lost their last regular season game, 4-2, to the Milwaukee Brewers, but the Miami Marlins shut out the New York Mets, 4-0. And that plopped the Reds into the […]