McCoy: What to do with Suarez when ‘The Moose’ returns?
By Hal McCoy Eugenio Suarez’s batting average is a microscopic .177 and he has struck out 133 times in 390 at bats. Those are numbers that would get most major leaguers benched. . .and maybe get that player a ticket to Triple-A for a refresher course. But there are a couple of outlier numbers that […]
Bullpen blows another ‘sure win’ for the Reds
By Hal McCoy The Cincinnati Reds were one strike away from their fifth straight victory Saturday night in Citi Field. That strike never came. A two-out, two-strike single in the bottom of the ninth by Dominic Smith off relief pitcher Sean Doolittle tied the game and sent it into extra innings. And it was only […]
OBSERVATIONS: Reds GM Krall trying to patch it up
By Hal McCoy UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave awaiting the baseball trade deadline, wondering who goes and who stays and the big question, “Why?” —Cincinnati Reds general manager Nick Krall deserves some credit for attempting to patch up his Les Miserables bullpen. . .even if it is with duct tape. Nearly every contending team […]
Sonny Gray ‘makes room’ for Tony Santillan
By HAL McCOY Sonny Gray pitched seven strenuous but solid innings Wednesday afternoon in Kansas City. A few hours later, he landed on the injured list with a rib cage strain. With the All-Star break coming up after a four-game series in Milwaukee, Gray was not scheduled to pitch before the break. By placing Gray […]
Even Mother Nature won’t helps the Reds against the Padres
By HAL McCOY Not even Mother Nature cooperated to try to help the Cincinnati Reds extricate the anvil they carry on their backs against the San Diego Padres. With the Reds trailing the Padres, 7-5, in the sixth inning Tuesday night in Great American Ball Park, a loud and heavy thunderstorm attacked the area. After […]
Padres unleash power to pummel Reds, 8-2
By Hal McCoy The Sleeping Giant has awakened and the Cincinnati Reds are feeling the brunt. The San Diego Padres loaded up in the off-season via free agents and trades for pursuit of the Los Angeles Dodgers. But when the Reds came to town, the Padres were reeling under the load of a 4-and-13 record […]
OBSERVATIONS: A big, big day for Johnny Bench’s back-up
By Hal McCoy UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave on a hot summer morning, sitting on the patio reading Cobra, the lengthy but fascinating autobiography of Dave Parker. He originally asked me to write it for him but I declined because I was writing my own book ‘The Real McCoy.’ —As the Cincinnati Reds punished […]
Castillo finally cranks up a good one
By Hal McCoy Luis Castillo stood tall on the Busch Stadium III mound in St. Louis on Friday night. The much-troubled, much-maligned Cincinnati Reds pitcher flicked aside the demons with a dominating performance against the St. Louis Cardinals, a 6-4 Reds victory. Castillo pitched six innings and gave up one run, three hits, one walk […]
OBSERVATIONS: The Cincinnati Reds are one big enigma
By Hal McCoy UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave after a great weekend for left handed senior citizens. Thank you, Phillip Alfred Mickelson. —For the Cincinnati Reds, ‘E’ doesn’t stand for error. It stands for enigma. That, so far, describes the team on the banks of the Ohio River. And on their just-completed homestand, the […]