Eugenio Suarez: ‘Good vibes only’
By Hal McCoy There was no head-hanging. There was no breaking of bats over his knee. There was no helmet-smashing in the dugout. There was no, “Oh, why poor me?” Eugenio Suarez was true to his own credo, “Good Vibes Only.” And if anybody had a right to be downtrodden, disheartened and distraught, It was […]
OBSERVATIONS: Winker making Bruce’s prediction come true
By Hal McCoy UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave, slaying time before the 10:10 p.m. start of the Reds-Dodgers game by reading Dave Parker’s autobiography, Cobra. It is worth the read and Parker pulls no punches. —It was a balmy spring morning in Tempe, Ariz. in 2015 and the Cincinnati Reds were in Diablo Stadium […]
OBSERVATIONS: Baseball is truly a ‘Family Affair’
By Hal McCoy UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave, wondering if the Cincinnati Reds can find six more like Nick Castellanos. —Baseball is, indeed, a— Family Affair, like the old TV show, although I doubt that ‘Jody’ ever played baseball. Start with the Bells — Gus Bell, Buddy Bell, Mike Bell and David Bell. Mix […]
Two-game suspension of Castellaos upheld
By Hal McCoy Nick Castellanos lost the appeal of his two-game suspension and is befuddled by it. In fact, he was befuddled by the suspension in the first place, believing he was doing nothing more than celebrating, showing emotion, trying to fire up his teammates. It was an incident at home plate after Castellanos was […]
OBSERVATIONS: Pitching teammates marvel over Wiley Wade Miley
By Hal McCoy UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave. bleary-eyed from watching the Cincinnati Reds on the west coast, only to be awakened every morning at 7 a.m. by my Havanese, The Mighty Quinn, who must have a Mickey Mouse watch somewhere on his paw. —Nobody appreciates a pitcher more than another pitcher. And the […]
Change the name, but the venue’s the same
By Hal McCoy They can change the name of the baseball venue in San Francisco all they want, but Luis Castillo recognizes it. When the park on San Francisco Bay was first opened it was Pacific Bell Park. Then it became SBC Park. Then it was AT&T Park. Now, as Castillo walks to the mound […]
De Leon remembers from where he came
By Hal McCoy Jose De Leon is one thankful pitcher that there was somebody outside his highly supportive immediate family who believed in him. That person is former Southern University baseball coach Roger Cador. “Man, I am what I am today, in part, because of him,” said De Leon on the eve of his second […]
Tejay Antone: A pitcher who loves home runs
By Hal McCoy Like current-day travelers during the pandemic, travel distances by major league baseballs this season were supposed to be limited. MLB allegedly toned down the baseballs so they wouldn’t leave the playing field like launched space shuttles. Don’t try to tell that to Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher Tejay Antone. He watched baseballs easily […]
OBSERVATIONS: Shortstop can be hard to play on Opening Day
By Hal McCoy UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave, perusing some highlights/lowlights around baseball on Opening Day. —Two errors in two innings by Cincinnati Reds ‘new’ shortstop, Eugenio Suarez, led to three runs in the team’s 11-6 Opening Day mishap against the St. Louis Cardinals. As bad as it looked, it wasn’t the worst Opening […]