OBSERVASTIONS: The day Dock Ellis went head-hunting against the Reds
By HAL McCOY UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave, wondering if I believe commissioner Rob Manfred when he says there is a 100 percent chance baseball will return this year. I wouldn’t believe him if he passed a polygraph test. —The famous story about Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Dock Ellis is that he pitched a no-hitter […]
OBSERVATIONS: Rose makes ‘news’ when he doesn’t even try
By HAL McCOY UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave, gazing at some old Cincinnati Reds media guides for a large doze of baseball nostalgia. —Does anybody make the news more often, for no apparent reason, than Peter Edward Rose? And that’s even though he sits in Las Vegas, minding his own business, signing autographs and […]
OBSERVATIONS: All baseball, all the time (maybe)
By HAL McCOY UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave, thinking about baseball, baseball and baseball. Unfortunately, all I can do is think about baseball. . .and write about it. It was poet/essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson who said, “Money often costs too much.” Ol’ Ralph died in 1882, so it is doubtful he was a baseball […]
OBSERVATIONS: Pitcher Rob Murphy was an aficionado of horses and black bikini panties
By HAL McCOY UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave after a day in the backyard playing cornhole. . .and I’m pretty certain I saw cameras from ESPN. —Lexington lamp guru David Shannon pointed out that former Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher Rob Murphy celebrated his 60th birthday this week. Murphy made his Major League debut with […]
OBSERVATIONS: Look for Sean Casey in our town
By HAL McCOY UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave after picking the hottest day of the year to help Nadine clean the garage. Now I feel as if I went 11 seconds with Muhammad Ali. That’s how long it would take him to knock me out, even at his age and his residence in his […]
OBSERVATIONS: Reds media guide has ‘gone to the dogs’
By HAL McCOY UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave after listening to Nick Senzel hit a leadoff home run to open Monday’s exhibition game against the Chicago White Sox, wondering if the poor guys can spend an entire season without visiting the doctor as much as he visits the bat rack. —The 2020 published Cincinnati […]
OBSERVATIONS: Votto practicing his ‘batting eye?’
By HAL McCOY UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave, proud as a papa peacock that I live in the Ohio College Basketball Capital with the mammoth success of the Dayton Flyers and the Wright State Raiders. —One thing is certain, Joey Votto is working on drawing walks this spring. His batting average is .077 but […]
Reds off to sluggish spring start — but it doesn’t count
By HAL McCOY GILBERT, Ariz. — As I have to tell fans over and over, spring training is not about wins and losses. It is about getting pitchers and hitters ready for the season and it is about seeing minor league prospects perform in games. But fans who pay high concession prices at spring training […]
OBSERVATIONS: Bauer speaks loudly, can he match it on the mound?
By HAL McCOY UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave, trying to find peace in the garage while several guys noisily remodel our two bathrooms. —Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred continues to try to reshape baseball to resemble the NBA and the NHL, where nearly every team but one qualifies for the post-season playoffs. He wants to […]