OBSERVATIONS: Hey, Reds, don’t trade Luis Castillo
By Hal McCoy UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave, watching an MLB game and waiting for somebody to hit a home run. Isn’t that what the current version of baseball is all about? —If the Cincinnati Reds want to restore some of the shattered faith they have evoked from their fan base, they can take […]
OBSERVATIONS: Some favorite Paul O’Neill ‘stories’
By Hal McCoy UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave after watching the Cincinnati Reds come up with four walk-off wins in a week against very good teams and wondering, “Where has this been all season?” —One of my all-time favorite Cincinnati Reds player was Columbus-born outfielder Paul O’Neill. . .except on the day he waxed […]
OBSERVATIONS: Here’s one for Manfraud to mull over
By Hal McCoy UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave, so happy Fourth of July fireworks are over so I don’t have to coax Paige and Quinn out of my office closet. And I’m convinced a majority of the fireworks-igniters have no idea what the Fourth of July represents. —If baseball commissioner Rob Manfraud wants to […]
OBSERVATIONS: Bullpen, bullpen, my kingdom for a bullpen
By Hal McCoy UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave, wondering if those female hosts on MLB-TV’s ‘Quick Pitch’ can wear any less clothes. If they wear much less the show can be called ‘Naked and Afraid Baseball.’ —When is a baseball team totally embarrassed? When it raises the white surrender flag and sends in a […]
OBSERVATIONS: This brawl was not GMA (general milling around)
By Hal McCoy UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave as the Cincinnati Reds season drones on and on and on. Is there such a thing as combat pay for baseball writers? —A baseball ‘fight’ normally is what I call GMA, general milling around with no punches thrown. Usually it is just a bunch of words […]
OBSERVATIONS: Of numb fingers and chattering teeth in Candlestick Park
By Hal McCoy UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave after staying up late to watch the Cincinnati Reds finally expunge a seven-game losing streak in San Francisco. OK, so I dozed through the seventh inning and needed Tommy Pham to slap me awake. —As most of the nation sweltered at near-record temperatures, I noticed that […]
OBSERVATIONS: Being ‘old’ isn’t helping the Reds
By Hal McCoy UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave, battling the heat in the garage so I can stubbornly smoke my cigars. Some people whistle while they work, I puff while I produce. —The 2022 Cincinnati Reds would be finalists in any contest in which a team looks like a baseball team. They wear nice […]
Mark Schlemmer: A tough, tough guy to the very end
By Hal McCoy There are tears in my eyes and my heart is burdened with sadness as I sit in front of my laptop. Words are supposed to come easy for me, but they are stuck in my throat. For the second time in less than a week, a dear friend has departed. First it […]
OBSERVATIONS: ‘Hey Rob, Norm and Randy, are you ready?’
By Hal McCoy UNSOLICITED OBSERVATION from The Sun Room because it was too hot the last few days to swelter in The Man Cave, which is located in my un-air conditioned garage. —Where are The Nasty Boys when you need them? Sure, Rob Dibble, Norm Charlton and Randy Myers are in their late 50s, but […]