Category: Uncategorized

By Hal McCoy
Contributing Writer

Q: What is your feelings about a playoer that sits out the final game of the season in order to win a batting title? — DAVE, Miamisburg/Centerville/Beavercreek.
A: It’s fool’s gold. Just ask Ken Griffey Sr. in 1976, he led Pittsburgh’s Bill Madlock bv .001. Reds manager Sparky Anderson sat Griffey to protect his average on the last day of the season. But word reached the Reds that Madlock had hits his first two times up that day, so Anderson rushed Griffey into the lineup in mid-game. Too late. Madlock finished at .338 to Griffey’s .336 and to this day Griffey blames Spakry for costing him the batting title. And remember Ted Williams in 1941? He was hitting .400 on the last day of the season with a doubleheader scheduled. Boston manager Joe Cronin offered to sit Williams. He said no. Not only did he play the first game and raise his average, but he played the second game, too. For the doubleheader he was 6 for 8 and finished at .406, still the last man to hit .400.

Q: What is your opinion of MLB not using the ghost runner for the playoffs and World Series after using it for the entire regular season? — TIM, Xenia.
A: To put it bluntly, it’s asinine. It changes the entire game. I despise the rule, putting a free runner on the second to start extra innings when he didn’t earn it. It is just another of commissioner Rob Manfred’s gimmickball. He thankfully got rid of the overeshifts, now get rid of the ghost runner. Permanently.

Q: Can a team appeal the replay decisions made by the umpires sitting in front of video screens in New York? — MIKE, Fairfield.
A: Absolutely not. Their decisions are irrevocable and final. A manager or player who argues the replay decision is automatically ejected. Nadine employs that rule to our little disagreements, so I never get in the last word, if I ever did.

Q: When the Cincinnati Reds go on a road trip, do players drive to the airport or take a bus from the stadium? — RANDY, Lima.
A: It is their choice. A bus is provided to and from the stadium/airport. The players can choose to take it or drive themselves. It didn’t work out too well once for former catcher Vic Correll. He drove his car, made an illegal U-turn across an airport access road and was giiven an expensive ticket. He became a regular bus-rider.

Q: Do switch-hitters use the same bat from both sides of the plate? — RICK, Vandalia.
A: It is personal preference. Some do and some don’t. It is a feel thing, how a bat feels in their hands when they bat left or when they bat right. And some players use the same stance from both sides of the plate and some use different stances. Pete Rose always used the same bat and the same stance and hit the ball the same way — hard singles and hard doubles in the gaps and a high batting average.

Q: What are the chances of Jonathan India still being with the Cincinnati Reds in 2024? — CINDY, Beavercreek.
A: I have not yet been able to read general manager Nick Krall[s mind, but I have to think the chances are Slim and None and both left town. There is no room at the Inn next year with Christian Encarnacion-Strand at first, Matt McLain at second, Elly De La Cruz and shortstop and Noelvi Marte at third. Notice that Joey Votto isn’t mentioned. And where does Spencer Steer play? India is definitely an odd man out and a trade is most likely forthcoming.

Q: With Deoin Sanders in the news so much as football coach at Colorado, what do you remember about him when he played for the Reds? — DONOVAN, Sarasota, FL.
A: As a player, he was a lot like Elly De La Cruz, a guy who created mayhem when, and if, he got on base. Mostly, though, as a baseball player he was a great football players. As a person, he was fantastic and in the clubhouse he displayed none of that Prime Time schtick. When he left the Reds he said the media in Cincinnati treated him the best of any media he had dealt with. My guess is he’d like to have us covering him now.

Q What are your thoughts on getting rid of the three batter rule for relievers, and how about making it a rule that relievers inherit all runners when they come into a ballgame? —MICHAEL, Wilmington, NC.
A: Count me in to lobby for elimination for the three-batter rule. Like the DH, it takes away baseball strategy that was in place for 150 years. It ties a manager’s hands. They rely so much these days on analytics, but if the analytics say a certain pitcher shouldn’t face a certain hitter, a manager can’t replace that pitcher unless he has faced three batters. Hey, let’s make up our minds which way we’re going to go. And I agree on the inherited runners. If a pitcher comes in and gives up a hit and two runs score, they should go on his record, not the poor pitcher who was pulled from the game.

Q: Reds pitcher Connor Phillips appears to have potential, but can it be realized wearing number 34, the curse of Homer Bailey? — BILL/MIKE, Centerville, Kettering.
A: Curse? What curse? How can there be a curse from a guy who pitched two no-hitters? In my opinion, he gets a bad rap. From 2007 to 2014, he was 54-50. Then he went 1-14 in a andseason during which he received no run support. Then injuries plagued the rest of his days in Cincinnati. Stubborn? Yes, he was. And he resisted when coaches wanted to change things. But it was lack of run support and injuries that actually derailed his career and turned fans against him.

By Hal McCoy
Contributing Writer

The 2023 regular season is over and once again the Cincinnati Reds are peering from the outside at post-season games.

But oh what a ride the Reds gave their fans before falling a half-step short.

Most prognosticators from New York to Los Angeles, including this one, predicted another 100 losses and another last place finish for baseball’s oldest professional franchise.

None of us knew that the Reds would eventually stuff their roster with a horde of promising rookies, all of whom performed beyond projected expectations.

Despite using 65 players and 40 pitchers, the Reds were relevant for 160 of the 162 games. They were not eliminated from a wild card berth until game 161.

When a team loses 80 games and comes that close, each and every defeat is monumental, none so much as the 13-12 loss late in the season to Pittsburgh when the Reds led 9-0 after three innings and led 9-1 entering the sixth inning.

It’s a defeat that should live in manager David Bell’s memory bank and in the minds of every player involved.

So now what? What will happen in the off-season? What do the Reds need to do to scramble into post-season play in 2024 and beyond?

The pitching rotation is young, young and younger. Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Andrew Abbott, Graham Ashcraft and Brandon Williamson all displayed that they have the right stuff.

Can they stay healthy? Greene, Abbott and Ashcraft all missed time with an injury assortment. And all showed signs of exhaustion down the stretch.

What the Reds need is at least one accomplished veteran pitcher to act as mentor to the young staff, to show the path to success. And wouldn’t Sonny Gray look good back in a Reds uniform?

To do that means investing large dollars in the free agent market. And that money should be available. Joey Votto’s $25 million salary is coming off the books, as is the $17 million they paid Mike Moustakas last year to play for another team.

The 2023 payroll was approximately $83 million, so $42 million can be subtracted with Votto and Moustakas coming off the books. That leaves the amount at $41 million.

The club has indicated that it might up the ante to $100 million for 2024, giving it $59 million to work with. Free agent money?

The all-rookie infield should be set for next season — Christian Encarnacion-Strand at first, Matt McLain at second, Elly De La Cruz at shortstop and Noelvi Marte at third.

That leaves first baseman Votto out and second baseman Jonathan India out. The club will not pick up Votto’s $20 million option. Most likely they’ll pay him his $7 million buyout, a nice parting gift.

If it were a matter of the heart decision, the Reds would bring back the team’s most popular and charismatic player, a fan favorite.

But baseball is a business and the Votto decision is a business decision. He is 40 years old and on the down-swing in production. To be blunt, there is no room for him.

It is the same for India, another fan favorite, a down-and-dirty player who gives his all at all times and a clubhouse leader.

But McLain clearly outplayed him and is the team’s second baseman. Like Votto, India is the odd man out. If the club so desires, it could trade him in a deal that could capture a starting pitcher or a relief pitcher.

And the bullpen could use some upgrading after an up and down season where it had stretches of greatness and stretches of awfulness.

Two of the outfield spots should be covered by two of the most underrated players in the league in rookie Spencer Steer and TJ Friedl.

They are cut from the same patch of cloth. Steer played third base, first base, second base, left field and right field and played them all adroitly.

He led the team in most offensive categories and should be a high consideration for Rookie of the Year. That award, most likely, will be go Arizona’s Corbin Carroll, and rightfully so.

But Steer is never mentione as even in the top five, even behind McLain and De La Cruz.

Put him in left field and forget about it. And there is nothng Friedl can’t do on a baseball field. He had 17 bunt hits, tops in the majors, he hits for power, he hits doubles and triples, he steals bases and he steals home run and base hits on defense. He is the team’s center fielder.

That leaves right field? Will Benson? Jake Fraley? Somebody else? Benson began the season terribly and was sent back to Class AAA Louisville. He returned as a different player, all on a positive note. But he slumped in September.

Fraley, an accomplished clutch hitter, missed a large portion of the season with injuries.

While both Benson and Fraley are acceptable, the team could upgrade in right field with a trade or a free agent signing. Wouldn’t Cody Bellinger look good in a Reds uniform, even those horrid black ones? But he probably is out of the Reds’ price range and would be outbid by his present team, the Cubs, or the Yankees, Mets or Padres.

The expectations for 2024 are high, but as in life, nothing is guaranteed. Tweaks are necessary and general manager Nick Krall has shown the ability to make them. Now it depends upon how much latitude CEO Bob Castellini gives Kral with the team’s checkbook.

 

By Hal McCoy

Morehead, KY. — On paper, it looked as if the University of Dayton football team would inflict a world of paper cuts on Morehead State University Saturday afternoon.

Instead, Morehead’s Eagles stuck the paper in a shredder and shredded the Flyers on the Jayne Field grass, 31-7.

The only cuts that were inflicted were self-inflicted wounds by the Flyers in the form of turnovers.

In their first three games, the Flyers turned it over only four times. But in their last three, all Pioneer Football League defeats, UD has turned it over 15 times, including five times Saturday.

Twice they turned it over when they were inside the Morehead five. And most of them led to points for Morehead State, which won for only the second time this season and for the first time in PFL play. The Flyers? They are 2-and-4 overall and 0-and-3 in the PFL.

The Flyers are dangerously close to matching their worst PFL start ever, an 0-5 trip and fall out of the gate.

So for six games, the Flyers have turned it over 19 times. Amazingly, they turned it over only 10 times the entire 2022 season — nine interceptions and only one fumble lost.

On Saturday alone they had three interceptions and two fumbles lost.

Fittingly, UD’s last play of the game was an interceptio in the Morehead State end zone. Turnovers were the only consistent thing UD did all day.

The Morehead roster is stuffed with a plethora of junior college transfers who somehow found their way to the eastern hills of Kentucky — 25 from California and others from 26 different states.

Meanwhile, the Flyers were in a state of confusion in the first half and trailed 14-7 at intermission.

Entering the game, UD had turned the ball over 10 times in its previous two games, Pioneer Football League losses to San Diego and St. Thomas.

They added two more in the first half Saturday, both inside the Morehead State 5-yard line.

—The first came early in the second quarter on a first-and-goal at the four. Co-quarterback Cole Dow took the snap, lost his footing and fumbled it away to Morehed, preventing the Flyers from breaking a 7-7 tie.

—Down 14-7 with 23 second left in the half, the Flyers were first-and-goal at the four. Co-quarterback Dante Casciola tried to complete a touchdown pass in the left corner of the end zone and was picked off.

UD’s Dominic Vrgancic apeared to snag the pass, but Morehead State’s Caleb Lyons dislodged the ball as Vrgancic fell to the blue-painted end zone.

The gracious giveaways to the opposition perplexes first-year Flyer coach Trevor Andrews.

“Turnovers are our Achilles heel right now,” he said. “Especially those two going inside the five-yard line. If we take care of the football, we should be up 21-7 and then it’s a totally different ball game. And we got a couple of their turnovers, but didn’t get any points out of them.”

Instead, the Flyers handled the ball like, take your pick — a live hand grenade, a greased pig, a hot potato, all of the above.”

And it isn’t something the Flyers ignore in practice.

“We work on ball security probably more than anybody in the country,” he said. “As a rule of thumb, coach Mark Ewald does an incredible job with that. Fumbles and interceptions, we gotta figure out what we’re doing.

“But you don’t want to keep beating your head againsg the wall and there has to be a different way,” he added. “Ball security, ball possession, that’s the name of the game.”

Morehead State’s first two touchdowns came on long-range passes from quarterback Carter Cravens. The first was a 53-yarder down the right sidelines to Trevon Kleint six minutes into the game

The Flyers tied it late in the first quarter, an 11-play 71-yard matriculation. It culminated when runningback Luke Hansen entered the game for the first time and barged into the end zone from six yards out to tie it, 7-7.

But late in the second quarter, Cravens hooked up another deep right sideline pass, this time to Ryan Upp for 25 yards and a touchdown.

Upp, Morehead’s grabbiest receiver all season, snqgged six for 78 yards. Kyle Daley caught five for 75 yards from Cravens, who was 19 for 36 for 291 yards and a touchdown.

The Flyers were three-and-out to start the second half and it took Morehead State only five plays to cover 50 yards, the back-stabber a 23-yard touchdown run by James Louis, who shook off an arm tackle at the 15.

“We’re only down 14-7 at the half and get the ball first to start the second half,” said Andrews. “I thought we’d come back and tie it up and you’d feel like you’re pretty good. We didn’t move the chains (three and out).”

Micheal Neel carried 18 times for 68 yards, but was stopped for no gsins on the first play of the second half and Casciola threw two incomplete passes, forcing a punt.

“Then defensively we made two critical mistakes in coverage on their next drive and gave them a couple of first downs and a touchdown,” said Andrews.

Instead of 14-14, the Flyers were down 21-7 and knew they were in dire straits. On their next possession, a fake punt on fourth-and-six by Logan Forcum came up two yards short, turning the ball over to Morehead at the UD 39.

That set up a 25-yard Morehead field goal and matters took on a deeper shade of black at 24-7.

And then. . .again. . .another UD turnover, a fumble at the Flyer 37. In the time it takes to say, “No mas, no mas,” Morehead punched over a touchdown from the two. It was 31-7 with ten minutes of run out the clock time.

The Flyers host Presbyterian, 2-3 overall and 0-2 in the PFL next Saturday in Welcome Stadium.

So what does Andrews and his staff do in practice this week to prepare, short of putting Gorilla Glue on the hands on his quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers?

“Y’know, that’s a great question,” he said. “Any time you go through something like this, you just gotta…well, your first instinct is you don’t want to panic about things. You need to stay the course. We have a good foundation and we have great kids. They work hard every week and you just have to back to the drawing board and turn over every stone.”

They need to erase any reference to turnovers on that drawing board and when they turn over every stone they must make sure they don’t fumble it.

By Hal McCoy

UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave, back from a week at St. Simons Island and they pushed me on the plane kicking and screaming.

—DECISION NOT VOTTO-MATIC: What now, Joey Votto? What now, Cincinnati Reds? Will he go or will he stay?

Neither Votto nor the Reds have yet addressed the 40-year-old first baseman’s future. HIs 10-year $225 million contract has expired. The club holds a $20 million option for 2024. If it doesn’t pick it up, the club owes him a $7 million buyout.

With all the young talent populating the roster, including projected first baseman Christian Encarnacion-Strand, it is difficult to fathom a return by Votto.

If it were a from-the-heart decision, Votto would be back. But it is a business decision and good business says there is no room for Votto.

It isn’t Votto’s decision. It is the front office’s call, one that must come before or shortly after the World Series.

Nevertheless, here is what Votto told writers about his future during the team’s closing series in St. Louis. . .and Votto was ejected in the team’s final game for aruging balls and strikes after the first inning.

“As far as my future, my individual future, I’m still not there yet. I have been praised and given so much attention this last stretch, I’ve been conflicted in that. I’ve appreciated it and I recognize it and I’m grateful for it. But then there is the competitive side of me that’s like, ‘Just let me compete today.’ I don’t want to distract myself with anything but today’s competition ‘How can I help the team? How can I help push us forward towards a playoff berth?’

“A lot has happened at once. I recognize the support. I recognize the interest, but I just don’t have an answer yet. We’ll see.”

Yes, we shall see. And it will be a split decision. Votto has a myriad supply of supporters, but also a large block of those who believe his time has expired.

—MISSED ON MIGGY: Miguel Cabrera made his farewell tour and is on his way to Cooperstown after a Hall of Fame career with the Miami (Florida) Marlins and the Detroit Tigers.

But for $300,000, he might have played for the Cincinnati Reds. One of the rare times Trader Jac k McKeon was out of baseball, he did some bird dog scouting for his son, Kasey McKeon, who was scouting for the Reds.

Jack saw Cabrera and recommoned that Kasey sign him for the Reds. Said Kasey, “Dad, I know all about Cabrera. We had him in our Dominican academy with the Reds. We could have signed him for $800,000. They only gave me $500,000 to offer him and that was it.”

—MORE ON McCORMICK: After my vignette in a previous UO on Asheville’s McCormick Field, I was informed of some other trivia about the legendary field.

Author Thomas Wolfe, who wrote ‘You Can’t Go Home Again’ and ‘Look Homeward, Angel,’ was an Asheville native and served as a batboy for the Asheville Tourists.

And writer F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of ‘The Great Gatsby.’ spent considerable time in Asheville getting tossed out of every place he stayed due to his drunken stupors. He attended Tourists games in McCormick Field. Ane he might, just might. have been sober.

—QUOTE: From writer F. Scott Fitzgerald: “All good writing is like swimming under water and holding your breath.” (I’ve never tried that. Maybe I should.)

—DOWN AND OUT: What a shame for Ohioans. Its two NFL franchises are in deep dung, probably out of the playoff picture and the season is only four weeks old. They didn’t even have time to pose for any pictures.

With his ankle problems, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is a faint shadow of himself. And the Cleveland Browns are already a ship wreck with injuries to their best players.

How many days until spring training?

—A PRIVATE SHOWING: The Tampa Bay Rays are getting a new stadium? Why? They used to draw more people to the Tampa Fronton for jai-alai than they draw to Tropicana Field.

For Game 1 of this year’s playoff game, the Rays drew 19,704. That’s the fewest fans to see an MLB post-season game since 1919.

And the Rays were uninspired by all the empty blue seats. They scored one run in two losses to the Texas Rangers and played defense as if they were wearing galoshes over their spikes. So it was two-and-out for them.

On October 7, 1919, the Cincinnati Reds drew 13,921 in Redsland Field for a game against the Chicago Black Sox.

Perhaps the fans sniffed out the fact that Chicago was losing the World Series on purpose to accept money from gamblers. “Say it ain’t so, Joe.”

—SOME LONG DRAUGHTS: As noted before the playoffs began by former Los Angeles Times columnist and good friend Mike Downey:

***Milwaukee, Texas and Tampa Bay have never won a World Series. And Tampa Bay is already gone.

***Baltimore hasn’t won a World Seires in 40 years, Minnesota hasn’t won in 32 years and Toronto hasn’t won in 30 years.

***The Philadelphia Phillies, born in 1883, have won only two World Series.

He also noted that big-time spenders like the New York Mets, New York Yankees, San Diego Padres,Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Angels are absent.

He didn’t mention the Cincinnati Reds because they aren’t in the playoffs and aren’t loaded with cash, but they haven’t won a World Series in 33 years and haven’t won a playoff game since 2014.

—PHIL HIM UP: Just finished reading a fascinating book called ‘The Gambler,’ by Billy Walters, who claims to have wagered more than a billion dollars on sports. Not a million, a billion.

Walters was friends with pro golfer Phil Mickelson and played golf with him often. One day, as reported by Walters, Mickelson asked him to make a bet.

He wanted Walters to bet $400,000 for him that the U.S. would win the 2012 Ryder Cup. And Mickelson was on the U.S. team.

Said Walters, “Are you out of your effing mind? Don’t you remember what happened to Pete Rose for betting on his own team?”

Walters said he didn’t place the bet and doesn’t know if Mickelson convinced somebody else to do it. If he did, he lost $400,000 and he was a factor. Europe beat the U.S., 14 1/2-13 1/2. Mickelson lost his final day match to Justin Rose, 1-uo, If Mickelson wins his match, the U.S. wins.

Mickelson became a pariah when he hooked up with Saudi Arabia to form the LIV golf tour, accepting $200 million to do so. In an interview, Mickelson said,

“We know they killed Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi and have a horrible record on human rights. They execute people over there for being gay. Knowing all this, why would I even consider it? Because this is a once in a lifetime chance to reshape how the PGA tour operates.”

And $200 million.

By Hal McCoy
Contributing Writer

Q: Should commissioner Rob Manfred be more concerned about having three teams winning more than 100 games than with having three teams losing more than 100? — DAVE, Miamisburg/Centerville/Beavercreek.
A: I have not heard him express any concern about 100 wins/losses either way. Sure, he would like competitive balance, but with a 162-game schedule there are going to be 100-game winners and 100-game losers. Just hope your teams (Atlanta, Los Angeles, Baltimore) are the winners and hope your teams (Oakland, Kansas City, Colorado) are not the losers.

Q: Is part of Elly De La Cruz’s fielding problems compounded by that overly large glove he uses? — TRogers, Dayton.
A: He is a big man with big hands and needs a big-boy glove. Joe Morgan used a glove barely bigger than a mitten, but Little Joe had little hands. De La Cruz seems to have a lot of balls tip off the end of the glove, so in this case size doesn’t matter. Being an amateur pyschologist, I believe he is taking his offensive problems out to the field on defense.

Q: Is there something in the water in Cincinnati that causes Reds players to spit excessively because I don’t remember The Big Red Machine players doing it? — VAUGHN, Beavercreek.
A: I think it is in the rulebook, 6.05(e), that an MLB player must salivate at least twice a game. At least it seems that way. It probably all started when the spitball was legal. Now that it is illegal, players still spit in their hands. The Big Red Machine? Oh, yeah, they were The Great Expectorators.

Q: Joey Votto hit a single in what may be his last at bat in Great American Ball Park, so have you heard of a pitcher grooving one in that situation out of respect? — ALAN, Sugarcreek Twp.
A: In Votto’s case, the game was still on the line, so probaby not there. But late in the 1968 season, Mickey Mantle said it was his last year. He had 534 home runs, tied with Jimmy Foxx for third on the all-time list. Denny McLain, on his way to his 31st win, had a 6-1 lead. He and catcher Jim Price decided to groove one for The Mick. Price asked Mantle what kind of pitch he wanted and he said, “High and inside cheese (fastball).” McLain delivered and Mantle hit home run No. 535.

Q: How long can the Reds afford to keep this young team together? — WALT, Beavercreek.
A: That is going to be a major issue from the front office. With all the young players arriving at the same time, they are going to become arbitration-eligible and possible free agents at the same time. There is no way the team can afford to keep all of them. They are going to have to pick and chose judiciously as to who to keep, who to trade and who to let go via free agency? It is better than not having enough good players, but it will be Excedrin Headache No. 9 for the Reds.

Q: How surprised were you to see Elly De La Cruz dropped to ninth in the batting order? — RICHARD, Tipp City.
A: Stunned, at first. It made sense to drop him in the order because he had become an automatic out, almost an automatic strikeout. But ninth? Then, it hit me. Where else? I do believe that his problems began when they started batting him leadoff. For some reason, his descent began right then and has not ended.

Q: With Joey Votto’s batting average in the low .200s, what is your opinion about next year for him? — DAVE, Springfield.
A: First of all, in today’s game a high batting average is no longer a priority. It is all about launch angle, velocity, home runs and strikeouts. I know Pete Rose is shaking his head. As for Votto, the Reds have a public relations nightmare. His legion of fans want him back. But he is 40 and on the down-swing. And how would they get him playing time? Would they take it away from first baseman Chrisitan Encarnacion-Strand. Do they buy Votto out for $7 mllion and add $3 million to bring him back as a part-time DH? It’s a head-scratcher and I’m glad I don’t have to mske that decision.

Q: What’s your opinion of both the New York Yankees and New York Mets missisng the playoffs? — JOE, Kettering.
A: I’m sure there is a lot of knuckle-gnashing in the television offices because TV prefers the big-market teams. As for me, hoo-ray, hoo-ray, hoo-ray, with apologies to Yankees and Mets fans and to my great friend, Yankees manager Aaron Boone. But I love it when teams try to purchase their way into the playoffs and it flops, especially the Mets, who invested more than the gross national product of Ecuador and are on the outside peering in.

Q: It appears that soon MLB will expand to 32 teams, so what cities do you think will be added? — ROBERT, Big Canoe, Ga.
A: It makes sense to add a team in each league so there will be 16 instead of the uneven 15. My guess is uneducated (as are all of them). I’d say a return to Montreal is imminent, if they build a new stadium and don’t plan to return to Olympic Stadium, man ’s monument to concrete. Las Vegas has added the NHL and NFL and baseball can’t be far behind. And Nashville is a possiblity. I haven’t heard anything, though, about Big Canoe.

.

By Hal McCoy

UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from our own little slice of paradise, St. Simons Island, where I ate enough seafood to qualify as a crustacean.

—A EULOGY: Call this an obituary, if you must, but I’m calling it a positive eulogy.

When this baseball season began, every baseball pundit between Boston and Seattle predicted the Cincinnati Reds once again would finish last and lose 100 games.

Instead, for 161 games the Reds were not only relevant, they came within one loss of qualifying for the playoffs. If that isn’t a major accomplishment, then there isn’t a bseball in an umpire’s pouch.

This team was greener than the felt on a pool table. At times there were as many as seven rookies in the lineup.

Due to a plethora of injuries, the team used 65 players, 40 pitchers. Along the way, they lost starting pitchers Nick Lodolo, Graham Ashcraft, Hunter Greene and enough reliief pitchers to fill a small Vietnam village.

They lost Matt McLain ands Jonathan India for long periods. Manager David Bell, taking more criticism than a crooke politician, played mix and match as if it were a board game.

And still, they were right there. When a team loses 79 games, each loss is important. But the Reds-killer was the 13-12 loss down the stretch to the Pittsburgh Pirates when they led, 9-0, in the third inning and 9-1 heading into the sixth.

It happens. And it did. But the team won 83, 20 more than anybody expected. One more win and we’re talking about the first team to lose 100 and finish last to qualify for the playoffs.

This team was like Paul Masson saying, “No wine before it’s time.” The 2023 Reds arrived before their time and darn near pulled off a baseball miracle.

Nothing in baseball (or life) is guaranteed, but Reds fans can safely say, “Wait ’til next year.”

—REAL FIELD OF DREAMS: If you are in Asheville, N.C., a required stop for baseball fans is McCormick Field, cut out of the side of a mountain and built in 1924, the nation’s oldest minor league ballpark and the prototype for quaintness.

The right field wall is 300 feet from home plate and 36 feet high. It’s the maximum height MLB allows because no wall can be higher in pro ball than the 37-foot tall Green Monster in Boston’s Fenway Park.

It is home to the Class A Asheville Tourists and owned by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s family. Governor DeWine’s son, Brian, is the team’s president.

To walk on the field is to walk on dirt on which Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Ty Cobb, Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, Willie Stargell, Roberto Clemente and a litany of major leaguers once played.

The New York Yankees stopped at McCormick on a barn-storming tour in 1931. His first time up, Gehrig hit a ball over the center field wall. His first time up, Ruth lofted a majestic sky-scraper over that 36-foot high wall in right field.

It is a real-life Field of Dreams and if you listen closely when the park is empty, you can hear the whispers of Ruth, Gehrig and Cobb.

—QUOTE: From Babe Ruth when he saw McCormick Field for the first time: “My, my, what a beautiful place to play. Delightful. Damned delightful place.” (It was also reported that Ruth played that game with a belly ache from eating too many hot dogs. Wonder how Ruth would have done in a hot dog eating contest with Joey Chestnutt.)

 

—JOE VERSUS TED: Every baseball fan worth a stadium hot dog knows about Joe DiMaggion’s 56-game hitting streak.

It began on May 15, 1941. What fans don’t know is that on that same date, May 15, 1941, Boston’s Ted Williams started his own hitting streak. Day-by-day, Teddy Ballgame matched Joltin’ Joe hit for hit. His and DiMaggio’s streaks reached 23 straight games before Williams went hitless in game 24.

But like the Energizer Bunny, DiMaggio kept going and going and going.

—QUOTE: From Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio: “I can remember when I was a rookie and a reporter asked me for a quote and I didn’t know what a quote was. I thought it was some kid of soft drink.” (Yeah, Joe. It’s called Yankee Cola or Coca Clipper.)

—A TRICK QUESTION: Bob Feller always asked a trivia question and only Bob Feller would think of it.

“Was there ever a game in which every hitter finished a game with the same batting average with which he started the game?”

The answer? Yes. On Opening Day of 1940, Bob Feller pitched a no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox, so every batter started the game hitting .000 and finished the game hitting .000.
One of my favorite lines written about Bob Feller was typed by baseball writer Jim Schlemmer of the Akron Beacon Journal.

Feller was hit by a line drive in the groin area and Schlemmer wrpte: “Feller was hit where only a feller could be hit.”

—QUOTE: From Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller: “I’d rather beat the New York Yankees than throw a no-hitter.” (Feller pitched three no-hitters and 12 one-hitters. And one of those no-hitters was against the Yankees.

—SILENCE, PLEASE: For new Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton, it was open mouth and insert clipboard.

Before the season and his first game as Broncos coach, Payton said of the previous Denver coaching regime, “It might have been one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL. That’s how bad it was.”

Then Payton’s version of the Broncos played the Miami Dolphins last week and lost 70-20, one of the worst beatings in NFL history.

The 0-3 Broncos missed 24 tackles, which led some to believe that the Broncos quit mid-game.

—NO GLOVE, PLEASE: Baltimore’s Brooks Robinson, ‘The Human Vaccuum Cleaner,’ died this week. I always thought, to be fair, he should have played third base without a glove.

—THE VAGABONDS?: When the Oakland A’s move to Las Vegas, a foregone conclusion, they should change their name to the Las Vegas Vagabonds.

It will be the franchises’s fourth move. They began as the Philadelphia A’s, then were the Kansas City A’s, then were the Oakland A’s.

They are running out of cities to which they can flee. They can run, but not hide their yearly ineptitude.

—TOWER OF BIG BEN: Why are the Jacksonville Jaguars London’s team? On Sunday, the Jags play in London for the 10th time. And this season, they are staying in London to play two weeks in a row.

When Ben Roethlisberger was quarterbacking the Pittsburgh Steelers it would have made sense for the Steelers to be London’s team. Y’know, Big Ben.

—QUOTE: From former Pittsuburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger: “You have to be able to step up when your name is called.” (By the time they call out Roeth-lis-ber-ger, you already are two steps behind.)
t
—WHAT’S YOUR NAME?: Always wondered, why can’t Auburn make up its mind on a nickname? Are they the Tigers or are they the War Eagles?

And it’s the same with Gonzaga. Are they the Zags or the Bulldogs?

By Hal McCoy

UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from the beach house kitchen while enduring an all-day downpour on St. Simons Island, Ga. Hence, some off-the-cuff observations

—ANOTHER GREAT READ: A few years ago, I read a book by former Cincinnati Post sports columnist Joe Posnanski called, ‘The Baseball 100.’ I said it was the best baseball book I ever read, and I’ve read hundreds. . .really. I still believe it is.

Another Posnanski book was just released entitled, ‘Why We Love Baseball,’ and it, too, is a classic. Some snippets:

**Sometime in the 1930s. a 17-year female named Jackie Mitchell, owner of a nasty sinker, was signed by the minor-league Chattanooga Lookouts to pitch one inning of an exhibition game against the New York Yankees.

She struck out Babe Ruth on a 2-and-2called strike three, then struck out Lou Gehrig on three pitches.

**There is a famous photo of Jackie Robinson sliding hom on a steal in Game 1 of the 1955 World Series. It shows New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra vehemently protesting that Robinson was out.

Berra had that photo hanging in his musuem until the day he died and every time he passed the photo, without fail, he said, “Out.”

And long after Robinson died, when Robinson’s widow, Rachel, and Berra crossed paths, Berra’s first word was, “Out.” And Rachel replied with, “Safe.” Then they both laughed and hugged.”

**Nolan Ryan scoffs these days when he sees pitchers lifted after 100 pitches. There was a game during which he threw 235 pitches.

When a reporter mentioned it, Ryan shrugged and said, “Hell, I threw 242 in my last start.”

After Nolan struck out 17 in one game, former Cincinnati Reds outfielder Frank Robinson said, “He struck me out three times and I didn’t even play.”

**After Springfield-area native Harvey Haddix pitched 12 perfect innings for the Pittsburgh Pirates in Milwaukee, only to lose the game in the 13th on a three-run home run by Joe Adcock, he received a mountain of letters.

His favorite came from a fraternity at Texas A&M and it read, “Dear Harvey: Tough shit.”

Said Haddix, “It was short and sweet, but it summed up everything pretty well.”

—MORE PUNISHMENT: After his Colorado team was pole-axed by Oregon, 42-6, coach Deion Sanders said his team played like hot garbage. And he added, “You better get me now. This is the worst we’re gonna be.”

A message for Coach Prime: Your team looked more like frozen garbage and those glasses you wear must be rose-colored because this week could be worse when you run up against Southern Cal.

—THE NAKED TRUTH: The jersey worn by Wilt Chamberlain in the final game of the 1972 NBA finals sold at auction for $4.9 million.

Wonder how much my Kent State jersey that is hanging in my closet would fetch? Nadine is stilll laughing.

When I covered the Cincinnati Royals of the NBA, Chamberlain played for the Philadelphia 76ers and scored 52 points one night.

I waited for him at his locker after the game for an interview. He walked out of the shower naked, of course. He was 7-foot-2 and I’m 6-foot-2. I introduced myself and we shook hands.

The next day, I told my sports editor, “Wilt Chamberlain came out of the shower and we shook hands.”

Said my sports editor with a wry grin, “Are you certain you shook hands with him.

—QUOTE: From famous author John Irving: “The majority of American males put themselves to sleep by striking out the batting order of the New York Yankees.”

Despite my friendship with Yankees manager Aaron Boone and what he did for my career, I’ve always despised the Yankees because when I was a kid they always beat up on my beloved Cleveland Indians.

—KISS AND RUN: When Morganna Roberts sat in the stands in Cincinnati’s Riverfront Stadium for a game in 1971, she was not yet ‘The Kissing Bandit.’ She was just a fan.

But a friend seated with her bet that she wouldn’t run on the field and kiss Pete Rose. She did it, won the bet, and made a career out of running on to playing fields and kissing superstars.

And what does she say about it? “My career began on a bet and Pete Rose’s career ended on a bet.”

—JACK BE NIMBLE: One of my all-time favorite people, as a manager and a person, Jack McKeon, admits that as a player he wasn’t top-notch. He likes to say, “I hit three ways. . .left, right and seldom.”

By HaL McCoy
Contributing Writer

Q: Are post-season awards such as Gold Gloves any more than bragging rights? — DAVE, Miamisburg/Centerville/Beavercreek.
A: They give the winners the right to brag, being the best at what they do. Most of them, though, are not braggarts and accept the awards with appreciation and humility. Most will tell you the most coveted is the Roberto Clemente Humanity Award and I guarantee there is not a braggart who wins it. Then there was Rickey Henderson, who broke Lou Brock’s base-stealing record and said, “Lou Brock was a great base stealer, but today I am the greatest.”

Q: Shouldn’t the guidelines for comeback wins be a little more stringent when winning a game, 10-1, after surrendering a run in the top of the first inning counts as a comeback win? — MIKE, Beavercreek.
A: Absotively and posilutely. Example: The Cincinnati Reds scored a run in the top of the first against the Mets and led, 1-0. The Mets won, 8-4, and were credited with a comeback win. Seriously? To me, they should require a team to come from three runs behind after the sixth inning to qualify for a real comeback win. The Reds have 46 comeback wins, many of them legitimate and many of them bogus.

Q: It seems as if when managers use position players to pitch, hitters have trouble with 55 milles an hour pitches, so why not use pitchers at strategic points earliier in games? — JOEL, Dayton.
A: First of all, most of the time those position players get blasted like batting practice pitchers, which they are. Secondly, it is against the rules. A position player can only come into a game when his team is behind by eight or more runs. And for a position player to come into a game with hi team winning, it can only be done in the ninth inning with his team ahead by 10 or more runs. Personally, I think using position players to pitch should be stopped because it makes the game a mockery.

Q: With Cincinnati’s surplus of infielders both on the current roster and in the minors. is there any consideration to move Elly De La Cruz to center field in the future? — ROB, Beavercreekk.
A: While De La Cruz has a great arm, I’ve seen too many errors and too many balls glance off his glove at shortstop. And why is a 6-foot-5 guy called a short-stop? I like Noelvi Marte at shortstop. With his speed and that Gatling gun arm, De La Cruz might make a good center fielder, if he can track fly balls and line drives. I would like his chances of going above the wall to snag home run balls.

Q: Regarding your comments about pitchers throwing 120-130 pitches a game,  what would you think about limiting each roster to 10 or 11 pitchers that would put more offense back into the game? — CHARLEY, Centerville.
A: Back in the day, when teams used a four-man rotation, teams carried only 10 or 11 pitchers. There were no specialists. A relief pitcher might throw three or four innings. There was no straing of one-inning pitchers. I like the idea, but it won’t ever happen. With the fragility of arms and shoulder and elbows that constantly put pitchers on the injured list, the attitude today is the more arms the better, good or bad.

Q: Why do pitchers, who throw pitch after pitch to home plate, seem to have so much trouble throwing to a base after fielding a ground ball? — ALAN, Sugar Creek Twp.
A: I assume this query comes after Cincinnati Reds pitcher Carson Spiers threw a double play ball into center field, opening the jar for the New York Mets to score four runs. A pitcher calmly delivers pitches to home plate from a wind-up or a stretch, taking his time. For some reason, they seem to hurry their throws to the bases, often off-balance. It shouldn’t be. During spring training they spend hours on PFP, pitchers fielding practice. But that’s practice. Things speed up under game conditions.

Q: How many signatures do we need to get Marty Brennamen and Thom Brennaman back in the broadcast and we could add George Grande, too? — BILL and MIKE, Centerville/Kettering.
A: You could get an encyclopedia-sized stack of signatures from every baseball fan in Redsland and it won’t happen. Marty and his wife, Amanda, are world travelers and Marty is happy to be away from the game. Like me, he doesn’t like the way the game has gone. Thom, who deserves a second chance, keeps trying to get back into a booth but nobody will even take his calls. And George Grande is happy with his semi-retirement, as am I, although Nadine says I write more now than I did when I was fully employed. And I believe she is correct.

Q: How do you think Sparky “Captain Hook” Anderson would manage his bullpen under the rule that a reliever has to face three batters and if a hitter reached base and he wanted to make a change, would he intentionally walk the next two hitters? — JIIM, Fairborn.
A: Sparky did a lot of bizarre things during his tenure as Reds manager, but I don’t think he’d ever purposely load the bases so he could make a pitching change. The rule wouldn’t bother him, because in his time relief pitchers sometimes went two, three and four innings. Sparky wasn’t a guy who made two or three changes an inning to get a lefty-on-lefty match-up or a righty-on-righty matchup. He figured Pedro Borbon, Clay Carroll, Rawlins Jackson Eastick III and Will McEnaney could get anybody out, left, right or ambidextrous
Q: With a runner on first, Cincinnati’s Luke Maile successfully sacrifice bunted the runner to second and was out at first, but manager David Bell challenged and won and Maile got to bat again,so what was the call? — DAUNTE, Portand, Me.
A: I was confused, too, a normal state for me. As explained to me, when Maile bunted, the pitch hit his pinkie finger before it hit the bat. Once it hit is finger, it iis a dead ball and strike. So he came back out a drove a single that led to a run. In 50 years of covering baseball, that was a first for me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Hal McCoy
Contributing Writer

The Cincinnati Reds applied the air brakes to a four-game losing streak Sunday afternoon, 4-2, over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

It was the final home game of the 2023 regular season and perhaps the last game in GABP for Joey Votto.

In an emotional post-game interview with Bally Sports piped into the stands, Votto told the fans to keep the faith, that playoff hopes remain alive, although by a sliver.

While the Reds won, both the Chicago Cubs and Miami Marlins took care of business, so the Reds remain 2 1/2 games behind the Cubs and 1 1/2 games behind the Marlins with only five games remaining.

When Votto came to bat in the second inning, the crowd of 31,191 gave him a nearly two-minute standing ovations while chanting, “Joey, Joey, Joey.” He doffed his batting helmet twice before stepping into the batter’s box. Even the opposing Pirates applauded and cheered in their dugout, a first-class reaction.

He was 0 for 2 with a pair of strikeouts when he came to bat in the eighth, perhaps his last in GABP, and singled to center.

Manager David Bell sent in a pinch-runner and Votto ran to the dugout. The crowd demanded a curtain call and Votto emerged, saluting the adoring throng.

“It was a good win today,” Votto told the crowd after the game. “Thank you for the support. I’m speechless. I’m speechless. I don’t expect that sort of thing.

“For you to stop me in my tracks, stop the game. You almost had me crying,” he said. “I almost cried. Y’know, like, there’s no crying in baseball. That moment was really special to me.”

Then Votto got to the crux of his mission in what could be his final year. The team owns an option on his contract for next season at $20 million or a $7 million buyout.

“This was a good game and that’s what we’re here for, to give you that,” he said. “We’re going to fight to the very end this season. This team is tenacious, this team is tenacious. I can’t tell you how badly this team wants to win for you. Five more games to go and we’re going to try to give it to you.”

And the team needed the tenacity Votto spoke about on Sunday afternoon.

For five innings against Pittsburgh starter Quinn Priester, they not only did not have a hit, they hadn’t hit a ball out of the infield.

Cincinnati starter Brandon Williamson held the Pirates to one hit through four innings, but gave up a leadoff home run to Jack Suwinski and a run-scoring single to Jason Delay in the fifth and the Reds were down, 2-0.

Both leadoff hitter and number two hitter TJ Friedl walked their first two times but nothing came of the free passes.

India broke the no-hit spell with a single to left field to open the sixth and Friedl belted his 17th home run to tie it, 2-2.

It stayed 2-2 until India came to bat in the seventh with two outs and nobody on. He doubled to left and Friedl did it again, this time a run-scoring single to give the Reds a 3-2 lead.

Christian Encarnacion-Strand gave the bullpen a bit more cushion with his 11th home run, a one-out rip to left field in the eighth.

The Reds lost two of three to the Pirates, but it wasn’t Friedl’s fault. In the three-game series he was on base 11 times out of 13 plate appearances.

He was 6 for 8 with five walks, three home runs, two doubles, six RBI, four runs scored and two stolen bases.

And for once the bullpen held serve after Williamson departed with two on and no outs in the fifth. Buck Farmer came on to record a strikeout and an inning-ending double play.

Farmer gave up a walk and a single to begin the sixth. Sam Moll came to his rescue with a strikeout and a double play hit into by Liover Peguero, who was 0 for 7 in the series with four strikeouts, a double play hit into and four defensive lapses at shortstop.

Bell showed extreme confidence in and copassion for closer Alexis Diaz, bringing him in for the eighth inning. On Saturday, Diaz surrendered four runs and five hits in one-third of an inning in a 13-12 loss.

And he didn’t make it easy Sunday by walking two batters with the Reds in front, 3-2. But he struck out Henry Davis to thwart the threat.

Ian Gibaut got the call to close up shop and he went 1-2-3 for this third save.

The Reds take Monday off, then hit the road for two games in Cleveland Tuesday and Wednesday, then close the season with a three-game series next weekend in St. Louis.