Category: Uncategorized

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.

By Hal McCoy

UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave, down 36 pounds and only four to go. I’m loving the new clothes Nadine keep bringing home. And some of then are even for me.

—RASH JUDGEMENT: One of the most absurd pieces I’ve read in a long, long time was put out by WCPO-TV in Cincinnati. It sounded more like something from WKRP in Cincinnti. Unadulterated fantasy.

The piece said 21-year-old Elly De La Cruz is a bust. Say what?

Ask opposing teams if he is a bust. They fear the prospect of De La Cruz getting on base. He disrupts the entire defense, puts it into perspiration mode.

In recen back-to-back game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, he singled, stole second, stole third and scored on a sacrifice fly and a ground ball. That’s vintage De La Cruz, playing the game on Cruz control. He can provide the Reds with a snap, crackle and pop offense.

Yes, he is currently on the struggle bus, hitting below the Mendoza Line since the All-Star break. He sees a fastball about as often as Queen Latifah sees her toes.

He is being force-fed breaking pitches and finds it difficult to lay off. It’s an adjustment he has to make, an adjustment he will make.

When he was called up, he showed what his body of overstuffed talent can do. And he’ll show it again.

He is 21 with little more than a half-season in the majors. It is evident his confidence is on a downer right now and it shows in his suddenly leaky defense.

He seems so insecure right now that when his mother says she loves him he probably asks for a second opinion.

But to say he is a bust on a small body of evidence is like saying Willie Mays was a bust when he began his MLB career 0 for 12, or saying Greg Maddux was bust becaue he was 8-19 his first two seasons, or saying Randy Johnson was a bust because he was 7-17 his first two full MLB seasons.

A bust? It wouldn’t surprise me if when his career is over, Elly De La Cruz will have the equivalent of a bust in Cooperstown.

—QUOTE: From Hall of Famer Willie Mays: “It isn’t hard to be good from time to time in sports. What is tough is being good every day.” (Somebodu read that quote to Elly De La Cruz.)

—ALSO ON CRUZ CONTROL: When Johnny Cash sang, “I’ve Been Everywhere,” he must have been singing about Cincinnati Reds 34-year-old rookie Fernando Cruz, the one relief pitcher still reliable out of the team’s bullpen. In a recent game he faced four Pittsburgh Pirates and struck out all four.

When it comes to perseverance, Cruz’s picture should be next to the word in every Funk & Wagnalls. He never gave up, despite wearing more uniforms than a platoon of soldiers.
In his native Puerto Rico, he pitched for Mayaguez, Santurce, Ponce and Caguas in the Puerto Rican Winter League.

He also pitched for Caribes in the Venezuelan Winter League, for Licey in the Dominican Winter League and for Puebla and Guadalajara in the Mexican League.

His U.S. stops included Idaha Falls, Des Moines, Knoxville, Myrtle Beach and two different seasons with the New Jersey Jackals of the independent Can-Am League.

And through it all he remained as happy and chirpy as a cricket.

—QUOTE: From Chinese philosopher Confucius: “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” (Confucius never threw a splitter, but Cruz knows what he was talking about.)

—FUN FACT: When Rickey Henderson set the record for most career stolen baes, he swiped 1,406, probably a record that will stand up for a long, long time, if not forever.

Accomplished base stealers say it is easier to steal third than second, but few try it. Rickey did. He stole third base 322 times, another record that probably is forever.

Before Henderson, Lou Brock was the base-stealing aficionado. He stole third 133 few times than Henderson.

One year, injuries hit Henderson and he didn’t win the stolen base title. That went to Seattle’s Harold Reynolds (Yes, the MLB-TV guy) with 60.

Henderson called him after the season, not for congratulatory words. He said, “Sixty stolen bases? You ought to be ashamed. Rickey would have had 60 stolen bases by the All-Star break.”

—HE’S PHOTOGENIC, TOO? — Most historians agree that the most iconic baseball photo ever was one taken on July 23, 1910, an image of a grim-faced Ty Cobb sliding into third base. New York Highlanders third baseman Jimmy Austin is off the ground taking the throw. It doesn’t indicate if Cobb is stealing third or sliding in for a triple.

And, no, I didn’t cover that game. I was covering Philadelphia’s 3-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds at the Palace of the Fans with 7.500 fans. The game took 1:35 and the losing pitcher was 5-foot-7 20-game winner George Suggs.

—QUOTE: From Hall of Fame base-stealer Ty Cobb: “I had to fight all my life to survive. They were all against me, but I beat the bastards and left them in the ditch.” (And most of them were bleeding.)

—PUT IT IN PLAY: In the first inning of Friday’s Colorado Rockies-Chicago Cubs game, there was only one ball put in play on the first 51 pitches thrown. Now why did I count them? That’s what Nadine asked and I had no answer.

And I counted pitches during the Pittsburgh-Cincinnati game: 381 — 197 by the Reds and 184 by the Pirates. There were 14 walks and two hit batsmen.

You’d think home plate was seven inches wide instead of 17 inches. And who came up with the odd number of 17? Why not 20? Why not 15?

Why 17? The legend/myth is that when Alexander Cartwright laid out the field, he used a dinner plate 17 inches wide for home plate. It’s a good thing he didn’t use a coffee cup saucer.

By Hal McCoy
Contributing Writer

Every night Cincinnati Reds fans shake their heads and say, “It can’t get any worse.” Then it gets worse.

And it couldn’t get any worse than what unfolded Saturday night in front of 29,680 stunned fans.

The Reds lost, 13-12 to the Pittsburgh Pirates, which is ugly enough. But the method is beyond belief.

The Reds led, 9-0, after three innings. They led, 9-1, entering the sixth inning.

The Pirates then scored 12 unanswered runs against the arm weary Cincinnati bullpen, fivein the sixth, three in the seventh and four in the eighth to grab a 13-9 lead.

To their credit, the Reds didn’t quit. They scored two in the eighth and one in the ninth. And they had the tying run on third base with one out.

But Elly De La Cruz battled Pittsburgh relief pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski for 11 pitches before striking out and Jonathan India flied to shallow center to end it.

So the Reds are searching for some sugar to sweeten the bitter pill of a season getting away from them.

The Chicago Cubs came from 3-0 behind to beat Colorado, 6-3, and the Miami Marlins scored the winning run on a wild pitch to beat Milwaukee. And the Reds have only six games to cover the difference.

That meant the Reds are 2 1/2 games behind the Cubs and 1 1/2 games behind the Marlins for the last playoff berth. Just when they needed it most, they’ve lost four straight and five of six,

With the score tied, 9-9, entering the eighth, manager David Bell brought in closer Alexis Diaz, a guy who has struggled mightly recently.

And the struggle couldn’t be more profound on this night. He faced seven batters and retired one. He hit the first batter, then the Pirates bashed five hits and turned the 9-9 tie into a 13-9 lead.

The unimaginable comeback began in the sixth when Jared Triolo and Endy Rodriguez singled to start the inning against Reds starter Connor Phillips.

Alex Young replaced Phillips. After Ji Hwan Bae singled for a run and Joshua Palacios singled for anoother run, Bryan Reynolds homered and it was 9-5.

The Pirates tied it with four in the eighth when Alfonso Rivas cracked a three-run double off Lucas Sims.

Then came the eighth and the total meltdown by Diaz.

So how did the Reds construct that 9-0 lead that looked like a laugher that turned into a full-blown cry?

They scored three in the first on back-to-back home runs by Christian Encarnaion-Strand, a two-run rip, and Tyler Stephenson.

They scored five more in the second off Pittsburgh starter Bailey Falter, so how could they falter? The inning was highlighted by Stephenson’s two-run double and TJ Friedl’s inside the park home run into the right field corner.

It was Cincinnati’s first inside the park home run since 2012, when Jay Bruce did it in Citi Field, home of the New York Mets.

They added a third run in the third on Stuart Fairchild’s double and and Spencer Speer’s double.

Then came some pain. Dauri Moreta took the mound for the Pirates in the fifth and retired eight straight Reds. Why the pain. Moreta spent the first six years of his professional career with the Reds through last season.

When he left with two outs in the seventh, he held aloft a fist and pumped it vigorously.

After getting nine runs and 11 hits in the first three innings, the Reds didn’t have another hit under India broke a 0 for 16 slide with a single in the eighth inning.

Both teams had 16 hits and the Reds had 29 total bases to 22 for the Pirates.

Encarnacion-Strand had three hits and drove in four runs and Stephenson had two hits and drove in three.

On the Pittsburgh side, Rivas produced three hits and drove in five, Reynolds had two hits and drove in three and Bae contributed two hits and three RBI.

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Hal McCoy
Contributing Writer

With the wild card chase tighter than a lid on a new jar of dill pickles, there is no doubt the Cincinnati Reds were watching the clubhouse television sets as they prepared for Friday night’s game.

They saw the Chicago Cubs beat the Colorado Rockies Friday afternoon in Wrigley Field, knowing that their Friday night game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Great American Ball Park was ultra-important.

Win the game or put themselves in a pickle, falling farther behind the Cubs in their quest for the third wild card spot.

And the worse case scenario unfolded, an ultra-disheartening 7-5 loss to the Pirates that dropped the Reds 1 1/2 games behind the Cubs.

The lead changed hands six times in a wild and poorly-played game by both sides, but the Pirates ended up with the upper hand.

After the Pirates hit four solo home runs to take a 4-3 lead in the sixth inning, TJ Friedl, who was on base five straight times, unloaded a two-run home in the home sixth to give the Reds a 5-4 lead.

Home plate umpire Bruce Dreckman aided the Reds when it appeared Luke Maile had taken a strike three. But Dreckman called it a ball and Maile blooped a single to right. Friedl then homered.

But the lead was to change hands a sixth and final time in the Pittsburgh seventh against Ian Gibaut.

Ji Hwan Bae grounded to second and Jonathan India tried to short-hop it, but it skippped off his glove into right field. It was ruled an error, but later changed to an infield hit.

With one out, Bryan Reynolds singled and Ke’Bryan Hayes singled home Bae. Miguel Andujar hit a double play ball to India, but shortstop Elly De La Cruz threw wildly to first and Reynolds scored to make it 7-5.

The Reds desperately tried for a seventh lead change in the ninth against Pittsburgh closer David Bednar, who was wilder than a Pamplona bull.

His first six pitches were balls and the first four gave Friedl a walk. Spencer Steer grounded to third and Hayes tried for a 5-4-3 double play. Friedl, though, beat his throw to second, the second time in the game Friedl beat a double play ground ball to second base.

That put the potential tying runs on base with no outs. But Christian Encarnacion-Strand hit into a double play. Bednar then walked Joey Votto on a full count, putting runners on third and first.

But it ende when Bednar struck out Noelvi Marte on four pitches, his 37th save in 40 chances and 14th straight, but surely the most wobbly of them all.

Both sides used seven pitchers and they threw 381 pitches, 197 by the Reds and 184 by the Pirates.

Pittsburgh did everything it could to gift wrap a win for the Reds before handing them their third straight loss and fourth in five games.

The Reds stranded the bases loaded in the first and scored a run in the second but stranded two more. In the first two innings, Pittsburgh pitchers issued four walks and hit a batter, but the Reds scored only one run.

Cincinnati starter Andrew Abbott pitched three scoreless innings and struck out six.

But Hayes led the fourth with a home run. And number eight hitter Henry Davis crushed only his third home run, a 431-footer in the fifth.

Buck Farmer came on to pitch in the sixth with the Reds leading, 3-2, and gave up home runs to Jared Triola, his third, and to Endy Rodriguez, his fifth, which pushed the Pirates back in front, 4-3.

Friedl’s homer in the seventh reclaimed the lead, but once again the bullpen couldn’t close the deal, insuring the Reds would suffer their 38th blown lead this season.

The Pirates are on a hot streak with 15 wins in their last 24 games that includes taking recent series from the Milwaukee Brewers and the Chicago Cubs.

By Hal McCoy
Contributing Writer

The Roulette Reds wagered on red ’21’ Wednesday afternon in Great American Ball Park, but in the bitter end it came up black ’13’ for the Cincinnati Reds

The ’21’ is the uniform number worn by Reds pitcher Hunter Greene and he was two levels above awesome for seven innings.

But what Greene giveth, the bullpen taketh away.

The Minnesota Twins scored three runs in the ninth inning against closer Alexis Diaz and Sam Moll to turn a one-run deficit into a 5-3 victory, a devastating defeat for the Reds in their quest to qualify for the playoffs.

With only eight games remaining, the Reds have made their path to the number three wild card spot a rocky journey.

Greene, the last man standing from the rotation that opened the season, gave a Cullinan diamond performance, 14 strikeouts, one run and three hits over seven innings on just 92 pitches. But manager David Bell turned it over to the bullpen after seven innings, usually a reliable protection agency, asked to protect a 3-1 lead.

But Ian Gibaut gave up a run on three hits in the eighth, including a run-scoring single to Edouardo Julien to cut the lead to 3-2.

Closer Diaz entered the ninth and was touched for a bunt single by Willi Castro. He immediately stole his 32nd base and continued to third when catcher Luke Maile threw the ball into center field.

Former Reds infielder Kyle Farmer singled to right, scoring Castro that sliced Cincinnati’s lead to 3-2.

Diaz retired the next batter, but when he walked Christian Vazquez, Bell brought in left-hander Sam Moll.

He struck out Trevor Larnach for the second out on a full count while Farmer and Vazquez pulled a double steal.

That put runners on third and second, but Moll and the Reds were one out away from a 3-2 win.

Bell chose to intentionally walk pinch-hitter Ryan Jeffers, filling the bases.

Moll’s next pitch, to Jorge Polanco, was driven past second baseman Jonathan India, a two-run single and a 5-3 Minnesota lead.

Diaz had blown only two saves all season, but not only was it his third, but he was slapped with the loss.

Minnesota chose to bring in Griffin Jax to close the game in the home half, a guy who had blown 14 of his 17 career save opportunities.

And he walked pinch-hitter Nick Martini to open the ninth, but India struck out, TJ Friedl drove a deep fly just shy of the wall in right and Spencer Steer grounded into a game-ending force play.

Minnesota loaded its lineup with five left-handed hitters to face the right-handed Greene, a strange move because left-handers hit below .100 against Greene and right-handers hit .280.

Of his 14 strikeouts, the most for a Reds pitcher since Ron Villone whiffed 16 St. Louis Cardinals in 2000, Greene struck out the left-handers 10 times.

The Reds were facing 6-foot-9 Bailey Ober and the Reds made sure it was not Ober-and-out against the change-up maven.

Cincinnati took a 1-0 lead in the third when Ober walked Will Benson on a full count, hit India with a pitch on a full count and Friedl singled home Benson.

The lead expanded to 2-0 in the fourth when Christian Encarnacion-Strand extracted some revenge because the Twins traded him to the Reds for pitcher Tyler Mahle. CES homered over the left field wall, his ninth.

Greene’s only mistake surfaced in the seventh when he gave up a home run to Castro, a menace to the Reds the last two games of the series. It was his second home run in two games and he made two above-and-beyond catches to rob Tyler Stephenson of a home run and a two-run single in the second game.

In between Castro’s home run, Greene struck out six straight and struck out the side in the sixth.

Bell, though, managing his 700th game for the Reds, determined that seven innings was enough and turned it over to the bullpen.

And they let the big one get away.

After an off-day Thursday, the Reds open a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night, their last series at home.

They finished the season with two games in Cleveland and three in St. Louis.

By Hal McCoy
Contributing Writer

For the Cincinnati Reds, the 2023 schedule is down to single digits, nine games remaining, so every defeat is magnified as they puruse an elusive wild card spot.

And the Reds suffered a bad one Tuesday night in Great American Ball Park, a 7-0 loss to the Minnesota Twins.

In addition, it was double jeopardy. The Miami Marlins scored a ninth-inning walk-off 4-3 win over the New York Mets and leap-frogged over the Reds into the number three wild card spot.

The Reds managed only four hits, two in the ninth inning, and struck out 14 times while suffering their 10th shutout defeat.
It was another bullpen night for the Reds and opener Fernando Cruz was the only effective pitcher among five used by manager David Bell.
Cruz retired five Twins, four via strikeouts, during his brief 1 2/3 innings.

Then it was a 76 trombones-type relief pitcher parade. Bell used four pitchers in the first 3 1/3 innings to get 10 outs.
After Cruz pitched a 1-2-3 first, the Twins put runners on base in each of the next seven innings against Buck Farmer. Daniel Duarte, Alex Young, Ben Lively and Derek Law.

Lively was the sacrificial lamb. He ate up four innings but gave up five runs, seven hits, four walks and a home run.
The Twins scored one in the second, one in the fourth, two in the sixth, two in the seventh and one in the eighth and stranded runners in each inning from the second to the eighth.

As part of Minnesota’s 11-hit assault, number eight batter Ryan Jeffers cracked a solo home run and Castro complemented hiis outstanding defensive effort with a two-run home run
Meanwhile, the Reds were helpless against 34-year-old Osaka-born Kenta Maeda and his nose-diving split-fingered pitch.

He retired the first 11 Reds before giving up a two-out double to former Twins farmhand Spencer Steer and a walk to Jake Fraley with two outs in the fourth.

That was one of only three opportunities for the Reds to score and Twins center fielder Willi Castro spoiled both. They trailed by only 2-0 in the fifth when Steer doubled with Fraley walked with two outs.

Steer and Fraley pulled off a double steal, putting runners on third and second. Tyler Stephenson drove a sinking line drive to center and Castro made a diving, rolling catch off the grass tops to prevent the Reds from tying it, 2-2.

Fraley walked to open the seventh and Castro did it to Stephenson again. Stephenson drove one to deep center and Castro vaulted above the wall to rob Stephenson of a two-run homer.

Maeda left after five innings and four Twins relief pitchers finished the project, ending the Reds stretch of six wins in their previous eight games.

 

By Hal McCoy

Dayton, OH. — The University of Dayton football team is taking a busisness trip to San Diego this week, a rugged Pioneer Football League game against the University of San Diego.

But what’s business without a dab of pleasure?

“A lot of our kids have never been on an airplane, let alone see the Pacific Ocean,” said first-year Flyer coach Trevor Andrews.

“Sightseeing? We’re going to play a football game,” he said. But he doesn’t plan to put his Flyers in deep hibernation,

“We will take ‘em to the beach to see the ocean and maybe get ‘em an In-N-Out burger,” Andrews said, referring to the famous west coast fast-food chain.

The Flyers are flying to San Diego on Thursday to get acclimated to the three-hour time difference, “And the game is at 5 p.m., our time, our normal practice time, so that should help,” said Andrews.

This is the PFL’s 31st year and the two most successful programs have been UD and San Diego, both with 12 league championships.

Andrews doesn’t know what awaits him and the Flyers. The Toreros are an uncharacteristic 0-3, but with extenuating circumstances.

Due to a hazing controversy, all USD seniors were suspended for the first three games and some of the underclassmen for one game.

“We’ve looked at some film, but we’re not sure who we’re seeing and who will play,” said Andrews. “But they played a good game last week against Princeton (23-12 loss). They also lost to Cal Poly, 27-10, and Colorado Mesa, 28-21, in overtime.

“We assume all their players will be back for our game,” said Andrews.

And, like Andrews, Brandon Moore is in his first year as San Diego’s head coach.

So the Flyers are taking the field with blindfolds on under their helmets, not knowing what to expect.

After taking a 41-0 beating at Eastern Illinois, a school that gives 65 scholarships, the Flyers handed beatings to Central State, 62-24, and to Taylor University, 52-20.

Andrews plans to continue using a two-quarterback system, but it is not a platoon situation where they alternate series.

It is more situational, “And sometimes we have both in the backfield at the same time.”

The majority of the time goes to red-shirt sophomore Dante Casciola, a 6-2, 177-pound classic drop-back passer who is adept at reading defenses.

The other is red-shirt senior Cole Dow, who is more of a runner and a quick study in improvisation.

In three games, Casciola is 29 for 46 for 480 yards and four touchdowns. He has carried only four times for minus-19 yards, due to sacks.

Dow is 16 for 34 for 124 yards and two touchdowns while also running it 31 times for 121 yards and three touchdowns.

“People don’t like to hear it when we talk about two quarterbacks,” said Andrews, “but ours is not a true platoon. We play to each one’s strengths.”

The biggest question mark when the Flyers began the season was how to replace all-everything, all-purpose back Jake Chisholm, who re-wrote nearly every UD offensive record over the last five years.

How do you replace a guy like that? With four guys — Michael Neel, Logan Davis, Luke Hansen and Mason Hackett.

All four drew play calls against Taylor — 15 carries for Neel for 58 yards and a pair of touchdowns, five carries for 50 yards for Davis, seven carries for 34 yards and a touchdown for bull-rusher Hansen, and four carries for 34 yards and a touchdown from 5-foot-8 freshman Hackett, mostly in the fourth quarter.

Neel, a 192-pound grad student from Charlotte, gets most of the calls, kneeling for nobody. He has barged his way to two straight 100-yard days. For the three games he has carried 53 times for 289 yards and three touchdowns.

The Flyers have scored 114 points in their last two games, performed and accomplished with five freshmen on the offensive unit.

The Flyers have trudged for more than 500 yards total offense in back-to-back games.

“That’s awesome, that’s our goal every week,” said Casciola. “We set high goals for ourselves. We wanted to hit them going into league play. We should feel good going into San Diego about all three phases of the game.”

Of the match-up with San Diego, Casciola said, “We definitely know from their past they will be a great football team. They are going to be really deep and they’ll have a lot of athletes. We know the travel is going to be hard for us, but it’ll be a great game. I’m real excited because I’ve never played in California, so that will be fun.”

And he will have some grandstand support.

“I have a lot of family, like cousins who went to UCLA,” he said. “They are definitely coming to the game and my family is making a short little vacation out of it.”

So for the Flyers it is a little bit of pleasure first, then down to the business of winning a challenging and important football game.

By Hal McCoy
Contributing Writer

Q: How many pitchers in today’s game would throw 120 to 130 pitches in a game if it was their choice? — DAVE, Miamisburg/Centerville/Beavercreek.
A: It depends on the situation. A gusy getting his carcass handed to him after three innings prefers an early shower. But a pitcher doing well does not want to come out when he reaches the magic 100-pitch plateau. How often do you see a pitcher doing well make faces and walk off dejectedly when the manager says, “Nice job, you’re done.” The game has changed, not for the better, and startig pitchers believe they’ve done their jobs by pitching five good innings. Case in point: After a recent game, Seattle pitcher George Kirby said, “I wish I hadn’t been out there for the seventh inning, to be honest. I was at 90 pitches.” Poor baby.
Q: If you were a betting man, would you wager that the Reds will make the playoffs this year? — DR. GREG, Beavercreek.
A: The only betting I do is on myself at the blackjack tables. And since I wrote about recently that the Reds will make it, I won’t renege. But those two losses at home to St. Louis lessened my optimism, I’m still with them, mostly due to their weak opponents down the stretch. They should win the majority of those games, but it concerns me that they have to continue to run mystery men to the mound.

Q: What would be the plus and minus of the Reds batting Will Benson at leadoff? — BEN, Red Bay, AL.
A: That’s an astute observation. Benson is a well-rounded hitter with power and speed. He has a .369 onbase average, second on the team behind Spencer Steer. He has taken 37 walks and stolen 15 bases. He has been productive batting ninth and eighth, but he could be more productive leading off. But the only manager to ever take my suggestion was Lou Piniella when in 1990 I suggested he bat Barry Larkin leadoff. How’d that work out?

Q: Does anybody choke up on the bat any more, especially with two strikes? — JACK, Miamisburg.
A: Choking up on the bat has gone the way of stirrup,socks and vest-top uniforms. Players want to grip-it and rip-it for home runs, seeking high velocity bat speed, high launch angle and distance. Joey Votto does choke up with two strikes at time. Believe it or not, Barry Bonds choked up at all times and said it gave him bat control and by moving up on the handle it could more easily make contact with the barrel. Remember Bucky Dent of the New York Yankees hitting the famous home run against the Boston Red Sox to win the pennant? He choked up on that homer. Noted choke artists in the past were Ty Cobb, Nellie Fox, Rod Carew and Hunter Pence. As Edith Bunker sang it, “Gone are the days.

Q: When a player or manager is ejected, do they get fined and how much? — ART, West Chester.
A: With every ejection comes a dip into the ejectee’s wallet. The fines are never disclosed, though they usually start at about $500. A lot of it depends upon how demonstrative the manager or player is what he does after he is ejected. And suspensions can be given, too, if the player or manager comes in contact with the umpire, uses excessively vile verbiage or spreads equipment all over the well-tended grass.

Q: What kind of wood are the players required to use in their bats? — NADINE, Englewood.
A: While it looks as if some players are using balsam, nobody uses that flimsy wood. Most players use maple bats because the wood is dense, powerful, durable and packs a punch. Twenty years ago most players swung ash bats. They are more flexible and increased bat speed. But usage of ash is down to about 10 % of the players. I’m just glad MLB doesn’t use aluminum bats with their awful ‘ping’ sound and no crack of the bat. I was playing softball when aluminum bats first appeared but I stubbornly continued to use a wooden bat. And why don’t you ask me these questions at dinner?

Q: How long do you stick with Elly De La Cruz in the lineup while his average drops like a rock? — KEVIN, New York, NY.
A: There is no doubt De La Cruz has more strikeouts than bees in a hive, but he does create buzz and evokes havoc on the basepaths, when he can get there. And, yes, he is hitting far below .200 since the All-Star break and his last home run is a distant memory. But the kid is 21 and still learning. He has been better lately at laying off low and inside pitches in the dirt. Despite all that, he has superstar written all over him. He just has to learn to read it.

Q: I’m getting tired of managers relying on analytics and will they ever get back to just using their heads and gut feelings? — SCOTT, Springfield.
A: The best managers use a combination of both, use the numbers fed them but still rely on what they are seeing and how they feel about certain situations. The robot managers stick totally to analytics and, oh yeah, robots make mistakes, too. Analytics will never completely go away because if they are used the right way they can help.

Q: What’s the best prank you saw pulled on players in the clubhouse? — JIM, Cincinnati.
A: Johnny Bench had a steel cage about the size of small cardboard box with a small barred window on one side. Rookies were told that Bench’s pet mongoose was inside and it was dangerous. What actually was inside was a stuffed toy animal. Rookies were invited to peek in the window. When they did, Bench sprung a trap door and the ‘mongoose’ was ejected into the air. Several rookies needed a cardiologist immediately.