Senzel batting leadoff stabilizes Reds batting order
By HAL McCOY CINCINNATI — The Lineup Shuffle, a dance routine performed by Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell for the first six weeks of the season, apparently has come to a satisfactory conclusion. For the past couple of weeks the top of the Reds order has been as steady as Plymouth Rock. And it coincides […]
Castillo, Reds stuff Cubs second night in a row
By HAL McCOY CINCINNATI — Mother Nature interrupted and intervened with Luis Castillo’s night Thursday in Great American Ball Park, but half-a-game from Castillo and half-a-game from the Cincinnati Reds bullpen is usually more than enough. And it certainly was on this night as the Reds defeated the Chicago Cubs, 4-2, in a rain-divided game […]
Will Bell burn out the bullpen? Bullpen says, ‘No.’
By HAL McCOY CINCINNATI — At the first hint of stress or distress from a starting pitcher, as certain as Jack Armstrong ate his Wheaties and Mikey liked his Maypo, Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell will be on his way to the mound to take the baseball away. He is doing so much that his […]
Puig, Votto come off the mat to beat Cubs in 10 innings, 6-5
By HAL McCOY CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Reds scratched, scraped, scrapped and scrambled all game long Wednesday night in Great American Ball Park against the Chicago Cubs. And there was a positive payoff, a huge reward. The night ended in spectacular fashion in the bottom of the 10th when Yasiel Puig lobbed a bases-loaded single […]
Reds own MLB’s worst one-run record (6-13) — And how about Joey?
By HAL McCOY CINCINNATI — If one wants to discern what spot a team occupies without checking the standings, a usually accurate measurement is to check that team’s record in one-run games. One run, of course, is the slimmest of margins, so much can happen one way or another to determine who wins and who […]
Hendricks pitches, hits Cubs past Reds, 3-1
By HAL McCOY CINCINNATI — After negotiating a 3-and-3 record against two last place teams on the west coast, Oakland and San Francisco, the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night began what might be the most decisive 11 games of the season, an 11-step program. During that run, they play the best-of-the-best in the National League […]
Eugenio Suarez: The Reds’ Blonde Bomber ‘sees the ball, hits the ball’
By HAL McCOY CINCINNATI — One needs to go back a couple of generations to remember the Ivory commercials in which they insisted, “Ivory soap is 99 and 44/100ths percent pure.” Despite the facts that say Eugenio Suarez is torrid at the plate these days, the Cincinnati Reds third baseman insists, “I’m not 100 per […]
Castillo: From a farm in the Dominican Republic to ‘The Rock’
Castillo settles in as Reds’ rock By Hal McCoy The first time Luis Castillo walked into the Cincinnati Reds clubhouse, he dropped his bag on the floor and began to sit in a chair in front of his dressing cubicle. Before he hit the chair, a voice next to him said, “Well, La Piedra is […]
This time Hernandez gives it up, Reds lose, 6-5
By Hal McCoy Contributing Writer It is amazing how the fortunes of one baseball player can change in less than a day, eight little hours, from the the castle to a shanty. That was the scenairo Saturday/Sunday for Cincinnati Reds pitcher David Hernandez and it definitely was the shanty for him Sunday afternoon in Oracle […]