HalMcCoy.com

By HAL McCOY

CINCINNATI — Jake Arrieta calls Cincinnati his least favorite city to visit, “Because there is not much to do there, just nothing going on.”

So he made sure something was going on Thursday night in Great American Ball Park. He pitched a no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds as his Chicago Cubs pounded the bejabbers out of a few dozen basebalsl for a 16-0 thrashing.

There might be nothing interesting for Arrieta to do around his downtown hotel, where he and the Cubs stay when they are in town, but Arrieta finds plenty to do when he is on the pitching rubber.

It was his second no-hitter, coming after he no-hit the Los Angeles Dodgers in Dodger Stadium last August 30, a 2-0 Cubs victory.

AMAZINGLY, ARRIETA AND his catcher, former Reds catcher David Ross, called this no-hitter a bit of a struggle because early in the game his command and location were off. It caused him to walk four, uncharacteristically high for him.

The Reds, though, hit only two balls into the outfield over the first six innings and only five for the game. There were only two near-misses — a hard-hit ball by Zack Cozart to third baseman Kris Bryant in the third and a hard-stroked ball by Joey Votto in the fourth that was gloved by first baseman Anthony Rizzo.

Cubs Manager Joe Maddon was concerned about Arrieta’s pitch count when it reached 85, but as long as the Reds had no hits Maddon was not about to leave his seat and do anything drastic.

“You never want to interfere with somebody’s greatness,” said Maddon. “We had a conversation that if our guys get to the point of a no-hitter the pitch-count goes out the door. As a manager you try to stay out of the way of those moments.”

MADDON, ROSS AND Arrieta himself said he didn’t have his top-shelf stuff, that he was off, “And all over the place,” said Ross, which was why his pitch count was so high. But he busied himself making the Cincinnati Reds play baseball’s version of ‘Go Fish.’

Ross, 39, announced before the season started that this would be his last season and he had never caught a no-hitter.

“This is amazing, amazing,” said Ross. “This was one of my dreams and that stud made it come true. I’m on Cloud Nine, I’m on the moon. As a catcher who prides himself on calling the game, that’s something I wanted to do. That animal was in control most of the time and he locked it in when he needed it.”

Ross, not noted for hefty bat work, had two hits, including a home run and said, “How about that? I have a big offensive night and I get overshadowed by a no-hitter.”

MADDON SEEMED ALMOST more proud and happy for Ross than he did for Arrieta. After all, Arrieta already had a no-hitter. Ross didn’t.

“You talk about pitching a no-hitter, but catching a no-hitter is very special, too,” he said. “That’s something he’ll be able to carry with him forever. He does a great job and had a great hitting day on top of it. That’s just, because this guy has always given everything he has to the pitcher when he is back there.”

Arrieta seemed to be the calmest man in the room after his accomplishment and said, “That’s a part of every pitcher’s mental makeup at this level — you have to expect certain things out of yourself.”

With his stuff moving so much, a lot of time out of the zone, he certainly didn’t expect to throw a no-hitter on this night — not until the sixth inning.

“I had shaky command of all my pitches, but I kept using them all and as the game got on I got a bit more comfortable,” he added. “I pitched to contact pretty well. My timing was off, from start to finish. I was able to lock it in on big situations an force some contact to get outs pretty quickly.” He needed only nine pitches in the seventh and nine pitches in the eighth.

Last year’s Cy Young Award winner is well on his way to winning the award for the second straight year, already 4-and-0 this season with a 0.87 earned run average and 16 straight scoreless innings over his last two starts.

Arrieta nearly threw a no-hitter at the Reds in September of 2014 in Wrigley Field. Brandon Phillips ruined it with a two-out double in the eighth inning. But Arrieta threw his first complete game, a one-hit 7-0 victory during which he walked only one and struck out 13.

BEFORE THE 30-YEAR-OLD right hander had to throw his first pitch Thursday he had a 2-0 lead and before he pitched the second inning he had a 4-0 lead. Giving Arrieta four runs that early is like giving a polar bear a fish and then trying to take it away from him. You’re going to lose some fingers

How good is this guy? You won’t find his picture next to ‘good’ in the dictionary. It is next to ‘great.’ He has now won his last 16 decisions and has pitched 24 straight quality starts.

Cincinnati starter Brandon Finnegan went 6 2/3 innings without giving up a hit last week in Chicago against the Cubs. This time he went 0 0/3 innings before giving up a hit.

Finnegan was the first player out of the Reds dugout and onto the field to start the game, but what was the rush? His first pitch of the game was ripped for a double by Dexter Fowler and two batters later Kris Bryant crushed a 420-foot home run.

Ben Zobrist opened the second inning with a home run into the right field bleachers, David Ross nuzzled an infield roller up the third base line for a hit, took third on Arrieta’s hit and scored on a ground ball.

SO ARRIETA HAD A 4-0 lead before he broke a sweat and he retired the first four Reds in a row on ground balls before he walked Jay Bruce.

Finnegan gave up a fifth run in the fourth inning and was soon no longer a participant after giving up five runs, seven hits, two homers and two walks among his 74 pitches in four innings.

OVER THE LAST FIVE innings the Reds bullpen gave up 11 runs and a11 hits, which places it under the, ‘That’s no news,’ category. The Cubs had 18 hits and the 16-0 no-hitter is the biggest score for a no-hitter since the Buffalo Bisons no-hit the Detroit Wolverines, 18-0, in 1884.

TIM Melville, recently removed from the rotation and plopped into the bullpen, replaced Finnegan and received a buzz haircut.

After giving up no runs and one hit in the fifth, Melville gave up four runs, two walks and four hits that included the home run by Ross and a three-run rip by Anthony Rizzo that made it 9-0.

Drew Hayes made his major-league debut in the seventh and cortisone shots are less painful. He loaded the bases and Kris Bryant unloaded them, his third career grand slam and his sixth RBI of the game. Bryant has four home runs this year, all against the Reds.

MEANWHILE, disabled pitcher Homer Bailey made his first of three projected minor league starts in Louisville Thursday night. He pitched 3 2/3 innings (67 pitches) and gave up two runs and three hits while walking two and striking out six.

By HAL McCOY

CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Reds pulled one out Wednesday afternoon, one they shouldn’t have had to pull out if only the bullpen wasn’t a pigpen.

But that’s the way it is these days and it took a ninth-inning walk-off single by Tucker Barnhart to win it, 6-5, after the bullpen blew a three-run lead in the eighth inning.

With runners on first and third and one out, the Rockies used a five-man infield but Barnhart cleared it with a first-pitch game-ending single to right field.

IT MAY SOUND CRASS and it may sound harsh, but the truth is: ‘The Bullpen Blows.’

The bullpen blows leads and the bullpen blows tie games and it happens day after day after day, a baseball Groundhog Day.

And it nearly always happens after a starting pitcher has pitched a winnable game and turned his hopes and prayers over to the bullpen

ON WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON it was Cincinnati starter Raisel Iglesias turning a lead over to the bullpen and taking a swift kick in the seat of the pants.

After holding the Rockies to two runs and five hits over 6 2/3 innings, Iglesias turned over a one-run lead to the bullpen. And the Reds added two more runs and led by three heading into the eighth inning.

But Blake Wood gave up a single and a walk to start the eighth, then Tony Cingrani gave up a walk, a ground ball for a run and a two-run bloop single to tie the game, 5-5.

Asked afterward if he is getting any clarity with his bullpen, manager Bryan Price smiled and said, “Well, you give me your clarity first, OK? What have you figured out?

“Right now, these guys are busting their tails and we know how much they want to really string together some good outings,” Price added. “It isn’t a lack of effort or preparation or character. We just aren’t hitting on all cylinders and I’m asking all those guys to pitch a lot.”

BASEBALL GAMES CAN be won or lost in so many ways it sometimes defies description or explanation, unless, of course, it involved the bullpen.

And such was the case Wednesday, before the Reds and Rockies bullpen decided it.

They say something never done before happens in baseball at least once a week and one of those may have happened in the seventh inning Wednesday in Great American Ball Park.

THE REDS LED, 3-2, with two outs when Rockies catcher Dustin Garneau doubled. Pinch-hitter Ryan Raburn chucked a bloop hit to right field and Garneau bolted for home.

As he rounded third, he appeared to stumbled over third base, but he regained balance and scored the tying run. Or did he?

At that point Reds manager Bryan Price removed Iglesias and replaced him with Blake Wood. As Wood warmed up, third baseman Eugenio Suarez said to Price, “I think he missed third base.” Price asked plate umpire Gary Cedarstrom if he could appeal the play even after removing pitcher Iglesias and Cedarstrom said yes.

So they had Wood throw to third base on appeal and umpire Adrian Johnson called Garneau out for missing third base. The Rockies appealed for a review and after three minutes and 20 seconds the folks back in New York permitted the out call to stick and the Reds still led, 3-2.

THEN CAME THE BOTTOM of the seventh and the Reds were gifted with two more runs. With two outs and nobody on Adam Duvall drove one to deep left center. Left fielder Ben Paulsen lost the ball in the excruciatingly bright sun and the ball glanced off his glove for a double.

Barnhart doubled for a run and Ivan DeJesus doubled for a run and a 5-2 Reds lead.

The early portion of the game was a pitcher’s war between Iglesias and Rockies starter Chad Bettis, who came into the game with a 2-0 record and a 2.95 earned run average.

The Reds scored three off Bettis in the second on a single by Brandon Phillips and back-to-back home runs by Jay Bruce and Duvall for a 3-0 Reds lead. After that Bettis retired the next 15 in a row before leaving after six. The only hits he gave up were the three in a row in the second.

The Rockies scored their only runs off Iglesias in the fourth on a run-scoring double by Carlos Gonzalez and a run-scoring single by Gerardo Parra.

Iglesias pitched 6 2/3 innings and gave up two runs and five hits en route to a head-shaking no-decision.

“It was a strange one,” said Price. “But it was nice to see Tucker come through because he has been the unsung hero. He played a lot last year and he has picked up Devin Tesoro this year when I don’t have Devin in the lineup.”

WHILE MESORACO IS coming back slowly from his hip surgery last season, hitting .161, Barnhart is banging the ball at a .348 clip and had two hits, two RBI and a run scored Wednesday.

“He is doing a nice job handling the staff, too, and getting that big hit,” said Price. “They had that five-man infield and he had to find some acreage, some open grass, to get the job done and he did it.”

Said Barnhart, “I was just trying to get something to the outfield, really. I was facing a guy who likes to pitch inside (Christian Bergman), but I put a good swing on the ball and got it to the outfield.”

Of his contributions lately, Barnhart said, “I’m here to do whatever is asked of me to do.”

Obviously, on this day they asked him to punch a game-winning hit, so he punched a game-winning hit.

By HAL McCOY

CINCINNATI — The Kentucky State Police didn’t have to be concerned about Drew Hayes speeding up I-71 at 100 miles an hour Wednesday morning.

“I drove real slow so I could take it all in,” said Hayes.

There isn’t much to take in on I-71 between Louisville and Cincinnati other than green highway signs, truck stops and a lot of trees. But when you are on your way to become a major leaguer for the first time it looks like paradise.

Hayes, 28, has pitched in the minor leagues for six years without so much of a sniff of major league meal money after the Cincinnati Reds drafted him in the 11th round of the 2010 draft out of Vanderbilt.

HAYES IS A PERSONAL reclamation project. After he was invited to Major League camp for spring training in 2013 and 2014, he was not invited in 2015 and some soul-searching began.

“I had to look reality in the face at that point and it is what it is,” he said. “I had to make adjustments or I had to go home. It made me appreciate the game even more and appreciate the opportunities I was getting.”

And his adjustments to save his career?

“It was mental — have more fun and enjoy the game,” he said. “I found some happiness in life and a reason to be thankful for everything I have.”

PITCHING TWO YEARS in the Dominican Republic sent a message to him, too, as he saw the poverty and saw the dedication to the game the natives exhibited.

“That really helped me, honestly made me appreciate things even more, seeing what goes on there and the joy those people get from the game. And I grew stronger in my faith.”

Hayes was probably the best pitcher in camp this spring but late in camp found himself assigned to Class AAA Louisville.

Did he sulk, did he tear up a clubhouse, did he curse and bemoan? That’s not his style.

“I thanked manager Bryan Price for the opportunity and I asked him what I needed to do to improve,” said Hayes. And he received support from everybody in his small hometown of McKenzie, Tenn., where in high school he had the second most passing yards in Tennessee prep football history.

“I talked to my parents and my high school football coach and my brother — people who have supported me and been with me the whole way,” he said. “Now I’m thankful to be here. representing my hometown.” McKenzie is about a 4 1/2-hour drive and his parents, Glenn and Joyce, plan to attend Thursday’s game, “Because my mom had to work today.”

HAYES WEARS UNIFORM No.53 and said he has worn an assorted amount of numbers during his spring training camps, “84 in my first camp, 59, 58, 73 and now 53. And 53 (his major league number) is the best.”

After his demotion this spring, Hayes went to Louisville to show his spring exhibition performance was no fluke. “I was thankful that they gave me the opportunity to be with them this spring in the first place,” he said. “I was thankful and grateful for that opportunity to pitch. Go to Louisville? There are a lot worse places to be than in Louisville.”

HAYES WAS AT HIS locker Tuesday night when Louisville pitching coach Ted Power said, “Hey, Drew, the skipper wants to see you.” So Hayes trudged toward a corner of the clubhouse where he was met by Bats manager Delino DeShields.

“He didn’t tell me a thing,” said Hayes. “He just gave me a handshake and a hug. That was it. Delano I have a special relationship because I’ve played for him all through the minors from rookie ball to low-A (Dayton) and two years at Double-A and last year in Pensacola.”

Hayes said he naturally had doubts about ever sitting on a stool in a major league clubhouse pulling on a major league jersey.

“Yeah, I think everybody had doubts,” he said. “At some point, if you are realistic, you have doubts. But I was able to not put all my eggs in one basket and be happy wherever I’m playing whether it is Pensacola, Louisville or Cincinnati.”

PRICE HOPES THE eggs Hayes puts up are mostly goose eggs across the scoreboard.

“Drew had one of the better springs,” said Price. “If spring training was simply a blank canvass he would have painted his way onto the ball club. It wasn’t totally open tryouts because there are certain guys on the roster for sure, guys who get first crack.”

It worked against Hayes that he was not on the 40-man roster and was just an invitee to Major League camp. To place him on the roster Wednesday the Reds designated for assignment pitcher Keyvius Sampson.

“Drew was disappointed when he didn’t make the club, but considering where he was a year ago (not even in Major League camp or on the 40-man roster), I mean, here is a guy who wasn’t even in came in 2015 and he makes the club in 2016.

“I’m really excited for Drew because he is a good kid and he came up through our organization and he has earned his right be here.”

Even if he took his good ol’ time getting here — both during his scratch and claw journey up the organization ladder and his leisurely drive from Louisville to Cincinnati.

By HAL McCOY

CINCINNATI — Robert Stephenson is the Cincinnati Reds version of a First Responder, one who knows what to do in an emergency situation.

For the second time this year Stephenson was called up from Class AAA Louisville to make an emergency start, this time because scheduled starter Alfredo Simon has inflammation in his shoulder.

And once again Stephenson certainly was the Man of the Hour, totally mesmerizing and duct taping the Colorado Rockies for seven innings to help the Reds to a 4-3 victory.

STEPHEN SON, THE TEAM’S No. 1 draft pick in 2011, faced one of baseballs more potent offenses and held it to one run and three hits over seven innings. Significantly, he held the high octane first five in the Colorado batting order to 0 for 15.

And his reward for his 2-and-0 record and becoming the first Reds starter to pitch seven innings? Back to Class AAA Louisville as fast as the Reds can get him there.

“At this point, he has had two major league starts that have been good,” said manager Bryan Price. “But we still feel there are some things he can improve upon. If the need was here I’d be happy to have him but right now the need is not here. We do think he still has a ways to go as far as his development.

“We just don’t have the luxury of being able to keep him here,” Price added. “We don’t want him pitching in the bullpen. Coming into this year we thought there were some things Robert needed to work on and he can work on them up here, but our thought was that at this time of the year he would be pitching in Triple-A and continue to work on things. He can cut out a spot for himself in our rotation when we need it.”

DON’T TRY TO PASS that one off on the Rockies.

After the seventh inning, it was bullpen time, which nearly always this season has become Fright Night. And it was again.

Caleb Cotham pitched a perfect eighth and left hander Tony Cingrani started the ninth by striking out Carlos Gonzalez. Manager Bryan Price brought in closer J.J. Hoover and he quickly got the second out.

But Gerardo Parra bunted for a hit and Mark Reynolds hit a home run to center field that provided Reynolds enough frequent flyer miles for two round trips to Paris.

That made it 4-3 before Hoover retired Ben Paulsen on a fly to right to end it.

ASKED AFTER THE game how long Hoover’s rope is as the closer, Price said, “That’s hard to say and I knew that would be a question today after tonight’s game. It is kind of a tenuous point at this time. I really want him to be able to handle those situations, but we need performance. I’m going to sleep on it and I’ll have a better answer tomorrow.”

As for Stephenson, he fell behind, 1-0, in the second inning on a two-out double by Reynolds, a balk and a single by Paulsen. And that was it for the Rockies — period, paragraph, move on. They had only one hit from the third through the seventh. His only problem was a leadoff double by Paulsen in the fifth, but Stephenson retired the next three.

“Colorado has a really nice ball club and you know they are going to score their share of runs,” said Price. “They have power, they have speed and do some nice things offensively. Stephenson did a good job of not making too much of the situation. We just told him, ‘Just go out and pitch like it is a regular environment and pitch the way you do.’”

PRICE GAVE CATCHER Devin Mesoraco top props for guiding Stephenson through the tumult.

“That might have been the best-called game of the year,” said Price. “Devin did a wonderful job working with Robert, not always conceding fastballs in fastball counts. He was able to milk the curveball and change-up a fair bit and was able to pitch inside enough so those guys couldn’t just hang over the plate.”

The Reds scored all four of their runs in bizarre fashion in the second inning against left handed starter Jorge De La Rosa. Amazingly he struck out the side in the first.

But once the Reds got on base, it was Merry-Go-Round and calliope time. From the stretch, De La Rosa lifts his leg higher than the Rockettes and the Reds swiped five bases in the one inning, most of them with no throws and with nobody attempting to cover a base.

Billy Hamilton furnished the big blow, which was really a little blow, a hard ground ball that skipped high over third baseman Nolan Arena’s head for a two-run double.

Zack Cozart stretched his hitting streak to 10 game with an engaging battle against De La Rose in the second. Cozart fouled off four 3-and-2 pitches and on the 10th pitch of the at bat solidly lined a run-scoring single to left.

And Brandon Phillips came close to a natural cycle by hitting, in order, a single, double and triple. On his last at bat he needed a home run for the natural cycle but ruined it by lining a single to center, giving him a 4-for-4 night.

By Hal McCoy

CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Reds keep finding things while they are losing things. They find starting pitchers and they lose games.

For the second straight day the Reds found a useable piece for their fluid starting rotation but lost the game.

On Sunday in St. Louis it was Jon Moscot coming off the disabled list to pitch 5 2/3 strong innings — three runs six hits — but the Reds lost, 4-3.

On Monday at home against Colorado it was even better when Dan Straily was plucked from the bullpen and started the game against the Rockies. He went five innings and gave up one run and only two hits — but the Reds lost, 5-1.

AND BOTH DAYS it was relief pitcher Ross Ohlendorf losing the game. On Sunday he gave up a run-scoring double in the eighth inning to back-up catcher Eric Fryer for the winning run.

On Monday Ohlendorf gave up a two-out home run to rookie megastar Trevor Story in the eighth inning for the winning run. It was Story’s eighth home run and quite a story it is because he is replacing departed Rockies rock star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki.

After Story’s home run, Ohlendorf gave up a single to Carlos Gonzalez and walked Nolan Arenando. Jumbo Diaz was brought onto the scene and his second pitch landed on the grass beyond the center field wall, a three-run home run by Ben Paulsen that nailed this one down conclusively.

OHLSDORF IS perplexed.

“The last two days my stuff was as good as it has ever been,” he said. “The results weren’t there, but sometimes that happens. If I keep pitching this way there will be good results, but it is frustrating that I got the loss in both the games, in close games, and couldn’t help the team out.”

He couldn’t help out either Moscot or Straily, both of whom deserved much better.

“Pitching is contagious and were not all contagious yet, we’re not infected,” said manager Bryan Price of his bullpen. “But to get Moscot and Straily out there and really working the zone is a positive. So much of pitching is working ahead so you can control the count and control the zone. Those were a couple of guys who worked ahead effectively. It doesn’t guarantee victory (as both discovered) but it increased your odds of having a good ballgame.”

STRAILY WAS PITCH-EFFICIENT and pounded and peppered the strike zone, especially early in the count. And he did that knowingly, knowing that since he pitched three innings just three days ago out of the bullpen that his time was limited.

He only threw 76 pitches (52 for strikes) over his five innings.

“That was the goal for today because I knew they would limit my pitch count based on the way we got to where we are (Straily starting after pitching in relief two days ago),” he said. “I was trying to get hitters out on three pitches or less, the stuff you always try to do but that was the main focus tonight.”

Straily most likely insured himself of at least two more starts until disabled pitchers Homer Bailey and Anthony DeSclafani return.

“That’s good because that’s what I’ve done my whole career,” said Straily. “I was embracing being the long man out of the bullpen, trying to be the best long man I could be. But I’d by lying if I didn’t say I wanted to start games.”

PRICE WAS DEFINITELY impressed with what he saw from Straily, a guy the Reds picked up off the waivers wire late in the spring and a guy who immediately told Price, “I have a rubber arm. You can use me every day.”

Of his first start, Price said, “He was terrific. Five innings of one-run ball after being two days removed from three innings in St. Louis. And he pitched a couple of innings in Chicago. He has been very efficient for us out of the bullpen and very durable. He gave us five very nice innings and a chance to win.”

The Reds were duct-taped for seven innings by Colorado pitcher Jordan Lyles, who came into the game with a 23-and-38 career record over 99 major league starts and a 5.18 earned run average.

But he held the Reds to one unearned run over seven innings and four hits as the Reds lost for the sixth time in their last seven games. And the Rockies have won five of their last six, including two of three in Chicago against the Cubs over the weekend.

“LYLES GAVE US trouble and this was a guy we’ve seen for a long time because I think he was 20 when the Houston Astros brought him up,” said Price. “He is a good-armed pitcher with a real good feel for pitching and tonight he was on.”

Straily only strayed once and it cost him a run in the second when he gave up a leadoff single to Nolan Arenado and walked Paulsen with no outs. But he bowed his back and only one run scored, that on a ground ball.

Colorado guarded that 1-0 like the entrance to a silver mine. Jay Bruce led the fifth with a line drive to left center and tried for a triple and was called out. The Reds challenged the out call and the call was upheld.

“He beat it, but it was just that his foot came off the bag,” said Price. “He came above the bag with his right foot. He is safe until his foot came up over the bag instead of on the bag.”

THLE REDS TIED IT the next inning with an unearned run against Lyles. Zack Cozart extended his hitting streak to nine game with a two-out single in the sixth. Jordan Pacheco doubled to left and when left fielder Gerrado Parra’s throw eluded the cutoff man for an error Cozart scored to tie it, 1-1.

Then came the eighth with Ohlendorf and Diaz and disaster.
Fortunately for the Reds, paid attendance at Great American Ball Park on a gorgeous spring night was only 12,777, smallest in Cincinnati since 1986.

By HAL McCOY

The warm and fuzzy story so far this season involves shortstop Zack Cozart and, as they say, “It couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.”

When the Reds took the field Sunday to face the St. Louis Cardinals, Cozart took a .480 batting average with him.

Everybody knows Cozart isn’t going to hit .480 or .400 and probably not even .300. But if he can hit .280 to go along with his street sweeper defense he will be a major plus.

COZART MISSED THE last half of last season after destroying his knee running to first base and it was surgically repaired in about a dozen different places.

To get back to where he is took a ton of dedication to hard work, a ton of discipline to do it right.

And now he is back and playing as if Derek Jeter’s body parts were transplanted into Cozart’s frame.

HIS .480 AVERAGE is amazing enough, but even more noteworthy is that Cozart took 44 swings this year before he swung and missed a pitch. Every time he swung he either put the ball in play for fouled it off.

He finally swung and missed a pitch Saturday against the Cardindals, but on the next pitch to lined a double to right center.

Did he know about the incredible swing-and-miss statistic? “I never thought much about it, but Jay Bruce talked a little bit about it. I guess that’s good but I don’t know what it means.”

That’s typical Cozart — low key, unpretentious and even a little self-deprecating at times. He is the ultimate blue collar guy in that it is all hard work, all team player, nothing about himself.

IT IS PROBABLY why he might be the most underrated shortstop in the game. That doesn’t mean he is unappreciated by his manager, Bryan Price, and his teammates.

“I’m not surprised by what Zack is doing,” Price said earlier this season. “He is enjoying being back on the field and I know how much he missed it. He missed being on the field and he missed being part of this team. You can tell how happy he is to be back and I couldn’t be happier for him. It is a great story.”

Cozart is one of three Reds position players returning from surgery last season. Center fielder Billy Hamilton underwent right shouler surgery and catcher Devin Mesoraco underwent hip surgery.

Unlike Cozart, both Hamilton and Mesoraco have come back slowly. That isn’t to say they didn’t work as hard as Cozart. They did. And it just shows how difficult it is to return to the major league field and pick it right back up after major surgeries.

That makes Cozart something special.

AND HE IS EXACTLY what the Reds need right now. Hamilton is the guy the Reds want at the top of the batting order to utilize his world class speed. But he has to get on base to put it the speed into play. He hasn’t been able to do that.

So Cozart has stepped in. He isn’t blessed with an inordinate amount of speed, but he does what a leadoff hitter is supposed to do. He gets on base. His on base average so far this year is .464 and his OPS is 1.104 (a combination of on-base percentage and slugging percentage, four doubles in 25 at bats).

No, it won’t continue, not at this pace. Not even Joey Votto could maintain what Cozart has done in the seven games he has played.

But it won’t be because he doesn’t try, doesn’t mean he won’t work as hard as he always does. It is in his genes.

By HAL McCOY

There is a promotional message currently running on the MLB Network featuring Billy Hamilton.

There is a close-up of his face as he takes a lead off first base and he says, “I’m about to steal second base.” Then he does it and there is another close-up and he says, “Should I try for third?”

And it ends with Hamilton saying to the camera and aiming his comment to the in-studio commentators, “Save that one for the highlights tonight.”

CHICAGO CUBS PITCHER Jason Hammel probably saw that promo more than a few times, because MLB plays it over and over.

So when Hammel walked Hamilton to start Thursday night’s game in Wrigley Field he promptly picked Hamilton off first base.

Yes, Hamilton was about to steal second base, but it won’t be on the highlights and he had no opportunity to steal third.

This isn’t to say that had Hamilton not been picked off the Cincinnati Reds might have Thursday’s game. After all, they lost by 8-1.

Had Hamilton not been picked off and had he stolen second who knows how that might have affected Hamme?. Everybody knows what usually happens when Hamilton and his speed of Mercury get on base.

And would you believe that through the first nine games Hamilton has stolen one base? One? He has only tried once. Of course, a lot of that has to do with getting on base, a malaise that has followed Hamilton the past 2 ½ years like a pet puppy on a leash.

That, of course, is a product of a .174 batting average and a .321 on-base average.

THERE IS ANOTHER amazing number that is attached to the team’s best player and that number is not even a number. It’s 0, as in zero.

That’s the number of extra base hits accumulated so far by Joey Votto. No doubles, no triples and no home runs.

What makes it more scalp-scratching is that during spring training they couldn’t get Votto out and he sprayed the baseball all over the place.

Just shows you what spring training numbers really mean.

Nobody expects Hamilton not to steal bases and nobody expects Votto to be at .242 with no extra base hits for very long. But they both need to get it out of neutral and into overdrive as soon as possible.

THE REDS ARE REELING right now after a three-game dose of reality in Chicago, three straight losses to the Chicago Cubs.

Does this prove anything? Not this early in the season, other than the Cubs are something special. They make the opposing pitchers throw strikes and they lead the league in walks. And their pitchers throw strikes and lead the league in fewest walks. And there isn’t an easy out in the batting order, top to bottom. Even starting pitchers John Lackey and Jason Hammel drove in runs with hits against the Reds.

Former Reds/Mets/Dodgers/Orioles manager Davey Johnson always liked to say, “You are never as good as you look when you are on a winning streak and you are never as bad as you look on a losing streak.”

That might apply to the Reds. Were they as good as they looked when they started 5-and-2? Probably not. Are they as bad as they look right now after losing three straight? Probably not.

THE ST. LOUIS CARDINALS lost their first three games of the season to the Pittsburgh Pirates and everybody knows they aren’t that bad. They’ve won five of their last six.

The Pittsburgh Pirates won their first three but have lost five of their last seven and everybody knows they aren’t that bad.

What does all this mean in the long haul? Not much. It’s early, unless you are the Minnesota Twins (0-9) or the Atlanta Braves (0-9). Just remember this one — wins (and losses) count the same in April as they do in September.

IT DOESN’T GET any easier for the Reds this weekend — three games in St. Louis. And they are sending rookie/journeyman Tim Melville against the Cardinals tonight, Brandon Finnegan on Saturday and good ol’ TBA on Sunday. Most likely Jon Moscot will come off the disabled list to pitch Sunday. And his one-game minor league rehab start was not pretty.

As expected, the Reds bullpen is in disarray, especially closer J.J. Hoover. After giving up a grand slam home run to Pittsburgh’s Starling Marte to blow a save, Hoover was pretty much inactive because there haven’t been many save situations.

He wasn’t in a game for four days when manager Bryan Price brought him into Thursday’s game with the Reds trailing the Cubs, 3-0. He was put in because he needed work.

He retired one batter. He walked three, he gave up three hits, he was charged with four earned runs.

As one man put it, “The only thing Hoover can close is the door behind him when he leaves.” That’s a bit harsh, but it is clear some major adjustments will be needed soon in the bullpen.

By HAL McCOY

Do we need Chicken Little right now? Is the sky falling? Do we need the little boy to cry wolf?

Many Cincinnati Reds fans were overly exuberant when the team won five of its first six.

They didn’t recognize that the first three came against the Philadelphia Phillies, a team that is in a true rebuilding scheme. The only real recognizable name on the field was Ryan Howard, once a superstar and now a fading star.

THE REDS CAN say all they want about rebuilding and retooling and re-adjusting. But as long as they have Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips, Jay Bruce, Zack Cozart, Devin Mesoraco and Billy Hamilton on the field they are not in a true wipe-the-slate-clean and start over mode.

The pitching staff, indeed, other than Homer Bailey, is indeed in audition territory. But with veterans like Votto, Phillips, Bruce, Cozart, Mesoraco and Hamilton in the lineup this is not a bona fide tear-it-down and build-it-back-up scenario.

Anyway, the Reds did take two of three from the Pittsburgh Pirates on the opening homestand, but the Pirates are in a bit of a spiral. After sweeping three games at home against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Pirates have lost four of their last five.

THEN CAME THE current series against the Chicago Cubs and reality hits. The Cubs are a good team, a very good team. There isn’t an easy out in the lineup.

For 6 2/3 innings of the first game in Wrigley Field, the Reds were in control — Brandon Finnegan had a no-hitter and the Reds led, 3-0. Finnegan, though, gave up a bloop hit with two outs and nobody on in the seventh to former Reds catcher David Ross, Chicago’s back-up catcher.

When he walked the next batter, a pinch-hitter, on four pitches, manager Bryan Price took him out. He had thrown 111 pitches and the walk showed he was physically and emotionally drained.

RELIEF PITCHER Diaz eventually gave up a three-run home run on his first pitch to Addison Russell, the Cubs’ eight-hole hitter. And what an appropriate first name for a guy playing for the Cubs, a team whose home park is on Addison Street.

Then came Wednesday night, a 9-2 earthquake, 7.5 on the Richter Scale. After the Reds gave starting pitcher Alfred Simon a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, Simon was simply awful.

He didn’t make it out of the first inning for the first time in his career. He needed 49 pitches to get one out, the most pitches in one inning of his career.

HE MADE A TERRIBLE mess, aiding and abetting the enemy by walking three in a row in mid-inning. It was cold, very cold. Simon spent more time blowing on his pitching hand than he did throwing strikes. But the frigid night didn’t seem to bother Cubs starter John Lackey. He went 6 2/3 innings and gave up two runs, six hits and struck out seven. He only walked two, one less than Simon gave up in two-thirds of an inning.

Simon went into the game with a 4-and-0 record in five starts and 10 relief appearances with a 1.22 earned run average for his career against the Cubs.

BUT THESE ARE the new, improved and ferocious Chicago Cubs and they took Simon apart as if he were Mr. Potato Head.

After Lackey, the Cubs bullpen gave up one hit and one walk over the last 2 1/3 innings. The Reds bullpen gave up four runs, four hits and seven walks.

During spring training, Price and pitching coach Mark Riggins put heavy emphasis on throwing strikes. No walks. Like speed, walks kill.

For the first two games against the Cubs the Reds pitching staff walked 17, seven on Monday and 10 on Wednesday. The Cubs swing at few balls out of the strike zone. They are as patient as a mild-mannered man waiting in line at the DMV.

AS THE SEASON progresses, there will be games like the Reds played against the Phillies and there will be games like they played against the Cubs.

To keep from drowning by the All-Star break, the Reds need to play games the way they played against the Phillies and keep games like they played against the Cubs at a minimum.

And, please, pitching staff. Throw quality strikes.

 

By HAL McCOY

THE CINCINNATI REDS are two pitches away from being 7-and-0, but the 1960 New York Yankees were one pitch away from winning the World Series until Pittsburgh’s Bill Mazeroski hit the only Game 7 walk-off home run in World Series history.

That, though, is what makes baseball so unpredictable and lovable. And, yes, painful.

The Reds lost their first game this year when J.J. Hoover gave up a grand slam home run to Pittsburgh’s Starling Marte. The Reds lost their second game Monday night when Jumbo Diaz gave up a first-pitch three-run home run to Chicago’s Addison Russell.

WHAT MADE MONDAY’S defeat so agitating is that Reds starter Brandon Finnegan pitched 6 2/3 hitless innings and had a 3-0 lead in the seventh with two outs and nobody on.

When he gave up a two-out bloop single to former Reds catcher David Ross with in the seventh and then walked the next hitter on four pitches, his 111th pitch, manager Bryan Price wisely took him out to preserve his 23-year-old left arm.

But Tony Cingrani gave up a 0-and-2 two-run single to Jason Heyward and the 3-0 lead was now 3-2.

The Reds, though, still led going into the eighth when Cingrani hit a batter and Caleb Cotham walked a hitter. Jumbo came in and gave up a jumbo home run and that was that.

NOW COMES THE major gut check for the young and enthusiastic Reds. They had a swagger and were oozing confidence when they hit Chicago after winning five of their first six games.

And they were playing magnificently for two-thirds of Monday’s game, the home opener for the Cubs in refurbished Wrigley Field.

They constructed that 3-0 lead against Jon Lester that included a stunning home run into the left field basket by Billy Hamilton. Their third run came in the fourth inning. Then from the fifth through the ninth they had two hits and a walk and closer Hector Rendon struck out the side in the ninth.

IT WAS AS IF SOMEBODY drove a stiletto into a gas balloon.

Can a team not highly respected by the pundits shake off disaster or will it have lingering effects, especially on the rest of this difficult trip that has two games remaining in Chicago and three in St. Louis?

Regardless of the bullpen hiccups in those two losses, Price is upbeat over what he is seeing from his patched together rotation that is absent Homer Bailey, Anthony DeSclafani, Michael Lorenzen and Jon Moscot. It necessitated him using Robert Stephenson and Tim Melville in their major league debuts and both were exceptional.

“It has been fun,” he said. “We didn’t know what was going to happen when Robert Stephenson took the ball, really, or Finnegan or Raisel Iglesias pitching the opener. And then we come back with Tim Melville and Alfredo Simon in sloppy conditions.

“It has been a challenge for these guys and they’ve really stepped up,” he said. “There is nothing better than having every starting pitcher help the club win ballgames. It is very unifying.”

OF THE OVERALL team, before the road trip began, Price said, “The guys are very relaxed and having fun. Whenever you feel like everyone is pulling for one another, there is something special about that. It is a long season and everybody knows it isn’t going to go as smoothly as they have.”

That smooth road hit a big chuckhole Monday night and the team had a night off Tuesday to do the town in Chicago and forget about what happened Monday, if they can, before Wednesday night’s game

“If we can keep the right frame of mind and the right attitue we can have some success and I think we have the right personnel to do that.”

If, a big if.