McCoy: Lodolo Back in the Groove for the Reds
By Hal McCoy With Nick Lodolo’s recent struggles, the Miami Marlins were the perfect foil for getting things on the straight and narrow. Since missing a couple of starts with a finger blister, Lodolo was 0-and-2 in six starts when Tuesday night’s game began. The Marlins, though, are more helpless than usual against left-handed pitchers […]
McCoy: Another Elegant Night For Elly De La Cruz
By Hal McCoy Elly De La Cruz put on a personal Demolition Derby Monday night in Miami’s loanDepot Park and he wasn’t even driving a car. Two home runs, two doubles, three RBI, three runs scored. What? No stole base? It was his explosive response to his 0 for 14 when the game began. De […]
McCoy: For The Reds, ‘Never On Sunday’
By Hal McCoy It is the Cincinnati Reds version of ‘Never On Sunday.’ For the ninth straight Sabbath, the Reds were defeatists, this time by 8-2 to the San Francisco Giants at Great American Ball Park. And even more noteworthy, when the Reds lose the first game of a series, not once this season have […]
Ask Hal: My All-Time Reds Team That I Covered
By Hal McCoy Q: Do MLB players address the umpires as ‘Hey Ump,’ or are they on a first-name basis with them? — DAVE, Miamisburg/Centerville/Beavercreek. A: Depends on the player and the umpire. Batters seldom talk to them unless they disagree with a call and then some of the names they are called burn ears. […]
McCoy: Greene Turns Giants Red
By Hal McCoy Just 24 hours after suffering the ignominy of being no-hit by Blake Snell, the Cincinnati Reds came out swinging Saturday night — swinging extremely hard. In 3 2/3 innings against San Francisco starter Kyle Harrison, the Reds launched four home runs, two by catcher Tyler Stephenson. And it provided them with a […]
McCoy: Giants’ Blake Snell Pins A No-No On The Reds
By Hal McCoy Statistics can be a useful tool, but statistics also can lie like Pinnochio. The Cincinnati Reds discovered that Friday night. . .oh, did they find out. San Francisco left-hander Blake Snell threw a dazzling no-hitter at the Reds, pitching the Giants to a 3-0 victory. It was his 208th major league start […]
OBSERVATIONS: Elly/India — Like Pork & Beans
By Hal McCoy UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave, awaiting the start of the Reds weekend series with San Francisco, a team one game ahead of Cincinnati in the wild card hunt. It could be a big step forwared for the Reds or another of their constant one step back. —HE’S STILL HERE: The trade […]
McCoy: A Forgettable Night For Reds
By Hal McCoy It was a night during which Cincinnati Reds pitching couldn’t stop a nose bleed and a night the Reds turned grand opera into a soap opera. After grandly beating the two best pitchers the Chicago Cubs have to offer, Jameson Taillon and Justin Steele, the Reds faced one of MLB’s worst Wednesday […]
OBSERVATIONS: ‘We Just Aren’t Going To Lose Any More”
By Hal McCoy UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave, awaiting Amazon to deliver two new baseball books. I already have more than 300 and I’m nearly out of shelf space in my home office, and I dread gettining rid of some to make room. I’m a baeball book hoarder. —WORDS TO LIVE BY: One of […]