Ask Hal: What’s In The Future For Joey Votto?
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 […]
OBSERVATIONS: A Reds Eulogy. . .Or, ‘Wait ‘Til Next Year
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 […]
OBSERVATIONS: Another must-read Posnanski baseball book
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 […]
Ask Hal: Post-season Awards Are Not Ego Trips
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 […]
McCoy: Reds Win, Votto Given Heart-Warming ‘Sendoff’
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 […]
OBSERVATIONS: A Too Early Rush to Judgement on De La Cruz
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 […]
McCoy: Reds lead, 9-0, but lose, 13-12, one of the worst losses ever???
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 […]
McCoy: Reds Suffer Devastating Defeat to Pirates, 7-5
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, […]
McCoy: Reds Blow Lead in Ninth for Devastating Defeat
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. […]