OBSERVATIONS: Are the Reds For Real? They aren’t Memorex
By Hal McCoy UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave wondering if it is time to order playoff tickets. . .and I don’t mean in Tampa or Arizona or Houston. —THE REAL REDS: Are the Cincinnati Reds for real? It certainly isn’t Memorex because who wants to memorize last season’s 100-loss sleepwalk. The Reds are 2 […]
McCOY: Reds Win Fourth Straight, Three Straight by One Run
By Hal McCoy Contributing Writer For one inning, the Cincinnati Reds did what they are supposed to do against a pitcher with a 0-10 record and against a team that had lost all 13 of his start. The Reds scored five runs in the second inning against Kansas City Royals pitcher Jordan Lyles. And that’s […]
McCoy: Karcher (Who?) Saves One For the Reds
By Hal McCoy Contributing Writer It was a night a guy named Ricky Karcher will have etched in his memory bank. Ricky Karcher? He is a Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher who has sat in the bullpen for nearly a week after a call-up from Class AAA Louisville, waiting to make his major league debut. It […]
ASK HAL: Why Don’t Managers Bunt the Ghost Runner to Third?
By Hal McCoy Contributing Writer Q: Does MLB have an age group as its target for marketing? — DAVE, Miamisburg/Centerville/Beavercreek. A: Judging from all the teams with their Bark in the Park dog days, MLB is targeting anything that breathes or growls. The stated mission is to lure young people away from the NFL, NBA […]
McCoy: De La Cruz to the Rescue in Reds’ 4-3 Win
By Hal McCoy Contributing Writer The St. Louis Cardinals made a major, major mistake Sunday afternoon in Busch Stadium III and it led to a 4-3 Cincinnati Reds victory. Cardinals relief pitcher Jordan Hicks walked Elly De La Cruz with the score tied, 3-3, in the eighth inning. That is like giving De La Cruz […]
McCoy: Deja Vu All Over Again for Reds, Elly
By Hal McCoy Contributing Writer It was deja vu all over again Wednesday night for the Cincinnati Reds, a same script modus operandi to beat the shell-shocked Los Angeles Dodgers. They Dodgers jumped to an early big lead. The Reds battled back. And they ended it with a two-run walk-off home run by Will Benson […]
McCoy: Elly, Reds Have Big Night in 9-8 Walk-Off Win
By Hal McCoy Contributing Writer The most highly-anticipated arrival of a prospect to join the Cincinnati Reds since Jay Bruce unfolded Tuesday night in Great American Ball Park. Elly De La Cruz arrived with the pomp and circumstance of a newly-crowned monarch. And manager David Bell not only threw him right into the fire, it […]
OBSERVATIONS: Elly’s Time Was More Than Past Due
By Hal McCoy UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from the Man Cave after two bowls of my favorite cereal, Frosted Flakes, which I have to share with my canine pals, Paige, Quinn and Parker, because they love Frosted Flakes as much as a do (without the bananas). —IT’S TIME FOR ELLY: It would be easier to twist a […]
McCoy: Abbott Dynamic With One-Hitter in Reds Debut
By Hal McCoy Contributing Writer As far as major league debuts go, the man on the mound for the Cincinnati Reds Monday night did not earn a grade of ‘A,’ he earned an ‘AA’ grade, as in Andrew Abbott.. The 24-year-old left-hander was peerless, practically perfect, during his coming out party while pitching the Reds […]