By Hal McCoy
UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave, looking as if every team in the National League Central division but the Cincinnati Reds were serious about the trade deadline.
—For the most part, the Cincinnati Reds stood pat through the trade deadline or, better said, they sat on their hands, as team after team made deals. At least 39 trades were made Monday..
Maybe the Reds organization is back in the Marge Schott era and neglected to pay the phone bill.
The one word that comes to mind about the team is, “stagnant.”
Right at the deadline, the Reds made a couple of non-descript moves. They sent Nathaniel Lowe to the Cleveland Guardians for 24-year-old rookie infielder Juan Brito, who has appeared in just 15 MLB games this year.
And they sold relief pitcher Caleb Ferguson to the St. Louis Cardinals for $250,000 worth of internations pool money.
Despite a hint of life in the team after the All-Star break, it remains 16 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central. And it is 4 1/2 games behind for the final wild card spot, with five teams ahead of it.
Is the front office telling fans it believes this team still can make the playoffs? It certainly isn’t telling them they made deals to acquire prospects for the future. Well, one.
Maybe other teams didn’t think Cincinnati’s available players could help them — Brady Singer, Tyler Stephenson and five other free agents at the end of the season.
Or perhaps the Reds had a bloated opinion of their players and asked for too much for Stephenson, Singer, Eugenio Suarez, Brock Burke and Pierece Johnson.
Stephenson shed tears needlessly in a post-game interview after Sunday’s game, believing he might be traded. But two catchers were traded by other teams, but not him.
While the Reds did relatively nothing, the rest of the National League Central division was extremely active. The Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates all made significant moves.
—INJURIES? NO EXCUSE: Yes, the Cincinnati Reds have been nagged with debilitating injuries this season. But no need to pass the handkerchiefs.
A web-site called RotoWire broke down each team’s injuries so far this season and came up with a points system based on severity of the injuries.
The Cincinnati Reds finished 30th, meaning they had the fewest costly injuries. Baltimore was rated the most injured with 115 points. Cincinnati had 50, fewest in the majors.
At the time RotoWire released its findings. there were 585 players on the injured list, about 19 1/2 per team.
—LOSING SPEED: So what’s with the slippage of Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes, last year’s National League Cy Young winner?
It seems to be the diminishing high numbers on his fastball, which he consistently threw over 98 miles an hour last season.
In his first 12 career starts, he threw 98-plus fastballs between 32 and 46 times a game.
Over his last 12 starts he has not reached 98-plus more than three times in any game.
Can you say Tommy John surgery?
—DODGER DOMINANCE: A one-sentence cliche on the Lo$ Angele$ Dodger$ acquiring pitcher Tarik Skubal: “The rich got richer.”
’Nuff said?
Well, not quite. The Dodgers are paying $180 million in luxury tax to MLB for their exhorbitant payroll.
That $180 million in mere tax is more than the total payrolls of 16 MLB teams: Cincinnati, Baltimore, Cleveland, Colorado, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City, Los Angeles Angels, Miami, Milwaukee, Minnesota, Sacramento, Pittsburgh, Seattle, St. Lois, Tampa Bay and Washington.
Now tell us why the luxury tax is fraudulent and a salary cap is needed. Go ahead. We’ll wait.
—DRIVING THEM BATTY: The first baseball player to sign a paid endorsement contract was Honus Wagner in 1905.
And who was it with? It was with Louisville Slugger bats and Wagner became the first player to have his name branded on the barrel of his bats with W40. The ‘W’ stood for Wagnere and the ’40’ stood for high quality.
Shouldn’t that have been 100?
—WHO’S ON FIRST: The most famous, and maybe the only baseball comedy routine was Abbott & Costello’s ‘Who’s On First?’
So who played all the positions in the routine?
First base: Who.
Second Base: What.
Third Base: I Don’t Know.
Shortstop: I Don’t Care.
Left Field: Why.
Center Field: Because.
Pitcher: Tomorrow.
Catcher: Today.
Notice anything? For some reason, never explained, there was no right fielder.
Roberto Clemente would be offended.
—TRIVIA TIME: Stuff off my cuff, even though I don’t wear long sleeves:
—When Mark McGwire hit his 61st home run to tie Roger Maris for the home run record, McGwire’s father, John, was in the stands celebrating his 61st birthday.
—SKIPPING OUT: I dislike attending funerals so much that I probably won’t attend my own.
—QUOTE MACHINE: Baseball people say the darndest things.
—FROM Bill Veeck shortly after he purchased the gosh-awful St. Louis Browns in 1951: “We’ve sold half our players and hope to sell the rest to get a couple of Brownies on each team to louse up the league.”
—FROM St. Louis Cardinals broadcaster Jack Buck when he was 75 and doing games while enduring Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, a pacemaker and cataracts: “I wish I’d get Alzheimer’s so I could forget all this other stuff I have.”
—FROM manager Casey Stengel, whose 1962 New York Mets lost 120 games, when he was told his team lost 39 one-run games: “Just great, that means we lost 81 games by more than one run, some by 14.”
—PLAYLIST NUMBER 196: As someone unknown once put it, “Good music does not have an expiration date.”
—Something To Talk About (Bonnie Raitt), Eight Miles High (Byrds), So In To You (Tamia), Man In The Mirror (Michael Jackson), Good-Hearted Women (Willie Nelson), Drivin’ My Life Away (Eddie Money), Volcano (Jimmy Buffet, Hold Your Head Up (Argent).
—Just A Song Before I Go (Crosby, Stills & Nash), She’s Gone (Hall & Oates), Gimme Some Lovin’ (Spencer Davis Group), Long Train Runnin’ (Doobie Brothers), The Worst That Could Happen (Brooklyn Bridge), After The Love Has Gone (Earth, Wind & Fire).