Hall of Fame baseball writer Hal McCoy is in his 36th year of covering the Cincinnati Reds, the longest tenure for any active writer covering one team. Counting spring training and postseason games, McCoy has covered more than 7,000 major-league baseball games, written close to 18,000 baseball stories and eaten enough hot dogs to give Babe Ruth indigestion.Home > Blogs > The Real McCoy | Cincinnati Reds baseball news > Archives > 2008 > May > 06 > Entry
No luck for Harang, but Aruba is great
Some random thoughts while watching the one-game winning streak evaporate in front of Big Z, Carlos Zambrano:
I had three pieces of LaRosa’s pizza by the end of the sixth inning, the same number of hits the Reds owned off Zambrano in eight innings.
To the guy who wondered when Norris Hopper would get in the lineup: Well, my friend, Hopper is on the DL and the commissioner won’t let players on the DL play in games, even if it is the Cincinnati Reds.
I’ll bet you’ll say, “I knew it,” when I tell you I once owned an Edsel. It’s a car, kids, an automobile.
Know why the Reds lost, 3-0, in about a minute-a-half. They whaled and flailed at everything. Zambrano needed only 30 pitches in his final three innings, only six in the seventh inning.
My favorite vacation site is Aruba. Or The Bahamas. Aruba, The Bahamas. About the same thing. Pitcher Sidney Ponson is from Aruba and is knighted — as in Sir Sidney Ponson. Remember when the Reds almost got him in a trade?
Suggestion to Aaron Harang: change deodorants, change your underwear, change your hair-style … change something because your teammates obviously don’t like something about you or they’d score you a run once in awhile.
He is now 1-5 with a 3.09 ERA with seven quality starts in eight games. As Marty Brennaman put it so succinctly, “Harang has to be the best 1-5 pitcher in the history of baseball.”
Let me hear a big amen on that one.
Does any manager in baseball walk more slowly to the mound than Chicago’s Lou Piniella? Because of Zambrano and no goofs by the umps, Sweet Lou never left the dugout Tuesday.
Does Todd Coffey sprint to the mound in Louisville?
When the Reds go from Los Angeles to San Diego later this month, I’m taking the train down the coast. Love the trains. No security checkpoints, the stations are downtown, the seats are La-Z-Boy recliners with huge windows for the ride down the coast. It’s a little over an hour and I wish it were four hours.
All teams used to take trains, when St. Louis had the team farthest west. Wish I had been covering baseball then.
Anybody know what Marty Brennaman’s middle name is? I do. Starts with ‘F’ and you’ll never get it, unless you already know it. Hint: Rhymes with Manchester.
It is now the bottom of the seventh, Cubs lead, 3-0, Zambrano still dealing and Cubs fans are outshouting and outsinging Reds fans here in Wrigley-East.
Dusty Baker’s office looks like a photo studio — photos everywhere and trinkets everywhere. There is a photo of singer Miles Davis and a picture of his fishing buddy, rock singer Elvin Bishop.
Aaron Harang leaves after seven innings, down 3-0. He gave up three runs and seven hits, but his potholes were the two walks he issued back-to-back to open the fourth. His only walks. But both scored.
It’s over. The one-game winning streak is a one-game losing streak. Harang asks if anybody knows where they hide the horseshoes. Hey, how about sending horseshoes and lucky charms to the big lug — Aaron Harang, c/o Cincinnati Reds, 100 Main Street, Cincinnati, OH, 45202. No horses attached, please.
Permalink | Comments (11) | Post your comment | Categories: Aaron Harang
Comments
By Brad
May 7, 2008 11:49 AM | Link to this
“Suggestion to Aaron Harang: change deodorants, change your underwear, change your hair-style … change something” My suggestion? Don’t be afraid to pitch inside a couple times a game. Make the opponents move their feet and your breaking pitch will be even more effective. There’s a difference between a “purpose pitch” and a bean ball, and Aaron needs to discover what that difference is. Get a mean streak, even if it’s not your styleBy somethingbetter
May 7, 2008 11:36 AM | Link to this
I am holding out til the end of this month. Griffey and Dunn are too good to be batting .230 and .220 respectively. If their bats warm up, this team will score runs. pitching has been better than expected thus far. there is still time, but it is quickly slipping away.By Steve
May 7, 2008 9:20 AM | Link to this
By the way Hal, Miles Davis was a Trumpeter.By Steven Ross
May 7, 2008 9:15 AM | Link to this
Votto gets picked off 2nd (bad) but then in the 9th, one out, nobody on and down by 3, he drops a bunt for a hit (very good). Even with a wide-open left side of the infield, you’d rarely see Griffey do that and NEVER would Dunn even think about it. We need more players like Votto and move the Dunn/Griffey duo.By donb51
May 7, 2008 8:22 AM | Link to this
Hi Hal, As you know, I will be representing the positive side of the Reds from now on. Negativity never got noone nowhere. Yes, the Reds have a 1 game losing streak, but they are playing .500 ball over the last two games. A win today will put them at a .677 clip, the same pace as the Diamondbacks are setting. Now, that is good news!!! Go Reds. One other good thing, Dunn is due!By Rob
May 7, 2008 8:03 AM | Link to this
Thank God I’m a bibliophile with stacks of books to work through or I’d be wasting a couple of hours a night for the past several years yelling at these guys to have a disciplined approach at the plate every couple of minutes. I gave up on sports as being satisfying entertainment years ago; maybe that’s just because I live in Ohio. Could be worse though, could be a Cubs fan - at least i was alive for the last World Series.By Stocc
May 7, 2008 7:16 AM | Link to this
Hey Hal, If Jr. wants to play for a winner he could actually try to hustle and lead by example. Lay down a few bunts when the 3rd baseman is playing behind second base. The Reds will never win with Jr. and Dunn…NEVER!By Bill Lawrence
May 7, 2008 6:41 AM | Link to this
Franchester His Mom was Fran His Dad was ChesterBy Fred Garvin
May 7, 2008 12:32 AM | Link to this
Mr.McCoy, is that train ride pretty much like taking a train down the Pacific Coast Highway? Didn’t watch the game. Was Thom and Welch arguing about taking pitches? Was Chris still defending the Freels of the world because they were somehow born as incorrible free swingers?By Don L
May 7, 2008 12:27 AM | Link to this
OK,this game is boring. Two things that bother me are people that dream up trades that dump all the Reds bad players for good players and people who come up with Reds batting (not hitting) lineups. Here’s mine. Move Dunn down to 7th, move Phillups to 6th and Keppinger up to the 3 hole. Now we have successfully removed last weeks 3,4 & 5 batters and replaced them with Kepp, Votto and Edwin. Will it help, probably not but we have 3 new batters to keep stats on. I would really like Dunn in the 8 hole so the pitcher could bunt him over when he walks but I know somebodies going to scream.By Rob
May 6, 2008 11:17 PM | Link to this
Will someone please tell these guys to TAKE A PITCH?!?!? Dunn has just been terrible. Griffey is struggling. Corey Patterson is an absolute joke. There is no right-handed power (don’t give me that Encarnacion business.) This team needs an enema! Harang has been fantastic. Volquez has been lights out. Arroyo has just evaporated. Cueto is interesting. Belisle is just Belisle — beware the Braves trading a pitcher. Hal, where do we stick the tube in?