A Not bad, Dave, not bad. But Pujols hits grand slams about every other day, it seems. Nothing special there. Now, the 22-1 loss in Philadelphia last Monday might be remembered as The 22 Skidoo — the day the music died for the Reds. I mean, it’s the worst defeat in Reds history, back to 1869, a couple of years before I started covering baseball, or rounders, as it was then called.
Q Was the 22-1 game last week the most lopsided game you ever covered, or was it that 1990 game when Mariano Duncan batted three times in the first inning? I carried that box score in my wallet until it fell apart. — Bill, Villa Hills, Ky.
A Actually, as a rookie reporter, I covered a tee-ball game that was, I believe, 56-12. They called it after two innings. You are referring to a 1989 game in which the Reds scored 14 runs in the first inning against Houston, but the final was 18-2. The Astros didn’t use infielder Bill Doran to pitch or they might have won 24-2. Most guys carry something else in their wallets that disintegrate.
Q Whose bright idea was it to give Willy Taveras a two-year contract? — Parsin, Dayton
A What, you think they should have given him a three- or four-year deal? Picking on Willy Taveras is the fashionable thing this year, but check the numbers. Tavares is hitting .244 and Jay Bruce is hitting .209. But I don’t get any requests to send Bruce on a slow boat to Hindustan.
Q Given how little power Willy Taveras provides, I am wondering about his bat. Watching in HD recently, a close-up revealed what appears to be him using a short, light, whip-it bat. I’d like to know the length and weight of his bat. — Mr. R, Northern Virginia
A Surprisingly, Taveras’ bat does not double as a toothpick for manager Dusty Baker’s lips. It is 33 1/2 inches long and 31 ounces. Jay Bruce’s bat is 34 inches, 31 1/2 ounces. And how about this one? For batting practice, Joey Votto uses a maple bat that is 34 inches long and 33 ounces. Fore games he uses an ash bat that is 34 inches long and 32 ounces.
Q With the Reds bullpen owning the best ERA in the NL, I’m wondering if Paul Janish’s relief appearances counts against them? — Greg, Kettering
A Since Janish did come out of the bullpen and did pitch twice, an inning each time, and gave up 11 runs, yes, they do count against the bullpen. The bullpen ERA is 3.54. Without Janish’s two innings, it would be 3.18. And, yes, the team batting average includes those miserable swipes (Micah Owings excluded) taken by the pitchers.
Q Why isn’t Jonny Gomes getting more at-bats, as he is clearly a better option in the four-hole than the undisciplined Brandon Phillips? Plus isn’t the righty vs. righty matchup not as clear of a mismatch as lefty vs. lefty? — Greg, Fairborn
A Couldn’t agree more, but I’m not objective here. Gomes is one of my favorite people. He has had only 35 at-bats against right-handed pitchers and is hitting .257 (Laynce Nix is hitting .254 against right-handers). And as a left-handed batter who couldn’t hit left-handers, right-handers or middle-handers, I’m not sure about matchups. But I know right-handed batters see more right-handed pitchers and are less likely to have problems than lefties vs. lefties. It’s not bridge engineering, I’m just making it sound like it.
Q Our rotation is without question one of the most inconsistent in baseball, and when is pitching coach Dick Pole going to be held accountable? — Brandon, Huntington, W.Va.
A That’s the cure-all. Bad pitching? Fire the pitching coach. Bad hitting? Fire the batting coach. Rarely does it make a difference. Coaches can only do so much and it is up to the player to take it to the field. By the time they reach the majors, they aren’t supposed to need that much help. But then a lot of them don’t belong in the majors in these days of too many teams and watered-down major-league rosters.
Q Do you think the Reds could get left-handed pitcher Doug Davis from the Diamondbacks at a reasonable price? It’s time to make a move and with Arizona floundering in the standings I think they could get him for just a few prospects. — Karen, Phoenix
A Two reasons pop right up. Davis is making $8.75 million this year, so the Reds would have to pay him half that for the rest of the season. That’s a steep price to rent a pitcher for half-a-season. He will be a free agent after the season and he’ll be gone. Giving prospects for a lame duck is too steep, too. It’s too steep for any duck — Donald, Daffy or Scrooge.
Q As I remember in the 1940s, outfielders at the end of an inning would throw their gloves down in the outfield grass instead of carrying them to the dugout. If I am right, when did they stop doing this? — John, Englewood
A Right you are. Until 1954, infielders and outfielders just tossed their gloves on the grass after an inning and picked them up to play the next inning. It was changed in 1954, rule 3.14: “All players must bring all equipment to the dugout between innings.” I hate 1954. Not for that reason. My Cleveland Indians won 111 games that year and were swept in the World Series by the New York Giants. If only they could have left their gloves on the grass, it might have been different.
Q An article stated that a batter must average 3.1 at-bats over the 162-game season to be eligible for the batting title, or 502 or 503 at-bats. When I was growing up with the Big Red Machine, I always heard that you had to have 500 at-bats. Has this rule changed? — Kimberly, Dayton
A Since baseball went to the 162-game schedule, it has been 502 plate appearances, not at-bats (add walks, sacrifices and hit by pitch to at-bats). And if my math is correct, which it seldom is even though my wife, Nadine, is a math teacher, that’s 3.1 plate appearances per game. There is an exception. Ain’t there always? If a player has the highest average, but is short on plate appearances, he can add enough hitless appearances to make the 502 and if his average is still highest, he wins. It happened in 1996 when San Diego’s Tony Gwynn hit .353 with 498 plate appearances. They added four hitless at-bats and he still had the best average (.349). Gwynn wins.
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