The Real McCoy

About The Real McCoy

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.

Get more from Hal

Hal's e-mail newsletter is the only place you can get his weekly commentary on the Reds. Sign up

April 2009

RSS Syndication

XML The Real McCoy
XML More 'DDN' feeds

More recent entries

• Some unsolicited advice: Don't sign Sheffield
• Reds have interest in Gary Sheffield
• Bailey dazzles - now where does he go?
• The last days of good times in Sarasota
• Keppinger traded for minor-leaguer
• Arroyo: life with carpal tunnel syndrome
• Jacque Jones one of three Reds' cuts
• They shoulda called the whole thing off
• Back on the job again - Part Deux
• Where was I? Having a miserable time
• More entries...

Archives

• April 2, 2009
• April 1, 2009
• March 31, 2009
• March 30, 2009
• March 29, 2009
• March 27, 2009
• March 25, 2009
• More archives...

Home > Blogs > The Real McCoy | Cincinnati Reds baseball news > Archives > 2009 > April > 01 > Entry

Bailey dazzles - now where does he go?

By Hal McCoy | Wednesday, April 1, 2009, 04:00 PM

Homer Bailey keeps making it tougher and tougher on the Cincinnati Reds, which is what manager Dusty Baker wants - too many rather than too few.

Bailey held the Houston Astros to two runs and four hits over six innings today, walking one and striking out eight. And he had two hits in two at-bats, so take that Micah Owings. Bailey is hitting .667 this spring.

So, should the Reds take him north to Cincinnati as a long guy, should they send him to Louisville to start every fifth day and stay ready? Who knows the outcome of Bronson Arroyo’s carpal tunnel syndrome, although he said today his medication is working and he feels better.

“This game is tough enough when you’re perfect, but it’s real tough if any little thing goes wrong with your body,” he said.

As of now, Bailey’s pickup truck is scheduled to be hauled to Cincinnati and the two guys in charge of shipping cars said, “That’s where it is going right now. It could change, but we haven’t been told.”

Ah, you get news is such diverse places.

ADAM ROSALES, perhaps celebrating the trade of Jeff Keppinger and realizing he is a whisker away from Cincinnati, hit a home run against the Astros today in a 7-2 loss. Jeff Keppinger batted twice for the Astros and went hitless. Rosales had another hit and drove in both Cincinnati runs.

BILL BRAY most likely sealed his doom bhy giving up two runs and two hits in one-third of an inning and most likely lost his spot in the bullpen to lefthander Daniel Ray Herrera.

MEANWHILE, Opening Day starter Aaron Harang, pitching for the Class A Dayton Dragons, zipped through six innings on 68 pitches, a plethora of strikes, against a Class A Tampa Bay Rays team.

Just pumping in strikes to get in his work, Harang threw only five pitches in the first inning - “five heaters, all strikes,” he said.

SHORTSTOP ALEX GONZALES worked out today, but did not play in a game. He’ll play nine innings today, but not in the Ed Smith Stadium finale for the Reds. He play in a minor-league game, but insists he is ready for Opening Day.

AH, THE WONDERS of modern medical science. For two days, my lower back has hurt so bad I haven’t been able to lay in one position to sleep. But I was given Celebrex today and within an hour the pain was gone. Getting old is such a pain, but doesn’t it beat the alternative?

Permalink | Comments (17) | Post your comment |