Ask Hal
Favorite three Reds managers of all-time
Friday, May 16, 2008
Hal McCoy, the hall-of-fame baseball writer for the Dayton Daily News, knows a thing or two about America's pastime. If you want to tap into that knowledge, send an e-mail to hmccoy@DaytonDailyNews.com. For more Ask Hal, log on to DaytonDailyNews.com/reds.
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Question of the Week
Q — Who are your favorite three Reds managers of all-time? — James, Huber Heights.
A — I never worked with the first Reds manager, Harry Wright in 1869, although some people think I did. My three favorites — for different reasons — are Jack McKeon, Lou Piniella and Sparky Anderson. Dusty Baker is the best at working with the media in my 36 years. McKeon and I talk by phone often and everybody knows we share a love for quality cigars. We used to puff away behind a closed door in his office and he'd tell me, "Stay in here and keep smoking, then (general manager) Jim Bowden won't come in here. He hates cigar smoke."
Q — I know the Reds have had some pretty bad teams during your time covering them but is this the worst of them all? — Dave, Miamisburg/Centerville/Beavercreek.
A — The 1982 team lost 101 games and probably had better pitching than this year's team, led by Mario Soto. But the hitters couldn't hit the side of an aircraft carrier with a beach ball from 60 feet away. Bet you a steak dinner (and don't bring up that steak dinner I owe you from four years ago) that the Reds neither lose 100 nor finish last. If you put your money where your mouth is I could put all the 150,000 pennies Ken Griffey Jr. used to pay off his debt to Josh Fogg and have room for a ham sandwich.
Q — If the Reds would lose the Dayton Dragons franchise to another team, would the new team get all the Dragons players? — Larry, Fairfield.
A — Would never happen. All the players in a team's minor-league system are under contract to the major-league team — all the Dragons are under contract to the Reds. If the Reds moved out of Dayton to someplace like Ninety-Nine, N.C., all the Dayton players move to Ninety-Nine, too. The Reds pay their salaries, for medical treatment, for meal money, for equipment, for travel. The Dragons furnish the playing facility. By the way, the Reds and Dragons just extended their working agreement, so Ninety-Nine, N.C. has to wait for somebody else's team.
Q — When the Tribe plays the Reds, does it pull on your heart to root for the Indians while you write about the Reds? I know it would be hard for me to see the team I grew up with sitting in the opponent's dugout. — Steve, Brookville.
A — What makes it easier is that there is no cheering allowed in the pressbox — and that's the title of a great book by Jerome Holtzman, "No Cheering in the Pressbox." That is a tough one, especially since there is no tying in baseball. I like for the Reds to win because people tend to read more about winners than losers. So for whom do I secretly root for in this situation? That's one for my memoirs.
Q — Seattle is in last place so is there any chance the Reds can get pitcher Eric Bedard for Ken Griffey Jr.? Shouldn't the Reds deal Griffey now to Seattle while they are interested? — Mike, Houston, Tex.
A — Seattle already beat out the Reds to get Bedard from the Orioles over the winter, but to get Griffey they might trade The Space Needle to Cincinnati. Remember, though, Griffey has veto rights and continues to indicate he wants to finish playing in red and change only to blue AFTER he retires for his Hall of Fame plaque.
Q — Brandon Phillips hit a roller and third baseman Jorge Cantu's throw looked as if it hit Brandon's foot. The replay looks as if it hit him and not Wes Helms' glove. If so, Phillips was running inside the foul line in fair territory and should have been called out, right? — Chuck, UD, Dayton.
A — If the ball hit him and he was inside the foul line, yes, he's out. Did the ball hit his foot? Nobody saw that. Not the umpire. And the Marlins did not protest. What's Phillips say? He did a Mark McGwire — "I'm not here to talk about the past." And he isn't walking with a limp. Baseballs hurt.
Q — With a runner on first when a pitcher is called for a balk, does the runner have to go to second if his manager doesn't want it because the batter is the No. 8 hitter and they will walk him to get to the pitcher? — Carl, Arcanum.
A — Baseball isn't Let's Make a Deal (What's behind door number two?). If they allowed that option, then they'd have to permit the opposing team NOT to accept an intentional walk. If a pitcher balks, it's off to second the runner on first must go, with no stops to visit grandmother's house. That would be like Adam Dunn being allowed to say no to strike three by saying, "Umpire, sir, I disallow that strike three call and shall accept another offering from the pitcher."
Q — As you've said before, baseball is a humbling sport and I am glad Bronson Arroyo recognized that and worked harder to do better. It shows a good side to his character to understand and accept physical limitations and weaknesses and then decide to work super hard to overcome them. — James, Englewood.
A — Arroyo works hard on his pitching and his singing and JTM did him no favors on his singing with the goofy song in their commercial. Arroyo did begin working extra hard after his slow start and really loves working on only three days of rest. Now if JTM would only give that commercial a rest — like forever.
Q — One hit does not make a star, but I sent an e-mail earlier in the year to you about Paul Janish being a clutch hitter in Triple-A. Bring on the Youth Movement, OK? — Luke, Sophia, W.Va.
A — One hit does not make a star, but a game-winning hit in your first major-league game and second major-league at-bat makes a legend, something folks won't forget whenever Janish is mentioned. Couldn't happen to a nicer kid, either. He has owned a major-league glove and arm forever, but it remains a question whether he'll hit major-league pitching. Remember Brandon Larson, the Hall of Fame Triple-A third baseman who couldn't hit .200 in the majors — and he was a No. 1 pick. And remember what noted author/baseball scout George Henry Borrow wrote: "Youth will be served."
Q — Who are your favorite three Reds managers of all-time? — James, Huber Heights.
A — I never worked with the first Reds manager, Harry Wright in 1869, although some people think I did. My three favorites — for different reasons — are Jack McKeon, Lou Piniella and Sparky Anderson. Dusty Baker is the best at working with the media in my 36 years. McKeon and I talk by phone often and everybody knows we share a love for quality cigars. We used to puff away behind a closed door in his office and he'd tell me, "Stay in here and keep smoking, then (general manager) Jim Bowden won't come in here. He hates cigar smoke."
Q — Since Ken Griffey Jr. doesn't want to DH in Seattle, maybe the Mariners could offer 800 million pennies as payment for the $8 million still owed him. Would that get Junior warmed up to agree to a trade? — Mark, Bloomington, Ind,.
A — Well, after I have my math teacher wife, Nadine, check this — that would be 320,000 boxes of pennies at $25 a box and at 16 pounds a box that would be 2,560 tons of pennies. I had an art teacher once who jingled change in his pocket and it seemed as if he had that many pennies. As far as Griffey, he answers in one word, "Ohhellno."
Q — I noticed players consistently with their back foot over the line at the back of the batter's box. Is that allowed? — Scott, Yellow Springs.
A — Batters are supposed to stay within the batter's box, but they never do and it is not enforced. If you watch, the first couple of batters every game wipe out that back line with their spikes, cover it with dirt. Then they dig in about six inches behind where the line should be and the umpire ignores it. If I'm the pitcher, I sneak up about six inches in front of the rubber.
