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Hall of Fame baseball writer Hal McCoy has retired from the Dayton Daily News after covering the Cincinnati Reds for 37 years. Hal's blog, though, will continue to be a must-read for Reds fans. He'll share his thoughts on the team this season and will file updates from Great American Ball Park. You also can catch Hal in print every Sunday in his popular Ask Hal columnHome > Blogs > The Real McCoy | Cincinnati Reds baseball news > Archives > 2008 > July > 11
Friday, July 11, 2008
Call him Bad Luck Bailey
Homer Bailey says he is not a gambler, but when he arrived in Milwaukee early Thursday he went to the Potawatami Casino, close to downtown, for some entertainment and the removal of $200 from his wallet.
“It just shows I still have bad luck,” he said with a laugh.
What irritated him, a smiling irritation, was that he watched Milwaukee All-Star outfielder Ryan Braun walk up to the roulette table and place one $25 chip on ‘8.’
“That’s it. One bet. Twenty-five bucks on ‘8,’” said Bailey. “What happens? It hits. More than $800 for him. I never have that kind of luck. I’m donating money.”
What brought it up was that Bailey was talking about his luck, the lack thereof this season both at Class AAA Louisville and with the Reds.
I didn’t even get the question out, but he knew what I was going to say when I started my question with, “I know numbers are not that important in the minors, but how frustrating is it…”
I never finished.
“Very,” he said. “It is frustrating.”
I was going to ask him about the frustration of not winning a game in either the minors or the major since April 27. He knew the question.
“You are out there and you are throwing better than you have in a long, long time and there is a broken bat hit here, a missed communication there and you’re getting ‘Ls’ even though you’re feeling better than you ever have,” said Bailey. “You start questioning yourself.”
Bailey was in the clubhouse Friday, two days before he faces C.C. Sabathia Sunday afternoon and he appreciates that the Reds brought him in early this time.
“Last time they called me up it was a day game in Philadelphia and I got in at 1 that morning,” he said. “It’s much better this time and this way.”
When it was mentioned about his matchup, he laughed and said, “Oh, yeah. Doesn’t matter. Doesn’t matter.”
During spring training, every time it was Bailey’s turn to pitch it was against the New York Yankees or the Boston Red Sox.
For those screaming for the head of pitching coach Dick Pole on top of a base, Bailey is crediting him with a major turnaround.
“I’ve thrown a lot better since I went back,” he said. “I’ve cut down on walks and I’ve had more strikeouts,” he said. “I’m feeling a lot better about the way I’m throwing.”
And his velocity is up.
“Before I went down I worked on a few things with Dick Pole and that has a lot to do with it,” he said. “My off-speed pitches have been better, too. Dick and I worked on my balance and if you’re in balance I guess everything gets a little better.”
The last time Bailey pitched, he threw 82 pitches in six innings - an economical outing, but his bad luck persisted.
“I had a lot of bad luck the last inning, then I got pulled for a pinch-hitter because we were playing a National League team (No DH). We were down by one and it was my turn to bat so I was pulled for a pinch-hitter and I hadn’t even gotten loose yet.”
His luck certainly didn’t change when he drew Sabathia.
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