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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 > 2011 > June > 22 > Entry
Heisey gives Reds one-two-three punch
CINCINNATI — Drew Stubbs was removed from the leadoff spot for Wednesday afternoon’s game, but it was temporary. Real temporary.
He was completely out of the lineup for the second game after the Reds dropped a 4-2 decision to the New York Yankees — even though a Stubbs single was one of only four hits the Reds put together.
In Stubbs’ spot for the night game, Manager Dusty Baker inserted Chris Heisey in center field and in the leadoff spot.
What a move, what a move, what move.
For the hit-starved and run-starved Reds, Heisey’s at-bat to lead off the first inning for the Reds, was like prying the first olive out of a bottle. Once the first olive rolls out, the rest pour out easily.
Heisey homered to lead the bottom of the first, then homered two more times, and the olives/runs/hits by the Reds flew all over the park — 14 hits in a 10-2 victory.
AND HEISEY, the drum major of this hit parade with his five RBI and four runs, led a band that included two hits by Paul Janish, two hits that included a home run by Jonny Gomes (two hits and two hits Ramon Hernandez.
AND AIM SOME credit Johnny Cueto’s way, too. Cueto pitched seven innings and held the Yankees to one run (a home run in the second), two hits, two walks, six strikeouts and one wild pitch.
Cueto displayed his new herky-jerky Luis Tiant-type wind-up, nearly turning his back to the hitters before delivering. What was that?
“Johnny being Johnny,” said Baker. “If it works and you can hide that ball, that’s great because most pitchers are going to the same conventional wind-up and it makes it a lot easier to pick the ball up. Back in our day, the guys you didn’t like to face were the guys with somewhat unconventional wind-ups. I don’t know where he came up with it, but it sure is working.”
Cueto, smiling broadly throughout a post-game interview, said of his delivery, “I’m learning something new every day in the big leagues, so now I am trying to give some trickiness to the hitters.”
BAKER INDICATED that Stubbs might bat lower in the order when the Reds play their next six games on the road against American League teams and will use the dreaded DH.
“We’ll be using Jonny Gomes mostly as the designated hitter, so that leaves left field to Freddie Lewis and Chris Heisey, so we can bat them leadoff,” said Baker.
“This should relieve a little pressure from Stubbs (2 for 16) and Freddie Lewis has swung the bat well lately (7 for 9 with three doubles and two RBI during a five-game hitting streak before Wednesday),” said Baker. “When you are scuffling in the leadoff spot, those ABs add up rather quickly, especially if you aren’t walking much.
“It’s a temporary thing and we’ll see how it goes for interleague play,” Baker added. “Most of these things come to you when you’re trying to sleep and that’s when things come to you. I’m always trying to figure something out, the best option, or whatever, and that’s a good time.”
Somehow Baker needed to dream up some runs and hits. Before Wednesday night’s game, if runs were cereal flakes the Reds wouldn’t have enough to fill a table spoon — until the second-game explosion against Brian Gordon, making only his second major-league start.
Brian Gordon? That’s why Heisey was in the lineup.
The Great Masses of baseball fans scream for Heisey to play every day, not realizing that Baker is protecting the 26-year-old second-year player.
When Baker spots a pitcher who fits Heisey’s swing and approach, Heisey plays. When there is a pitcher who will make Heisey look foolish most of the time, Heisey sits.
“That pitcher tonight (Gordon) was the perfect fit for Heisey — he doesn’t throw hard and he pitches up. It’s the pitchers who throw low and away that give Heisey trouble.”
In the first game, the Reds were down 2-0 in the fifth inning, the Reds scraped together two runs on an errant throw home and a sacrifice fly to tie it, 2-2. But in the next half inning, Robinson Canoe blooped a single and Mike Leake gave up a two-run home run to Jorge Posada.
Ball game. Reds lose the first game, 4-2.
“You are on thin ice in close games when you aren’t clicking on offense,” said Baker. “We’ve done a good job of keeping them in the ballpark and Posada’s was the first one but a costly one. They got a jam-job hit to left and a home run — a bloop and a blast and that was it.”
THE REDS HAD few bloops and a lot of blasts in the 10-2 second-game massacre.
HOMER BAILEY AND Aroldis Chapman passed their last tests at Class AAA Louisville and are expected to join the Reds soon — Chapman for the upcoming road trip and Bailey will pitch Sunday in Baltimore. It was Travis Wood’s turn to pitch Sunday, but he was optioned to Louisville Wednesday to make room for the activation of pitcher Sam LeCure. LeCure will pitch out of the bullpen and pitched the ninth inning of Wednesday afternoon’s game.
The Bats lost Tuesday, 6-3, to Pawtucket, but it wasn’t the fault of either Bailey or Chapman. Bailey started and went six innings, giving up three runs and eight hits while walking only one and striking out three. Chapman pitched the seventh and went 1-2-3 with a strikeout.
“Bryan Price (pitching coach) talked to Ted Power (Louisville pitching coach) and got verbal confirmation that they both threw the ball well,” said Baker. “That’s what I told Chapman — to go down there and pitch well and he’d have a chance to come back soon. If he didn’t throw well, he’d have to stay there and earn his way back. And that’s what he did.
“I told him straight up that just because he is Chapman, just because he is big for marketing, our decision will be on how he pitches,” Baker added.
“All this increases our problem as to what to do and who to send out,” said Baker. “Somebody who doesn’t deserve to go with have to go. But they’ll be able to help us again in the near future.”
EVERYBODY WAS calling Wednesday’s two games a doubleheader. Not so. Not in the true sense of what a doubleheader actually is.
What the Reds and New York Yankees did Wednesday was play two games in one day. It was NOT a doubleheader.
They played a game at 12:35, then cleared out the stadium and reopened the gates at 5:20 p.m. for a new crowd to witness a separate game at 7:10.
That is not a doubleheader. A doubleheader is two games, back-to-back, with the same crowd — two games for the price of one. For the split games Wednesday, separate admission is charged for each game.
When teams actually scheduled doubleheaders, nearly every team played a true doubleheader on Sunday and doubleheaders on the Fourth of July and Labor Day, plus some makeup games were played. Teams routinely scheduled 25 doubleheaders a year, charging one admission for two games.
For true doubleheaders, the first game was played and then after 20 to 30 minutes, the second game began — barely time for a bathroom break.
“We didn’t have split games when I played, just straight doubleheaders,” said Baker. “With us having two sellout games I can understand why the organization split these two games.”
Asked what he tells his players about playing a game, then having nearly four hours off between games, Baker said, “I tell the at least they have a couple of hours to take a nap or wind down. Personally, I’d rather just get right back at it 30 minutes after the first game so you don’t get sore.”
BRANDON PHILLIPS should have one more career home run on his record, but something happened in 2003 to deny that.
And Phillips has not forgotten it.
MLB Network put together a show and rated the Top 75 Catches of All Time. When it got to No. 14, it showed Pittsburgh left fielder Brian Giles running to the wall to leap and snag a baseball that was two rows deep into th seats.
When I told Phillips about it, I said, “Do you know who hit that ball?”
“Heck, yes,” he said. “It was me. I was playing for the Cleveland Indians. That was one nasty catch, just crazy. But it’s all part of the game. I couldn’t believe it. It was just a great catch. And he ran a long, long way to get there.”
ONE LAST PLEA this week for those dandy Ask Hal questions for Sunday’s paper. Send them before noon Thursday to halmccoy1@hotmail.com and see if your question makes the cut.
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By Tom
June 24, 2011 10:52 PM | Link to this
Could someone just hit the ball?
By Jim
June 24, 2011 10:35 PM | Link to this
I guess Janish can still play a little,huh?
By Rick
June 24, 2011 10:21 PM | Link to this
Go Reds!
By RC
June 24, 2011 7:16 PM | Link to this
You’re a buffoon, Wiz.
By Bob
June 24, 2011 6:07 PM | Link to this
I see Real Childish is back on the scene.
By RC
June 24, 2011 1:49 PM | Link to this
Yeah, Cozart is ripping it in AAA. I’d love to see Edgar cut loose and Cozart at least splitting time with Janish. Soon, Walt.
By Shawn in the ATL
June 24, 2011 11:29 AM | Link to this
Anyone watching Cozart in L’ville? I hope he’s the next one to get a shot. Granted, it’s AAA, but his HR, OBP, and E are all better than the Janish/Rent combo. I don’t care if Janish has earned his chance or if we’ve overpaid Rent. We need to give this kid a shot to see if we can improve at SS. Isn’t half a season long enough?
By RC
June 24, 2011 10:24 AM | Link to this
“There is more than one of us complaining, in case you hadn’t noticed…” HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Comedy gold!
By Mike-Cinci
June 24, 2011 9:12 AM | Link to this
Relax! I agree the Reds need more talent. It’s talent that wins. But being a Reds fan these days sure beats being a fan of the Cubs, Astros, Mets, Marlins, Dodgers, Padres, Orioles, Royals, Nationals, and A’s. The Pirates are better but they have been under 500 for 18 straight years. Marelli may have something. Cardinals fans don’t dump on Pujols when he is in a slump. They know players go through good and bad streaks. One Reds fan in a moment of frustration over things that should be criticized said “Votto has no motivation”. Wow! Another 0 for 4 and he might suggest sending him to Louisville. Votto is hitting .318 with 43 RBI and a .440 on base %. He is the Reds best player. By the way when Pujols when on the DL a few days ago he was hitting .279 wwith 45 RBI and a .355 on base %. Bruce is hitting .280 with 17 HR’s and 49 RBI. By the way, A-Rod, the $300 million man, has 13 HR’s and 45 RBI. The Reds are doing better on the field than they are at the gate. Cards, Brewers, Cubs, Astros have better home attendance based on average per game. The Reds are 15th in home attendance of the 30 MLB teams. On the road the Yankees draw the most fans per game(34,602) and the Reds are #2 (34,062) through 6/23. Clearly they like to see the Reds in other cities.
By jeff
June 23, 2011 3:31 PM | Link to this
Votto will get his day off today and so will Phillips. These two guys will be fine. If I trust anyone to right themselves it is Votto. The problem is these guys aren’t stupid. They look around and realize that this team really hasnt gotten better since last year. One could argue they are worse. Rolen can not duplicate what he did last year and its obvious Gomes isn’t either. Our 7-8-9 hitters are just plain bad unless Hernandez hits 7th. The fact is the Janish-Renteria experiment is not working. If this team wants to not only get back to the playoffs but win they have to get more talent. Sure Bruce is having a better overall season but his inconsistency still haunts him. The left side of our field is hurting us. Rolen should stay in there and will, but left field and short stop need to be addressed. Gomes is a matchup player. He has proven that since the middle of the last year. We have to get more consistency out of the one spot and 6-7-8
By Reds Fan In Canton
June 23, 2011 3:11 PM | Link to this
Heisey should just change his last name to “Patterson” - that’ll guarantee Dusty keeps him in the lineup.
By Believe It
June 23, 2011 1:43 PM | Link to this
I don’t need anything but a new manager,Matt the blog cop! Just because others don’t agree with you or the manager doesn’t mean we are loyalist lunatics, such as yourself.We disagee totally with Baker’s dumb lineups. He probably closes his eyes and points. If you don’t like our thoughts, too bad! There is more than one of us complaining, in case you hadn’t noticed…
By Kyle
June 23, 2011 12:54 PM | Link to this
Votto needs to sit a game and get his legs under him. He’s sitting on 99 homeruns and is gripping hard to get 100 out of the way. Hal, is there any talk in the clubhouse about Votto perched on 99?
By KNOW IT ALL
June 23, 2011 12:21 PM | Link to this
I am so glad to hear the comments from those that are realizing that Baker is truly a *&^%$%$. I am also thinking his lineups are to lose a game not to win. Bruce is not going to start hitting again until mid-July per the way his streaks go. Votto is completely gone, tired, no motivation, hustle, not hitting, not fielding, head problems. Phillips is trying to do it all himself. Baker doesn’t see this and sit those that are not producing a game or two, come on Dusty aren’t you at the games? We are 2 games out because the division is equal, Pitts will be in first place before we will as long as Baker continues to put lineups out there
By bob
June 23, 2011 11:46 AM | Link to this
Just how fortunate can anyone be? Dusty keeping Heisey from looking foolish against certain pitchers. It’s a shame he doesn’t match up Bruce, Stubbs an Gomes. They look like total idiots a lot of the time. Maybe, he better match up Votto, too. Joey’s fielding and throwing have gone south. He’s failed twice to come off the bag to avoid a overthrow, made bad choices and bad throws. Maybe, he needs a couple of games on the bench to clear his head. Oh, I forgot. That’s got to come to Dusty in bed before it’s valid.
By Lou Pinella
June 23, 2011 11:24 AM | Link to this
Baker must be a really, really slow learner. Nearly every at bat Stubbs looks like a deer in the headlights. He leads THE MAJOR LEAGUES in strikeouts. He strikes out 3 times more frequently than he draws a walk. What part of failure as a leadoff hitter doesn’t Dusty understand?
By Believe it-needs to calm down
June 23, 2011 10:50 AM | Link to this
Wow. “Believe It” you really need a beer or a valium. I sense just a touch of anger in your post. Baseball sense aside (cause you really don’t have any), what does the fact that someone lives in Fairborn have to do with anything? Maybe he has a nice house that he and his wife have worked on for 40 yrs and dont’ want to move. Grow up and calm down.
By Double Up
June 23, 2011 10:18 AM | Link to this
Hal thanks for setting the record straight about what a doubleheader is, even the Know it alls on ESPN were calling it a doubleheader!
By jeff
June 23, 2011 9:13 AM | Link to this
Hey we will take the 10-2 win, who wouldnt, but the fact of the matter is that this offense is still waning. They are way too inconsistent. They will score 10 and then go 4 games with 2 runs or less. The pitching the last month has been spectacular and the offense isnt cutting it. Cueto won that game last night. Heisey provided the pop. The fact is that Bruce is one of his dreaded cold spells and Votto looks very very tired. Phillips has dropped roughly 40 points in average. Now they have a big question mark at leadoff again because Stubbs is striking out too much. They went 2-4 against the Yankees and Blue Jays. Here’s the good news they are only 2 games out and I still think they will make some moves. Here is what I would do. I would move Phillips to the leadoff and then rolen or cairo in the two hole and then i would wedge Heisey or Gomes in between Votto and Bruce. Either that or Hernandez when he plays. The bigger problem is that the Reds may just sneak in and win this division but are they really good enough to do damage in the playoffs. I do think Cozart deserves a shot as well as Sappelt or Alonso.
By AP-FLORIDA
June 23, 2011 8:04 AM | Link to this
Did Rusty just say he does his best managing in his sleep?
By KNOW IT ALL
June 23, 2011 7:08 AM | Link to this
It irks me to have listened to 700 radio this morning interviewing Baker about Heisey’s 3 home runs and asking him if Heisey would be in the line-up tonight and Baker said, “Don’t Know we will see”. How stupid was this answer? Don’t get me wrong, one game doesn’t mean a whole lot but in this game it does. I thought the best at bat Heisey made was when he hustled and was safe at 2nd on what would have been a force play out. The kid can play and deserves more playing time, maybe leadoff is a good fit for him? No one else has done anything. Where is Votto? I think he is mentally not in the games of late, something is wrong. So I say to Baker, keep Heisey in the leadoff position for now, quit saying you are protecting him by sitting him out against certain pitchers.
By Paul in fairborn
June 23, 2011 2:49 AM | Link to this
Wow. Steve. I feel you. Takes the wind right outta your sails dont it? Saw something like that once, not a story for now. I too say a prayer.
By Steve in Richmond
June 23, 2011 2:08 AM | Link to this
Witnessed a human moment before entry into the second game of the day. A man with Yankee attire collapsed while waiting for entry around 5pm near the Hall of Fame gates. I would like to send out a Bravo Zulu for those members of the GABP staff and security for there tireless efforts in trying to revive the man. For what seemed to be 30 minutes of CPR compressions until the Cincy Fire Ambulance arrived, they fought to save the mans life. A bit of humanity goes a long way, yet this effort was futile as the man did not survive. My thoughts go out to the mans family and loved ones.
By Michael in Singapore
June 23, 2011 1:56 AM | Link to this
Why protect a kid that can hit? I don’t get that. The Reds protected Paul O’Neil right out of the NL because they said he couldn’t hit left handers. Look what he did in NY all because he was given the opportunity to prove he could. That’s what Sappelt, Cozart and Alonzo need- an opportunity. The “they’re not ready” excuse is getting lame.
By Paul in fairborn
June 23, 2011 1:26 AM | Link to this
Easy now @ “Fire Baker” Did someone sabotage your corn flakes? or perhaps its pent up agression at your wireless carrier or cable provider? “blind BSer!”, “blind, or you are the idiot”, “dumbass lineups”, “phoney, lying SOB” and on and on. I agree that Heisey should have been given the kind of chances that Gomes has been given and long before now, second guessing managers is our job but I can’t understand the anger and hatred behind it. Maybe you grew up in a neiborhood without people like Baker? (toothpick chewers) Baker has the task of fitting round pegs in square holes and has more pegs than holes. There is no true leadoff hitter. His shortstops have zero Home runs. His rotation is rotating on and off the DL and The schedule has us playing interleage against the AL east and we are only 2 games back. You wanna fire a guy who won the division last year and has the team only two games back. Dont you remember the years when a .500 club seemed like a dream? Who do you want to replace him? really another interim manager? how do they work out? Trader Jack has a job.