Phillies' ballpark plays small, but Reds are OK with that

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By Hal McCoy, Staff Writer Updated 12:24 AM Tuesday, July 7, 2009

PHILADELPHIA — Quick Quiz: Who was the last manager to have a winning record with the Cincinnati Reds? If you said Jack McKeon in 2000, well, you're wrong. Go back to first base.

It's a trick question and it was Pete Mackanin, who managed the last 80 games in 2007 as interim manager after Jerry Narron was fired. Mackanin was 41-39.

And he deserved to have the interim prefix removed from his name and keep the job, but the Reds hired Dusty Baker for 2008.

Mackanin is now Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel's bench coach and Mackanin stood behind the batting cage in Citizens Bank Park Monday displaying his ample dry wit.

"I got the Reds pointed in the right direction, the rest is up to them," he said with a laugh. "I was thinking about the Reds the other day and how they would react to this small park and then I thought about their small park and said, 'They don't think this is a big deal.'"

The Phillies already have been to Citi Field, new home of the New York Mets, a spacious place about which hitters are complaining. Too big, they say.

Mackanin said it does play large, but he wanted to talk about the compactness of new Yankee Stadium, where balls move rapidly over the walls.

"That place makes this park (Citizens Bank) look like the old Astrodome, where nobody hit home runs," said Mackanin. "Mark Teixiera hit a ball that broke his bat, broke it in two pieces, and it landed 15 rows deep in the stands for a home run."

64 different lineups

For the 64th time in 81 games, Reds manager Dusty Baker had a different lineup/batting order combination for Monday's game against the Phillies.

Most unbelievably, the Reds have had their projected Opening Day lineup on the field for only 10 games and are 5-5 in those games.

The lineup: C Ramon Hernandez, 1B Joey Votto, 2B Brandon Phillips, SS Alex Gonzalez, 3B Edwin Encarnacion, LF Chris Dickerson, CF Willy Taveras, RF Jay Bruce.

Even Baker was stunned over that.

"Ten out of 81 games? Really? Wow. Wow. That's only one-eighth of our games. Wow. That's not very good. And it's why I've had so many lineups. Not much choice," said Baker.

Explaining the order

With lefthander Cole Hamels pitching for the Phillies, Jonny Gomes was in left field, Chris Dickerson was back in the dugout and Willy Taveras was back in the leadoff spot.

"Sirens kept me awake all last night," said Baker. "I never hear sirens in Cincinnati." Maybe the sirens helped him come up with this latest lineup.

"Every night, it's the best lineup I can come up with," he said. "Because of the lefthanded pitcher and Gomes in left field, Willy is the guy to bat leadoff."

Taveras then swung at the game's first pitch and fouled it, then swung at the second pitch and flied to right.

"I've got Edwin Encarnacion batting eighth because he is still trying to find his stroke," said Baker. "And Ramon Herandez is the only guy who has hit Hamels (.750 on 3 for 4), so I moved him up to sixth behind Gomes."

Quote of the day

Jay Bruce asked Ryan Weathers, 9-year-old son of pitcher David Weathers what he shot on the golf course Monday and when Ryan said he shot 103, Bruce said, "That would beat me."

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