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What's in a name, Homer Bailey?
By Hal McCoy
Dayton Daily News
You have the questions, Hal McCoy has the answers. Visit our Reds page for more "Ask Hal." To submit questions about baseball, e-mail hmccoy@DaytonDailyNews.com
QUESTION — I hear the Reds' best pitching prospect pitches in Dayton and his name is Homer Bailey. Just what the Reds need, a pitcher with the name "Homer" when they already have Eric "Homer" Milton. — Dave, Miamisburg/Centerville/Beavercreek
ANSWER — Dave, I never suspected you read the classics. I figured Family Circus, Ziggy and the first e-mail in Ask Hal every Sunday. You are looking at the negative again. Maybe Bailey is named Homer because he never loses at home.
Q — I used to work with Dave, and when Barry Larkin was a rookie I bet Dave three straight years that Larkin would hit .300. Check your baseball cards? And does Dave still drive that expensive Z-28? — Bernie, Beavercreek/Pittsburgh
A — I quit collecting baseball cards when I was 12 and, yes, my mom threw 'em all away when I went to college. I did check Larkin's statistics and you lost. And he was a rookie only once. He didn't hit .300 his first three years, but did for the next five. I don't know Dave personally and I wouldn't call a Z-28 expensive. I figured him more for a Model-T or a Hudson Terraplane.
Q — Because Adam Dunn and Austin Kearns are having trouble making contact and given the fact they have to play Wily Mo Pena every day, why not platoon Dunn and Kearns in left field — Dunn against right-handers, Kearns against left-handers? — Mark, Lexington, Ky.
A — Wily Mo Pena has his troubles with contact, too. The guy is becoming a cult hero, but I'm not ready to anoint him with a regular position yet. Sorry, despite the strikeouts, I want Dunn in my lineup every day because of his on-base average and his slugging average, and if he reads that I agree with platooning him I'd have difficulty typing with eight broken fingers. I'd say 10 broken fingers, but he'd swing and miss at least twice.
Q — The Reds drafted a position player first when pitching is everything. I don't get it. I only have a high school education, but I believe I could do a better job than the management they have now. — Bart, Bridgeport, Conn.
A — After they selected an outfielder in the first round, five of their next six picks were pitchers and they sprinkled their drafts with pitchers, pitchers, pitchers. The question is ... are they or will they be good pitchers? Will we ever hear from them again, and Ty Howington, where are you? As for a high school education, some of our most brilliant people even quit high school, but there is no truth to the rumor they all work for the Reds.
Q — Future Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg says the Reds should be planning for the future. — Marlon, New York City
A — That Ryne always was a smart one. His momma raised no dummy. If there is any baseball team out there not planning for the future it is in major trouble. Well, that doesn't include the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, but nobody ever accused them of being a major-league team.
Q — The Reds still haven't learned their lesson with high-ceiling high school pitchers. Don't they have enough people undergoing surgery? Dr. Tim Kremchek will have a line out his door. — Ed, Cincinnati
A — Economics, pal, economics. High school pitchers are cheaper than college pitchers. High school draftees generally take longer to develop than college pitchers, giving them more time to hurt their arms and shoulders. Ty Howington, where are you? Kremchek? He loves the business. As if he doesn't have enough Cincinnati clients, he is working for Jim Bowden and the Washington Nationals, too. Have you checked their disabled list?
Q — Is it possible that being a minor-league manager all his life has hurt Dave Miley? A friend says minor-league managers manage differently, more to develop than to win. — Jeff, West Carrollton
A — Miley has managed forever. Probably managed the tee-ball team on which he played when he was 5. That's bunk. Managing is managing and every manager manages to win. Did you get that? Miley's minor-league record was awesome. He won. And it is tougher to win in the minors than the majors because the big club keeps taking your best players ... if you have any.
Q — As a baseball aficionado, was it not evident to you that the Reds were wasting $25.5 million on Eric Milton? I moved here this year from Philadelphia after having the pleasure of watching Milton serve up slop and have batters hit him like batting practice pitchers last summer. — Matthew, Dayton
A — Everybody, me included, was blinded by the excitement that the Reds finally spent some money on a name pitcher. Everybody overlooked the 43 home runs he gave up last year and concentrated on the 14 wins. Forgotten was the fact that he only won three after the All-Star break and that he was coming to a park that during hot (and freezing) weather is about the same dimensions as Williamsport.
Q — This team takes me back to the days of 1945 and watching Al Libke duck fly balls in right field. I guess better days are out there, but they are hard to see from here. Can't help loving them, though, because they are like family. — Dick, Bonita Springs, Fla.
A — They do have a lot of pitchers ducking line drives these days. I know you are in Florida, where it is hard to see better days, but the view from the press box behind home plate isn't much better, except for the riverboats that pass on the Ohio River that one can watch during pitching changes.
Q — What is it about this franchise running off great managers for stupid reasons? — Don, Dayton
A — They ran off Sparky Anderson because he wouldn't fire some coaches. They ran off Davey Johnson because he lived with his wife before he married her. They ran off Lou Piniella because he wanted some acknowledgement of a job well done (that last World Series championship in 1990). They ran off Jack McKeon because of his cigar smoke. There couldn't any other reason, could there? In my 33 years covering the Reds I've worked with Anderson, John McNamara, Russ Nixon, Vern Rapp, Pete Rose, Tommy Helms, Piniella, Tony Perez, Johnson, Ray Knight, McKeon, Bob Boone and Dave Miley. You want job security in baseball? Be an anonymous first-base coach.
Q — I thought it was suspicious that COO John Allen showed up in Colorado and spoke with Ken Griffey Jr. Do you think he was asking Junior to waive his trade clause? — Jim, Dayton
A — Ah, the Conspiracy Theory. No, Allen was treating his marquee player with respect and getting input. Maybe he was asking why Junior didn't play the previous Friday. Griffey tried to talk his way into the lineup, but it didn't work. Griffey doesn't have a no-trade clause. What he has is 10 years in the majors and five with the same team, meaning the Reds can't trade him without his permission. Allen wasn't asking. And Griffey isn't going anywhere except where the Reds go.
Q — Why does this organization make it so tough on itself? It is tough enough to run a race, never mind when your shoes are on the wrong feet? — Mike, Dayton
A — Hey, never thought of that one. Maybe they are wearing their shoes on the wrong feet. I'll check that out today. I did notice Danny Graves wearing his shower flip-flops on the wrong feet in the clubhouse the day before they trashed him. Maybe that's why.
Q — This team ceases to amaze me. They sweep Jim Bowden and his Washington Nationals managed by Hall of Famer Frank Robinson and sweep Lou Piniella's Tampa Bay Devil Rays. — Ray, San Bernadino, Calif.
A — I assume you mean, "Never ceases to amaze me." But maybe not. They ceased to amaze me a long time ago. And are you only watching home games? Yeah, they swept the Nats and the Devil-ed Eggs, but how about that 1-6 trip to Houston and Colorado? And you forgot that first-of-the-season sweep of the New York Mets at home, back in the Stone Ages.
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Hal.
