Hall of Fame baseball writer Hal McCoy is in his 36th year of covering the Cincinnati Reds, the longest tenure for any active writer covering one team. Counting spring training and postseason games, McCoy has covered more than 7,000 major-league baseball games, written close to 18,000 baseball stories and eaten enough hot dogs to give Babe Ruth indigestion.Home > Blogs > The Real McCoy | Cincinnati Reds baseball news > Archives > 2008 > August > 18 > Entry
Reduced to the role of ‘Spoiler’
As my grandson, Eric McCoy, and I walked across the Roberto Clemente Bridge that spans the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh, right next to PNC Park, I spotted a young lady.
She was standing on the bridge railing, grasping tightly to one of the bridge cables.
“My gawd, she is going to jump,” I said to Eric. She was gorgeous, dressed in short tight white hot pants and a black tube top. Just as I was about to run and become a hero, Eric began laughing.
“Look, grandpa, there is a photographer taking her picture,” he said.
Obviously, it was some kind of photo shoot, perhaps for an advertisement for hot pants. And I, with my legal blindess, was going to save the young lass from a plunge into the drink.
I could just envision the next day’s headlines: “Model, baseball writer die in fall from Roberto Clemente Bridge.”
Just another story in the life of a traveling baseball writer. Never a dull moment.
Well, I shouldn’t say that. There are many dull moments when the team you cover is more than 20 games out of first place in mid-August. In fact, at this time of year I sometimes awake in my hotel room and quickly wonder, “Where am I? What city is this?” It’s true. Most hotel rooms look alike.
I mention this because tomorrow the Cincinnati Reds start on a nine-game 10-day trip to Chicago, Denver and Houston.
How does manager Dusty Baker keep things, uh, interesting?
Well, the first three games in Chicago mean something - to the Cubs. They are trying to hold off Milwaukee and maybe St. Louis. The Reds have 37 games remaining and 21 are against teams still in the playoff picture.
They have six against the Cubs, six against the Brewers, six against the Cardinals and three against the Diamondbacks.
What does that make the Reds? Spoilers, er, potential spoilers.
Baker plans to make it an issue with his team.
“This is very beneficial because we plan on being in that race next year,” said Baker. “The guys who have never been there think they know what it is all about or think they can handle it. But you don’t know until you get there.
“You get a taste of it and think, ‘This is what we want. This is what we need.’ It is a long road to get there, into a pennant race,” Baker added. “A lot of our young guys can get a taste of what that long and windy and up-and-down road is all about.”
OK, we’ll focus on that. Meanwhile I’ll try not to save anybody from jumping off the Sears Tower in Chicago, or off a Rocky Mountain cliff near Denver or jumping in front of that train that runs atop the viaduct inside Minute Maid Park in Houston.
In fact, I guess I should concentrate of keeping myself from stepping in front of a car - anywhere.
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Comments
By Colgar
August 20, 2008 9:18 AM | Link to this
Magoo, you’ve done it again.By Hank
August 19, 2008 6:55 PM | Link to this
For those curious about the waiver wire in baseball, here is a simple explanation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MajorLeagueBaseball_transactions#Waivers However, I believe this article is incorrect when it states that a player pulled off waivers cannot be put back on waivers for the rest of the season; I believe the wait time is actually 30 days.By donb51
August 19, 2008 4:54 PM | Link to this
The Reds will rise again. Oh, for bruiser, doesn’t 200 million versus 74 million buy you that pitching, defense, and clutch hitting you were talking about? Oh, and baseball history statistics prove that there is no such thing as clutch hitting. Given a sufficient number of at bats in a clutch situation (defined however you like)a batter will hit his average in those situations. These are the facts according to statistics.By Florida Buckeye
August 19, 2008 4:31 PM | Link to this
Nick, from what I know of the waiver is that a person has to go through waivers - which means every club has a chance (during Aug) to pick him up. IF a club tries to pick him up, the team can take him off of waivers. A team cannot put a player on waiver IF he is injured. Which is what happened to Ownings, and he therefore cannot be traded until he clears waivers…as to the second part of your question: Why didnt the Dodgers try to block the deal? IF they deal had been made after Aug, then I believe they would have been able to…it’s kind of like a gentleman’s agreement between the GM’s, and a bit of collusion, NOT to mess with “trades” during this intermediate period…I don’t know if this helps; but it’s the way that I understand it…By Florida Buckeye
August 19, 2008 4:30 PM | Link to this
Nick, from what I know of the waiver is that a person has to go through waivers - which means every club has a chance (during Aug) to pick him up. IF a club tries to pick him up, the team can take him off of waivers. A team cannot put a player on waiver IF he is injured. Which is what happened to Ownings, and he therefore cannot be traded until he clears waivers…as to the second part of your question: Why didnt the Dodgers try to block the deal? IF they deal had been made after Aug, then I believe they would have been able to…it’s kind of like a gentleman’s agreement between the GM’s, and a bit of collusion, NOT to mess with “trades” during this intermediate period…I don’t know if this helps; but it’s the way that I understand it…By nick w
August 19, 2008 1:13 PM | Link to this
i haven’t posted anything in a long time because i was in flordia for awhile and cus i haven’t been watching the reds taht much since ive been back. I would love for the reds to be the spoiler team and beat the cubs and be one of the reason they miss the playoffs but i doubt it they are not a good team at all and the cubs are probably going just breeze right through this series. I know everyone has been talking about dunn but i just have one question can someone please explain the waviers for me. i understand almost everything about baseball but not the waviers. Why is the trade deadline such a big deal when there has been the same amount of trades AFTER the trade deadline. Why haven’t we got owings yet i thought he was part of the trade? I just don’t understand how it works, how u block someone or pick someone up off waviers, or who u send into waviers.If you can block someone why didn’t the dodgers block adam dunn from going to the d-backs or why didn’t they block maddux from the dodgers. So if someone could please explain how that works?By Steven Ross
August 19, 2008 1:11 PM | Link to this
I’d much rather see players like Patterson and Bako get pushed aside in favor of seeing younger players who might be here next season versus those which have no future with us at all. Blame Dusty for his crass lineups and favoritism towards marginal players.By Brarhopper
August 19, 2008 10:56 AM | Link to this
Yep, I agree about the spoiler role. The Reds are very effective at it. Hell, they’ve spoiled another summer for many of us.By Bob
August 19, 2008 9:58 AM | Link to this
“Reduced to the role of spoiler” sounds like it just happened after a bad series. This thing is over eight years old and still ticking loudly. The Reds have the dubious destinction of being with a select few teams that have been so far off track that no one takes them seriously. They are a joke. However, they are very creative. They find new ways to lose just when you think you’d seen it all.By timb
August 19, 2008 9:27 AM | Link to this
Yeah, I agree with Mac. The last thing I want is some bruising home run hitter who wins games. I want little guys who hustle down to first on their weak ground balls. The last thing Mac and I want to see is success. We just want to see guys run out pop flies, run to their positions and run in from the bullpen. More hustle, less scoring! On a different and less sarcastic note, have a nice trip, Hal. If you want to switch boring jobs for a couple of weeks, I’ll talk to my boss!By Steven Ross
August 19, 2008 8:24 AM | Link to this
Does anybody remember how we played in the spoiler role…in the past seven years? Probably not. The roster you see “trying” out there now will go through many changes by Spring Training. So while it’s nice we try it doesn’t mean squat in the long-run. Just once I’d like to some other team trying to spoil our playoff run.By Mike-Cinci
August 19, 2008 8:02 AM | Link to this
The Reds payroll is $74 million which is #18 out of the 30 MLB teams. 11 teams have payrolls over $100 million including the Cubs and Cardinals. The Astros are at $89 million and the Brewers spend $81 million and it will be higher next year. These 4 teams have much higher attendance than the Reds. I suspect the Reds payroll will decline somewhat in 2009. Other teams like the Reds are the Orioles($67 million), Twins (#62 million),Royals ($58 million), Nats ($58 million), Pirates ($49 million), A’s ($47 million). To succeed a team must develop a productive farm system. The Reds have not had that for many years. Making things worse the Reds are in one of the smallest markets in major league baseball. Building revenue is not easy.By Bruiser
August 19, 2008 4:32 AM | Link to this
MarkyMark—-I’ve got one answer for you. Watch the Tampa Bay Rays—-perfect example of how a low payroll (second lowest) can compete with the big boys when the name of the game is pitching, defense and clutch hitting.By MarkyMarkButNoFunkyBunch
August 18, 2008 7:45 PM | Link to this
I’m 43 and always went to a few games a year down in Riverfront, and have gone to 2 or 3 games a year since GABP was built, but was never a super-fan like most everyone posting on this blog. I have a comment and a question: 1) Hal, don’t EVER retire — you are freaking hilarious!. I love your wit and sarcasm and I hope I don’t offend the diehard b-ball fans reading this who want a winning team, but as the Reds implode around this time of year, I enjoy your columns (and now your blog) more and more. It seems your level of sarcasm is inversely proportional to the Reds’ win/loss record. 2) Again, everyone reading this blog has already forgotten more about baseball than I’ll ever know, so pardon me in advance if this is a dumb question, but if the New York Yankees have a payroll over $200 and smaller-market teams (like the Reds) have payrolls of 60 or 70 or 80 million, what is interesting about watching 2 such teams play each other? Isn’t it like watching a Division 1A college football team play a Division 5A team? Other than a possible “David vs. Goliath” upset, what is the allure? I’m just shocked that a salary cap hasn’t been instituted and that fans haven’t boycotted games (to force a salary cap and more parity in the leagues).By rik
August 18, 2008 7:44 PM | Link to this
yeah it sucks being the spoiler, but i want my team to go down fighting. i dont care what the record is, beating teams that are better than you is always fun.By jimi
August 18, 2008 6:53 PM | Link to this
“And remember, Redleg fans, this is the ONLY team in ALL of baseball that’s in 6th place!”—LMAO!!!By HuberTucky
August 18, 2008 5:04 PM | Link to this
Spoilers? That’s been the highest the Reds have been able to strive for since 2000. They should live so long this year! Ha! Honestly, they’ll be lucky if they can take 4 out of 9. I figure 3 out of 9 on this road trip, slightly below their delirious .440 winning percentage. After all, they will be on the road where they play even worse ball at a .383 clip. And remember, Redleg fans, this is the ONLY team in ALL of baseball that’s in 6th place! As though this special place was invented just for the 21st century Reds.By MAC
August 18, 2008 5:01 PM | Link to this
It’s not whether the Reds win or lose so much as it is HOW THEY PLAY THE GAME! Be mentally engaged, have better at bats, do all the little things better, play the game the right way and or above all else, HUSTLE. Far too often, the Reds have fallen short in these areas all season long and the fans’ preception is that the Manager let’s them get away w/ it? Of course we’d all like to see the Reds win more and or play better, but at the very least: play the game the right way from here on out; I’d be happy w/ that!