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 > 2012 > April > 05
Thursday, April 5, 2012
It is no longer ‘Cueto vs. Cueto’
CINCINNATI — The Opening Day media horde swarmed into Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker’s office before Thursday’s game and he was clicking through a long directory of text messages.
“Damn,” he said. “I wish I had never let anybody know I know how to do this stuff. Most of ‘em are wishing me good luck and they don’t sign their names. What do I do? Guess I’ll just type in ‘Thanks’ to everybody. That’s good enough isn’t it?”
“Opening Days are all different and I don’t have any real distinct ones, they all kind of run together,” he said. “I know how big Opening Day is here — larger than any place I’ve ever been.
“For me it is just the start of a race,” he added.
And for the Reds, the race began on strong feet, especially those of pitcher Johnny Cueto, who pitched seven shutout innings Thursday during the Reds 4-0 win.
Once upon a time, not long ago, when Johnny Cueto was to pitch, the Reds could put out a poster like they used to have for boxing matches: “Main Event: Joe Louis vs. Jersey Joe Wolcott.” Only the Reds’ sign would say, “Johnny Cueto vs. Johnny Cueto,” because more than anything he fought himself more than the other team.
That is no longer the case and the maturity level is such that Cueto no longer cares about strikeouts. Just outs. And his teammate, outfielder Jay Bruce, who furnished a two-run home run Thursday, sees it as clear as champagne on New Year’s Eve.
“I remember when Edinson Volquez and Johnny Cueto were here together and it seemed all they care about was the strikeout,” said Bruce. “Johnny is pitching now. He really knows what he wants to do and he has really taken control of the game, focusing on outs rather than strikeouts.”
Said Baker, “Cueto is calm, relaxed and throwing strikes. He now knows how to pitch and has a great idea of what he wants to do. The young man has matured right before our eyes. He doesn’t fight Johnny Cueto any more because before his worst enemy was himself. He is past that point and has matured to the pitcher that he is, making the sky the limit for him.”
Cueto is mature enough to know he has matured into a 26-year-old Mr. Reliability.
“Sometimes I used to fight myself, but I don’t do it any more,” he said. “When I do it is because I don’t fight against the hitter. I just want to get him out, make sure I throw strikes. When I don’t, that’s when I fight against myself.”
Cueto gave up three hits while walking two and striking out only four in his seven innings and said, “I don’t’ care any more about looking to strike out hitters, I’m looking for outs on less amount of pitches so I can get more innings.”
AND HOW DOES BAKER feel about the race — do the Reds need to burst out of the blocks as if in a 100-yard dash or conserve for a strong finish?
“It is important to get off to a good start, but it isn’t mandatory,” said Baker. “It’s how you finish. Didn’t we start off 6-and-0 and there were signs we might go 162-and-0? And Milwaukee started out 0-5 and we swept them?
“So it’s a long race, a long run,” he said. “A lot of teams started ut slow last year — Milwaukee, St. Louis, Atlanta,
Boston, Tampa Bay — and they all made the playoffs. You want to start off great, big-time. But, as evident last year, it is more important how you finish. Nobody remembers how you started, but everybody remembers how you finished.
“This is for real right now and it is a long, long race,” he said.
THE REDS opened the season with some aches and pains and recovery issues in the bullpen with Nick Masset on the disabled list and Bill Bray trying to get game-ready after missing half of spring training.
On Masset, Baker said, “I’m pretty optimistic, yeah, that Masset will be back pretty soon, whatever pretty soon is. I haven’t talked to him for a couple of days because you hate to keep asking a guy every day, ‘How do you feel, how do you feel?’ You wait a few days in between and then you ask him.”
Baker said when you’re hurt you get tired of people asking you every day how you feel and he said, “One day I got a t-shirt that said, ‘My knee is OK,’ because everybody was asking me how me knee was. Every day.”
BAKER SAID lefthander Bray isn’t ready for his usual role, late-inning appearances.
“He’s had enough spring activity to pitch, bu not enough to pitch in the role we are accustomed to seeing him and with the regularity that we’re accustomed to seeing,” he said.
“He is still, theoretically, in spring training,” Baker added. “We want to use him in the middle right now versus late because if something happens adversely and he’s not sharp we have time to come back, versus if it happens in the eighth or ninth, you don’t have time to come back.”
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TweetA quick start is not a Reds’ necessity
CINCINNATI — The Opening Day media horde swarmed into Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker’s office before Thursday’s game and he was clicking through a long directory of text messages.
“Damn,” he said. “I wish I had never let anybody know I know how to do this stuff. Most of ‘em are wishing me good luck and they don’t sign their names. What do I do? Guess I’ll just type in ‘Thanks’ to everybody. That’s good enough isn’t it?”
“Opening Days are all different and I don’t have any real distinct ones, they all kind of run together,” he said. “I know how big Opening Day is here — larger than any place I’ve ever been.
“For me it is just the start of a race,” he added. “
And how does he feel about the race — do the Reds need to burst out of the blocks as if in a 100-yard dash or conserve for a strong finish?
“It is important to get off to a good start, but it isn’t mandatory,” said Baker. “It’s how you finish. Didn’t we start off 6-and-0 and there were signs we might go 162-and-0? And Milwaukee started out 0-5 and we swept them?
“So it’s a long race, a long run,” he said. “A lot of teams started ut slow last year — Milwaukee, St. Louis, Atlanta,
Boston, Tampa Bay — and they all made the playoffs. You want to start off great, big-time. But, as evident last year, it is more important how you finish. Nobody remembers how you started, but everybody remembers how you finished.
“This is for real right now and it is a long, long race,” he said.
THE REDS opened the season with some aches and pains and recovery issues in the bullpen with Nick Masset on the disabled list and Bill Bray trying to get game-ready after missing half of spring training.
On Masset, Baker said, “I’m pretty optimistic, yeah, that Masset will be back pretty soon, whatever pretty soon is. I haven’t talked to him for a couple of days because you hate to keep asking a guy every day, ‘How do you feel, how do you feel?’ You wait a few days in between and then you ask him.”
Baker said when you’re hurt you get tired of people asking you every day how you feel and he said, “One day I got a t-shirt that said, ‘My knee is OK,’ because everybody was asking me how me knee was. Every day.”
BAKER SAID lefthander Bray isn’t ready for his usual role, late-inning appearances.
“He’s had enough spring activity to pitch, bu not enough to pitch in the role we are accustomed to seeing him and with the regularity that we’re accustomed to seeing,” he said.
“He is still, theoretically, in spring training,” Baker added. “We want to use him in the middle right now versus late because if something happens adversely and he’s not sharp we have time to come back, versus if it happens in the eighth or ninth, you don’t have time to come back.”
THE MUSIC in the clubhouse last year was Latin salsa all the way, blasting from a large audio system in front of Coco Cordero’s locker. Well, Cordero is gone, but the music isn’t. Before the Opening Day game, the loud Latin beat emanated from a system in front of Cuban Aroldis Chapman’s locker
But at one point, when Chapman was gone, Joey Votto walked to the audio system and quickly adjusted it to something much more mellow. Ah, Mr. Votto is already asserting his monetary leadership.
STILL TIME TO MAKE it into Ask Hal in Sunday’s DDN — especially if your question doesn’t involve Joey Votto. We’re flooded with the same questions about Votto. Ask me something else and you might make the paper. Send them now to halmccoy1@hotmail.com.
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