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Ask Hal: Who should be on second?
By Hal McCoy
Dayton Daily News
QUESTION If you were Dave Miley and had to make a choice between D'Angelo Jimenez and Ryan Freel at second base at this stage in the season, which would you make the starter? — Tim, Singapore
ANSWER First of all, Tim, my wife loves your Singapore Slings. That's an easy one, another question asked often this week. You won because your e-mail traveled the farthest. I probably see the same thing here that you see on the other side of the Earth. Freel, Freel, Freel. Did I mention Freel? He has Jimenez beaten in any category you can mention, including the way he wears his hat.
Q You've got me worried. The Reds really stink, but when you write of braided armpit hair, I think you're so sick of baseball you're beginning to watch the NBA playoffs. — The Other Hal, Dayton
A Doesn't braided armpit hair remind you of the Reds these days? The NBA. What's that, the National Ballet Association? I'd rather watch a dog hike his leg on a fire hydrant than watch the NBA without Michael Jordan, Larry Bird or Magic Johnson.
Q Losing seven straight is why only 49,000 showed up for the Reds-Cardinals three-game series. If you pretend to play major-league baseball, we will pretend to show up. — Ron, Washington, D.C.
A I suspect some of those 49,000 came disguised as empty seats. But when they booed, they sounded like a full house at Yankee Stadium. If this keeps up, I'm going to tell my boss that I'll pretend to write a game story.
Q I like Jack McKeon's theory of lots of contact hitters and great pitching. Get 'em on, get 'em over, get 'em in. — Jerry, Dayton
A Before you can get 'em over and get 'em in, you have to get 'em on. I like contact hitters much better than pitching to contact, known in Cincinnati right now as hitting the bats and watching the ball fly. McKeon, by the way, is doing right well in Florida with a great pitching staff that is able to see home plate despite the cigar smoke.
Q Does Don Gullett need to take the ax for the pitching staff? Everyone says that he's the best in the business. He also has presided over some of the worst pitching staffs in the history of major-league baseball the last few years and he is working on another gem this year. — Greg, Chapel Hill, N.C.
A If you mean taking the ax, as in fired, no. If you mean taking the ax to some of those arms on the staff, yes. Gullett is right up there with Atlanta's Leo Mazzone in knowledge and expertise. But you can't make Cy Young out of Cy Old and Cy Done and Cy Bad. The minor-league system has produced nothing and there is no money to buy top-shelf products. Gullett can only show them and tell them. He can't do it for them. If he hadn't ruined his rotator cuff at a young age, he might still be the best on the staff.
Q I would have expected Dave Miley to light a fuse by now by throwing a base or two or kicking dirt on home plate, like Sweet Lou. And he avoids Marty Brennaman's hardball questions. I get the impression he is a deer caught in headlights not knowing what to do. I would prefer Pete Rose, Lou Piniella, Dave Johnson and, certainly, Jack McKeon. — Rick, Brookville
A Mr. Rose has some problems we all know about and he never finished higher than second with good teams. Piniella is busy in Tampa Bay with more problems than Miley's. Johnson is busy coaching the Netherlands Olympic team and Jack is rather happy with his situation. And it isn't Miley caught in headlights, it is his team. As for throwing bases and kicking dirt, that's not his personality. Ever see Joe Torre or do that? OK, so Bobby Cox does do it. You got me there.
Q Am I crazy or do the Reds trade Sean Casey to some sucker MLB club before they realize he stinks with a baseball mitt on his hand? Can they get a No. 2 or No. 3 starter and ask Ken Griffey Jr. to pick up the first baseman's glove? — Brian, San Diego
A I haven't checked with your psychiatrist so I don't know about your sanity, but I have to question it. Yes, Casey had an off night last Monday digging balls out of the dirt. Is it too much to ask the infielders to throw it a little higher? Probably is. Casey is an excellent defensive first baseman, but you probably can't see it way out there in San Diego. And why would you trade a yearly .300 contact hitter and a team leader? I have a whole bunch of other trade suspects.
Q Will this sorry excuse for a baseball team lose 100 games this year? — Parsin, Dayton
A Aren't you the fellow who was fitting them with World Series rings after they swept the Mets to open the season? Just as three games do not a season make, nor do 30 games a season make. They have to lose a lot more to lose 100 and they do have a lot of games left with Pittsburgh and Milwaukee. Whoops. Well, Pittsburgh.
Q On Monday, Ken Griffey Jr. hit a double off the yellow line on top of the wall. The umpires huddled and I could read the lips of the crew chief, "This guy is having trouble hitting home runs so I think we should give it to him." — Dave, Centerville/Beavercreek/Miamisburg
A Actually, the umpires admitted the vote was 2-2, two for home run, two for double. They asked Griffey to be the tiebreaking vote. Actually, they were discussing whether to eat after the game at Maisonette or Montgomery Inn. That vote was also 2-2 and Griffey paid the bill at the Maisonette. For an explanation, see the next question.
Q In light of Ken Griffey's home run in Monday's game, is the yellow line considered a home run or is it part of the fence and in play? — Tim, Dayton
A The umps goofed. It wasn't a home run. It hit the yellow line and bounced back on the field. In Great American Ball Park and most parks, the yellow line just marks the top of the fence so fans and players (and umpires???) can easily see the top of the fence. To be a home run, the ball has to go OVER the fence. Griffey's didn't and should have been in play. Some parks with very high walls, like Minute Maid in Houston, have yellow lines on the walls and if the ball hits ABOVE the yellow line, it is a home run. Confusing? Well, it's major-league baseball, isn't it?
Q Danny Graves jinxed himself in spring training when he had a 0.00 ERA late in camp and said he wanted to give up runs. I have always thought of him as a good closer, but I cringe every time he takes the mound. — Doug, Waynesville
A You won the "Danny Graves comment spot" this week because yours was the only one of about a thousand that didn't have curse words. You're right. I forgot that Graves said he wanted to give up runs late in spring training to get them out of the way. Maybe somebody forgot to tell him spring training is over. OK, I'll say it. If Graves doesn't get 30 saves this year, I'll eat this column. I've already written that I'd eat a column if Ken Griffey Jr. doesn't hit 30 homers, so I guess I'll make it a paper banquet.
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