Reds Notes: Reds hold tons of meetings

[CincyRedsFan30]

Reds meet and meet some more

By Hal McCoy

Dayton Daily News

CINCINNATI | The Theme of the Day in the Cincinnati Reds clubhouse was, "Win, Win, Win," which as it should be every day, even before the Chief Operating Officer makes an unplanned three-hour plane flight into the Rocky Mountains to remind people.

As is the normal procedure in Cincinnati, meetings were the order of the day Tuesday, as if Roberts Rules of Order might help this team.

Asked if he felt the results of the current three-game series with the woebegone Tampa Bay Devil Rays might determine his immediate future, manager Dave Miley said, "I can't speak for anybody like that. But we had some different meetings today and we just have to go play and win some ball games."

A lot of ball games ... and quickly.

Sean Casey said it best when asked about COO John Allen's visit and Miley's plight and the sinkhole his team is in.

"When you start losing, it is easy to point fingers," he said. "Everybody needs to take stock of themselves — me, the team, Miley, general manager Dan O'Brien, Mr. Allen — from top to bottom. We all need to look in the mirror and be able to say we all did everything we could on this day to win a baseball game. And we need to ask, 'How can I do my job better today?'

"The bottom line is what it always is, to win," Casey added. "Winning cures it all and there is no other way to sugarcoat it."

There were meetings with the hitters, meetings with the pitchers ... probably meetings with the batboys.

"We talked to the hitters about situational hitting," said Miley. "That's been the big key. We haven't moved runners over and haven't gotten bunts down. We have to get better at that stuff. We work on it every day and we're going to work on it harder, maybe even more extra work.

"We've had opportunities in games and haven't done it," he added. "We have to execute between the lines when the lights go on."

And the pitchers?

"For a better word, it was Baseball 101," he said. "We went over a lot of things, without going into details."

Stay alert.

Pena returns

Wily Mo Pena was recalled from his rehab assignment with Class AAA Louisville and not only activated but placed in Tuesday's lineup, batting fifth. Austin Kearns sat this one out and Jason Romano was optioned back to Class AAA Louisville.

"All our reports said Wily is ready to go," said manager Dave Miley after Pena hit .292 with one double, one homer, four RBIs and 10 strikeouts in 24 at-bats.

"I hadn't seen any pitches for almost a month and it took me some time," said Pena. "I wanted to see some pitches and the more I saw the better it got."

Asked if the strained left quadriceps that kept him out for 29 days was healed, he smiled and said, "We'll find out tonight."

Pena hopes to survive to stand in the outfield tonight, when it is Wily Mo Pena Bobblehead Night.

The Devil Rays countered Pena by purchasing the contract of former Cincinnati outfielder Reggie Taylor from Class AAA Durham and installing him in center field.

Silence at home

Former Cincinnati Reds infielder/outfielder Eduardo Perez, now a Tampa Bay veteran, told a humorous story about his game-winning home run last week at home against the Boston Red Sox.

"We had 35,000 fans in our park and they were very noisy until WE took a lead," said Perez. "They got very quiet. When Boston took the lead, the place went crazy. Then I hit a game-winning home run and the place was deadly quiet. I'm the first guy in history to quiet the home crowd."

Hancock on the hill

Pitcher Josh Hancock made his first rehab appearance Tuesday for Class AAA Louisville against Charlotte. He has been on the disabled list since Opening Day with a strained right groin and suffered at least one relapse during his recovery period.

If the Reds are counting on him to turn things around, well, Charlotte turned him around with 10 runs and 15 hits in 42/3 innings.

[CincyRedsFan30]

"We talked to the hitters about situational hitting," said Miley. "That's been the big key. We haven't moved runners over and haven't gotten bunts down. We have to get better at that stuff."

Miley: Please stop with your comments like this. I think management is not only more concerned with the offense than the pitching(somehow), but they actually worry about stuff on offense that they shouldn't be worrying about.

[QuietAcre]

I think the problem the Reds have is that they don't have replacements for attitude-problems. If you're a stinker, and you know nothing will be done about it, why wouldn't you just keep on stink'n? Well, there are replacments, they're just really young or under-talented, but the FO won't go that route because of the hit in ticket sales.