Hal McCoy Interview...Good stuff

[muddie]

Hal McCoy is back from his Hilton Head vacation, stuffed to the gills with seafood. He’ll have to settle for a hot dog when he watches former Reds slugger Adam Dunn try to hit one into the Ohio River tonight.


Q While I love and admire the playing style of Jonny Gomes and the raw ability of Drew Stubbs, isn’t it about time Chris Heisey saw more starts? — Pat, Troy

A That wouldn’t bother me at all, especially after seeing what Heisey is capable of doing and how both Gomes and Stubbs are prone to slip into offensive funks. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to give Gomes and Stubbs a different day off each week and permit Heisey to start twice a week. I’d like to see Paul Janish start a game a week at third and a game a week at short, giving Scott Rolen and Orlando Cabrera a day off each week. But the last time I looked at my job description, I didn’t see anything that said, “Part-Time Manager, Cincinnati Reds.”


Q Listening to Cincinnati radio stations surprises me because I hear so much anti-Dusty Baker negativity. Why would you complain about a manager who has the team in first place at the All-Star break? — Greg, Cincinnati

A Doesn’t surprise nor shock me. I’ve heard it for 38 years. Even in the Glory Days of The Big Red Machine fans criticized Sparky Anderson for being too quick with the hook with his pitching staff, hence his nickname Captain Hook. And they criticized him for being a push-button manager because he had the audacity to identify eight great players and use them every day. Fans aren’t happy unless a team wins every game — and even then they’d find fault for not winning by a bigger margin. Fans have been harsh on Baker, finding fault when he loses and finding fault when he wins. I guess we mark it down as being part of the game and call it, “Fans Are Only Happy When They Can Complain.”

[muddie]

Is he reading this board or what???

[bounty37h]

^reenforces to me that he has never had an original thought or idea. I know many love him, hes a HOF'er, etc I just dont like Hal.

[GIDP]

Hal Mccoy once said Homer Bailey is a bad person so thats why he wasnt in the major leagues.

He also said never happened because his team mates hate him.

[jimbo]

Originally Posted by GIDP

Hal Mccoy once said Homer Bailey is a bad person so thats why he wasnt in the major leagues.

He also said never happened because his team mates hate him.

Do you have links to these quotes?

[GIDP]

http://mo.journal-news.com/o/content...wins_agai.html

Paul Janish, a great kid, is here. Jay Bruce, a great kid, is here. Homer Bailey is not here. And notice I didn’t use the word great.

You wonder, just wonder, now that he has seen Janish and Bruce leave Louisville, along with Andy Phillips, can Bailey just adjust his attitude and work ethic, show some spunk instead of snarkiness and get himself up here.

It was no accident that Bruce got pie-faced and water soaked by his teammates after his debut and hardly any teammate paid attention when Bailey was here last year. Bruce is well-liked. Bailey is aloof. A loner. There is a reason for that.

There you go.

[jimbo]

Originally Posted by GIDP

http://mo.journal-news.com/o/content...wins_agai.html



There you go.

He never said that he wasn't in the majors because he was a "bad person." He simply was stating that he needed to change his attitude and work ethic to become the major league pitcher everyone thought he could.

He also never said he didn't get pie faced, just that most teammates didn't pay him much attention. It wasn't a big secret that Bailey had some attitude problems and wasn't well liked when he was first called up. You're just twisting Hal's quotes into something they aren't

[GIDP]

So basically Homer Bailey wasnt in the majors over 3 position players because he wasnt a great enough kid. They were keeping him in the minors because he was such a terrible person that his team mates hated him so much that they ignored him, still pie faced him, but did it to Bruce because they love him.

Whats more likely, Hal Mccoy just didnt get the interview he wanted from Bailey once or all those things were the reason Bailey was in the minors ...

[jimbo]

Originally Posted by GIDP

So basically Homer Bailey wasnt in the majors over 3 position players because he wasnt a great enough kid. They were keeping him in the minors because he was such a terrible person that his team mates hated him so much that they ignored him, still pie faced him, but did it to Bruce because they love him.

Wow, I'm not sure how you get all of this out that column. Hal was simply saying that the other stated position players had the attitudes and work ethics (where the great kids characterizations come from) that allowed them to best utilize and improve on their skills and talent, which in turn got them to the majors. Homer's attitude was impeding him.

Whats more likely, Hal Mccoy just didnt get the interview he wanted from Bailey once or all those things were the reason Bailey was in the minors ...

Neither. Bailey was in the minors because he simply wasn't good enough to be in the majors at that time, and his stubbornness and uncoachability was a big reason why.

[GIDP]

Paul Janish, a great kid, is here. Jay Bruce, a great kid, is here. Homer Bailey is not here. And notice I didn’t use the word great.

How else should I take this other than if Homer Bailey wasnt a bad guy he would be in the major leagues. He points out how great Bruce and Janish are and pointed out that they are in the major leagues. He pointed out that Bailey wasnt in the majors, and pointed out that he wasnt a great kid. How else should I take that? Was Janish in the majors because he was a good kid or was it because Keppinger, Hairston, and Gonzales were all hurt? Was Bruce in the major leagues because he was minor league player of the year or was it because he was a good kid? I think its obvious what McCoy was trying to do there.

McCoy just wanted to take cheap shots at a 22 year old kid because he wasnt a good interview. Why else would he start a story off with something about Homer Bailey when the guy wasnt even in the majors? He went out of his way to blast the kid, and made it a point to show how much Homer Bailey is hated. He even went on to suggest that Bruce was pie faced because hes a great kid, but Bailey was ignored, even though he also got pie faced. Yes to me it was him going after Bailey for reasons other than on the field things. That screams to me that McCoy is as childish as he was claiming Bailey to be.

[jimbo]

Sounds like to me, you just don't like Hal and are reading what you want to read to support your dislike of him.

[GIDP]

Originally Posted by jimbo

Sounds like to me, you just don't like Hal and are reading what you want to read to support your dislike of him.

I certainly dont like when reporters take out grudges and write hit pieces on guys for personal reasons. Didnt like it when McCoy did it. I didnt like it when John Fay did it to Phillips. It's childish.

[jimbo]

Originally Posted by GIDP

I certainly dont like when reporters take out grudges and write hit pieces on guys for personal reasons. Didnt like it when McCoy did it. I didnt like it when John Fay did it to Phillips. It's childish.

Whether it was a grudge or not, his points in the column were valid.

[GIDP]

Originally Posted by jimbo

Whether it was a grudge or not, his points in the column were valid.

So if Bailey was just a better guy he would have been playing in the majors? How does 3 position players, 2 of them being in the majors due to injuries, have to do with how good or bad a guy is. No he just wanted to take a cheap shot at a guy. Thats all it was. He has no points, and even if he has one it all goes down hill when he points out that Bruce got pie faced, yet Bailey who everyone hated and ignored did also. Why point out Bruce got the pie and use that as a claim of how awesome and great a kid he is, then act as if Bailey didnt get the same treatment.

Hal was using his platform to show that he can trash a 22 year old kid that didnt give him a great interview. Thats exactly how I take it and I dont know how else you could, unless you really believe that Bailey wasnt in the majors because he was a bad guy, and the others were in the majors because they were great guys.

[Red in Atl]

Originally Posted by GIDP

I certainly dont like when reporters take out grudges and write hit pieces on guys for personal reasons. Didnt like it when McCoy did it. I didnt like it when John Fay did it to Phillips. It's childish.

This guy just hates Hal as do a couple other jealous people on here. Tough cookies kids, I hope it drives you absolutely crazy, because Hal is a Hall of Famer, was taught the ropes by two other Hall of Famers, Si Burick and Ritter Collet, has had a great career, has met and known more great ball players that you could even name, was honored by every city he went to on his last trip around the league because of his successful career and now gets the chance to kick it back freestyle doing the blog thing.

Rip Hal all you want, do you think he cares? Do you think anyone on here cares that you are just mad that you will never have a career writing about baseball? I think it's hilarious.

BTW, why do keep going back three or four years ago to cry about Hal writing that Homer was a little jerk. It's true, everyone knows it, including Homer. Two years ago, Hal wrote a bunch of articles about how Homer has changed his attitude, and grew up a lot. He couldn't stop talking about it most of ST. He went way out of his way to praise Homer.

Before you say one more word about this, why don't you take your little "I wish I was a Reds beat reporter" notebook, go interview Homer and find out what he thinks about Hal.

I bet he has nothing but good things to say.