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John Fay
John Fay has been the Reds beat writer for the Enquirer since 2001. Prior to that, he served in a variety of roles for the Enquirer: backup Reds writer, UC beat writer, backup Bengals writer and as a general assignment reporter. He is a Cincinnati native and a graduate of Elder High School and the University of Dayton.

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Sunday, June 3, 2007

Homer it is

Jerry Narron said Kyle Lohse will start Thursday.

"Saturday is TBA," Narron said. "And it's TBA, not TBD."

What all that means is Homer Bailey is starting.

TBA stands for "to be announced;" TBD stands for "to be decided."

The Reds obviously have decided to pitch Bailey, the 21-year-old right-hander. Bailey pitched Saturday night for Triple-A Louisville. He won to push his record to 6-1. He allowed four runs on seven hits over six innings. It was his worst outing of the year.

So why not announce it? "I don't know what the rules are," Narron said. "Can you announce it if he's not on the roster?"

Saturday's game is against Cleveland at Great American Ball Park. The game was part of the "Power Packs," so it probably had a strong presale.


25 Comments:

at 1:49 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

who is getting sent down?

 
at 2:10 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

yes, this is the start of a great career for homer i am so excited.

 
at 2:23 PM Blogger John Fay said...

They don't have to make a move until Saturday.

 
at 2:25 PM Blogger Mr. Redlegs said...

Saw you mentioned my ways to fix the Reds in today's online column. I show it to Ms. Redlegs, with chest puffed out. She looks at the line "voice of reason," groans outloud, and says, "go mow the yard before it rains.

"There's your voice of reason."

Thanks a lot.

 
at 2:37 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dunn and Phillips out of the starting lineup in a crucial, must-win game.

Until Narron is fired, this team will continue to go in the wrong direction.

The recent 4 of 6 is an illusion. They'll lose today and be 20 games under .500 by July 1st. 30 games under by the season's end.

Narron is one of the biggest problems.

 
at 2:50 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bringing Homer up next Saturday is not so brilliant. The Cleveland series was going to see great attendance anyway. Cleveland's visit means Homer's "bang for the buck" is vastly reduced. Not only that but the Reds are always tip-toeing all over the place about not putting youngsters in too soon and yet now they throw Bailey to the Indians (one of the top 3 teams this year in all of baseball)? That runs counter to the School of Squeamishness (alumni include Bob, Jerry, and Wayne).

If only you guys hated losing more than you hated putting blindfolds on and groping in the dark or waiting until precisely the wrong moment to do something the fans want!

I guarantee you that they won't fire Narron until the Reds are 20 to 30 games under .500

Many weeks and games lost too late to do much good! But welcome Homer!

 
at 3:23 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

John -- Homer being called up is way overdo. Now, if Wayne will just fire Narron, trade Dunn and Griffey, and release Stanton and Milton, the Reds might actually resemble a major league team. Keep up the great work. The pressure you and Paul are applying seems to be working. Take care.

 
at 4:05 PM Blogger lark4hall said...

Homer should pitch on Thursday. He would face less pressure on the road and be on his normal rest.
The Reds should also trade Scott Hatteburg to the Yankees for Kyle Farnsworth. Farnsworth is a plus power arm that was very effective in the National Leaague. The Yanks need help at first with both Giambi and Doug Mientkevitz(?) out .

 
at 4:15 PM Blogger John Fay said...

Cleveland is less than the ideal opponent for a major league debut. But there's going to be pressure anywhere.

 
at 5:01 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Phillips needed so much rest he just crushed a monster HR to center. With a day off tomorrow, both he and Dunn (starters) ought to have started. This is a big win (if the bullpen can hold this 8-2 lead). Hopper deserves the starting job for the rest of the season (barring any extended slump). Now will Narron keep him leadoff every game? Glad Phillips and EE and Holliday and Belisle helped Narron avoid another losing lineup decision!

 
at 5:05 PM Blogger John Fay said...

Dunn is not playing becasue he's sick. Hopper's had great run. Getting him playing time is going to be a good problem to have when Hamilton returns.

 
at 5:07 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Cleveland is about the worst opponent for Bailey to start against for his debut. Sizemore, Blake, Haffner, and V Mart are going to be major tests. Big upside if Homer wins--lots more Reds making excuses for not bringing up youth if he gets torched.

Now if the Reds can take 3-4 from St. Louis (now that Pujols just woke up we're in for a tough series) this team will be out of the cellar and making the three blind mice (BC, WK, and JN) look more competent (well, at least lucky).

We need all the luck we can get the next 7 games. Put the starters in and KEEP THEM IN. Encarnacion, Phillips, Dunn, Jr. Hopper, and Hamilton now have to "tough out" any soreness and get the job done. This is the only chance the Reds will get to save 2007. This past week set up a great opportunity for next week's "move" by the Reds. Sweep the Cards and all of a sudden we're back in it. Stumble badly next week and it's over.

 
at 5:13 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

down to a 4 run lead...must win game...nice to see Belisle get out of that 2-out mess. 5 out of last 7 with a win is just so much better for the Reds' morale than 4-3. The Reds need every win they can scrape up given how far back they are and how far out of the Wildcard they'd still be even if they went 7-0 next week.
So Narron, either play your starters or resign. We don't need your style of "saving" anyone for a later in the season that won't come unless we win now.

 
at 5:16 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dunn is sick? Oh no! 15 days on the DL for another outfielder with a tummy ache? I really hate modern baseball. In the old days, guys played hurt, could pitch both ends of a doubleheader, and actually were more durable. Modern baseball is full of overly pampered ridiculously fragile players--and that's insane because we have all this new nutrition and physical conditioning knowledge. Nevertheless, the Reds and Narron always have some excuse for a quick trip to the DL or bench for a starter. I know, I'm just a dumb fan and Narron is a baseball genius. Jeez! Dunn probably would make better contact with a fever and sore throat!

 
at 5:30 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Formulaic Narron. 95 pitches and out Belisle goes after two quick outs.

Well, with a 4-run lead, that kind of managing might not be so dangerous but Belisle has handled Holliday and Helton today nicely (1-7) so a few more pitches shouldn't have hurt.

Now we bring in the throw balls and get behind bullpen...good thing we have a cushion, hope it lasts!

 
at 5:52 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Amazing! Two days in a row. Narron pulls the starting pitcher after a single and the bullpen proceeds to walk in a run. After the first two walks, did Narron consider a change? Bases loaded, 2 out and we let the wonderful Coutalangus walk in a run. Yes, a relief pitcher can look good if he only let's the runners score that he inherits. When does someone concede that the talent was misjudged. Get rid of Narron, Stanton, Milton, or maybe it's the pitching coach. Give the kids a chance. Livingston pitches a great game and goes to Louisville. Now, we'll bring Bailey up for a game and send him down. Is there some kind of logic to this that I am missing?

 
at 6:09 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

so much for that lead of yours...8-8 after a matsui triple

 
at 6:16 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well, they call him Magic. So far, it's seems he magically makes a decent lead disappear. He has done absolutely NOTHING since he re-joined the Reds. Why is he not in L-ville? And, you have to love our closer. Yes, he has 11 saves but each time it is by the skin of his teeth. Does anyone recall when we had a real closer? The Reds used to produce them like clockwork.

 
at 6:42 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

this team stinks from the top down

come on Bob, you baseball genius, fire that other baseball genius mismanaging this team.

 
at 6:48 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

FIRE NARRON

HE NEEDS TO GO

Majewski wasn't worth Austin Kearns' batting gloves.

KRIVSKY NEEDS TO GO TOO

 
at 6:57 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am watching the Reds' implosion from here in Chicago. I see a manager who has made some very dumb moves, ie., keeping stars out of the lineup, taking pitchers out because they reach some sort of magical pitch count and turning over the game to a bullpen that is so inept. Watching Jr. with his hat on backwards taking a non- chalant pose after hitting into a double play. What a mess we have.
The one move Krinsky should make is to let Narron go. I can't believe that this team has so totally given up.

 
at 7:37 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Assuming Homer Stays, does Belisle move back to the bullpen. This move seems the most logical to me. Belisle is this teams best option for the pen.

 
at 7:46 PM Blogger John Fay said...

They'll need Belisle to start until Milton comes back. Belisle should be 6-4 with 4.48 ERA. That's not bad these days. I think his value is as a starter.

 
at 9:50 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Belisle is a fine starter (relative to most of the other options in RED). He should stay in the rotation unless and until Arroyo does better. Harang, Belisle, Livingston and two question marks is our present rotation.

Belisle to the bullpen should not be an option. Milton coming back should not be an option either. He's proven he can't. Give 100 minor leaguers a chance to prove they can before you bring Milton in ever again. There are other Livingstons in the Reds minor league system.

 
at 11:21 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Why are we even bringing up a starter? The vast moajority of our losses are at the hands of our bullpen. How about actually putting Marcus MacBeth on the field, or bringing up some competent fresh-blood relievers from the minors, or at least using Bailey as a reliever. Unless Milton is pitching, we don't generally have a problem until later (8th) innings. This move doesn't make any sense to me. It just looks like a publicity stunt, and it risks more than just the team's performance this year. How about blowing our top prospect and the guy on whom we're banking the future of this organization? Getting sent down will be a huge letdown.

Homer should work on developing his off-speed pitches before he comes up. There are no successful one-pitch starters in the majors.

 
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