Cincinnati Reds
Pregame: Redlegs v. Marlins 9.17.9
By C. Trent Rosecrans, CNATI.com Posted September 17, 2009 3:16 PM ET
And we got lineups:Reds
Darnell McDonald 8
Paul Janish 6
Joey Votto 3
Brandon Phillips 4
Scott Rolen 5
Jonny Gomes 7
Jay Bruce 9
Ryan Hanigan 2
Matt Maloney 1
Marlins
Chris Coghlan 7
Nick Johnson 3
Hanley Ramirez 6
Jorge Cantu 5
Dan Uggla 4
Cody Ross 8
Ronny Paulino 2
Brett Carroll 9
Anibal Sanchez 1
* Reds manager Dusty Baker had a bowl of chicken soup and picked up some matzah balls for Edinson Volquez, who is sick.
Matt Maloney is pitching for the Reds in Cueto's place and Baker said he hopes to get Cueto back into the rotation and depending on how Cueto feels, he won't wait until it's his turn again.
* In the dugout before Wednesday night's game, Reds outfielder Jonny Gomes told Hal McCoy and told him he'd "try" to hit a home run for the retiring Dayton Daily News writer who was honored in a pregame ceremony.
Sure enough, Gomes hit his 20th homer on Thursday night.
"I'm not Babe Ruth calling my shot or anything," Gomes said. "I'm going to try to hit one tonight, too believe it or not."
McCoy said he was thinking about asking Gomes to sign a ball for him to commemorate the event, but Gomes was one step ahead of him. When McCoy went into the clubhouse before Thursday's game, Gomes gave him the bat and had signed it.
"I just hit a tater, it was his day, so I gave him the bat," Gomes said.Gomes said his high school coach took a while to come see him play in the majors but finally came in 2005 and Gomes hit three home run. He gave his high school coach the bat.
Gomes said he's always had a good relationship with the media and respects Hal's work.
"This is just my first go-around here, but I'm big on two things that I always bring to the ballpark: first is respect the game and second is hustle," Gomes said. "I've always had a good relationship with the media. I figure if you do those two things, it's hard to get bagged on. I think some guys bring it upon themselves. If you respect the game and hustle, everyone looks at you in a positive way."
Gomes also realizes how long a career it is to have 37 years in baseball.
"He deserves a lot more than one of my bats, that's for sure," Gomes said. "He's got a Hall of Fame ring he's running around with."
McCoy was completely surprised and all smiles with his new trophy.
* Speaking of good guys, Aaron Harang gave the clubhouse staff a gift on Thursday -- a new golf cart to use at Great American Ball Park.
"I kept driving by Jake Sweeney at Fields Ertle and saw them out there," Harang said. "I knew they could use it. They're always having to take another cart and now they have one of their own."
Clubhouse manager Rick Stowe was giddy and took the cart on a lap around the inside of Great American Ball Park.
The new, $6,500 cart not only has four seats, but also has a flip down seat good enough for two passengers on the back that can be turned into a flatbed for hauling things.
"These guys take care of me, so it's a way to show appreciation," Harang said. "They put up with us."
There's also a sign on the front that says "Clubhouse staff" so there's no mistaking whose cart it is.
Categories: Cincinnati Reds, Featured Stories, Features
Tags: Aaron Harang, Johnny Cueto, Jonny Gomes, Marlins, Reds
Comments (2)
Classy, both of those guys.
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I hope Harang is a guy who they keep around. I know he is a popular guy everyone wants to trade, but you don't get many players like him that embrace the city and team and try to help out while there are part of the community. He reminds me of Sean Casey a lot in the work he does. I think people heard about it more with him, but I hope Harang is here for years.
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