Sully Baseball Salutes... Willie Harris

The Cincinnati Reds signed utility infielder Willie Harris today. It is hardly an earth shattering move. His job is to provide the Reds with some depth in their infield to allow them to develop Paul Janish and Zack Cozart.

Harris was a utility player for the Mets last year and has the kind of career that fascinates me.

He was a 24th round pick by the Orioles in 1999.
Very few of the players drafted after him that year played a single game in the majors. Most of those who did had brief cameos (the Sean Henns and Darren Clarkes of the world.) Jason Frasor and Mike Jacobs were drafted after Harris, but no other big leaguer of note.

Instead of being a career minor leaguer with perhaps one cameo in the show, Harris has now played in 11 different seasons in the majors, starting games in left field, center field, second base, third base, shortstop and right field.

He hit for a good average in the minors and stole a lot of bases and made his big league debut on September 2, 2001 where he was in the same lineup as Cal Ripken Jr.

A survivor in baseball, he went from the Orioles, to the White Sox to the Red Sox to the Braves to the Nationals to the Mets.

He played with Ramirez and Ortiz and the Big Hurt. He played under Frank Robinson and Bobby Cox.

(His time in Atlanta must have been sweet for Harris, a Georgia native, as evidently his family roots for the Braves no matter team he plays on!)

Future Hall of Famers Ivan Rodriguez and John Smoltz were his teammates. And when Stephen Strasburg made his electrifying debut on June 8, 2010, he was lifted for a pinch hitter. Guess who the hitter was? Willie Harris.

But of the many highlights, game saving catches and stolen bases in his career, he was front and center in a historic franchise's greatest moment.

For whatever reason, the White Sox are always short changed in the National attention department and the "beloved" status.

But in 2005, a year after the Red Sox lifted their curse and 2 years after the Cubs blew a chance to erase theirs, the White Sox stormed through the playoffs.

In the Division Series against the defending champion Red Sox, Harris smacked a pinch hit RBI single in the 14-2 blow out victory. He didn't appear in the ALCS but stole a base as a pinch runner in the White Sox extra innings victory in Game 3 of the World Series.

Then came Game 4. With the White Sox on the verge of winning their first World Series title since 1917 (and erasing memories of the 1919 World Series scandal), Chicago and Houston were in a scoreless stalemate in the 8th.

Freddy Garcia was masterful but manager Ozzie Guillen lifted him for pinch hitter Willie Harris. He led off the inning with a single to left off of Brad Lidge and moved to second base on a sacrifice by Scott Podsednik. With 2 outs in a game where both teams squandered scoring opportunities, eventual World Series MVP Jermaine Dye hit a 1-1 pitch up the middle scoring Harris. (Picture above).

It was the only run of the game.
The White Sox won 1-0.
They won the World Series.
Willie Harris forever can be called a World Champion.

And it should be noted that three times in that post season he was called off the bench. All three times he delivered. When a runner was in scoring position, he drove him in. When he was asked to pinch run, he stole a base. When asked to lead off, he started a World Series winning rally.

And do you wonder how a 24th round pick always manages to find work in the big leagues? Because he plays every position and delivers when asked.

Is he a star? Nope. Never will be. But he's played more than a decade of major league baseball, was a regular for several of those seasons, has a World Series ring and earned a few million dollars along the way.

Not bad.

I have a feeling the Reds will be happy with this signing.

CONGRATS BARRY LARKIN!

Lots to write about but first and foremost, Barry Larkin deserves it.

Steady, sometimes overlooked but a great player.

And now the 1990 Reds have a Hall of Famer.

Great job voters. Looking forward to the Summer.

Not sure what the make of the Padres - Reds trade except...

The Padres got the best players named Yasmani, Yonder and Edinson in all of baseball.

Actually I am not sure how Mat Latos will fare in Cincinnati. But his stats dipped last year and no doubt the Padres are banking at the 24 year old Latos's Cy Young contending season in 2010 was a fluke.

And maybe the Padres were thinking that maybe he was a PetCo Park creation.
Either way they get Yonder Alonso who was one of the top prospects in baseball before the 2009, 2010 and 2011 seasons.

They got Yasmani Grandal, a 22 year old excellent hitting catching prospect.

They got Edinson Volquez who was an All Star in 2008 and only 28 and heading into a great pitchers ballpark.

And someone named Brad Boxberger was sent to San Diego.
He's a 24 year old reliever who can strike batters out.
He struck out 93 batters in 62 innings last year. He had 6 2/3 strikeouts for every walk thrown.

I'm telling you. I said it once and I'll say it again.

The Padres have a plan.
I have so much more confidence in the Padres than many other high profile teams.

And you'll hear names like Boxberger and Yonder and Edinson and Yasmani will be in October before a lot of better known names.

Brandon Phillips! The Reds and Cardinals rivalry is awesome!

Walk off homer for Brandon Phillips!

Pujols homers off of Chapman!

I'm telling you, Reds-Cardinals could be Red Sox-Yankees for the next decade!

Please take note, Baseball!

The Reds should be the next Super Power!

Tonight's game in Cincinnati should be the talk of baseball tonight.

ROCKIES! Trade Ubaldo Jimenez!

At one point last year, Ubaldo Jimenez looked like he could win 30 games. 25 was a lock.
He was the 26 year old home grown ace of the Rockies and things were just going to get better.

He was 15-1 at the All Star break.
His ERA was sub 1.00 into June.

The second half? He went 4-7 with a decent (especially for pitching 1/2 his games in Denver) 3.80 ERA.

His numbers were solid and Cy Young worthy. But there was something mildly disturbing.

His whole career he's been a decent pitcher who put up decent numbers. And for one half of a year, he was a Cy Young candidate.

What if that one half of a season was a fluke?
What if it was an anomaly?

What if this is... *GASP*... Javier Vazquez all over again?
As I wrote before, Vazquez had a terrific 2001 with Montreal and coasted on the reputation of that season until 2009 when he had another great year for Atlanta.

The Yankees were of course burned when they brought him back... but my point is this:

Jimenez might not be an ace. But teams might THINK he is!
He started the 2010 All Star Game. That was almost exactly a year ago.

When exactly will his value be higher than RIGHT NOW?

The Rockies are sub .500 now and don't have the arms to catch up with San Francisco for the West nor for Atlanta for the Wild Card.

So take a look at Jimenez as a chip. A young good starting pitcher who everyone thinks is an ace!

Why hold on to him until people figure out he's NOT an ace?

If the Yankees want to give up some of their top prospects (and supposedly Jesus Montero is being offered) take it.

Drive up the price as the Yankees, Tigers, Reds and almost every other contender is looking for an arm.

With Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki locked up for long term deals, the Rockies can't really afford many expensive mistakes. And expecting Jimenez to be the pitcher that he was for 1 half of a season as opposed to the pitcher he was for 3 seasons is a risky prospect.

Get two quality players and let him become a decent but not great player for another team!

And don't wait too long.
Did someone say "Brandon Webb?"

How many saves does Cordero have to blow before he's replaced?

Seriously Dusty. Have you seen a pattern developing here?

Maybe find another arm to close.

If only they had a fireballer in their bullpen...

Oh wait.

Francisco Cordero ruined a great night

Dusty Baker, I told you to put Aroldis Chapman in the closer role LAST YEAR!.
Hell, I said it THIS WEEK!

But no. You keep dragging Francisco Cordero out there. And now look at what is happening.

Cordero was trusted with a 2 run lead in the 9th. He had the lead with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th.

And Mark Kotsay won it for the Brewers.

What would have happened if the REDS had won?
Oh not much, except a three way tie at the top of the Division!

The Pirates, Cardinals and Brewers would have been all tied with two games before the All Star break.

And the Reds would have been only 3 games back.

It would be beautiful chaos.
And instead it is just Milwaukee with a one game lead.

Seriously Dusty... time for a new closer.

Career Save #1 for Aroldis Chapman...

I've been saying since last year that Aroldis Chapman should be the closer for the Reds. Having a guy chucking 100MPH out of the pen to close the game out is an unlikely weapon. And yeah, he's been up and down this year, but who else has a bullet like this in their gun?

Now of course it took a total Reds bullpen meltdown to put him in the closer role tonight. It took the Reds blowing an 8-0 lead.

But watching him in the 13th inning, even with the hit in the middle of the inning, he just looked like a guy who overwhelmed the St. Louis bats.

The last pitch was 101 MPH!

The Reds are not out of this race, but if they drop many more games with Francisco Cordero blowing leads.

Keep him in the closer role, Dusty.

Thank you Chris Heisey

Hey Red Sox fans, do you know who Chris Heisey is?
He's an outfielder for the Reds. He was on the playoff roster last year for Cincinnati.

Well today he hit three homers against the Yankees and made sure the Reds weren't swept.

So the Red Sox are STILL in first place. If the Yankees won, the Sox would have fallen to second place.

Instead they are still on top heading to Pittsburgh.
And oh yeah...

The Magic Number is 89!!!

I feel bad for Carlos Fisher

The Phillies wound up beating the Reds in 19... and I want to talk about one of the pitchers of record.

Everyone is talking about Wilson Valdez and his win out of the bullpen. Yeah, it is great and cool that a utility infielder got the win as a pitcher.

But about about some love for Reds pitcher Carlos Fisher?
Can you imagine how frustrated he must feel tonight?

He wasn't expected to pitch tonight. The Reds looked like they had a win in the 10th inning.

Instead it went on... and in the 14th inning Fisher came into the game and batted in Ramon Hernandez's 6th spot with reserve catcher Ryan Hanigan coming in.

Every pitch he threw could have won the game for the Phillies.
He threw a 1-2-3 14th inning.
Then a 1-2-3 15th inning.
He worked around a Wilson Valdez hit in the 16th (he wasn't yet pitching.)
He worked around a Ryan Howard walk in the 17th.
Then he got out of the 18th despite another Wilson Valdez hit (this one was a double.)

Valdez seemed hell bent on winning the game. Little did he know he would be CREDITED with the win.

Meanwhile, despite Fisher keeping the Reds in the game, Cincy couldn't push a run across the board.

And they couldn't even score when Valdez was one the mound... a move by Phillies manager Charlie Manuel that literally says "It's worth more for us to lose this game than to wear down our pen."

Valdez was the human white flag.
And the Reds couldn't score off of him.

Finally he let up a game winning sacrifice fly, giving him line of 5 2/3 Innings pitched and 1 run.

It was the longest outing of his career. (Only once in his 60 previous games had he gone even 4 innings.)

He lasted almost as long as the starting pitcher. (Reds starter Travis Wood lasted 6 innings.)

He pitched his heart and guts out.
And for his troubles, he got the loss. It is first decision of the season.

You deserved better, Carlos.
Please accept this blog post as a consolation prize.

Rise and Shine! There is baseball to be played

Hey Phillies.
I hope you weren't wiped out after a 19 inning marathon the led to your utility infielder pitching and winning.

Hey Reds, hope you weren't too frustrated after blowing a 10th inning lead only to lose the game 9 innings later.

Hey Marlins, hope the roller coaster of blowing a 4 run 9th inning lead only to win in extra innings wasn't to taxing.

Hey Giants, I hope the highs of the 9th inning come back wasn't too high and the remorse following Buster Posey's injury isn't too severe.

Because you have to shake it off!
You have a day game right after overwhelmingly emotional extra innings games.

SOMEONE is going to get blown out today.

I can feel it.

They are at 19 innings in Philadelphia

I really really REALLY hope it goes 27 innings.
The longest big league game in terms of innings was the 26 inning affair between the Brooklyn Robins (now the Dodgers) and the Boston Braves.

Actually we'll never know how long that game would have lasted because it was called after 26 innings because of darkness.

Well it is dark now in Philadelphia.
And off they go to the 19th.

I just told my wife that they were going to the 19th.
Her response?
"Oh come on. Nothing is worth playing that long."

I told her the Phillies were using a second baseman to pitch.
She said "Really people?"

Come on Reds and Phillies bullpen.
Hold them!

The big rivalry for the weekend... it isn't in the Bronx

Last year, I wrote about how the Cardinals and the Reds could become a dynamic new rivalry for the new decade.

And after the first two games of this series, I am not backing down from those words. The Reds win on a walk off extra innings hit by Joey Votto last night and today the two battled back and forth until Cincy pulled ahead.

The Reds have leap frogged over the Cardinals and probably put a little more bad blood between the two. I am as excited about Red Sox and Yankees as anyone, but first place isn't on the line in that series.

Put a little fire under this rivalry baseball. Besides, as I wrote for the Hardball Times, the Reds have the opportunity to be another national team.

I for one am excited about tomorrows game.

It's a good rivalry between traditional baseball powers.

Why am I the only one noticing this?

Mike Leake stole a win for the Reds!

OK, I am probably the 4,391,335th blogger to make that joke.
But I wanted ME saying it on record.

I hope the Reds kept track of the alternate uniforms. If one is missing, Leake had better have an alibi.

Justice for Chris Resop

Last week, I saluted Pirates reliever Chris Resop for his 3 shutout innings, all after the 9th. He didn't get a win nor a save nor a hold for that, yet he helped keep the mighty Rockies off of the board long enough for the Bucs to win.

Well today the ledger evened out.

The Pirates looked like they were going to blow a game where they had a 4-0 lead before the Reds even came to bat. I warned them that losing a game like this meant they didn't DESERVE a .500 record.

The Pirates blew the lead, took it back and let the Reds tie it in the 7th. With 2 outs on the 7th, Resop came in to face back up Cincinnati catcher Ryan Hanigan. On his second pitch, Hanigan popped up to end the inning.

The next inning Andrew McCutchen drove home the go ahead run and the Pirates went on to win.

So a game where Resop throws 3 shutout innings in relief, all extra innings, he gets nothing positive for his record.

A game where he threw 2 pitchers to a back up catcher? He gets a win. That's the universe paying him back.

Don't lose this game, Pirates

The Pirates are up 4 runs before the Reds even come to bat. So listen to me Pirates and you listen good. If you have ANY hopes to go .500 (an Everest not scaled since 1992) then THESE are the games you can not blow.

You are going to lose close games.
You are going to lose some blow outs.

But when you put a 4 spot on the board in the first, then you NEED to close out the game.

I expect the Pirates to be 7-8 by the end of today.

Then they would need to go 75-72 the rest of the way to have a winning season.

Lose this game, and you don't deserve it!

A March game that could haunt Milwaukee in late September

Yeah I know it is early.
It isn't even April. So with 161 games left to play, why is this game between Cincinnati and Milwaukee so important?

It is true that there is a lot of time to make up this one game deficit. But these two teams could be two of biggest contenders for the National League Central crown. And guess what? If these two teams go down to the wire, every game in September will be precious.

And if Milwaukee loses the division by a game, I am sure a game where they hit homers with the first two at bats of the season and had a 3 run lead in the 9th to the Reds then coughed it up will be a sore spot.

The games count as much now as they do late in the season.

You had better get your act together, Brewers. The Reds magic number is down to 161!

Not a bad opening act!

The season was less than 4 hours old and we already had a 3 run, 2 out walk off come from behind wiping away a 2 run deficit game winning homer.



Hopefully this is a harbinger for things to come in a great baseball season.



Hey Cincinnati... pay attention. You've got a great team.

Hey baseball... pay attention. There is an exciting team that could become THE team in a very wide region. But I said that already.



MAN it feels good to be seeing baseball again!

Red State Strategy - My latest for The Hardball Times

In my latest for The Hardball Times, I take a look at the 2011 Cincinnati Reds' unique combination of talent, tradition and geography and wonder... could they create their own TV network and become a big market franchise?

It's not as crazy an idea as you would think.

Read the whole article HERE.

Sully Baseball Salutes... Jimmie Wilson

Jimmie Wilson was a two sport star who became a World Series hero because of bizarre and tragic circumstances.

Chances are you never heard of Jimmie Wilson, the former Cardinals and Phillies catcher. I never heard of him until I stumbled across his story while compiling my latest 25 Man Roster. But he lived a unique albeit brief life that is worth a salute here at Sully Baseball.

The player who was nicknamed "Ace" was a native of Philadelphia and the son of Scottish immigrants. He dropped out of high school to work and by 19 went pro... in soccer.

When I read that, I had the same reaction that you probably had. "They had pro soccer teams in America in the 1910s and 1920s?" Yup, evidently they did.

And here I was thinking that they never played the game in America until Pele joined the Cosmos!

He excelled in soccer, playing for several different leagues, mainly for Philadelphia teams. In 1922, he played in the National Challenge Cup but failed to make it to the Quarterfinals. The tournament is now called The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. I had no idea that playoff is nearly 100 years old.

(Man, soccer sure is taking its sweet time catching on in America!)

He was a two sport player, playing minor league baseball as well. By 1923, the 23 year old Wilson focused solely on baseball and began playing for his hometown Phillies.

The 1923 Phillies were a 104 loss dog of a team who drew less than 3,000 a game. Not 30,000... 3,000.

The Phillies remained terrible between 1923 and 1928. But Wilson hit well his first year and by 1925, had developed into a .328 hitting part time catcher.

During the 1928 season, he was paroled from the purgatory of The Baker Bowl and the Phillies and was dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals. The trade occured during a game between the two teams. He supposedly started the game as a Phillie, was taken out and watched the rest in the St. Louis dugout in his new uniform.

As a Cardinal, he became teammates with future Hall of Famers Rabbit Maranville, Jesse Haines, Chick Hafey, Jim Bottomley, Frankie Frisch and Grover Cleveland Alexander.

He was no longer on a team tumbling towards 100 losses. Now he was on a contender who would go on to win the pennant by 2 games over the Giants.

In the 1928 World Series, the Cardinals were manhandled by the Yankees. Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig combined for 7 home runs in the 4 game sweep.

Wilson was held to a 1-11 series. He did get an RBI double in game 2, but the Cardinals were overmatched. But Wilson was now on a contender.

He developed into one of the best all around catchers in the National League, finishing 6th in the 1931 MVP vote and being selected to the 1933 All Star team.

And he played in the 1930 and 1931 World Series for St. Louis. In the '31 Series, he helped defeat the other home town team of his youth, the Philadelphia A's, as the Cardinals won the World Series.

After the 1933 season, he returned home to Philadelphia to be the player and manager of the Phillies. It was a disaster. The Phillies finished either last or just out of last place each year he was manager, losing 100 games in 1936. He lasted 5 seasons in control of the Phillies before being let go.

In 1939 Bill McKechnie, his former manager in St. Louis, brought him to Cincinnati where he became a player coach. Wilson only appeared in 4 games as a player as future Hall of Famer Ernie Lombardi was the catcher. The Reds won the 1939 pennant but were swept by the Yankees in the World Series.

In 1940, Wilson's playing days looked to be over as he became a full time coach.

Lombardi had an good backup named Willard Hershberger, a former Yankee farmhand who developed into a solid, if light hitting catcher.

Hershberger was a star football player in high school making him, like Wilson, a two sport star. He also seemed to have deep emotional issues stemming from a family tragedy. His father went broke in 1928, predating the crash, and shot himself in the head. An 18 year old Willard discovered the body shortly before he began his professional career.

It took Hershberger 8 years to make the majors but made himself a .300 batter. He was stuck behind a Hall of Famer in Bill Dickey while in the Yankee system and behind Lombardi with the Reds. A finger injury kept Lombardi out of the lineup for a stretch in 1940. Hershberger stepped in ably.

However when the Reds went on a 3 game losing streak in late July, Hershberger put the blame on himself. He felt like his team was blaming him as well and spoke to manager Bill McKechnie about killing himself like his father did.

The two had a private meeting after a game in Boston against the Bees (aka the Braves.) McKechnie seemed to have calmed his fragile catcher down and gave him the day off to collect himself. On August 3rd, Hershberger said he was going to go to the park even if he didn't play, but he never showed up to Braves Field.

Gabe Paul, the Reds' traveling secretary who would later build the great Yankee teams of the 1970s, went to the hotel to check if Hershberger was alright. He found Hershberger dead in his bathtub, having slashed his own throat.

Willard Hershberger became the first, and so far only, major leaguer to commit suicide during the season.

The death stunned the Reds emotionally and put them in a bind in terms of personnel. Third string catcher Bill Baker filled in and Ernie Lombardi came back quickly from his injury.

Jimmie Wilson stepped down as a coach and was activated to catch less than two weeks after Hershberger's death. He started 8 games down the stretch but needed to spell Lombardi in the 1940 World Series against the Tigers.

He started 6 of the 7 games of the World Series, batting .353 in the process.

Wilson singled and scored in the Reds Game 2 win. In game 6 with the Reds on the verge of elimination, Wilson singled and scored a critical insurance run in the 4-0 victory. And in the come from behind 2-1 Game 7 triumph, Wilson collected 2 hits and caught Paul Derringer's complete game victory.

The Reds won the 1940 World Series, their first title since the 1919 Series, the same one where the White Sox took a dive.

It was the last game Wilson ever played in. The team dedicated the World Series victory to "Hershie" and gave Willard Hersberger's mother a World Series share.

The next year Wilson took over the Cubs as manager but had little success. He began growing oranges in Florida when he dropped dead of a heart attack in 1947 at the age of 46.

About a decade later, Ernie Lombardi suffered from intense depression and harbored thoughts of suicide. But unlike his backup, he recovered and lived another two decades.

The 1940 Reds were the only Cincinnati team to win the World Series between the Black Sox scandal and the rise of The Big Red Machine. And Jimmie Wilson coming off of the bench to help heal a great tragedy was a big part of that title.

That's worth a salute.