A: It was designed to place injured players on the list, hence injured list. If you are saying teams place uninjured players on the list, where is your proof? I don’t have any reservations about the way it is used and I see no abuse of it. If a team doesn’t want a player on the roster, it can send that player to the minors, trade him or release him. Why put him on the injured list? Just ask Stuart Fairchild.
Q: With his knowledge and experience, will new Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona have any input for trades, drafts and acquisitions? — GREG, Beavercreek.
A: About as much input as Henry Ford into the Model-T or Alexander Graham Bell into the telephone. Francona would not have accepted the job just to make out lineups, make pitching changes and make pinch-hitting decisions. There is no doubt in my mind he received assurances he would be in on all roster decisions and moves and partake with a yes or a no. And rest assured, he is no ‘yes’ man.
Q: How long has the term Oppo Taco been around and who coined it? — JOEL, Dayton.
A: Former Cincinnati Reds pitcher Matt Belisle gave up an opposite field home run to Mike Piazza during spring training and called it an Oppo Taco. I can understand the Oppo (opposite field), but why taco? And why can’t people just call a home run a home run instead of dinger, jack, big fly, gopher, round-tripper, tater, goner, went bridge, no-doubter, went deep, four bagger and my personal favorite, four-ply wallop.
Q: What would have happened if The Big Red Machine used torpedo bats? — MARK, Charleston, SC.
A: Carnage...probably. But I agree with Reds manager Terry Francona, who said, “It’s the player, not the bats.” A player still has to make contact so the torpedos only really help the good hitters. The poor hitters still will strikeout and pop up and hit weak grounders. But players like Aaron Judge, Elly De La Cruz, Shoehei Ohtani and Mike Trout might maim some fans in the outfield stands.
Q: The 1931 New York Yankees averaged 6.84 runs a game, so will they top it this year or is Milwaukee’s pitching that bad? — PAT, Columbus.
A: In that three-game series with Milwaukee to open the season, the Yankees averaged 12 runs, but 20 came in their second game and skewers it. And it was most likely a combination of Yankees power and Brewers poor pitching. But over the long haul I can see that lineup averaging seven runs a game, especially since MLB has approved use of their MIT-desisgned torpedo bats. Ask Elly De La Cruz about them.
Q: Did I see Reds manager Terry Francona with a tobacco chew in his mouth? — JACK, Miamisburg.
A: Yes, you did. One game he had a chaw and during another game he was chewing sunflower seeds and spitting out the sheels. Tito is old school, back to when a lot of players chewed tobacco. Chicago White Sox second baseman Nellie Fox had a chaw so big it looked as if he had a softball lodged in his cheek. Former Reds manager Jack McKeon chewed and loved to spit juice on the shoes of writers he didn’t like. Yes, a nasty habit, but Nadine believes my cigar-smoking is nasty, especially when I burn a hole in another sweatshirt or hoodie.
Q: What would it take to get the Reds back to Florida for spring training because Arizona is too far for most fans to go? — KEVIN, Springfield.
A: Probably an act from the Almighty. The Reds have a lease for Goodyear Ball Park through 2029 and probably will re-up. To move back to Florida, they would have to have a new park built somewhere in the Sunshine State. When the Reds were in Sarasota, fans from Ohio inundated Siesta Key, where I stayed at the Palm Bay Club, just a few steps off the sugary sands of the beach. Nadine loves the beach and wouldn’t go with me to Arizona because she said, “There’s no beach.” I told her, “Honey, Arizona is all beach. There’s just no water.”
Q: Do major league managers no longer wear numbered uniforms? — TIM, Xenia.
A: All managers are assigned uniform numbers and are required by MLB rule to wear them. If they are wearing hoodies or jackets, they are required to wear their numbered uniform underneath. But many, or most, don’t. Reds manager Terry Francona ‘wears’ number 77, if he has it on. He once was busted for not wearing one. When David Bell managed the Reds, he seldom wore a numbered uniform under his jacket. Managers love to play the numbers game.
Q: Was it true that former Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda served spaghetti in the clubhouse? — PETER, Dayton.
A: First he served a lot of b.s. to visiting writers in his office. He was proud of his Italian heritage and his culinary talent and did serve spaghetti that me made to the players. Rick Monday told me that Lasorda would pay for meals in restaurants on the road with a check, hoping the owner wouldn’t cash it and keep it as a souvenir. It worked. I saw a Lasorda check displayed on a wall in Charley Gitto’s Italian restaurant in St. Louis.
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