October 3: Pirates (62-97) @ Reds (76-84)

Jenifer Langosch/MLB.com

I'm sure that Hal McCoy doesn't read my blog, but that's OK. I'm writing this not for him, but for all you baseball fans out there. If you don't know who McCoy is, you've really missed out. McCoy, who is sitting in front of me here at Great American Ball Park, is covering the final series of what has been a 37-year career of covering the Reds for the Dayton Daily News.

He is the longest tenured baseball beat writer in the country, and truly, one of the best.  Regardless of the fact that I was not even alive when he was covering the Big Red Machine back in the 70s, McCoy never passes me without saying hello and though I'm sure he doesn't know it, he's shown me what it's like to be a true professional in this business.

McCoy is retiring after the season not because he chose to, but because the Daily News will no longer be covering the Reds as a full-time beat. Unfortuantely, as is the case with many newspapers these days, the cost of covering a sport 365 days a year is just too high to justify with no profit coming in to offset it.

McCoy was enshrined into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002 and suffered a stroke in 2003 that left him legally blind in both eyes. Even that didn't stop him from covering baseball.

So as you're scouring online for your sports news this weekend, do yourself a favor and read McCoy's perspective. And here is his blog to check out as well. Even if you've missed the first 37 years of his work, check out his last two days. You'll be glad you did.

As for today's news, notes and randomness...

• It's amazing what some winning will do to a clubhouse. Ten days ago you could hear a whisper in the clubhouse that was abnormally silent. It was as bad a mood as I have seen in my three years on the beat. All that seems cured now, though, as the players finally seem to be having some fun again. The camaraderie is notably improved, too.
• With Friday's win and Thursday's washout, the Pirates are guaranteed of not losing 100 games this season. Is this a big deal in the clubhouse? Yes, it is. No one has denied that. Washington sits at 103 losses right now and if Baltimore can't win one of its last two, the Orioles will finish 62-100.
• Speaking of the Orioles, the Pirates and Balitmore are locked in a fight to get that No. 2 Draft pick next year. Right now the Pirates (62-97) are percentage points higher than the Orioles (62-98) in the standings. That means that the Pirates' magic number to get the No. 3 pick is 2. Any combination of Pirates wins and Orioles losses that add up to two, would solidify Pittsburgh as the third team to make a selection. The Nationals, obviously, have already secured the No. 1 pick for the second year in a row.
• Just did a little look back in the 17-year history book, and the Pirates have now played 161 games in a season four times since 1992. That doesn't include the 1994 and 1995 strike-shortened seasons.
• With a win on Saturday, Zach Duke will finish the season with a team-high 12 wins. Right now, he and Ross Ohlendorf both have 11. The Pirates hadn't had two 11 games winners since Oliver Perez (12-10) and Josh Fogg (11-10) did so in 2004.
• If the Pirates can pull off a win on Saturday, it will be the first time all season that the club will have won four straight on the road. No such thing as too late for a first, I guess.

Pirates lineup:

1. Andrew McCutchen (CF)
2. Andy LaRoche (3B)
3. Garrett Jones (1B)
4. Lastings Milledge (LF)
5. Brandon Moss (RF)
6. Delwyn Young (2B)
7. Jason Jaramillo (C)
8. Ramon Vazquez (SS)
9. Zach Duke (LHP)

Reds lineup:

1. Drew Stubbs (CF)
2. Paul Janish (1B)
3. Joey Votto (1B)
4. Brandon Phillips (2B)
5. Scott Rolen (3B)
6. Jonny Gomes (RF)
7. Darnell McDonald (LF)
8. Ramon Hernandez (C)
9. Johnny Cueto (RHP)

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