Doc’s Morning Line: Cincinnati Reds pitcher Gutierrez lives by the Ray Miller credo
Apologies in advance for the lateness of the TML today. I got caught up trying to make spoons stick to my forehead. More on that later. For now. . .
WORK FAST, THROW STRIKES, CHANGE SPEEDS. . . Easy to say, hard for some to do. But not, apparently, for Vladimir Gutierrez, who has emerged from nowhere to help calm the Reds roiling starting rotation. He’s like finding a $20 bill in the inside pocket of your sportcoat. Pennies from heaven.
Unless you’re a minor-league junkie, you probably never heard of the guy until he got here a few weeks ago. No reason to.
The Reds signed him in September 2016, as an amateur free agent from Havana, when he was 20 years old. As recently as 2019, Gutierrez went 6-11/6.04 in Louisville. His four-year record in the minors is 24-29 with a 4.88 ERA. He pitched only in winter ball last year.
In March, nobody in Goodyear was talking about him when the subject was pitching. Nobody said, “Watch this kid Gutierrez, he’s really special.’’ He was a name on a white board somewhere, on the mega depth chart the Reds use to keep track of every prospect in the organization.
There really is no explaining Gutierrez, or guys like him, same as there’s no explaining top draft picks who never make The Show. You show me anyone in the Reds player personnel department who predicted this for Gutierrez, I’ll show you a guy who should be promoted immediately.
It’s impossible to say anything more than Wow after three starts. Gutierrez is Cuban, which suggests just getting here guarantees he has seen things most of the rest of us never have. He’s 25, not 19. He has a presence to him. He doesn’t seem to rattle.
And he lives by the Ray Miller Credo. Work fast, throw strikes, change speeds. Pitchers who can do that, and can put their pitchers mostly where they intend them to go, make lots of money.
Uh, who’s Ray Miller, Doc?
Lookimup.
After decades of trying unsuccessfully to develop pitchers, might The Club have found a guy who essentially fell into its lap?
BIG AT-BAT LAST NIGHT, AND INTO THE FUTURE was Tyler Stephenson’s double in the 4th inning that scored Winker and Castellanos. It gave Gutierrez a little cushion. It also gave rise to the hope that the Reds really do have a few hitters not named Jesse and Nick who can deliver big hits. Batman and Batman have been beyond fabulous, but a worry is, who complements them?
Without a couple other legit threats, it’s not hard to see opponents pitching around both those guys. Milwaukee reliever Eric Lauer tried it last night. It didn’t work.
The Reds have gotten productive work from Tyler Naquin and Tucker Barnhart and lately from Stephenson. They could really use production from the likes of Suarez and Votto and upon his return, Moustakas. We’ve seen what happens when pitchers have to pitch to the two Batmen. It’d be nice to keep it that way.
WITH THE PFIZER SHOT, I CAN BEND FORKS WITH MY MIND!
I read where a doctor from Middleburg Heights up in Cuyahoga County testified before the Ohio House Health Committee that COVID vaccines make people become magnetized. The Republicans invited her.
“I’m sure you’ve seen the pictures all over the internet of people who have had these shots and now they’re magnetized. You can put a key on their forehead, it sticks,’’ proclaimed Dr. Sherri Tenpenny.
How cool is that? Who wouldn’t want to be magnetic? If I were magnetic, I’d never again lose my car keys. Just slam those babies hard up against my nose and my worries are over. At the very least, it’d be an awesome bar trick.
“There’s been people who have long suspected that there’s been some sort of an interface, yet-to-be-defined interface, between what’s being injected in these shots and all of the 5G towers,’’ Dr. Tenpenny said.
I don’t even know what that means.
Alas, two hours, four spoons, six forks and a pocket knife later, all I got for my troubles was a mess of metal stuff all over the living room floor.
After I calmed down and recovered from that slight bit of broken-heartedness, I saw where Mets 1B Pete Alonso said MLB manipulates its baseballs depending on the quality of the free-agent crop in the following year. So, if a lot of hitters are up for getting paid, Baseball deadens the baseballs.
“I think that the biggest concern is that Major League Baseball manipulates the baseballs year in and year out depending on the free agency class – or guys being in an advanced part of their arbitration,” Alonso said. “So I do think that’s a big issue – the ball being different every single year.’’
Why didn’t we think of that? Suppress wages by loosening the stitches on the ball. Genius. Alonso wanted to discuss the topic further, but first he had to tell the guy flying the black helicopter to get off of his lawn.
I think I need to lie down in a cool place.
Of all the stuff ailing living in the land of the free, none is more dire than our crisis of intellect. Willfully obtuse people are a bigger threat to our republic than a virus or hacked computers. The QAnon believers, the anti-science clan, the conspiracy weirdos, the people who believe shots make you magnetic – says so right there on the Internet – comprise a clown show that will drag us down. Dr. Tenpenny, do us all a favor. Heal someone.
I feel better now.
A MOST UNDERRATED TALENT in our town for decades. . . has been the incredible success of our boxers. I’ve been privileged to watch in person Rau’Shee Warren, Ricardo Williams, Tim Austin, Larry Donald etc in the Olympics. Add Duke Ragan to that list. He was named to the US Olympic team a couple days ago.
COVID-19 scrambled the selection process. There were no Trials. A North and South American Olympic qualifying tournament, scheduled in May, was canceled. Ragan made the team based on his amateur world ranking, even though he turned pro last August, and is unbeaten (4-0) as a professional. Don’t ask me to explain it.
Congrats to Duke for keeping one of our town’s best sports traditions intact.
AND NOW. . The FunMaster checks out some sweet rides.
IMBIBER DAVE DOES VEGAS…
Had an amazing visit to Las Vegas this week. Wow is it strange to see that many people in one place again. It has been so long.
I’m not a huge gambler, but I certainly enjoy this style of imbibing along with all the rest. Normally I like to play blackjack, and hope that I last for at least an hour without sacrificing too much of my allowance. The gaming innovators came up with a cool COVID friendly video blackjack concept where a dealer works a table, and your cards are broadcast via camera. You can simply play on your personal video screen, or play along on the big screen in front of you. This was odd but very fun at least as a novelty.
We had an amazing meal at Ferraro’s Italian restaurant. I enjoyed a negroni with our squid, octopus, and burrata appetizers. Then, an amazing Montepulciano wine that paired perfectly with both the pasta and the ribeye.
The real star however was a spin on the Black Manhattan, made with Amaro, in this case Cio Ciaro. I had never had this Amaro before, and although it is cherry liquor, it is dark and herbal like a Fernet. This was the perfect digestif after eating too much for three people. Cheers! cincybeerguydave@gmail.com
FATHER’S DAY is a week from Sunday. I missed at least 15 Father’s Days, while covering the US Open. But we don’t do that anymore, so. . . note to kids, I’m around this year.
What do youse dads like to get for Father’s Day?
My standard answer has been, “something I can smoke, drink or hit with a 9-iron.’’ Mainly, it’s just the simple pleasure in knowing my kids think enough of me to call or come by. Have you ever gotten a gift/surprise that has completely knocked you out?
TUNE O’ THE DAY. . . Before he got discovered and went completely commercial – Cheeseburger in Paradise? Really? – Jimmy Buffett made some fine music, a lot of it on the album Living and Dying in ¾ Time. Here’s a lovely tune from that set.
*** This article has been archived for your research. The original version from The Cincinnati Enquirer can be found here ***
