McKeon, who rarely holds player meetings, did just that Monday in an effort to get the Reds' back on track as they enter the dog days of spring.
While the pitching has been surprisingly impressive, the bats have been surprisingly silent, especially with Barry Larkin out of the lineup until at least the third week of the season. The Reds had scored just four runs in four games before Monday's 5-1 victory over the Tigers, and McKeon believes they may have lost the mental edge they had early in camp because the spring is starting to get monotonous.
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Spring stats
The Reds have gotten a surprisingly strong performance by the pitching staff but a punchless offense minus injured Barry Larkin. ''I don't think the pitching is as good as it looks now and the hitting is as bad as it looks now,'' GM Jim Bowden said.
LINEUP Avg HR BI
Chris Stynes .244 0 0
Jon Nunnally .306 0 2
Willie Greene .150 0 2
Reggie Sanders .308 1 5
Eduardo Perez . 295 2 9
Eddie Taubensee .179 1 3
Bret Boone .342 1 7
Pokey Reese .333 0 3
STARTERS W-L ERA
Dave Burba 0-0 1.35
Mike Remlinger 0-1 1.50
Brett Tomko 0-0 9.00
Pete Harnisch 1-1 4.75
Steve Cooke 0-0 2.50
Mark Hutton 0-2 2.08
BULLPEN W-L ERA
Jeff Shaw 0-2 4.82
Scott Sullivan 0-0 0.00
Gabe White 1-1 6.00
Stan Belinda 2-1 3.60
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''We're ready physically. Now we have to get ready mentally,'' McKeon said he told the players. ''It was just a reminder. We've got to start fine-tuning the mental side and get back to how we were and how we were doing things.''
Of course, it is just spring training, and there's a different pace and motivation to the spring than the regular season. If this were April or May, there would be significantly more cause for concern about the offense and probably more action by McKeon than just a short meeting.
But he did juggle the lineup a bit Monday, moving Chris Stynes from leadoff to the third slot and making Pokey Reese the leadoff hitter, and there is enough concern that McKeon believed he should address it now.
''It was maybe a week earlier than I wanted to say it,'' he said. ''But it may take five or six games. Now at least we have them thinking, so we have a head start.''
One situation in particular keeps popping up to aggravate McKeon: when hitters can't score a runner from third. McKeon would rather see someone hit a ground ball to second and score the run rather than try to drive him in with a hit and swing at bad pitches.
The Reds' stat sheets lists some impressive batting averages. But the bigger problem is run production. The Reds have scored 71 runs in 19 games (3.74 runs per game), third lowest in the league, and have only 66 RBI and 11 home runs. Perez leads the team with nine RBI, followed by Boone with seven and brother Aaron Boone, who likely won't make the roster, next at six. The two biggest expected run producers, Sanders and Greene, have just seven and two RBI, respectively.
''I reiterated in the meeting that their batting average can be .480 or .120, but it doesn't mean a thing,'' McKeon said. ''What you've got to do is get the runners home in those situations. We haven't got enough firepower to wait for the four or five run inning.''
''It's frustrating for me, because some of these guys feel they have to impress me and get a hit in those situations to make the club,'' said McKeon. ''They're going to impress me more by making an out to score the run.''
But another problem is also affecting McKeon's expected starters: swinging at bad pitches. When Reds' hitters have two balls and no strikes, they haven't put the ball in play once in 42 chances. When the count is 3-and-1, they're 0-for-22.
''Everybody thinks those are the fat, juicy pitches, but you have to be mentally disciplined,'' McKeon said.''We've got to be more selective at the plate and take more base on balls.''
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Roster outlook
With two weeks to go until opening day, most of the Reds 25-man roster is set.
Starters (8): 1B Eduardo Perez, 2B Bret Boone, 3B Willie Greene, SS Pokey Reese, LF Chris Stynes, CF Reggie Sanders, RF Jon Nunnally, C Eddie Taubensee
Backup outfielders (2): Pat Watkins and either Eric Owens or Mel Nieves, who may begin the season on a rehab assignment in minors.
Backup infielders (3): Damian Jackson, Lenny Harris, Dmitri Young
Backup catcher (1): Brook Fordyce
Starting pitchers (5): Dave Burba, Brett Tomko, Mike Remlinger, Pete Harnisch, Steve Cooke
Relief pitchers (6): David Weathers, Mark Hutton, Gabe White, Scott Sullivan, Stan Belinda, Jeff Shaw
On disabled list (1): Barry Larkin
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Three weeks ago McKeon thought if everyone stayed healthy the Reds could be in the top 5 in the league in run production, but with Larkin down, that seems to be a longshot.
Nunnally, for one, isn't worried.
''We're just getting ourselves ready, getting the kinks out,'' Nunnally said. ''We've got two weeks to get ready to play, and that's when it counts, when we're playing for keeps. It's tough to stay focused (in the spring), but you know you have to be ready to bring your game to the table when the season starts.''
The pitching, however, continues to impress. Reds' starters have been going five and six innings routinely, and at this point, the pitching looks to be the strength of the team, not the weakness as many thought when camp opened.
Starters have posted an 0.39 ERA in the four games that the hitters have scored four runs. Dave Burba and Mike Remlinger have been outstanding and Pete Harnisch and Steve Cooke, the men who will fill the two open slots in the rotation, have been solid.
''Jack has done a good job getting the pitchers ready to throw a lot of innings in April, which is important for a team like this,'' General Manager Jim Bowden said. ''If you'd have told me that on March 16 our starters would be going that long, I wouldn't have believed it. Right now the hitting is anemic, the defense has been pretty good and the pitching is very good, but it's only March 16. We still have two weeks left.''
Bowden points out that in 1993, the Reds had baseball's best record in spring training and finished fifth in the division. Spring performances, good and bad, can be deceiving.
''I don't think the pitching is as good as it looks now and the hitting is as bad as it looks now,'' Bowden said. ''But fans are going to like watching this team grow.''
Reds 5, Tigers 1
Notebook: Reds explore locking up trio
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