LAKELAND, Fla. - Manager Jack McKeon's meeting Monday appears to have sparked the Reds into a little more offensive action.
In the wake of four extremely low-scoring games, McKeon spoke in a pregame meeting about the need for the Reds to start focusing on getting ready for the regular season.
''It was no big deal,'' right fielder Jon Nunnally said. ''We just need to get ourselves ready and thinking about getting ready to play when it counts.''
Apparently, it did the trick, because the Reds scored five runs Monday night and then two in the first inning Tuesday against the Tigers in Lakeland. General Manager Jim Bowden said he thought Monday's game was ''the best they've played all spring.''
''They got the message,'' McKeon said. ''They were a little more pepped up, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. I was pleased with the way they played.''
McKeon talked of putting the ball in play on a three-ball, one-strike count and not trying to swing for the fences. First baseman Eduardo Perez did just that in the first inning Tuesday, singling on a 3-1 pitch to score Chris Stynes.
''It reminds me of something Charlie Finley used to say,'' McKeon said of his old owner with the Oakland Athletics. ''If you want to be a hog, you're going to end up eating slop.''
Contact
McKeon says Melvin Nieves may give the Reds the most power of the outfielders on the bench but Dmitri Young ''is the most dependable contact hitter, like Lenny Harris.''
Tabled
Backup catcher Brook Fordyce won Monday's award for swinging at the worst pitch. He swung at one above his head. His trophy? A small table, so he can stand on it so the pitch won't be so high.
''I told him not to throw it away because we may have to give it to somebody else tonight,'' McKeon joked. ''It's a rotating award.''
Hometown hero
Relief pitcher Jim Crowell has a personal stake in the upset-crazy NCAA Tournament. He played on the Valparaiso High School basketball team with Valparaiso University star guard Bryce Drew.
''He's as nice a guy as you want to meet, and if anybody deserves it, it's him,'' Crowell said of Drew. ''He was being recruited by a lot of big schools, but he wanted to play with his dad (Valpo coach Homer Drew). He stuck to his guns and look where it's gotten him. You can't ask for a better ending to a college career.''
Crowell said the town of Valparaiso is going nuts. ''It's the greatest thing since Orville Reddenbacher,'' he said of the town's famous popcorn-making son.
Crowell's outlook
Crowell, a 23-year old left-hander who went from Single-A to the majors last year, probably won't make the 25-man roster out of spring training. But he said if he doesn't, he'll just work harder at Triple-A Indianapolis.
''I'm not going to be mad if I get sent down,'' he said. ''I just need some experience and some innings. With the arsenal of veterans we have, that's tough.''
Crowell might have made the club if the Reds hadn't signed veterans like Steve Cooke and Pete Harnisch. Management prefers to let him get more innings at Triple-A, but figures he'll be an important to the Reds' future.
''Physically, I have good enough stuff,'' Crowell said. ''Mentally, I have some things to learn. I just need the innings, that's the bottom line.''
Reds 6, Tigers 5
SPRING TRAINING STORIES
REDS PAGE
