Sunday, May 24, 1998

BY JOHN FAY
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Scott Klingenbeck admits it's frustrating. He has been the ace of the staff in Indianapolis the past two years, but he still hasn't gotten a call from the big club.

Eddie Priest's promotion from Indy to the Reds added to the frustration factor.

"That's kind of shocking," Klingenbeck said Saturday morning. "That's the first I heard of it."

Klingenbeck is 5-2 at Indy with 3.45 ERA; Priest was 3-0 with 4.09 ERA.

The numbers favor Klingenbeck. But there are other factors in Priest favor: Priest is younger (23 to 27); Priest is on the 40-man roster and Klingenbeck is not; and the Reds doubt Klingenbeck's stuff.

"You'd have to ask (General Manager Jim) Bowden why?" Klingenbeck said. "I've got a job to do. I just do it. I can't buy hope."

Klingenbeck probably did not help his chances Friday night. He was the losing pitcher in the Indians' 10-1 loss to Pawtucket. Only two of the nine runs he allowed were earned.

"That was all in the second inning," he said. "Then I went five scoreless."

Klingenbeck was 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA in his previous three starts, and here's number Jack McKeon would like: He only walked two in 20 innings.

Klingenbeck, the product of Oak Hills High and Ohio State, was in a similar situation last year. He went 12-8 with 3.96 ERA at Indy. When the Reds did not call him up in September, he asked for his release. He went to spring training with the Texas Rangers but was released in late March.

"We're always considering our Triple-A players," Bowden said. "We're watching him. He's pitched well down there the last two years. He's someone to look at.

"Anyone who is going to make us a better ballclub, we'll make the move."

Klingenbeck has pitched 30 games in the majors (with Baltimore and Minnesota). He becomes a free agent June 1. He's hoping if the Reds don't call, someone else will.

"Maybe I can impress someone else," he said.

WIN, LOSE, DREW: Time is running out for J.D. Drew to sign with the Philadelphia Phillies. If Drew, the second pick in last year's draft, doesn't sign by 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, he goes back into this year's draft pool.

Drew and his agent Scott Boras want an $11 million deal from the Phillies, who have offered a package worth $6 million -- half of that guaranteed.

That means the Reds, who pick seventh in the June 2 draft, should get the sixth best player of this year's crop.

"We've talked to some of the teams above us," said Doc Rodgers, assistant general manager. "It looks like someone will take him."

REDS PROSPECT OF THE WEEK: Keep an eye on Lance Davis, a 21-year-old left-hander, with the Burlington Bees.

"He's an interesting one," Rodgers said. "He was throwing 85, 86 until this year. But his last time out he was up to 90, 91.

"You look at that and say, "There's a prospect.' He knows how to pitch. The shelf life with left-handers is pretty long. He has a chance."

Davis was the Reds' 16th-round pick in 1995. He has not had much success until this year.

"Sometimes it takes a little longer," Rodgers said.

DOWN IN THE D.R.: Jose Rijo brought pictures of the Reds baseball school, which is being constructed in the Dominican Republic.

"It's going to be nice," Rijo said.

The Reds have 40 players, ages 16 and 17, under contract. The Reds have three years to develop them or release them. They'll play with the Reds team in the Dominican summer league.

Rodgers said probably five to 10 of them will be ready to move on to the Reds rookie ballclub at Sarasota, which begins play in the Gulf Coast League next year.

Minor league instructors Donnie Scott and Mike Griffin just returned from the D.R.

"They showed (the coaches) the Reds way of doing things," Rodgers said. "So when the players get to Billings, they know how handle cutoffs and things like that."

Rodgers is pleased with the way things are going on the Latin front. But adds: "We're behind. We have some catching up to do."

ROSE RISE: Pete Rose Jr. seems to have made the adjustment to Triple-A pitching. Rose is hitting .357 in the month of May, with two home runs and five RBI. His overall average is up to .284. Rose only hit .225 at Indy last year after his promotion from Double-A.

MASKED MAN: Damian Jackson was back in the lineup for Indy Friday, wearing a face guard to protect his broken nose. He went 1-for-4 with the mask.