Monday, June 8, 1998

BY GEOFF HOBSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The Reds began the Battle of Ohio in a state of euphoria Friday night. They opened their gates to welcome their biggest home crowd at a three-game series in more than 20 years, then beat mighty Cleveland in the opener.

But it ended Sunday with the Reds shutting their doors for about 45 minutes in a pointed players-only meeting. It was the only initiative they showed on a day old friend Dave Burba beat them 6-1, which followed Saturday's 10-1 debacle.

"It's no fun getting our butt kicked," second baseman Bret Boone said. "That was it. People said things that needed to be said." While media, clubhouse personnel and coaches cooled their heels in the hallway, hitting coach Ken Griffey cocked his head at the closed door and said, "Looks like someone's mad. Good." Lenny Harris, one of several veterans who stood up, directed his comments to the young players, hoping the kids won't be shell-shocked by what the Indians did to them.

"A lot of the kids had their heads down. The season's not over," Harris said. "(There are) a lot of kids around here who are giving up. "You can't give up now. You have worked so hard to be a starter, an opportunity to play every day. I just felt a bunch of us put their heads down because they weren't succeeding."

Captain Barry Larkin, who had help calling the meeting after weeks of prodding, said the talk wasn't aimed at any one segment of the team, which has lost five of its last six games and is 28-35, a season-low seven games under .500.

But with a roster of speakers such as Larkin, Boone, Harris, David Weathers, Stan Belinda and Pete Harnisch, the veterans clearly wanted to send a wake-up call to their discouraged young teammates. "It took me nine years to wake up," said Harris, the 11-year veteran known for his stabilizing locker room presence. "Let them know it's never too late. . . . I think some of the young kids kind of felt me a little bit and understood what I was talking about.

"They're young guys and they're going to feel the pressure. They're starting to feel it right now, hopefully they can bounce back from it.

"I just said, "I didn't get a second chance and you guys have the chance to play. Take advantage of it. You guys have to reach back, go out and play hard.' "

Larkin said, "a whole bunch of folks" called the meeting. He said such closed-door sessions "have worked in the past." "A lot of things have been happening for quite a bit of time now. I've been asked for weeks to have a meeting," Larkin said. "It wasn't a rah-rah go get 'em. . . . We've been making a lot of mistakes, physical and mental, and they need to stop."

Harris said the first players-only meeting of the season was a motivational tool, and not a rip session.

"You never rip teammates," Harris said. "A bunch of guys are getting the opportunity to play. You don't want to lose it because that's what you work for all your life, to play everyday in the big leagues.

"That should be a goal for some of the kids. It should be a motivation thing being picked to finish last, anyway, in the division. That should have been a slap in the face, anyway. "You guys have to pretty much wakeup. Don't wait until it's too late.' "