Thursday, September 24, 1998

BY SCOTT MacGREGOR
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Ask Brett Tomko to describe his sophomore season in the big leagues in one phrase, and the answer quickly springs to mind.

"It's been a growing experience," Tomko said Wednesday, a few days before he makes his final start of the season in the Reds' final game. "A chance to mature, to learn about myself as a pitcher and as a person."

It sounds philosophical, but at this point, the mind games seem to be the only thing keeping Tomko from being the ace the Reds pitching staff needs. If their youth movement is to succeed, it must be led by the pitchers, with Tomko at the forefront.

There are two ways to look at Tomko's 1998. From a pure statistical standpoint, you see a 12-12 record and 4.60 ERA, and you can't be impressed. Wasn't he the guy who could win 18-to-20 games and anchor the staff?

But you also must remember Tomko is still just 25 and has only two years in the majors and three full seasons of professional baseball under his belt, and many young pitchers struggle worse than he has early in their careers. Atlanta Braves aces Greg Maddux, John Smoltz and Tom Glavine all experienced sub-.500 seasons as youngsters before turning into Cy Young winners.

That doesn't give Tomko an excuse, but it puts things in perspective.

"I put more pressure on myself than to look at it that way," Tomko said of comparing himself to others. "But everybody says the first, second and third years are for learning. The best pitchers in baseball are in their late 20s, and there's a reason for that. That's what this year was about for this team: learning and getting better."

There are some positive stats in Tomko's favor. He has won 23 games in less than two full major league seasons, and he passed 200 innings Tuesday, a watershed mark for durability.

But statistics don't tell the story of Tomko's '98. He's right -- it was a year of learning and growing, and he had plenty of ups and downs from which to draw.

The ups: a 5-1 start, including a victory over Phillies ace Curt Schilling that prompted Reds manager Jack McKeon to claim he could win "18-to-20" with that kind of stuff.

The downs (in abbreviated form):

A well-publicized running flap with McKeon that began in spring training when the manager questioned Tomko's toughness; a temper outburst after a bad outing in New York that caused him to fall and crack a rib, putting him in pain for the next five weeks; a horrible seven-start stretch in May and June that left his confidence shaken and his record at 7-6; and the media furor over comments (misconstrued, Tomko said) that he'd groove a pitch to Mark McGwire.

"I can't say there was one thing," Tomko said. "I learned about a lot of things. How to handle my emotions. How to deal with the coaches and tell the media what I mean to say. Those seven bad games hurt me the most. It's tough to come back from that. I learned I need to cut down the big innings, to limit the damage and when I lose, give up two or three runs instead of seven. I really developed my changeup this year.

"It wasn't a bad year. It was just a growing experience. . . . "Next year, I believe I can be that guy that wins 20 games."

Despite Tomko's 4-6 record and 4.10 ERA in the second half of '98, McKeon said he has seen him mature and get tougher. He believes the right-hander's on the right track.

"I think he's made a lot of progress," McKeon said. "I think he's turned the page and he realizes the times we got on his case, we wanted to make him good."