Friday, December 11, 1998

Jim Bowden

In 1992, the last time major-league teams were involved in baseball's winter meetings, Jim Bowden was a rookie, having become the sport's youngest general manager ever at age 31.

Now Bowden's a veteran, having endured the disastrous 1994-95 work stoppage, the Reds' front-office instability and the team's fluctuating fortunes from doormat to division winner and back now rebuilding again. After exploring openings with Baltimore and Los Angeles, Bowden was given a new four-year deal in October.

As Bowden prepared to head for Nashville for five days of meetings, he took time to discussthe state of the team and the game Thursday with Enquirer reporter Chris Haft:

QUESTION: Though a lot can happen between now and opening day, what can the Reds fan be optimistic about?

ANSWER: We've been very honest and up-front about what our strategy is in building a young club for the future, that we're not losing track of building the club the proper way - from the bottom up, through development and scouting. By the same token, I think there were a lot of young players who had a lot of success in '98. If they can continue to develop, they should be fun to watch in '99.

. . . This is going to be a year of continual growing. We also think, though, that when you have good starting pitching you have a chance to stay in games. We think the addition of Denny Neagle to go with Pete Harnisch and Brett Tomko will definitely make us more competitive. We think we've added more speed and better defense in the outfield.

Q: How can you improve the team?

A: The first thing we'd like to do is add a cleanup hitter that can hit 40 homers and drive in 120 runs, but we know we can't afford that. Realistically, No. 1, we'd like to add another starting pitcher. No. 2, we'd like to add some infield depth, somebody who's capable of playing second or third base in case Aaron Boone or Pokey Reese isn't able to perform as we project they'll be capable of doing. We're always looking to upgrade catching.

Eventually we'd like Jason LaRue to be our catcher, but he has a ways to go in his development. We think he's ready now to hit in the big leagues, but he still needs some work defensively.

Q: Even with the franchise's payroll constraints, can fans be hopeful for a competitive team between now until the new stadium opens in 2002, since a lot of people seem to have the perception that the Reds won't compete until then?

A: We want to be competitive. I think this past year, there were 12 teams with payrolls of under $42 million, and we had the second-best record of any of them. We feel that every year, we want to beat every single team that's within a $10 million range of us.

And then you never know what can happen in this game. You don't know when young players suddenly put it together and have breakthrough years. That can always accelerate your timetable of winning.

Q: This was such a feel-good type of year in baseball with Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, but that didn't do anything for baseball's economic concerns . . .

A: It was a great year. . . . But the reality is that baseball still has a long way to go to get back to the level we all want to accomplish. The No. 1 area baseball needs to improve on is the competitive-balance issue.

Because of the large disparity in payrolls, there's the haves and have-nots. It's something that's recognized by owners and the commissioner (Bud Selig). The commissioner has made it his top priority to try to correct this competitive-balance issue. We're confident it will be an issue that will be addressed and eventually solved.

Q: Teams always stress pitching, defense and speed. But it seems like the emphasis on those will be even greater here.

A: Our conclusion is that's the only way to stay competitive in our payroll range. Speed (is necessary) because we're on Astroturf.

There's nothing we'd like more than to have a lineup filled with 30-home run hitters, because the reality is that's what we want a new stadium to have. Our drafts the last couple of years, with Austin Kearns, Adam Dunn and Brandon Larson, were all pointed to big power bats in the middle of that lineup. We believe we're going to have to draft and develop them ourselves.

We believe with Barry Larkin, Pokey Reese, Mike Cameron and Jeffrey Hammonds, we're going to be very strong defensively up the middle if they all stay healthy. They all have speed; they can all run. Pitching-wise, as we said earlier, I think with Neagle, Harnisch and Tomko, we have three strong starters . . . and a lot of clubs don't have that.

Q: How has your job changed since you became GM?

A: It has changed completely. When I took over in October of '92, we had a very competitive payroll . . . We were able to take a disastrous team in '93 and win for two years in '94 and '95, at which time we were really a large-market club that could compete for talent.

Then we went to being a middle-market club where we couldn't compete with our payroll, and now we're a small-market club with one of the bottom five payrolls in baseball. So the challenges were maintained in all different levels.

But the exciting thing is when you've hit rock bottom and you're building back up. It's going to be fun. We have some really good, positive people in Tomko, Sean Casey and Dmitri Young, to name a few, that I think the fans will really relate to in the future. Sure, they're still going to make mistakes, because they're young. But they're going to show signs of being special.

Q: With your contract status settled, how much peace of mind does that give you?

A: I've always felt blessed here. I've always been under a long-term contract. Reds ownership has always treated me very well. Cincinnati is our home and I can't imagine being anywhere else but Cincinnati. So I'm thrilled that they have continually shown confidence in me.

This is a market that is very challenging. Sometimes that can be more fun than if you had all the money in the world and you could just go out and buy Robbie Alomar, Kevin Brown and Roger Clemens. Every baseball person would like to do that. I'd like to do that. I can't lie to you.

But it's also very challenging when you're able to go out and get a Pete Harnisch and try to make some moves that you have to make only because you're limited on what you can spend. And then to have success doing it that way is very rewarding.

All 1998 stories