Saturday, January 02, 1999
Neagle here in spirit
No Redsfest, but plenty of enthusiasm
BY SCOTT MACGREGOR
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The biggest reason for optimism among Reds fans this year — newly acquired pitcher Denny Neagle — won't be at Redsfest this weekend, instead attending to a previous holiday commitment with his wife in Denver.
But don't view it as a sign of disinterest in the Reds. On the contrary, Neagle — who won 20 games in 1997 and 16 last year for the Atlanta Braves — said he is looking forward to taking the mantle as Reds ace and mentor to their young pitchers.
Acquired in a November trade for Brett Boone and Mike Remlinger, Neagle's status as a Red has been much debated. Contractually, he can demand a trade after the season, and there's always the chance General Manager Jim Bowden will trade him for the right offer.
Neagle initially wasn't thrilled with the idea of leaving a contending team and the best pitching staff in baseball for an also-ran, but says what were once mixed emotions are now not even thoughts in his head. For now, he's a Red, and that's all he's going to concern himself with.
“I've kind of gone back and forth, back and forth,” Neagle said. “There's something to be said for a team that's counting on you to be a No. 1 pitcher, and I've read how they want me to help some of the young pitchers. That's a big challenge, but I accept it, and I'll be more than willing to help out anybody.”
With Neagle on board as the resident ace, the Reds starting rotation looks much stronger on paper than it did a year ago. Neagle is a proven winner who has won at least 16 games each of the past three years, Pete Harnisch is coming off a 14-win comeback season and 25-year-old Brett Tomko has won 24 games in his first two big league seasons, giving the Reds as good a 1-3 punch as anyone in the National League Central except the two-time champion Houston Astros.
Add returning rotation members Dennys Reyes, Jason Bere and Steve Parris and newly signed former Brave and Boston Red Sox Steve Avery — who has struggled with injuries but is still just 28 — and the Reds have the makings of a rotation Neagle likes.
“We're going to be young in a lot of other areas (most of the infield, outfield and bullpen), but we have a great starting rotation to work with,” Neagle said.
Avery, Tomko, Bere and Paris will be at Redsfest.
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