Wednesday, March 17, 1999
REDS NOTEBOOK
Tigers rock Harnisch for 12 runs
BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LAKELAND, Fla. — The solid contact made by the Detroit Tigers' bats served as the drum roll; the cheers of the 5,122 patrons at Joker Marchant Stadium provided the fanfare.
Manager Jack McKeon officially named Pete Harnisch to be the Reds' Opening Day starter April 5 against the San Francisco Giants at Cinergy Field. But the announcement lacked its usual pomp and circumstance as the Tigers pounded Harnisch for 12 runs and eight hits in 2ö innings en route to a 14-8 victory. The Reds absorbed their third consecutive exhibition defeat and fifth in six games.
Harnisch's Opening Day designation long had been expected, particularly since Denny Neagle reported his shoulder problems. It'll be the fourth season opener for Harnisch, who received the honor in 1992 and '94 with Houston and in 1997 with the New York Mets.
McKeon viewed Harnisch's outing against the Tigers as an aberration. “That's the first time Pete had a bad outing in two years (as a Red),” McKeon said. “He was forcing everything.”
Hitters tend to get themselves out quite frequently, given the difficulty of their task. But it didn't happen to the Tigers, who inflated Harnisch's ERA from 1.50 to 7.98.
“They didn't miss one pitch,” said Harnisch, who has surrendered 14 runs in his last 6ö innings after blanking opponents for eight innings in his first two appearances. “It's not easy to give up that many runs in a short period of time. They hit every ball. I'm not saying they were good pitches. But you'd think they'd pop one up.”
Harnisch complained that his fastball was high and his slider was “horrible.” Ordinarily, he would have been removed from the game much earlier, but the Reds needed to leave him in to exhaust his 75-to-80-pitch allotment.
“It was a mess,” Harnisch said. “I'll figure it out sooner or later, I guess. But you don't want to get your butt kicked like that.”
GIMME FIVE: Tuesday's game also marked the beginning of a five-man starting rotation the Reds will use for the rest of spring training.
McKeon said Brett Tomko, Jason Bere, Steve Avery and Steve Parris will follow Harnisch. Left-hander Dennys Reyes will continue to be used as a reliever. “And we'll slot Neagle in if we can,” McKeon said.
NEXT FOR NEAGLE: Pitching coach Don Gullett said he wants to see Neagle throw 45-60 pitches when the left-hander works in a Single-A exhibition game Thursday at Cincinnati's Sarasota training complex.
The Reds would have preferred to test Neagle, who's trying to strengthen his throwing shoulder, against Double- or Triple-A competition. But those teams will be playing road games, and the Reds want to keep Neagle at home for logistical purposes.
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