Saturday, May 01, 1999

REDS NOTEBOOK

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Reds put feet where mouth was

BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati Enquirer

        ATLANTA — The Reds have begun to make good on their preseason promise to steal more bases.

        They began Friday's game with 14 steals in their previous six games. That reversed the six steals they notched in their first 14 games.

        The turnaround, which coincided with an offensive surge, began against Houston at Cinergy Field last Friday with three steals. That marked a season high, which since has grown to five.

        At the behest of manager Jack McKeon, first base coach Dave Collins said he has been analyzing the deliveries and pickoff moves of opposing pitchers, then selecting optimal times to run.

        “We're just trying to be more aggressive and utilize the speed we have,” said Collins, who stole 395 bases during his 15 years in the majors. “We've had a lot of opportunities and we've been in the right situation to do it.”

        Citing Mike Cameron's steal of second base Wednesday night at Philadelphia when the Reds trailed 4-1, Collins said: “One thing we've been doing that we maybe haven't done earlier is, when we get behind, we still run. We're still trying to be aggressive. There are times you can; there are times you can't. We have some good base stealers and kids that are smart.”

Vaughn out
        Left fielder Greg Vaughn missed his first start of the year Friday, having hurt his left ankle in a freak play Thursday night at Philadelphia.

        The injury occurred when Vaughn stepped on home plate while running to first base in the ninth inning as he beat out an infield hit. McKeon said the injury wasn't serious and that Vaughn would be available to pinch hit.

        The Reds could have used Vaughn against Atlanta starter John Smoltz. Vaughn had five hits in 11 at-bats (.455) against the right-hander.

        Dmitri Young, who has lost his starting spot in right field for the time being, replaced Vaughn in left. Young hadn't started since last Saturday against Houston.

        Vaughn's absence left shortstop Barry Larkin as the only Red to start every game.

        Second baseman Pokey Reese, bothered by tightness in his left groin, was rested for the second consecutive game.

Sacrificing seminar
        Collins worked with Reds pitchers in the early afternoon on their bunting technique, in an attempt to improve their recent sacrifice attempts.

        McKeon asked Collins, whose duties include dispensing bunting advice, to take each pitcher aside for about 10 minutes to review technique.

        “It's something we're not executing, and we really need to start putting a lot of emphasis on it, which we are,” Collins said. “It'll get better and it'll get better fast.”

        Collins offered explanations for the bunting woes:

        “No.1, bunting is not easy,” he said. “No.2, when we came out of spring training, it seemed like everybody was bunting pretty well, but then we had a stretch where (bad) weather and different things went on. I think they went a week without bunting a lot. Now we're getting back to the point to where we were in spring training.”

Short hops
        Pitching coach Don Gullett said right-hander Stan Belinda, whose recovery from shoulder tendinitis has been delayed, might try throwing from a mound again in the next few days. Noting that Belinda recently resumed playing catch, Gullett said, “We'll gradually work him in.”

        • Suffering from a jammed right ankle, Braves third baseman Chipper Jones didn't start against the Reds. Jones injured himself Thursday against Pittsburgh while running the bases, and is day to day.

        • Smoltz's best low-hit games had been two-hitters against the Phillies on May 27, 1990, and against the Reds on July 25, 1997. Friday was his first complete game since a three-hit, 4-0 win over the Mets on Sept.6.

        • Smoltz, 17-3 last season, has won eight consecutive decisions since Aug.31 and is 16-1 since last summer's All-Star break. He hasn't allowed a run at Turner Field in 16 innings this season.

        • In Steve Avery's only other start against the Braves, he lost 7-3 on Aug.31, 1997, when he was with the Boston Red Sox. He gave up six hits in that one, including Andruw Jones' only career grand slam.

        • It was Atlanta's second shutout of the season. Smoltz pitched seven innings in the first one, a 4-0 win over Philadelphia on April 7.

        • The Reds (9-12) haven't had a winning April since going 15-7 in 1994.

       

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