Saturday, May 08, 1999
REDS NOTEBOOK
Young may be in lineup today
BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Having apparently recovered from the bruised ribs he suffered April 30 in Atlanta, outfielder Dmitri Young could return to the lineup as early as today.
Young was upbeat after taking early batting practice Friday at Cinergy Field. Asked how he felt, the switch-hitter smiled and gave the thumbs-up sign with both hands. “Siskel and Ebert,” Young said, referring to the famed movie critics who pointed thumbs upward to indicate approval.
Young hasn't played since he plowed into the left-field wall at Atlanta's Turner Field in pursuit of John Smoltz's eighth-inning double.
During a pinch-hitting appearance in the eighth inning Friday, Young smacked a grounder with the bases loaded and two outs that brought Cubs second baseman Mickey Morandini to his knees.
Morandini recorded the assist, but McKeon was impressed. “I think Dmitri's ready to come back in,” he said after the game.
Though a 2-for-30 skid has dropped Young's average from .346 to .196, the Reds need him to regain his form if they're to improve their major league-worst batting average of .239. He hit .310 last year with 48 doubles, 14 homers and 84 RBI.
Wohlers' "pal'
He's called “Pitcher's Pal,” as an amused Don Gullett dubbed him, and he didn't utter a single word of protest as he stood where the right-handed batter's box would be to face Mark Wohlers' fearsome deliveries.
That's because Pitcher's Pal can't talk. “If he could, he wouldn't accept that name,” said Gullett, Cincinnati's pitching coach.
Gullett propped up a dummy to simulate a hitter as Wohlers threw in the bullpen, giving the struggling reliever the chance to practice pitching inside — harmlessly.
“We got some positives out of the workout,” said Gullett, who has never used a dummy as a teacher's aid. “When he does things right, everything is great. When he doesn't, they're basically what he's been experiencing before. He pulls the ball down, tries to do too much, comes across the ball. It's a matter of his getting consistency to where most of (his pitches) are right and just a few are wrong, then making adjustments.”
Wohlers, who's technically on the disabled list with an anxiety disorder, fired the ball over the bullpen screen “three or four” times, Gullett said.
“I can accept that, because it's on line. It's not cutting across the ball,” Gullett said. “If you were a bystander, you'd say he was wild today. But to me, he was wilder in the right vicinity.”
Gullett also said Wohlers knocked down Pitcher's Pal once and grazed him twice.
Upbraided
Reds second baseman Pokey Reese spent Thursday's off-day changing his hairstyle. He now is adorned in braided cornrows, similar to those of the New York Knicks' Latrell Sprewell.
“(Allen) Iverson,” Reese corrected, referring to the Philadelphia 76ers star. “He won the scoring title. I kind of like him. He wears the same number I have (3).”
Reese said he plans on keeping his hair braided for a while.
“It's just something I wanted to do a little differently. Change it up a little bit,” he said.
Etc.
By holding the Reds scoreless in Friday night's first inning, the Cubs snapped their National League-record streak of 13 consecutive innings in which they had allowed one run or more.
• Cubs center fielder Lance Johnson, a Princeton High School graduate, is four hits shy of 1,500 for his career. Johnson, batting .270 with a team-high six steals in as many attempts, has been bothered by soreness in his left heel and didn't start Friday. He entered the game in the eighth inning and made a running catch of Greg Vaughn's ninth-inning drive to right-center field.
• First baseman Hal Morris' wife, Megan, gave birth to the couple's second child Friday afternoon, William Harold Morris IV. The newest Morris weighs 71/2 pounds and is 201/2 inches long.
Up next
Denny Neagle opposes Chicago Cubs right-hander Jon Lieber in a matchup of former Pittsburgh Pirates teammates.
Neagle (0-1, 5.84 ERA) struggled with his changeup Sunday at Atlanta, allowing four runs and seven hits in 2ô innings while absorbing the decision in the Reds' 5-3 loss.
Lieber (2-1, 3.92) excelled April 14 against the Reds, earning the victory in the Cubs' 5-4 conquest.
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