Monday, May 17, 1999

REDS 3, PADRES 0

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Tomko finds his control, some redemption

BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Brett Tomko smiles as Don Gullett relieves him one out short of his first complete-game shutout. (Saed Hindash photos) | ZOOM |

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        Some members of the Reds organization may consider Brett Tomko a problem child. Others may regard him a prodigy in danger of squandering his talent. But ask any Red what Tomko means to the team, and the opinion is unanimous.

        “We need him,” manager Jack McKeon said.

        Tomko responded gloriously Sunday, punctuating Cincinnati's 7-4 homestand with an exclamation point. The righthander celebrated his return to the major leagues by allowing four hits in 8 2/3 innings in a 3-0 victory over the San Diego Padres.

        Mike Cameron homered twice for the fifth-place Reds (16-18), who begin a challenging stretch tonight in Denver. They play 18 road games in their next 21. To survive that endurance test, they'll need pitching that approximates the excellence sustained by Tomko and Steve Parris, Saturday night's winner.

"I didn't want to get too pumped up. I just went out there and (thought), "Take it one inning at a time.' | ZOOM |

        “This is a big lift right here,” McKeon said. “This is what we've been talking about all year, getting (good) back-to-back pitching performances.”

        Short- and long term, Tomko's effort could have a definite effect.

        The Reds, who suddenly have a 12-man pitching staff, will bring a well- stocked, rested bullpen into the three-game series at Coors Field, which tends to devour pitchers.

        Moreover, the Reds need answers from their starting rotation. Their news release listed “TBA” (to be announced) as the probable starters for two of the games next weekend at San Diego.

        Tomko started only because the blister on Steve Avery's left middle finger remained tender.

        “They really missed me, huh?” joked Avery, Cincinnati's most reliable starter. Should Avery return whole and Denny Neagle rebound while Tomko and Parris maintain a semblance of consistency, the Reds will be ready to ascend in the National League Central Division.

| ZOOM |

        Told of McKeon's “need” comment, Tomko said, “That's nice to know. When you get sent down, a lot of thoughts go through your mind. You find out who's really behind you and who's not. A lot of people said things that didn't sit too well with me. That's nice to hear that they need me. Of course, I wanted to be here the whole time.”

        Tomko's impact was evident hours before he took the Cinergy Field mound.

        Though they reveled in the improvement that Neagle, Mark Wohlers and Stan Belinda displayed in separate throwing sessions, Reds General Manager Jim Bowden and pitching coach Don Gullett weren't totally satisfied before the game.

        “To make our day great, hopefully Tomko will pitch like he did last year,” Bowden said.

        “The best thing would be to have Tomko throw a good game. That would make my day,” Gullett said.

        Maybe it was risky to pin such hopes on Tomko, the Reds' Opening Day starter who won 24 games in his first two seasons. He often looked tentative in his first five starts this year, posting an 0-1 record and a 7.76 ERA. After he clashed with the team over his reluctance to pitch inside, the Reds optioned him to Triple-A Indianapolis on April 29, ordering him to regain an aggressive attitude.

        Reports on Tomko were mixed while he won his first two starts at Indy. He posted a 4.97 ERA, falling short of what club management wanted to see. But Avery's injury, along with Jason Bere's lingering ineffectiveness, forced Tomko's recall.

        The Reds made this move reluctantly, because they had to clear roster space by optioning capable pinch hitter Mark Sweeney to Triple-A. Due mainly to Tomko, they felt no regrets during the one-hour, 59-minute gem.

        “There was a lot of — I wouldn't say "hype' — but a lot of things going on around this whole situation,” Tomko said. “You hear a lot of things, people say a lot of things, and I didn't want to get too pumped up. I just went out there and (thought), "Take it one inning at a time.'”

        Reflecting his disagreement with the team about pitching inside, Tomko insisted that being able to throw his fastball where he wanted, whether inside or outside, made the difference. Of the 100 pitches he fired, just 30 missed.

        “Honestly, I didn't do anything different than I did the month before,” he said.

        Others politely disagreed, pointing out that Tomko thrived by throwing inside.

        “When he was missing, he was missing inside,” said Reds catcher Eddie Taubensee, who estimated that Tomko used 65 to 70 percent fastballs. “He wasn't leaving it over the plate. That was a key for him.”

        Reds shortstop Barry Larkin used Tomko's stifling of Padres center Reggie Sanders, a former Red, as an example. Larkin theorized that Sanders, who went 0- for-4, probably was looking for outside pitches.

        “Seeing him pitch the way he did to Reggie shows he obviously made an adjustment,” Larkin said. “If I go up there in the past and face Brett Tomko, then I'm going to be looking away (outside). I'm not picking on Reggie, but after analyzing his at-bats, I would have taken his approach.”

       

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