Thursday, May 20, 1999
Gullett bemoans Neagle's outing
Coach says lefty lacks strength
BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
DENVER — The Reds might have been able to depart for San Diego feeling giddy about scoring 24 runs Wednesday and extending their winning streak to five games. But Denny Neagle's performance struck a sobering note.
Neagle allowed six runs and seven hits in 1ö innings, his shortest outing since he retired one batter July 15, 1994, while pitching for Pittsburgh at Houston. His ERA ballooned to 8.17, worst on the Reds' staff.
Neagle failed to hold the 6-0 lead the Reds gave him in the top of the first inning, yielding four runs in Colorado's half of the first. Neagle dissolved after retiring the first two Rockies in the second inning.
Pitching coach Don Gullett minced no words in describing Neagle, a former 20-game winner who was expected to be the team's ace after the Reds acquired him Nov.10 from Atlanta in the Bret Boone trade.
“No arm strength,” Gullett repeated. “(That means) no deception, no finish on the fastball and no deception to the changeup. To throw a good changeup, you have to have arm strength, which translates to arm speed, and that's where the deception comes in. It's just not there.”
Gullett didn't indicate that Neagle would be dropped from the rotation. Nor did he rubber-stamp the left-hander's next start.
“Obviously, we somehow have to devise a program for him to come up with some arm strength,” Gullett said. “We were hoping that as he got some starts under his belt, he would build some arm strength. ... I'm sure he's as dissatisfied with it as we are.”
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