Saturday, June 26, 1999REDS NOTEBOOK
La Rue getting raves for defense in debut
BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati EnquirerHOUSTON — Brett Tomko retired the first 12 Milwaukee Brewers when catcher Jason LaRue started his first major-league game Sunday. In LaRue's next start, Thursday night's series opener against the Houston Astros, Ron Villone threw 6ô hitless innings.
Coincidence or capability?
General Manager Jim Bowden would choose the latter. He believes that LaRue, anointed as the Reds' catcher of the future, has the aptitude to contribute steadily once he reaches the big leagues to stay.
“Every time I've seen him catch, the club has pitched well,” Bowden said Friday. “Even when he was catching Denny Neagle (in minor-league rehabilitation games), he had shutouts for six innings with him. Last night with Villone, same thing. He's very impressive back there. He has good mobility and calls a good game.”
LaRue said he simply does what any catcher would do with his pitchers: “I try to talk to them the whole game and keep them focused.”
Eddie Taubensee, a .313 hitter who returned to the starting lineup Friday, is in no danger of losing his job to LaRue. Neither is Brian Johnson, whose right knee injury forced the Reds to summon LaRue from Triple-A Indianapolis on June 15. Johnson is expected to return after the July 12-14 All-Star break.
LaRue will return to Indianapolis once Johnson comes back. Until then, LaRue can continue to make the most of his apprenticeship.
“I think this will be a good developmental experience for him,” Bowden said. “The thing that's impressive about him is how intent he is on learning when he's not playing. That type of intellectual approach to the game will really pay off for him.”
Casey's back
Manager Jack McKeon rested Sean Casey on Thursday, saying that the first baseman needed a break and Hal Morris needed some at-bats.Having accomplished that, McKeon will keep Casey in the lineup for the near future. “Now he's playing for the next couple of weeks,” McKeon said.
While Casey sat, Colorado's Larry Walker sneaked ahead of him in the NL batting race by .0001 percentage point (.38532 to .38521, entering Friday's games).
Noting that Casey ranks among the league's top 10 in numerous other categories (hits, multi-hit games, doubles, extra-base hits, slugging percentage, total bases and on-base percentage), McKeon said jokingly, “If he were a pitcher, he might be there, too.”
Notable exception
McKeon said Casey might — might — sit again Wednesday, when Cincinnati faces Arizona's dominant left-hander Randy Johnson.Though Casey went 1-for-4 on May 5 when Johnson pitched a four-hitter against the Reds at Cinergy Field, McKeon said he's contemplating using a lineup featuring all right-handed batters against the “Big Unit.”
If that happens, switch hitter Dmitri Young would play first base.
Give others credit
The Astros' division record is 13-15.Matt Galante, Houston's interim manager, said this reflects the division's overall strength.
“It's a pretty balanced division. We felt that way in spring training,” he said. “We never felt this would be a cakewalk for anybody, let alone ourselves. We felt the Cubs and Reds were probably the teams we had to be concerned with.”
No big deal
Pitching coach Don Gullett wasn't overly concerned about Mark Wohlers' rehabilitation outing Thursday with Double-A Chattanooga (three earned runs, two walks, two strikeouts, three wild pitches, one home run allowed, 13 strikes in 29 pitches).Gullett heard from Chattanooga pitching coach Mack Jenkins that, despite the ugly statistics, Wohlers actually wasn't too wild. “He was around the plate,” Gullett said, noting that Wohlers' walks came on full-count pitches. The right-hander also had to perform on a rain-slickened mound.
Up next
Steve Parris (4-1, 4.47 ERA) confronts fellow Joliet, Ill., native Sean Bergman (4-4, 4.63) in a 1:15p.m. game that Channel 19 will televise.The Reds are 7-2 in Parris' nine appearances and 6-2 in his eight starts.
Reds Stories
REDS 10, ASTROS 7
Box, runs
REDS NOTEBOOK
Cardinals' rookie no-hits Diamondbacks