Friday, August 20, 1999REDS NOTEBOOK
Braves aim big gun at Reds
BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati EnquirerReds manager Jack McKeon couldn't help but peak ahead and see whom the Reds face next week when they go to Atlanta to play the Braves.
Kevin Millwood, John Smoltz and Tom Glavine. A pretty impressive trio.
“It doesn't matter,” McKeon said. “You're going to see their best regardless.”
The Reds haven't faced the Braves since April 30-May 2. Atlanta swept that three-game series, dropping the Reds into sixth place and a season-low five games under .500 at 9-14.
The Reds were 10-for-92 at the plate in the series and managed four runs in the three games.
“We're not the same ballclub,” McKeon said.
Indeed, they're not. Since that series, the Reds have been a better team than the Braves.
The Reds are 61-34 since; the Braves are 56-42.
Defensive difference
McKeon was making a point about defense, so he turned to the National League stats.“Look at the leaders,” he said. “New York, Houston, Philadelphia, Arizona, us and Atlanta.”
Those six teams also happen to be the six teams with the best records in the NL.
“It shows that pitching and defense are the key,” McKeon said.
The Reds' fielding percentage, .982 entering Thursday, ties them with Arizona and Atlanta for fourth in the league.
“The defense has gotten better,” he said, “both over last year and as the year's gone on.”
The Reds upgraded in center field by trading for Mike Cameron. Second baseman Pokey Reese also has helped, even though he replaced a Gold Glover, Bret Boone, at second base.
But McKeon likes the Reds overall defensively.
“We still mess up a few,” he said. “But we wouldn't be 22 games over .500 if we weren't making plays.”
Nice gesture
Greg Vaughn was on his cell phone before the game talking with people in his hometown of Sacramento, Calif. Vaughn's old team — Airport Little League — was playing a regional tournament in Idaho.If the Sacramento team won, it advanced to the Little League World Series in the Williamsport, Pa.
“I just want to make sure if the they go, their parents can go too,” Vaughn said. “I know it would have been tough for my parents, getting on an airplane and getting a hotel room. They would have done it, but it would have been tough.
“You need that support, the 10th man. Those teams back East will have it.”
Vaughn said he already had provided money for bats, balls, lawn mowers and fixing up the field.
“I know a lot of fathers of kids playing,” he said.
Free agent pays
Pete Harnisch is one of the Reds' great finds. The Reds signed him in January 1998 as a free agent. His combined record the previous three years was 11-22.As a Red, he is 27-13 over the last two seasons.
But he's more than winner.
“Our young pitchers can learn a lot by watching him pitch,” McKeon said. “He spots the ball, changes speeds. Besides that, he's tough.”
Scott Williamson, the rookie closer, is one who has learned from Harnisch.
“Pete is such a competitor,” Williamson said. “To watch him go out there day in and day out ...”
One for Pete
Sean Casey hasn't exactly been tearing the cover off the ball lately, but a hit like Thursday night's home run makes up for a lot of 1-for-5s.Casey's solo shot in the eighth inning gave the Reds a 1-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
“That was a big homer for me,” Casey said.
Casey is 18-for-86 (.209) since July 24. That has dropped his average from a league-leading .374 to .341.
“That may get him started,” McKeon said. “He's been hitting the ball hard but right at people.”
Both Casey and Harnisch, who pitched eight innings of one-hit ball to get the win, said they thought Casey hit a lot of his home runs for Harnisch.
“It seems like he hits an ordinate number when I'm pitching,” Harnisch said.
Five of Casey's 20 home runs have come on the days Harnisch pitches.
Unfamiliar foe
The Reds open a series tonight with the Montreal Expos. Four and a half months into the season, it's the first time the two teams meet.“It doesn't help (not having seen them),” McKeon said. “You've got a lot of new players you don't know anything about. When we play them next week, we'll have a better idea.”
The schedule has been wacky from the start this year; this is just another case.
“I don't why you have to wait so long to see a team,” McKeon said.
Serious in series
The Reds needed a win over the Pirates Thursday night to win their eighth straight series.“That's nice,” McKeon said. “That's our sole objective. That's what we're trying to do.”
The Reds are 9-1-1 in series since the All-Star Break.
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