Tuesday, August 24, 1999
Best starters in Atlanta are Reds
Since break, Cincinnati's rotation better
BY JOHN FAY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
ATLANTA — The numbers don't lie. Since the All-Star break, the Reds' rotation is better than the Atlanta Braves'.
OK, OK, stop laughing and look at the facts: Reds starters are 15-6 with a 3.91 ERA since the All-Star break and 10-3 with a 3.13 ERA in August. The Braves starters are 12-10 with a 4.32 ERA since the break and 7-4 with a 3.78 ERA in August.
Reds manager Jack McKeon, however, isn't ready to declare his rotation better than Atlanta's.
“That's tough,” he said. “We've got one guy with more than 10 wins. They've got one with 10, one with 13 and one with 16.”
The Braves also lead the Reds in another category: Cy Young winners, three to zero. Just those names — Greg Maddux, John Smoltz and Tom Glavine — are worth something.
“I don't know if I trade the Braves' rotation straight up for the Reds',” said Fox Sports Net analyst Chris Welsh. “They have a guy who's won 16 games and is suppose to having a bad year.”
That's Maddux. He is 16-6 and winner of 10 of 11. But his ERA is an un-Maddux-like 3.61 and opponents are hitting .297 against him.
And he's having the best year of the Big Three.
Smoltz, 8-6 overall, is 3-6 with a 4.52 ERA since early May. Smoltz has struggled with arm problems since early May.
Glavine, like Maddux, has come on lately. He's won six of his last eight decisions, but his ERA is 4.14 and opponents are hitting .285 off him.
“We're getting better,” Maddux said. “It's been good enough. But we're not at our best. I don't think we will be until Smoltzie is healthy.”
Said Glavine: “We're going out and giving our team a chance to win. That wasn't the case earlier in the year. But we're where we want to be.”
As for the Reds, the rotation came together in late July after a year of flux, mostly due to injuries. Of the five current starters, only two — Pete Harnisch and Brett Tomko — started the season in the rotation.
“The addition of Denny Neagle and Juan Guzman helped,” McKeon said. “Tomko has been pitching better. (Ron Villone) has done a decent job. There's no question it's made us a much better ballclub.”
Guzman came over in a trade on July 31. Neagle got healthy about that time after a season-long battle with a weak throwing shoulder. They've combined to go 6-2 since the All-Star break.
“They're not going out with a prayer anymore,” Welsh said. “They're going out with confidence. They know they're going to go seven or eight innings and they're going to give the team a chance to win. They're not going out and walking people and lasting an inning or two.”
Harnisch has been the rock of the rotation. He's won eight straight decisions. That's one of the reasons the Reds haven't lost two games in a row in a month.
But the rotation has great depth. Steve Parris, the most effective starter the first half of the season, is on a rehab assignment with a strained triceps. The Reds will face a hard decision whether to work him back in the rotation.
“The guys are doing a good job,” pitching coach Don Gullett. “They've made great strides. It's contagious. Every time we go out there we feel like we have a chance to win.”
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