Tuesday, September 07, 1999
REDS NOTEBOOK
Sosa meets Reds' challenge, hits 58th
CHICAGO — Reds manager Jack McKeon said before Monday's game that he would let his pitchers challenge Chicago's Sammy Sosa, the major leagues' home run leader — as long as the Cubs' right fielder wasn't batting in a crucial situation.
Sure enough, Reds starter Juan Guzman walked Sosa with Lance Johnson on third base and one out in the first inning.
Guzman pitched to Sosa with two outs and nobody on in the third. The result was Sosa's 58th homer, a 395-foot blast to left field through a 15-mph gust that landed on Waveland Avenue. It gave Chicago a 2-1 lead.
Sosa also struck out in the fifth inning against Guzman and in the eighth against Scott Sullivan.
McKeon, who received a death threat last year from an overzealous fan who thought Reds pitchers weren't throwing St. Louis' Mark McGwire enough strikes, spoke with candor.
“If there's a base open and the situation comes up, you have to play to win,” McKeon said. “If it means walking Sosa or (Mark) Grace, that's the way we're going to play it.
“I love Sammy Sosa. In fact, I talked to him (and) said, "Just cool it for a while, will you? If we're ahead by five or six runs, go ahead and hit one out. But don't try to hit one out if it's a close game.'”
Williamson update
Pitching coach Don Gullett sounded impatient with reliever Scott Williamson, who remained sidelined for a fourth consecutive game with shoulder tendinitis.
“It's going to be up to him to tell me when he feels capable of going into a game. That's the standing relationship I have with each and every pitcher on the staff,” Gullett said. “If you physically can't go, then you need to tell me. Don't tell me you can go and then say you can't. I can't make that call. I think the word we're looking for here is honesty. A little honesty doesn't hurt anybody.”
Williamson played catch for the first time since his ailment was diagnosed and hopes to throw off a bullpen mound today. If that goes well, he'll be deemed ready to pitch — if he thinks so.
“I don't want to go out there like I did against Atlanta (last Wednesday) and pitch through pain,” Williamson said. He amended that remark by adding, “You can pitch with pain in the major leagues, but you can't pitch hurt.”
Cam's inaction
Center fielder Mike Cameron, who missed his ninth consecutive game Monday with a strained left hamstring, said he hopes to appear in one of the games in today's doubleheader.
Cameron, whose desire to play is accented by the fact that he began his career with the Chicago White Sox, ran lightly to test his leg. He felt better but not good enough to cover the ground demanded of him.
“If I played any other position besides center field, I could play,” he said.
Because hamstring injuries must be treated with extreme care — and because Jeffrey Hammonds has excelled offensively in Cameron's absence — McKeon was inclined to be patient. “I personally think he (Cameron) needs another day or two,” McKeon said.
Etc.
By doubling and scoring ahead of Dmitri Young's fifth-inning home run, Barry Larkin moved into third place on the Reds' all-time runs list with 1,044. Briefly tied with Frank Robinson at 1,043, Larkin trails Pete Rose (1,741) and Johnny Bench (1,091).
• Gullett remained upbeat regarding left-handed relievers Gabe White (five runs in two-thirds of an inning Sunday) and Dennys Reyes (four runs in one-third of an inning Friday). “It just so happened both did it in a series in Philadelphia,” Gullett said. “But we have a lot of confidence in those guys, and we're going to give them the opportunity to pitch again.”
• The Reds' recent home-run barrage has left eight players with 10 or more homers — Greg Vaughn (31), Sean Casey (23), Cameron and Taubensee (17 each), Hammonds (15), Aaron Boone and Dmitri Young (11 each) and Michael Tucker (10). That's not as unprecedented as it sounds, though. It happened in 1996. But with Larkin and Pokey Reese having hit nine homers apiece, the number of double-digit sluggers soon could rise.
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