Saturday, September 18, 1999
REDS NOTEBOOK
Pokey is back, back permitting
Pokey Reese returned to the Reds' starting lineup Friday night, sore back and all.
“We'll see what happens when I start moving around,” said a grim Reese, who had missed four starts in a row since leaving last Sunday's game against Florida with back spasms.
Reese didn't want to miss more crucial games than he already has. But nor does he want to worsen his back pain, which he said he never experienced before it flared up nearly three weeks ago.
“If I go out on the field, and I feel anything pulling or popping, I'm definitely coming out,” he said. “There's nothing I can do.”
Indefinite recovery
The Reds had hoped that first baseman Hal Morris, who fractured his right wrist Aug. 26 at Montreal, could return by the last week of the season.
“It just depends on how it feels day to day,” Morris said, explaining that no timetable for his recovery has been set.
Morris resumed baseball-related activities Friday, starting with playing catch and taking some ground balls. He said he has gripped a bat but hasn't tried swinging one yet.
Hangover effect
Baseball people are conditioned to forgetting about the previous day's game, whether it was good or bad. But Reds manager Jack McKeon still felt compelled to reflect on Thursday's galling 7-6 loss to Chicago.
McKeon cited Mike Cameron's two-base error on Mark Grace's two-out fly ball in the fifth inning, which led to three unearned runs, as a crucial factor. But McKeon wouldn't criticize his center fielder.
“He has made a lot of outstanding plays for us,” McKeon said of Cameron. “You can't (complain about) physical errors.”
The fourth-inning throwing error by Cubs pitcher Scott Sanders, which helped the Reds score two runs that padded their lead to 5-1, also stuck with McKeon. So did the fact that the Reds had one hit in the final five innings.
“I thought when (Sanders) did that, that sealed it for us,” McKeon said. “But, we didn't hit.”
Larkin's leap
Barry Larkin's third-inning homer off Pittsburgh's Todd Ritchie gave the Reds captain an even 100 runs for the season, marking only the second time in his 13 full seasons that he has reached triple figures.
Larkin scored 117 runs in 1996, the year he became the first shortstop to collect at least 30 homers and 30 stolen bases.
Larkin's 3-for-4 effort extended his hitting streak to nine games. He's hitting .419 (13-for-31) in that stretch.
Since ending his career-high 72-game homerless streak last Friday, Larkin has hit three homers in eight games.
Sauerbeck's surge
Pittsburgh Pirates left-hander Scott Sauerbeck, formerly of Northwest High School and Miami University, continued a hot streak by notching his first major-league save against the Reds.
Sauerbeck has been charged with just one earned run in his last 17 appearances, posting a 0.49 ERA in that span. Overall, he has held opponents to a .224 batting average.
Short hops
McKeon had a logical suggestion when somebody mentioned to him that the Pirates (72-74) were shooting for a .500 record.
“Let them lose three here and beat Houston (their next opponent) all three games and continue after that,” McKeon said.
• Dmitri Young, who insisted Thursday night that he could play on his tight left hamstring, returned to the lineup and celebrated by hitting a single in his first at-bat. Young had pinch-hit twice since reporting discomfort last Sunday and leaving that afternoon's game.
• Hall of Fame outfielder and former Reds great Frank Robinson was at Three Rivers Stadium on behalf of the commissioner's office, analyzing games to determine ways to speed up play. Robinson watched a Reds game earlier this season at Cinergy Field in the same capacity.
• Reds reliever Scott Williamson isn't the only National League Rookie of the Year candidate to struggle lately. Pittsburgh second baseman Warren Morris entered Friday's series opener with a .161 average (5-for-31) in his previous nine games.
Up next
Steve Parris (9-2) will make his first appearance against his former team today.
Parris reached the majors in 1995 with Pittsburgh. He was 6-9 with a 5.82 ERA for the Pirates in 1995-96 before they released him in 1997.
Pittsburgh will counter with Chris Peters (5-1), who owns a five-game winning streak. Peters is 2-0 with a 3.09 ERA in 10 games against Cincinnati.
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