Wednesday, September 29, 1999
REDS NOTEBOOK
McKeon not naming postseason No. 1 yet
BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
HOUSTON — Though manager Jack McKeon wouldn't commit himself to naming a No.1 starter for the postseason, he indicated that Denny Neagle could earn that distinction should the Reds reach the playoffs.
“The heck if I know. We've got five games to go,” McKeon said Tuesday. “We aren't going to count our chickens before they hatch.”
Then McKeon added, “The way Neagle's pitching, you'd have to consider him.”
McKeon said Juan Guzman and Pete Harnisch or Steve Parris probably would follow Neagle in a postseason rotation. Left-hander Ron Villone, the former reliever who's absent from the tentative list of starting pitchers for this weekend's series in Milwaukee, would return to the bullpen.
Despite being understandably leery of getting too far ahead of himself, McKeon liked the five-game division series format, which includes scheduled off-days before and after the series' first two pairs of games.
“You can juggle your pitching pretty well,” McKeon said. “Your No.1 guy can pitch either the fourth game or the fifth game.”
Price tag
General Manager Jim Bowden wants to bring this year's Reds back next season. But he'd have to increase the team's payroll of nearly $35 million by nearly $20 million.
“Next year, if we're going to keep this team together, it would be $52 million to $54 million,” Bowden said. “This exact team.”
Left fielder Greg Vaughn, who entered Tuesday's game with 43 homers and 114 RBI, is expected to be the premier free agent available. His salary could rise from this year's $5.6 million to an annual average of around $10 million. Guzman's salary is almost guaranteed to rise from $5.25 million about $7 million or $8 million.
The Reds also must deal with numerous arbitration-eligible players who are virtually guaranteed pay increases, including center fielder Mike Cameron, second baseman Pokey Reese, right fielder Dmitri Young and right-handers Parris and Scott Sullivan and Villone.
Added benefit
Bowden expected Vaughn to produce plentiful runs when the slugger was obtained from San Diego in February. Bowden also knew that Vaughn was a positive influence in the clubhouse.
But he didn't know how positive.
“We knew we were getting a guy with good makeup. But I didn't expect it to this degree,” Bowden said. “But I found out on the first day of spring training.”
Bowden noted that spending last season with NL pennant-winning San Diego and briefly enduring the heat of the home-run race alongside Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa might have enhanced Vaughn's intangibles: “That probably elevated his makeup and character another level.”
Looking ahead
The pressure of the pennant race won't change McKeon's use of personnel.
With left-hander Mike Hampton pitching for Houston tonight, McKeon said he plans to start right-handed batters Jason LaRue behind the plate and Jeffrey Hammonds in right field, though Eddie Taubensee and Young are among Cincinnati's hottest hitters.
Farther ahead
McKeon said Neagle, Guzman and Harnisch are penciled in to start Friday through Sunday in Milwaukee. The Brewers' probable starters have not yet been announced.
If the Reds have clinched a postseason berth by Sunday, Villone or Brett Tomko could replace Harnisch and give the right-hander extra rest.
TV time
Reds fans will be able to view each game from Milwaukee on television.
Fox Sports Net Ohio announced that it will televise Friday night's series opener in Milwaukee, adding it to Sunday's telecast. The Fox Network already had committed to Saturday's game.
Etc.
Sean Casey's first-inning homer was his 25th, making him the first Reds first baseman to amass at least 25 homers and 90 RBI in the same season since Tony Perez had 28 homers and 101 RBI in 1974.
Casey's home run also was the Reds' 51st in September, establishing a one-month franchise mark. Cincinnati's previous high was 50 in August 1956.
• The two red-seat home runs in the Reds' 9-7 victory Monday over the Cardinals — the first by Mark McGwire, the second by Taubensee — marked only the second time two red-seaters have been hit in the same game in the 30-year history of Cinergy Field/Riverfront Stadium. The first time was July 15, 1997, when the Cardinals' Ray Lankford hit two.
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