Sunday, December 19, 1999
All's well between McKeon, Tomko
BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The most encouraging development of the winter meetings for the Reds may have occurred one night near the hotel lobby, where manager Jack McKeon and southern California resident Brett Tomko were seen chatting and laughing.
McKeon dismissed the well-chronicled tension between him and Tomko, who finished 5-7 with a 4.92 ERA last season despite possessing the staff's liveliest arm. Though Tomko was removed from the rotation down the stretch, McKeon said he and the right-hander discussed their differences late in the season. The scene in Anaheim suggested that they resolved matters.
“Everybody makes a big deal about him and me. We don't have a problem!” McKeon said. “Gully (pitching coach Don Gullett) and I want to make him good. We would be negligent in doing our jobs if we told players exactly what they want to hear all the time. So we tell players the facts of life and hopefully they'll benefit from it. Sometimes they rebel. But we're big supporters of Brett, because if we can get him going, we're all good.”
McKeon addressed other topics, including:
• Dante Bichette's desire to try right field. “With us, it doesn't make any difference. If I had Larry Walker in right field, Bichette would play left. But in our situation, if he can play right field better, that's where I want him.”
• Moving Scott Williamson into the starting rotation. “That's not even an option at this time. It was a thought, in case you had injuries or if you traded somebody away. But right now I leave it like it was. That's not a concern.”
• Concerns about Pete Harnisch's shoulder. “I don't really have any. Pete's a gamer. I'm not a medical man, but I know that Pete's going to give you 100 percent. If he can win 16 games with a shoulder that's mediocre, I'll put my faith in him.”
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