Tuesday, February 08, 2000
Harnisch says shoulder not hurting
Team counting on its ace, who declined surgery
BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Pete Harnisch said Monday that he has maintained the same offseason throwing regimen he always follows, which is good news for the Reds.
Harnisch, who led Cincinnati with a 16-10 record last year despite pitching the season's final four months with a sore shoulder, declined arthroscopic surgery and opted to treat himself with rest followed by intensified exercise.
“I've done more exercises with my shoulder, but my throwing hasn't changed,” said Harnisch. “I did all the shoulder stuff they asked me to do. I've been in close contact with Lonnie (Soloff, one of the Reds' chief physical therapists) every step of the way.”
The Reds are counting on Harnisch to duplicate or approach the level he has sustained since joining the Reds in 1998. Question marks abound in the starting rotation: Harnisch and Denny Neagle are coming off shoulder problems; Steve Parris and Ron Villone remain relatively unproven, since neither has started in the majors for an entire season; and Brett Tomko must overcome the inconsistency that plagued him last year.
Harnisch said he plays long-dis tance catch every other day with his neighbor and teammate, reliever Danny Graves, in Lake Mary, Fla.
Harnisch said he and Graves begin by throwing to each other at close range, then back away 10 to 15 feet at a time until about 180 feet separate them.
“I feel fine,” said Harnisch, 33. “I haven't thrown off a mound, but I never do that anyway. I figure six weeks (in spring training) is enough time.”
ARBITRATION LOOMS: Barring unforeseen compromises, the Reds will endure as many salary arbitration hearings this week as they have in the last six years.
Club management is on a collision course with right-handers Parris and Scott Sullivan for hearings Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, in Tampa.
Like many teams, the Reds have mostly avoided arbitration hearings, which can create divisive feelings between players and officials. They've failed to settle in the last half-dozen offseasons only with catcher Joe Oliver, who won a $2.5 million settlement in 1994, and reliever John Hudek, who lost and received $800,000 last year.
General Manager Jim Bowden wouldn't comment Monday on either Parris or Sullivan, though his mindset was clear Jan. 18 after players and teams exchanged salary figures: “Our club will arbitrate,” he said then. Since the Reds are striving to keep their payroll as low as possible, every hundred grand counts.
Otherwise, they might be more inclined to settle at the midpoint with Parris, who asked for $1.825 million while the team offered $1.4 million, and Sullivan, who filed for $1.1 million while Cincinnati countered with $775,000. Throughout the major leagues, the vast majority of arbitration cases do not go to a hearing.
“It's been a week since any communication between the two parties,” said Miles Shoda, Sullivan's agent, who said he's waiting for the Reds to respond to his latest proposal.
Arbitration decisions are based on comparisons to players of similar major-league service time at corresponding positions. Despite Parris' 11-4 record and 3.50 ERA last year, his case could be undermined by the salaries of four other comparable pitchers — Philadelphia's Robert Person, the Chicago White Sox's Mike Sirotka, Anaheim's Steve Sparks and Kansas City's Jeff Suppan — who signed for near or exactly $1.4 million.
However, Sullivan would appear to have a strong case. Nobody in the majors comes close to the 313 relief innings he has logged since 1997.
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