Friday, February 11, 2000
Bowden on lineup: No holes
BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The names rushed off Jim Bowden's tongue like runners crossing home plate. Pokey Reese. Barry Larkin. Ken Griffey Jr. Dante Bichette. Sean Casey. Dmitri Young. Eddie Taubensee. Aaron Boone.
That's the Reds' projected Opening Day batting order. Try to find the holes.
“I think that Houston, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Chicago and Milwaukee are looking at us today and have to be concerned,” said Bowden, the Reds' general manager. “We have a team that can score a lot of runs. We have one of the best bullpens in the league. If our starting pitching can improve, we're going to play.”
Bowden enjoyed considering the offensive potential and defensive prowess of Cincinnati's lineup with Thursday's addition of Griffey, a four-time home-run champion and 10-time Gold Glove winner, from the Seattle Mariners.
“It's not that hard,” Bowden said. “Five .300 hitters, a lot of offense and the best defense up the middle in the history of the sport. Larkin, Reese and Griffey. It's never been done that (well).”
The Reds actually didn't need to improve. They set numerous single-season franchise records last year, including runs scored (865), extra-base hits (558) and slugging percentage (.451). They were third in the National League in homers (209), fourth in runs and fourth in stolen bases (164).
Still, nobody's about to criticize the changes Bowden has made.
Though left fielder Greg Vaughn took his 45 homers and 118 RBI to Tampa Bay as a free agent, the Reds replaced him by sending outfielder Jeffrey Hammonds and reliever Stan Belinda to Colorado for Bichette, whose 1,111 hits since 1993 are the most in the majors. Less power, but much more consistency.
Mike Cameron, who Griffey will replace in center field, stole 38 bases, hit 21 homers, scored 93 runs and showed signs of blossoming into an offensive dynamo. Manager Jack McKeon frequently compared Cameron, 27, to Chicago Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa at the same age.
But Griffey has hit 40 or more homers in six of the last seven seasons, has scored 120 or more runs for four years in a row and basically has terrorized every American League pitching staff. Less basestealing prowess, more everything else.
“He's a huge presence,” Taubensee said. “Even without him, we had a really good-hitting lineup. Now we have a great-hitting lineup.”
“These guys did it last year without me,” Griffey said modestly. “I'm just going to try to help out.”
With Griffey, Cincinnati's batting order will largely alternate between right- and left-handed hitters, discouraging opponents from trying to suppress the lineup by “playing percentages” — that is, using left-handers to retire left-handed batters, or vice-versa.
Among the most prominent assets Griffey brings is continuity. He has played at least 157 games in each of the last three years. Given his age (30) and his superb physical condition, he should remain productive throughout most of this decade, which is what the Reds were counting on by giving him a nine-year contract.
“We would not have made this trade if we did not have the ability to sign Mr. Griffey to a longterm contract, because we didn't want him for just one year to "rent' a player,” Bowden said. “We didn't want a Greg Vaughn, a Ron Gant or a Kevin Mitchell. We wanted a permanent superstar in Cincinnati to open our new stadium. We accomplished that.”
Defensively, Griffey and his acrobatic catches will nicely complement Larkin, a three-time Gold Glove winner at shortstop, and Reese, who won a Gold Glove in his first full year at second base while quickly becoming renowned as the NL's most breathtaking fielder at his position.
Said Bowden, “The Big Red Machine had that up the middle. (Shortstop Davey) Concepcion, (second baseman Joe) Morgan and (center fielder Cesar) Geronimo. This is better than that.”
Griffey's arrival almost assures that Larkin, who's in the final year of his contract, will receive an extension. They're friends and offseason neighbors, which whetted Griffey's desire to join the Reds.
Asked if he considered it “important” to play with Larkin for the next “three or four” years, Griffey said, “That was one of the reasons I came here.” But he denied that keeping Larkin around was a prerequisite for his signing: “Hopefully he'll be here. But some people have to make decisions on their own, like I made a decision to come here.”
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