Friday, February 11, 2000
New teammates eager to play with Junior
BY SCOTT MacGREGOR
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Eddie Taubensee said it all: “Yes! With an exclamation point!”
The Reds catcher felt like a kid again Thursday, reacting to news of the Ken Griffey Jr. trade the way many of his teammates did — with pure excitement.
“How can you not be excited?” said Reds captain Barry Larkin, a 14-year-veteran. “It's going to be fun.”
Even pitcher Brett Tomko, traded to Seattle in the deal, sensed the frenzy. “It's like being traded for (Michael) Jordan or something,” Tomko told the Associated Press.
Dante Bichette, the All-Star outfielder obtained from Colorado in October, said coming to the Reds now feels like “I was trying to hit a single and ended up hitting a home run.
“(Griffey) is going to be great for the club. It's going to bring a whole new energy, a whole new level of fan support, media attention, excitement.”
“Obviously, he's an awesome player, he's an exciting player,” Taubensee said. “It definitely can (put the Reds over the top), but we have to pitch like we did last year. We're going to score more runs, we're going to be better up the middle with all those Gold Gloves. But we'll still have to get good pitching and defense.”
Larkin, who lives near Griffey in Orlando, said the two have talked often about Griffey's wish to be closer to home.
Larkin and Griffey will now have another major connection: Cincinnati natives, both Moeller graduates, playing for the Cincinnati Reds.
“When things are good, it's great to be a Cincinnati Red,” Larkin said. “It's a little tough when you're not doing as well as you want. You get a little more emotionally attached about not representing well.”
Larkin saw this franchise through some rough times recently — and wasn't happy about it, requesting a trade last winter if the front office wasn't willing to be competitive. But then the Reds traded for Greg Vaughn, won 96 games, almost made the playoffs and traded for Bichette this winter.
And then, the trade of the century. It has been a whirlwind turnaround.
“It's about winning. That's the thing we talked about, having the chance to win,” Larkin said. “Jim Bowden has been given the opportunity to make things happen. You have to give him a lot of credit, but John Allen and the front office had to let this happen.”
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