Friday, March 31, 2000

Nine runs don't worry Neagle

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Starter says he's ready for season

BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Denny Neagle confers with catcher Benito Sanitago. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        DUNEDIN, Fla. — Denny Neagle's ERA rose Thursday, but so did his spirits.

        This odd combination resulted from another shaky performance by Neagle in the Reds' 11-4 exhibition loss to the Toronto Blue Jays at Dunedin Stadium.

        Neagle, the Reds' No.2 starter, pitched much worse than Mark Portugal, the erstwhile No.5 starter who was released Wednesday, ever did this spring.

        Neagle lasted five innings and allowed nine runs on eight hits, including four home runs. Three of the homers came with two outs in the fifth inning, just as Neagle ap peared to have righted himself after surrendering four first-inning runs.

        “It's obviously frustrating, because I don't want to leave with a (statistical) line like that,” said Neagle, whose ERA rose from 8.10 to 9.72 while his total of homers allowed soared to 10. “But I know I pitched better than my line shows.”

        Manager Jack McKeon didn't agree.

        “How many runs did he give up?” McKeon asked rhetorically. “He didn't pitch very well.”

        The Reds must hope that Neagle regains his winning form in the regular season after permitting 27 runs and 31 hits in 25 exhibition innings.

        Said McKeon, “If he turns around and throws a three-hit shutout the first time out, what's the big deal?”

        Don't expect any last-minute deals for pitching by the Reds, at least not big ones.

        Most of the available pitchers who have been released by other teams are failed starters such as Pete Schourek and Chad Ogea.

        General Manager Jim Bowden didn't attend the game, though he said a day earlier that the climate for making a trade is fiercely competitive.

        “We still have discussions on a daily basis with clubs,” Bowden said. “We're still trying to get starting pitching. We won't stop working on it, I promise you that.”

        Neagle has been just as industrious in his efforts to recapture the effectiveness that made him a 20-game winner with Atlanta in 1997 and helped him finish last season 6-0 with a 2.20 ERA in his last seven starts.

        He said he cured himself of the unsteady balance that threw off his deliveries when he pitched from the stretch position. He said that the 99 pitches he threw — including 38 in the fifth inning — reflected his arm strength. He insisted that all his pitches worked well, especially in the scoreless stretch between Tony Batista's three-run homer in the first inning and the home runs by Raul Mondesi, Batista and Marty Cordova in the fifth.

        “I really felt like it's coming now,” Neagle said. “My fastball was located better; my curveball was again the best I've ever had in my career, and I was throwing my changeup better.”

        As he did Saturday when he surrendered six runs in five innings to Tampa Bay, Neagle criticized himself for letting his concentration lapse. Neagle yelled at home-plate umpire Corey Erickson about ball-strike decisions while issuing a four-pitch walk to Carlos Delgado in the fifth inning.

        “I'm ticked off at myself because I let (Erickson) take me out of my game,” Neagle said. “You can't do that, spring train ing or not, if you want to prepare mentally.”

        Then came consecutive home runs by Batista and Cordova.

        “I looked at the guys in the bullpen (en route to the clubhouse) and said, "Is it bad to feel good about giving up nine runs in five innings?'

        “Would I have loved to finish stronger? Absolutely. Am I going to (lose) any sleep over this? Of course not.

        “I feel like I did what I came down here to do. I'm healthy; I got my pitches in; and I feel like I'm ready to go for my start the second game of the season.”

       

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