Sunday, May 07, 2000
NL INSIDER
Gwynn will miss Reds series
By Chris Haft
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Fans attending the Reds' series against the San Diego Padres beginning Tuesday at Cinergy Field will miss the privilege of watching Tony Gwynn display his artistry in the batter's box.
Gwynn recently went on the disabled list after having his left knee drained of fluid for the fifth time since the start of spring training and isn't eligible to be activated until next Sunday. Judging from his remarks, he could be fortunate to return that soon.
“I couldn't keep going out there for two days, then have it drained and sit for three or four days, come back, have it drained again and sit again,” said Gwynn, the eight-time National League batting champion. “It's too hard on (the team) and it's too hard on me. I can't play this way. And (manager) Bruce Bochy can't make the moves he wants to make.”
Gwynn might not make the money he wants, either. The Padres gave him a $6 million contract extension for the 2001 season contingent upon his receiving 502 plate appearances this year. But his physical troubles started almost immediately, when New York's Al Leiter hit him on the right elbow with a pitch on Opening Day. Then the knee problem recurred.
Gwynn, who turns 40 on Tuesday, has played in only 13 games and is batting .186 (8-for-43) with no homers and seven RBI. Without full strength in his left knee, he can't push off to stride toward pitches properly.
“I've tried to fight my way through it,” Gwynn said. “But I can't do what I need to do.”
ATLANTA ANOMALY: If home runs are flying out of stadiums at an accelerated pace while pitching gets more diluted and worse, how can the Atlanta Braves keep their team ERA close to 3.00?
Left-hander Tom Glavine believes that Braves pitchers have mastered working low and away and changing speeds more thoroughly than their counterparts. And it's not just Glavine, Greg Maddux and Kevin Millwood who excel.
“If you can command that pitch down and away, you're going to be successful,” Glavine said. “If you can throw the ball at the knees on the outside corner, there's not a lot of things a hitter can do with it.”
Every pitching coach emphasizes these fundamentals. But if they were so easy to execute, we'd see more 3-2 games.
“Some guys can do it half the time,” Glavine said. “Our guys can do it nine out of 10 times. There's still a mentality out there to pound guys inside. Our philosophy is, there's a whole lot more margin for error on the outside part of the plate than on the inside part of the plate.”
FAN CITY: New York Mets management already has begun to freak out about John Rocker's first visit to Shea Stadium with the Atlanta Braves, scheduled for June 29-July 2.
The Mets caught wind of plans hatched by subversive fans to stage a “Battery Night” at one of the games. The vision of goons pelting Rocker with size Ds prompted club officials to consult Major League Baseball security about preparing for Rocker's appearances.
“I think it's going to be more of an issue in New York compared to probably any other city,” Mets general manager Steve Phillips said in an understatement.
By contrast, New York manager Bobby Valentine is dwelling on ways to accommodate fans, not neutralize them. He said that the Mets' new ballpark, if they ever get one, should include a conveyor belt that carts spectators through the upper deck on a 35-minute ride, enabling those without tickets to see part of the game.
You guessed it — the “fan belt.”
Valentine's so serious about this that he already has discussed the idea with a patent attorney.
RARE SPLASHDOWNS: It's easy to assume that the sight of Barry Bonds launching home runs out of Pacific Bell Park into San Francisco Bay will become commonplace.
But Bonds, who hit the first regular-season drive on the fly into the drink last Monday, said that reaching “McCovey Cove,” as the stretch of water is known, presents more of a challenge than observers realize.
“There are going to be some guys who can do it,” Bonds said. “But the ball doesn't carry here like everybody thought it would. I hit that ball pretty well and it barely got in the water.”
Another Pac Bell target for sluggers is definitely out of reach. Starting Memorial Day weekend, a fan can win $1 million if anybody strikes the enormous glove beyond the left-center field bleachers. That structure happens to sit 501 feet from home plate.
QUICK PITCHES: Arizona's Mike Morgan, who counts the Reds among the 12 teams he has pitched for, has “saved” for the cycle already this season. He has saved games in which he has pitched one, two, three and four innings.
• Offense lies at the heart of the Milwaukee Brewers' struggles. They have scored 24 runs while hitting .179 in their last 10 games through Friday. “Every team in the big leagues goes through things like this,” manager Davey Lopes said. “We haven't found an answer yet. When you're not hitting, everything else is magnified. You look like you're kind of dead, collectively.”
• The most impressive aspect of Kerry Wood's six-inning, one-run effort in his comeback outing was that he didn't have his best stuff. A blister forced him to pitch on eight days' rest. And his surgically repaired arm could be a year away from regaining its full strength. “The doctors tell you, "Next year he's going to be Secretariat,'” Chicago Cubs manager Don Baylor said.
• To put Atlanta's 15-game winning streak in perspective, they had more wins in a row than 19 teams had overall entering Friday.
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Gwynn will miss Reds series
