MILWAUKEE — Since this isn't high school, the Reds won't be awarding any Most Improved Player trophies. But if they did, the most likely recipients would be right-hander Elmer Dessens and utilityman Chris Stynes.

        Dessens (10-5) looked unimpressive in spring training and began the year with Triple-A Louisville. Asked who might have imagined then that Dessens would reach double figures in victories, manager Jack McKeon said, “Nobody.”

        Was there anything noticeably impressive about Dessens' spring performance? “Not really,” McKeon said.

        That all changed when a series of changes on the pitching staff brought Dessens to Cincinnati and McKeon inserted him into the starting rotation in early July. Said McKeon, “When we started him, he was a different type of pitcher. Maybe that was because of the consistent work.”

        General manager Jim Bowden called Stynes a “well-kept secret,” though Reds followers are likely aware of him. “He's having a phenomenal year,” Bowden said of Stynes, who entered Tuesday hitting .336 with 11 home runs and 39 RBI in 113 games after batting .239 with two homers and 14 RBI in 73 games last year.

        SO THERE: Though Bowden has been criticized for seeking quality through quantity, he pointed to Dessens and Osvaldo Fernandez as examples of how that player-acquisition method works.

        That's why Bowden invited 37 pitchers to spring training this year, which privately exasperated Reds personnel. But he pointed out that the Reds wound up unearthing a pair of adequate starting pitchers in Dessens and Fernandez while selling reliever Eddie Gaillard to the Chunichi Dragons of the Japanese Central League for $700,000.

        Of Dessens, Bowden said, “I took a lot of criticism internally for signing him to a $300,000 guaranteed contract without having enough information on him from last year. But as hard as it is to get pitching, you have to take gambles sometimes.”

        Of the horde of spring-training pitchers, Bowden said that selling Gaillard “more than” paid for that experience. He also noted that Dessens and Fernandez were latter-day equivalents of Jeff Brantley and Jeff Shaw, who emerged as stars from previous cattle calls.

        “That's why you bring in quantity,” Bowden said. “It's nothing new. It's not inventing the wheel. That's how Branch Rickey operated with all that success with Pittsburgh and the Dodgers. We made money, plus we got two pitchers that helped us.”

        MENKE MEMORIES: The demise of Milwaukee County Stadium, which the Reds will help close in Thursday's series finale, awakened fond memories for hitting coach Denis Menke, who began his major-league career as an infielder for the Milwaukee Braves in 1962.

        While playing for the Braves, Menke met his wife, Jean, who was a student at Marquette University. He also played alongside legends such as Eddie Mathews, Henry Aaron and Warren Spahn.

        Menke recalled that he dressed between Mathews and Roy McMillan, who spent 1951-60 with the Reds.

        “They taught me a few things they probably shouldn't have taught me,” Menke said jokingly. “The beer was always iced down perfectly after the game.”

        UP NEXT: Rob Bell (7-8) tries to finish his rookie season with at .500 when he facesPaul Rigdon (4-4).

Brewers 7, Reds 4 Box, runs Ballpark concourse will provide year-round view Cinergy seats will be sold Dessens, Stynes best surprises

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