Bob Boone doesn't want observers to judge his managerial tendencies by the way he ran the Kansas City Royals. After all, he's not with the Royals anymore.

        “We all felt he would do much better this time around,” Reds general manager Jim Bowden said of Boone, who was named the Reds' new manager on Friday. “Back then, he didn't have very good teams and (Kansas City had) one of the lowest payrolls in baseball.”

        Boone sounded aware of his reputation for excessive use of strategy during his 1995-97 Royals tenure, which produced a 181-206 record. He knows he won't have to micro-manage the Reds, who possess substantially more talent than any of his Kansas City clubs did.

        “I think I'm one who adapts to whatever the team is,” he said.

        With the likes of Ken Griffey Jr., Barry Larkin, Sean Casey, Pokey Reese and Dmitri Young at his disposal, Boone figured turning them loose is the best approach.

        “I love the talent here. You're going to see an aggressive ballclub,” he said. “I think that's the style this team needs to play and I think it's one that the fans are going to really enjoy.”

        For example:

        • Boone will encourage a baserunning renaissance — encouraging players to steal bases, take the extra base, go from first to third and gamble on advancing on pitches thrown in the dirt.

        • A former All-Star catcher himself, Boone might want Eddie Taubensee and Jason LaRue to become more responsible in calling pitches and directing play.

        “Eddie and Jason are going to be sick of me,” Boone said.

        He added that he might occasionally call pitches in certain situations.

        “They (pitchers) love it if you call the right pitch,” Boone said.

        • Boone might play the infield in more frequently, not just when the Reds obviously need to neutralize a runner at third base.

        “I've always felt that, early in a game, I don't like giving up a lead,” he said.

        Boone added he'll “temper” that aggression significantly, “because we have much better hitting here than in Kansas City.”

        Oh, yes, Kansas City. That's where Boone used 22 different designated hitters in 1995. He used 127 different lineups in 144 games, the most in the majors, and employed 222 pinch hitters, tops in the American League. The Royals also ranked first in the league in sacrifice bunt attempts, second in stolen-base tries and fourth in hit-and-run attempts.

        But when your club is 12th in hitting and last in home runs, as those Royals were, desperate measures must be taken.

        The following year, Boone's 152 lineups in 161 games again were a major-league high. He remained active with the gizmos, ordering more steals than any other manager, while leading the AL in sacrifice-bunt and hit-and-run tries.

        “The style I had in Kansas City was extremely aggressive, probably off-the-board aggression, because my team was out-manned every day and I felt we needed to be aggressive to the wall,” Boone said.

        On other issues:

        • Like the players, Boone welcomes the installation of grass at Cinergy Field. “We need to talk about how thick we want it,” he said with a grin.

        • He's confident he won't favor his son, third baseman Aaron Boone. Formerly one of Bowden's special assistants, Bob Boone reminded reporters he recommended trading one of his other sons, ex-Reds second baseman Bret, to Atlanta two years ago.

        • Boone also stressed he'll be firm but not heavy-handed in the way he disciplines players.

        “To me, discipline is something that happens when nobody knows it's happening,” he said. “All I can tell you is, I'll be the leader in that clubhouse. It's not coming in and saying, "Here's a list of rules.' The bottom line is, we're all on the same page working on one goal — that's to win the World Series. If Bob Boone has to worry about curfews or certain rules, then we're not heading toward that goal.

        “It'll take some time. You don't step in and start ordering people around.”