Friday, March 29, 2002
Reds lineup set for homers, not stolen bases
By JOE KAY
AP Sports Writer
SARASOTA, Fla. — When the Reds narrowly missed the NL playoffs in 1999, they were a running team, stealing an average of more than one base per game. Now, they're more content to stand on base and wait for a homer — more like an American League team.
The artificial turf is gone at Cinergy Field, and so is the Reds' propensity to run. No one in their 2002 starting lineup stole as many as 10 bases last season.
Instead, they're relying on the power of Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn to produce the runs.
“To a certain extent, a stolen base is overrated, especially with this team we have,” leadoff hitter Todd Walker said. “Everybody in this lineup can hit 20 or more homers, easy. Based on that, the main concern is to get on base.”
The Reds stole 103 bases last season, fourth-most in the NL. The three top stealers have been traded away — Pokey Reese, who had a team-leading 25, and Alex Ochoa and Michael Tucker.
“I don't think of us as a base-stealing team, but we're going to be pretty aggressive,” manager Bob Boone said. “If you don't take care of us, we can steal a base. We'd like to be unpredictable, but we've got to mash. We've got a lineup set to hit (homers).”
It starts at the top.
The Reds have been trying to find a leadoff hitter for years. Reese had speed, but couldn't hit — a .224 average and .284 on-base percentage last season.
They tried Deion Sanders, who never got the hang of getting on base. During a 32-game stint beginning May 1 last season, the former two-sport athlete hit only .173 and had a .235 on-base percentage.
Walker got the job when he came over in a July 19 trade for Ochoa. He did the best of all — a .295 average and .361 on-base percentage. He tried to steal five times and was caught all five times.
No one else on the roster fits the role, so Walker gets to keep it. The idea is for him to get on base, then wait for Barry Larkin, Griffey, Dunn or Sean Casey to get a hit and drive him in.
“I can steal 20 bases, but I'm not going to steal 50,” said Walker, who stole a career-high 19 for Minnesota in 1998. “For the most part, my focus is to get on base.”
Larkin has the speed to steal but missed most of last season with torn groin muscles. He also had surgery for a hernia in August, and it caused him some discomfort this spring. Boone will go easy with him at the outset of the season, when the weather is cold and the footing is unpredictable.
“I don't expect him to run a whole lot,” Boone said.
He'll also be careful with Griffey, who's more valuable as a home run hitter than a base stealer and is coming off that torn hamstring.
For now, the best chance to run is at the bottom of the lineup.
Encarnacion had only nine steals last season, but had 33 in 1999. Third baseman Aaron Boone is back to speed after reconstructive knee surgery in 2000 and led the regulars in steals this spring.
“The thing I've noticed is I have my explosiveness and quickness back,” he said. “That's something that hopefully I'll get back to doing. While my knee wasn't a problem last year, I didn't have my speed back to where it normally is.”
The idea is to get the top of the lineup on base, get some run-producing hits from the middle of the lineup, then squeeze some runs out of the bottom spots.
“We've got a few guys that can run a little bit,” Aaron Boone said. “We probably won't have that extreme base stealer, but hopefully we'll have a lot of guys on base and a lot of guys scoring.”
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Reds lineup set for homers, not stolen bases 
