Thursday, May 09, 2002
Surprising Reds reminiscent of '99
By JOE KAY
AP Sports Writer
Junior's not in the lineup. Hardly anyone is in the stands. A group of up-and-comers is defying the small-market odds and winning games. Sound familiar? The Reds are working on a sequel.
Three years after they turned into the National League's darlings by making an unexpected run at first place, the Reds are doing it again — using the same plot, no less.
A one-month surge has hoisted them into first place in the NL Central with a 3 1/2-game lead, their biggest since they won the division in 1995. That was the last year they made the playoffs.
They almost got there in 1999, an enchanted season that ended with a loss to the Mets in the wild-card playoff and has become the reference point for this season's early surprises.
“It's a different cast,” reliever Scott Sullivan said. “A lot of players have come and gone. But it sure has similarities.”
The '99 team won 96 games with a core of young players — Mike Cameron, Pokey Reese, Dmitri Young, Sean Casey, Aaron Boone. Cameron went to Seattle after the season in the trade for Ken Griffey Jr., and Reese and Young were dealt in this past offseason to keep the payroll down.
There were few expectations for a team that lost 96 games last season and had to cobble together journeymen and castoffs to make a rotation — just like in '99.
So far, it's working again.
A rotation that includes Joey Hamilton and Jose Rijo has held its own, and a second wave of newcomers — Adam Dunn and Austin Kearns — has injected the same youthful enthusiasm that characterized the '99 team.
“It's been more fun than that year was,” closer Danny Graves said. “We didn't get a lot of wins before the All-Star break in '99. We're just having so much fun coming to the ballpark.
“The last couple of years, if you were supposed to be here at 4 o'clock, you were here at 3:45. Now, we're here at 2'oclock. It's fun in here again.”
Dunn and Kearns, the club's top two prospects at the turn of the century, have led the offense during the surge into first place.
Dunn, who set an NL rookie record for a month by hitting 12 homers last August, has emerged from an early slump by hitting seven homers in the last 11 games. The 22-year-old outfielder leads the team with 27 RBIs.
Kearns was called up for what was supposed to be a brief introduction to the majors after Casey was hit in the head by a pitch April 13, suffering a concussion.
“I knew when I came it would be for three or four days,” Kearns said. “The only thing I could do was play and try to change some minds.”
Kearns, who turns 22 later this month, has played so well that he's changed everyone's minds — a .400 average in 18 games with three homers and fantastic reviews.
“He doesn't chase pitches,” said manager Bob Boone, who has moved Kearns to the cleanup spot in the order. “When he gets a pitch he's supposed to hit, he's got a real good rip at it. Right now, he's probably the most professional hitter that I have.”
With Kearns in right field, Dunn in left and Juan Encarnacion enjoying a resurgence in center, the Reds have an outfield producing runs. It will be interesting to see what happens when Griffey reclaims his spot in center in the next few weeks.
Griffey tore the patella tendon in his right knee on April 7, when the Reds were stuck around .500. They went on their surge while he rehabilitated the knee and fumed over a television station's unscientific poll that questioned his importance in the lineup.
“The team's been playing well at home. Guys are having fun,” Griffey said Wednesday. “I don't think anybody should be negative when you're in first place.”
The biggest negative so far has been the attendance. First place hasn't translated into a full place.
The Reds sold only 12,867 tickets for their game against Milwaukee on Monday, their smallest gate in 10 years. Attendance is down nearly 88,000 from last season, the fourth-biggest drop in the NL.
After watching the Reds lose a team-record 54 home games last season, fans remain skeptical.
“I don't know if the fans realize how important they are with support,” Graves said. “It's tough to play in front of 10,000 fans because you can hear the fans booing you.”
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Surprising Reds reminiscent of '99
