Friday, May 31, 2002
Bowden dampens talk of possible blockbuster trade
Reds notebook
By John Fay, jfay@enquirer.com
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MIAMI — Reds general manager Jim Bowden said those of you waiting for a blockbuster trade are going to be disappointed.
“We're not looking to trade anyone on our 25-man roster,” Bowden said. “We like our team. We like the chemistry. We're looking to add, not subtract.”
Bowden said the Reds have gotten proposals.
“It's fair to say other teams like our players,” he said. “We're in first place. But 99 percent of the deals we talk about never happen.”
The most likely thing to happen is a minor trade.
“Our minor-league system is very good,” Bowden said. “We have depth there. If we can do a deal to help the major-league club, we will.”
The fact that the Reds pulled out of talks with Jeff Shaw indicates they aren't likely to add salary — even if they are still in the NL Central race in July.
“I don't have a crystal ball,” Reds chief operating officer John Allen said. “We'll address it when we get there. But it's no secret our attendance is down. We have payments due on the new ballpark. A lot of things go into it.”
One of the players rumored to be on the Reds' list, Cleveland starter Bartolo Colon, makes $4.95 million a year.
“The baseball people would have to work that out,” Allen said.
There's no simple way to do that. Only four players on the Reds roster — Ken Griffey Jr., Barry Larkin, Sean Casey and Danny Graves — make more than $3million. Bowden doesn't have the authority to trade Griffey or Larkin — that would have to come from owner Carl Lindner. It's unlikely Graves would be traded now that the Reds are out of the Shaw race.
If Bowden likes the team's chemistry, he probably wouldn't risk ruining it by trading Casey.
But Bowden won't talk specifics on trades.
“It's disappointing to hear the speculation about trading players on our 25-man roster,” Bowden said. “That's not what we're looking to do.”
KEARNS OUT: Austin Kearns was out of the lineup to make room for Griffey Thursday night. Kearns probably will get tonight off as well as Griffey plays two straight games for the first time since coming off the disabled list a week ago.
Kearns' right thumb is bothering him again.
That may have something to do with the fact Kearns had only six hits in his last 40 at-bats going into Thursday.
The thumb limited Kearns to 65 games last year.
“It's frustrating,” Kearns said. “It just flares up every now and then. There's no explanation for it.”
Kearns has been told he'll have to deal with pain from time to time.
“It's something he's going to have to live with,” Reds manager Bob Boone said. “It could be a year before he doesn't have any pain.”
Boone doesn't think the thumb is completely responsible for Kearns' slump.
“I think the law of averages caught up with him,” Boone said. “If you hit .400 for a while and you're going to end up at .320, you're going to hit .220 for a while.”
RIJO SATURDAY: Jose Rijo will return to the starting rotation Saturday. Boone had reserved judgment until Thursday.
“He's pitched awfully well for us,” Boone said.
The hope is that by skipping Rijo for one turn — he was scheduled to start Tuesday — his stamina will return. In his last three starts, he struggled with fatigue in the fifth, then fourth, inning.
“This is going to work out perfect for me,” Rijo said. “The rest should help me.”
Boone said he can live with five-inning starts.
“We're prepared to take that from the fifth starter,” Boone said. “We've got the 12 pitchers. (Rijo's) been so effective with the innings he's given us.”
That said, should Rijo struggle, he'll be out quickly.
“He'll be on a short leash,” Boone said. “It's pretty easy to tell when his stuff drops off.”
TRYOUTS: The Reds are holding workouts for some of the top prospects in the draft, which begins Tuesday.
They had Scott Kazmir, the high school left-hander from Houston, in Thursday. Chris Gruler, the high school right-hander from Brentwood, Calif., will be in today.
The Reds seem to be focusing on Kazmir, Gruler and Ball State right-hander Bryan Bullington.
“We don't know who Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay are going to pick,” Bowden said. “So we don't know who we're going to pick. We pick third, so we know we're going to get a very good player.”
FARM REPORT: John Koronka pushed his record to 10-0 with a 10-3 victory over Visalia for Stockton. Kononka allowed two runs on four hits in seven innings.
At Triple-A, John Riedling threw two innings of shutout ball for Louisville to earn a win in the Bats' 5-3 victory over Richmond.
Reds Stories
Top pick Jones is holding out - hope, that is
Colts owner buys helipad for home
Another league of their own
Louisville facing underdog role in regional
RBI workouts scheduled
Walnut grad named All-America
Western schedules news conference with Marcus
Early hours don't scare World Cup fanatics in States
England's Beckham says he's ready to take on Sweden
For Brazil, World Cup is more than soccer
France takes on Senegal in World Cup opener
Keller misses practice after bruising elbow
U.S. team visits DMZ
World Cup TV schedule
Capriati wins a comedy of errors
Williams sisters are students of history
Lakers say they feel no pressure
Nets, Celtics heating it up
Poor early play puts Boston on the brink
Shaq's attack: Cut fouls, hit free throws, go to basket
Blue Jackets coach coming back for third year
Carolina has week off before Game 1 of Cup
Get your tickets, and a TripTik
Leafs' Quinn says he'll GM, coach again
One of NHL's great rivalries comes down to Game 7
Red Wings not feeling safe at home
Bad luck, faster rivals have derailed recent Triple Crown bids
War Emblem: Reluctant racehorse to Triple Crown threat
Del Greco leads NFL players
In true Kemper tradition, little-known Langham rolls
Coming up this week
Friendly foes Lakota West, Fairfield meet
Students dive into new sport
Colerain topples No. 2 Springfield South
Home run pushes Aves over hump in 3-1 victory
3 records fall at regionals
Midseason adjustment has St. X on title hunt
Surprising Milford, St. X set for rematch
Walnut Hills star Thomas chasing legendary Trabert
Waynesville makes most of its chance
Ohio track results
CovCath's Bogenschutz shuts down Pioneers
Day at state good for Pandas, rough for Colonels
Lawrence, Boone Co. reach Ninth final
St. Henry is upbeat going into state meet
Kentucky state tennis tournament
Baseball pairings
Softball pairings
• Return to Reds front page...
Bowden dampens talk of possible blockbuster trade
