Friday, June 14, 2002
Bruised, battered, but still in first
Surprisingly, bats have been the weak link
By John Fay, jfay@enquirer.com
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Bob Boone is like you. He doesn't know if the Reds are for real or not. He likes what he has seen. He's confident that no one loss — even one as disheartening as Wednesday's 10-4 disaster at Texas — will send the club reeling.
As for whether the Reds will contend in September, he can't say.
“I have no idea,” he said. “I like the position we're in. But we've got a long way to go and a lot of playing to do. I certainly like the start. We all think we can play with anybody. But it's how we finish up. We're going to find out.”
Boone said the key is how this team handles adversity. The Reds have had their share. Ken Griffey Jr. has started 15 of 65 games. The Opening Day starter, Joey Hamilton, has spent time on the disabled list. But Boone expects some rougher patches ahead for this team, which hasn't had a losing streak longer than four games.
“I figured there would be bumps in the road,” Boone said. “There haven't been, but there will be. Then we'll see about our character. When we get to the point in the season when we need to win a game, then we'll see how we handle it. I think I know, but I don't know for sure.”
Boone was speaking before Wednesday night's game. Afterward, you could make a pretty strong argument that the adversity is here. It will be hanging over the Reds like a cloud of bad karma today when they open a three-game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates at Cinergy Field. Consider:
• The Reds have gone four series without winning one.
• They haven't won two games in a row in two weeks.
• They've played under .500 (11-13) over their last 24 games.
• They just finished a 2-4 road trip.
• The offense continues to struggle. Aaron Boone is hitting .209 and Barry Larkin .241, and Sean Casey has gone 12 games without an RBI.
“We really haven't played well for a while,” Adam Dunn said. “Hopefully, we can put a streak together.”
But through their struggles, the Reds have remained in first place. Today, in fact, is the 48th straight day they woke up to find themselves first in the National League Central.
The St. Louis Cardinals have been poised to blow by the Reds for a month. But it hasn't happened yet. The Reds have always responded after losses like Wednesday's.
“Those tough losses never bother me,” Bob Boone said. “These guys have bitten in to what I've told them as far as, "Forget about yesterday; don't worry about tomorrow; play the game today.' That's how you have to play.”
That's easier to do in June. The true test comes if you're still in the race in September.
“That's when it will be fun,” Boone said. “I've been there in a race to the end. It's the most fun thing that can happen to you as a pro, and I'm looking forward to it, can't wait to see what happens. I can't have enough meetings to explain it to them. When you reach that point, it hurts more when you lose, but it's more fun to win. And it's fun to look at the scoreboard to see what St. Louis is doing and know it means something to you.“
Boone has often spoken of the character of the club. Staying in first place for 48 days gives credence to his point.
“I knew it was there,” he said. “I knew how those guys got along. They're positive about the team. They have a together kind of attitude. There's a lot of friends on the club. That helps. They're all focused on one thing: winning.”
The key to winning today is the same as it was when the Reds broke spring training.
“With us, it's two things: health and starting pitching,” Boone said. “We're going to go as far as our starting pitching takes us.”
The Reds are operating with four starters. They don't need a fifth starter until June 22.
Three of the four — Jimmy Haynes, Elmer Dessens and Chris Reitsma — are rolling. Haynes has won four straight decisions. Dessens is second in the NL with a 2.56 ERA. Reitsma, the hard-luck starter, has a 2.90 ERA.
Hamilton has been inconsistent since coming off the DL, but he was very good before the injury.
The Reds have a lot of options for the fifth starter — Jose Rijo, Seth Etherton, Jim Brower, Luis Pineda, Lance Davis, Carlos Almanzar — so it shouldn't be a major problem.
So if the starting pitching continues to perform at current levels, Boone thinks, the Reds continue to be in the race.
“Our bullpen has lived up to what we expected,” Boone said. “Our offense has underachieved. Our defense has overachieved. Our young players have come along a little faster — particularly (Austin) Kearns. So we've been able to handle Junior's loss.”
Boone hopes the defense and pitching are still clicking when the offense comes around.
Boone said. “We haven't hit. We haven't seen a hot Junior.”
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Bruised, battered, but still in first
