Wednesday, June 21, 2000
Reds
Time is now for tough decisions
The Cincinnati Reds have run out of easy answers. Now is the time for some hard truths.
John Allen and Jim Bowden are faced with some formidable decisions, and they cannot defer them much longer. They must decide whether this season can be salvaged or should be sacrificed to save future generations. They must decide if manager Jack McKeon is safe or sorry. They must decide if Barry Larkin warrants a long-term investment or a gold watch and goodbye.
Soon.
At the risk of overstating the significance of the current homestand, it may well determine the course of Hamilton County hardball and/or Western Civilization. Tuesday's 3-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies ended a six-game losing streak, but not persistent doubts about the ballclub's direction. If the Reds can't creep any closer to the St. Louis Cardinals during the next 10 days, they should probably retool for the longer term.
Start shopping
Among the most dangerous baseball delusions is when a ballclub believes it can make a run when it ought to retrench. Every year, some misguided general manager will trade away decent prospects for dubious patchwork in the desperate hope that one more arm/bat/glove can make things right.
The time to strip-mine the farm system for pitching is when you're close enough to put it to good use. That time is not now, at least not for the Reds. Realistically, if the home team doesn't make some meaningful progress between now and the All-Star break, Bowden should abandon pursuit of Mike Mussina, Brad Radke, et. al., and start shopping Denny Neagle to bonafide contenders.
Whether Bowden should also start shopping Larkin is a trickier question, complicated by the shortstop's distinguished service, signing difficulty and trade veto. Still, if the Reds cannot come to terms on a new contract with their captain, it makes little sense to hold on to him as a lame duck in a lost cause.
Absent an imminent winning streak or a fast-closing contract, the Reds would be better served trading Larkin for prospects than watching him walk at season's end for nothing.
Firing: The easy answer
That such matters could be under consideration before the All-Star break reflects the epic disappointment of the season to date. The addition of Ken Griffey Jr. to a team that won 96 games has neither cured the Reds' chronic pitching problems nor (club officials lament) enhanced clubhouse chemistry. Management keeps waiting for a leader to emerge among the players — someone as direct and driven as Greg Vaughn. They keep waiting, too, for Pete Harnisch to return from the disabled list on the trickle-down theory that his presence improves every slot in the starting rotation.
“It would make a big difference to get him back,” McKeon said Tuesday after watching Harnisch throw batting practice. “The real Pete Harnisch, he'd come back as our No.1 guy. It would be a big lift. I think the other guys feed off him. They did last year, at least.”
Each year is different. Last season, McKeon was a genius, the Manager of the Year. This season, he's shaping up as a convenient scapegoat. The hard truth is that when a ballclub goes bad, firing the manager is always the easy answer.
E-mail Tim Sullivan at tsullivan@enquirer.com.
SULLIVAN ARCHIVE
