EVENTS
 Sportsman of the Year
 Heisman Trophy
 Swimsuit 2001

1. Cincinnati Reds

The arrival of Griffey gives Cincinnati the powerful look of a new Big Red Machine

By Lars Anderson

Offense Defense Starting Pitching Bullpen Manager 1999 Record 96-67 (second in NL Central) Batting Order 2B Pokey Reese SS Barry Larkin CF Ken Griffey Jr. RF Dante Bichette 1B Sean Casey LF Dmitri Young C Eddie Taubensee 3B Aaron Boone Bench OF Michael Tucker OF Alex Ochoa IF Mark Lewis C Jason LaRue IF Hal Morris Starters RH Pete Harnisch LH Denny Neagle RH Steve Parris RH Ron Villone RH Mark Portugal Bullpen RH Scott Williamson RH Danny Graves RH Scott Sullivan LH Dennys Reyes LH Gabe White RH Scott Winchester Next Up... Say this for Jason LaRue, the Reds' catcher of the future: He sets an inviting target for pitchers. In 35 games last season he caught three one-hitters and four shutouts. A fifth-round draft pick of Cincinnati's in 1995, the 26-year-old defensive whiz will get more playing time this season, even though starter Eddie Taubensee had a career year in 1999 (.311 average and 21 home runs). "Eddie had a good year last year because we didn't overwork him," says Jack McKeon, who nonetheless is concerned by Taubensee's 14.9% success rate at throwing out base stealers in 1999. By contrast, LaRue gunned down 43.5% of the runners attempting to steal. Though LaRue only hit .211 in 90 at bats with Cincinnati, the Reds believe the batting title he won in the Double A Southern League two years ago is a better indicator of his potential at the plate. Says McKeon, "In time he'll be a Number 1 guy." The Book An opposing team's scout sizes up the Reds "This is a fun team to watch. They'll trot out All-Stars at half the positions on the field. The key for the Reds is the health of the pitching staff. They don't have a horse you can ride for 200 innings.... Pete Harnisch is a great competitor, but how long can he last?... With so many health questions they'll need some soldiers from the minors. Righthander Rob Bell will start at Triple A, but he's not far away.... Can you overwork a bullpen two years in a row and get away with it? There's a lot of quality people out there, and it's the strength of the club.... Ken Griffey's going to earn his money in center. Dmitri Young is a mediocre outfielder at best; at worst he's atrocious. Dante Bichette is also an atrocious outfielder.... There's a Coors Field factor with Bichette, but not as big as you might think. He won't have as many homers, but he'll still hit for average and drive in a ton of runs.... Pokey Reese improved with the bat faster than most of us thought he would.... Eddie Taubensee is O.K. behind the plate, but he can't throw. Teams that can run will steal him blind."

Taped above Scott Williamson's locker at the Reds' spring training complex was a small, handwritten placard that read 'I am too blessed to be stressed.' It was placed there early in March by the ever-helpful Deion Sanders after the Neon One -- who was in camp on a minor league contract -- watched the 1999 National League Rookie of the Year pitch a fit over a tardy equipment shipment. "I was pissed off because I needed those shoes and they were supposed to be here the day before," says Williamson, who won 12 games and saved 19 last season. "Deion came over, told me not to stress and said he'd take care of it. He got on the phone, and the next day the shoes were here."

Playing in the city in which he grew up -- and stepping into the league's most lethal lineup -- has Griffey feeling like a Kid again. Chuck Solomon

The sign has a proper place over Williamson's locker -- he is, after all, blessed with the ability to throw a baseball 98 mph. But Cincinnati should also post a mural-sized version in its clubhouse at Cinergy Field. The Reds, the low-payroll, little-engine-that-could upstarts who forced a one-game playoff for the wild card last season, have been smiled upon by the baseball gods, and not just because they happen to be the one team the game's best player wanted to play for. Consider the karmic windfall: In addition to the acquisition of Ken Griffey Jr., the penurious Marge Schott has been replaced by deep-pocketed new owner Carl Lindner; the lineup, top to bottom, is now as potent as any in the National League; and the bullpen, too, is talented and deep. That's blessed. Right now that little baseball-headed fellow in the Reds' logo is kicking back on a chaise lounge somewhere, less stressed than a surfer on Prozac. "I knew they had a good club because they won 96 games last year," says rightfielder Dante Bichette, who was obtained from the Rockies in October for reserve outfielder Jeffrey Hammonds and reliever Stan Belinda. "But I kind of feel like I hit the jackpot here."

If general manager Jim Bowden can fill his most pressing need -- namely, a frontline starting pitcher -- that jackpot could well include a World Series share. Lefthander Denny Neagle and righthander Pete Harnisch combined to go 25-15 last season and were saviors for Cincinnati down the stretch, but they aren't enough to carry the rotation. Neagle spent two months on the disabled list in '99 with a shoulder injury, and Harnisch spent the off-season trying to strengthen his damaged rotator cuff without going under the knife. With health a constant concern and manager Jack McKeon seemingly picking names out of a hat to fill out the rotation (seven pitchers made at least 10 starts for the Reds in '99), it's imperative that Cincinnati find help. "I always say I'm working harder to find starting pitching than I did to get Junior," Bowden says.

Opposing pitchers may start lobbying for a trade to the Reds, if only to avoid facing their lineup. With Bichette and Griffey, Bowden more than replaced the 66-homer, 184-RBI void created by the departures of outfielders Greg Vaughn (free agent) and Mike Cameron (dealt to Seattle for Griffey). Bichette and Griffey combined to hit 41 points higher and strike out 90 fewer times than Vaughn and Cameron. Those extra balls in play -- plus the fact that all eight Reds in the every-day lineup hit at least 10 homers last year -- should ensure that the franchise shatters its records for runs (865) and extra-base hits (558) set in '99. "I've never been on a team with this many horses," says veteran shortstop Barry Larkin.

The bullpen, which led the majors with a 3.36 ERA last year, is equally loaded. Williamson and Danny Graves (27 saves) will again be co-closers, but the group is so deep and balanced that McKeon will summon any one of the bunch to pitch in any situation. "We don't really like that," Williamson says of the relievers' amorphous roles. "To go in in the ninth one night and the sixth the next is tough." But it worked, and McKeon will stick with the plan.

The fact that Bowden was able to acquire Griffey without breaking up the young core of his team borders on the absurd, and it caught even Junior's new mates by surprise. "Without a doubt," second baseman Pokey Reese says when asked if he thought he'd be traded in the Griffey deal. "I got my umbrellas out because I thought I'd be in Seattle by now."

"The key to last year was the development of all of our young players," says McKeon, whose acrimonious contract talks were the one black mark on the team's otherwise euphoric off-season. (He reluctantly signed a one-year deal worth $600,000 in October.) "But you have to realize there are a lot of veterans like Neagle and Harnisch and Griffey and [Hal] Morris here. This team knows how to win."

Count that as another blessing.

Issue date: March 27, 2000

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