4 Cincinnati Reds
One by one they called. The first to phone free agent Eric Milton was Reds manager Dave Miley. Then it was first baseman Sean Casey. Next was closer Danny Graves, followed by starter Paul Wilson. Then Miley again. "Relentless," Milton says of the team's off-season pursuit. "Someone was calling every day, telling me that I should go to Cincinnati. It was nice to feel that needed."
Milton, 29, is a lefthander who last year went to the All-Star Game and won 14 games for the Phillies but also had a pedestrian 4.75 ERA and surrendered a league-high 43 home runs. The Reds' brass, however, believes he can rescue a rotation that ranked 15th in the National League in ERA (5.19) and was last in both homers allowed (236) and strikeouts (992). As for the players, the club's willingness to spend money on free agents--including the three-year, $25.5 million investment in Milton--signifies something more: "The start of a new era for this franchise," says Casey, the longest-tenured Red (he's entering his eighth season in Cincinnati), who excitedly called teammates upon hearing that Milton had signed. "We're usually signing pinch hitters, but this off-season really showed a commitment by this team to put a championship-caliber club out there."
Indeed, for perennially penny-pinching Cincinnati, whose $46.6 million payroll ranked 24th in the majors last year, it was an atypical winter. Given the green light by CEO Carl Lindner, the Reds signed a half-dozen free agents in a 26-day spree that raised the team's projected payroll to nearly $64 million, the highest in franchise history. Besides Milton they re-signed Wilson, their most reliable starter last year, to a two-year, $8.2 million deal; bolstered a tattered bullpen (the relievers' 5.19 ERA ranked 15th in the league) with the signings of lefties David Weathers (one year, $1.35 million) and Kent Mercker (two years, $2.6 million); and added third baseman Joe Randa (one year, $2.15 million), the kind of contact hitter the free-swinging lineup needs after leading the majors in strikeouts the last two seasons. Says general manager Dan O'Brien, "We outlined a list of off-season goals, and we were able to achieve each of them."
Milton, the last of the signees, took note. "I'm not sure I would have come here if they hadn't added those guys," says Milton, who was also courted by the Dodgers, Red Sox and Yankees. As he moves from one homer haven (Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park) to another (Great American Ballpark), Milton says he's not concerned about his propensity to give up the long ball or that he allowed the most fly outs in the league (282), in part because he's been working on a sinker to induce more ground balls.
"We've had a lot of young pitchers come in and out of here, and with [Milton] you have a proven, experienced arm that we know we can count on," says Casey. "That is a true rarity on this team."
The starters expect to get more run support--last year the offense ranked 10th in the NL in scoring--with the reemergence of rightfielder Austin Kearns, who broke in to the majors in 2002 by hitting .315 with 13 homers in 372 at bats but hasn't played a full season since. An errant pitch broke his forearm last April, and though he returned in May, thumb surgery kept him sidelined for most of the next three months. "People have forgotten what kind of player he can be," says O'Brien. "He's a special player when he's healthy, and we need him in the lineup."
The same can be said of centerfielder Ken Griffey Jr., who last year was showing flashes of his old self until he tore his right hamstring in August and, for the third straight year, missed the last two months of the season. Still recovering, Griffey has been held out of spring training games but is expected to be ready for Opening Day.
This is an offense that isn't used to playing with a full deck: Last season's projected Opening Day lineup took the field for only one game, and 13 players combined for 17 stints on the disabled list. "After all our injuries, particularly in the outfield, I think we're due for a little good luck," O'Brien says. That would be a start, but it'll still take more than luck for these Reds to make the leap from small-market bottom-feeder to playoff contender. --A.C.
In Fact
Last year Adam Dunn became the first player in National League history to drive in 100 runs without hitting a sacrifice fly.
Enemy Lines
an opposing team's scout sizes up the Reds
"THIS CLUB is boom or bust. They're going to hit a lot of home runs, and they're going to strike out a lot.... Their strength is their power in the outfield: Adam Dunn, Ken Griffey Jr. and Austin Kearns, who's potentially the best all-around player of the bunch. He just hasn't been able to show it because he's been injured every year.... Wily Mo Peña has the best power of all of them, but he's still a work in progress. He's a guy other teams would be interested in trading for, but the Reds can't deal him because of the injury problems of Griffey and Kearns.... They signed Rich Aurilia even though his best years are behind him. He's thinner than he has been in the past. His range is suspect. Joe Randa is very good defensively and has been a clutch hitter.... Paul Wilson is considered their ace. He has a pretty good changeup and a pretty good fastball, and he knows how to pitch. But he's not an ace.... Danny Graves is a proven closer, but the rest of the bullpen is full of holes. Free-agent pickup Ben Weber has been awful this spring. His velocity is down about eight mph."
The Lineup
projected roster with 2004 statistics
Batting Order
2B Jimenez
3B Randa
1B Casey
CF Griffey
RF Kearns
LF Dunn
C LaRue
SS Aurilia
KEN GRIFFEY JR.
B-T L
PVR 90
BA .253
HR 20
RBI 60
SB 1
ADAM DUNN
B-T L-R
PVR 21
BA .266
HR 46
RBI 102
SB 6
AUSTIN KEARNS
B-T R
PVR 81
BA .230
HR 9
RBI 32
SB 2
RICH AURILIA [New acquisition]
B-T R
PVR 271
BA .246
HR 6
RBI 44
SB1
D'ANGELO JIMENEZ
B-T S-R
PVR 223
BA .270
HR 12
RBI 67
SB 13
JOE RANDA [New acquisition]
B-T R
PVR 257
BA .287
HR 8
RBI 56
SB 0
SEAN CASEY
B-T L-R
PVR 61
BA .324
HR 24
RBI 99
SB 2
JASON LARUE
B-T R
PVR 200
BA .251
HR 14
RBI 55
SB 0
BENCH
WILY MO PEñA
B-T R
PVR 156
BA .259
HR 26
RBI 66
SB 5
RYAN FREEL
B-T R
PVR 210
BA .277
HR 3
RBI 28
SB 37
FELIPE LOPEZ
B-T S-R
PVR 281
BA .242
HR 7
RBI 31
SB 1
2004 RECORD
76--86
fourth in NL Central
MANAGER
Dave Miley
second season with Cincinnati
ROTATION
[originallink:10808696:720496]
241
3
1
0
1.25
2.55
New acquisition (R) Rookie B-T: Bats-throws IPS: Innings pitched per start WHIP: Walks plus hits per inning pitched
PVR: Player Value Ranking (explanation on page 69)
COLOR PHOTO
CHUCK SOLOMON
MOST WANTED
Milton had interest from three 2004 playoff teams, but the Reds' attentiveness won him over.
COLOR PHOTO
CHRIS BERNACCHI/SPORTSPICS
Dunn