The only cliche that could not be used with any credibility was, “This is a sad day for Cincinnati.” Clearly it wasn’t. The residents of the Queen City are especially prone to optimism right now, thanks to a ball club that, by last weekend, dominated the National League West by nine games, the biggest margin in any division. Cincinnati–a small baseball “market,” where the hot dogs still cost a dollar and the best box seats go for eight bucks–has put together a team that leads everyone else in hitting (.273) and pitching (3.07). The local townsfolk see this as indicative of their own ingenuity, competitiveness and fine tap water. Rose, whose sentence included three months in a halfway house and a $50,000 fine, has hardly been forgotten; the sound of his voice cracking as he told the judge “I’ve lost my self-respect,” won’t fade quickly. But the man who once personified Cincinnati, from the tip of his red baseball shoes to the top of his Midwestern-mod haircuts, is now perceived as being the master of his own discrete destiny. “What’s happening to Pete is sad and regrettable, but there’s nothing I can do about it,” says Reds owner Marge Schott, voicing a sentiment that can be heard at Riverfront Stadium and better chili parlors all over town.
There’s not much anyone can do about the Reds, who’ve been in first place since opening day. The team is known best for its pitching, starting with Jack Armstrong, the square-jawed, blond All-American boy. Every inch the modern athlete, Armstrong, 25, works out with weights between starts and hangs a sign above his locker indicating that all interview requests must be cleared through his agent. His somewhat potbellied coaches (who used to be potbellied players) think he ought to lighten up a bit, but of course it’s hard to suggest major life changes to a man who has an 11-5 record. Much more lovable are the “Nasty Boys”–fastball specialists Randy Myers, Norm Charlton and Rob Dibble. Myers shares the league’s first place in saves, with 20, and the three have a combined ERA of 2.24. Judging by the Nasty Boys T shirts in evidence around Cincinnati, the three also hold the record for sportswear sales by relief pitchers in a strike-shortened season.
The Reds hitters are not charismatic, only relentless. A typical lineup includes third baseman Chris Sabo (.288), shortstop Barry Larkin (.324), second baseman Mariano Duncan (.309), and outfielders Billy Hatcher (.306) and Paul O’Neill (.278). Eric Davis, the $3 million-a-year centerfielder who missed three weeks because of a knee injury, is hitting only .225, but feeling hopeful. “Things have changed totally in the last year,” Davis says. “Back then, all we heard about were Pete Rose and his problems. Now it’s nothing but baseball. We have a manager who likes to teach the players, and that’s brought us together as a team. "
‘Lou who?’ The first time Marge Schott heard Lou Piniella suggested as a possible Reds’ skipper, she said, “Lou who?” Piniella, a former Yankee manager, was a lifelong American Leaguer. He and Mrs. Schott both had doubts about his coming to Cincinnati–until she invited him to her house last fall. “I had to go off and do something,” she recalls, “and when I came back I found Lou in the kitchen, engrossed in conversation with a dear man who’s worked at my house for 40 years. I saw then that Lou knew how to relate to people, that he was real.” Managing the Reds, however, can sometimes seem unreal. Mrs. Schott insists that Piniella rub her pet Saint Bernard, Schottzie, for good luck before each game. When the Reds are on the road, she sends bags of Schottzie’s hair to Piniella’s hotel room.
It’s going to take a lot to spoil this party. Last Wednesday, the National sports daily ran a story saying that Yankees owner George Steinbrenner once implied that Piniella was a gambler of Rosean proportions–to which the manager responded, “I never had a gambling problem and never will.” Commissioner Fay Vincent promptly issued a statement clearing Piniella, and Cincinnati beat the Expos, 8-7. The next day Rose was sentenced, and the Reds lost to Philadelphia, 5-2. There was no connection between Rose and the Reds, though. There probably never will be again.
