Baseball : According to Danny Jackson, Reds Should Be Club to Beat

In baseball’s era of parity, there are no dynasties, no guarantees.

Or are there?

Chatting with Cincinnati Reds pitcher Danny Jackson in Florida recently, Jackson alluded to the Reds and said he could guarantee the following:

“Get this club in the playoffs one time and it will be there at least three of the next five years.

“That’s how good it is.”

Beyond the gambling investigation that clouds Manager Pete Rose’s future . . .

Beyond the questions concerning Rose’s managerial ability and the Reds’ overall desire . . . Beyond the eccentricity of owner Marge Schott . . .

Beyond all of that resides a team that may be baseball’s most talented and is certainly the most enigmatic.

The Reds have finished second in the National League West for four straight seasons. Their record in that span is the best in the division and exceeded only by the Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets and New York Yankees.

Can the Reds shake the bridesmaid image?

Can they do it with Rose? Without him?

These are baseball’s most intriguing questions as the 1989 season opens Monday with Jackson, 23-8 last year and runner-up to Orel Hershiser in voting for the National League Cy Young Award, opposing Tim Belcher and the Dodgers at Riverfront Stadium.

The first step may be the most important for a team that had players sniping at each other and the manager as it tiptoed through a sub-.500 first half last year and must now cope with the media circus that is a spinoff of the Rose inquiry.

The no-nonsense Jackson has been strongly critical of the decision by the commissioner’s office to go public with its investigation, creating a furor around Rose and the team. Of a process that is expected to take another two weeks or more, second baseman Ron Oester told the Cincinnati Post:

“What are they doing, waiting for some of their great witnesses to get out of jail?”

Said outfielder Dave Collins, comparing the current situation to the “distractions” of last year:

“It was like a cloud settled over us in spring training (last year). It would leave and come back, leave and come back. That’s happening right now again, but we probably learned last year that we’ve got to focus on what’s happening on the field and not use this as an excuse.

“We’re playing intra-division clubs at the start--clubs we have to beat--so it’s important to get off strong.”

Jackson understands that. He will prepare as he does for each start, listening to the “Eye of the Tiger” theme from Rocky III. He may ask the entire team to listen with him.

Last year, Jackson and fellow pitcher Jose Rijo ripped the everyday players for what they perceived to be a lack of dedication. Jackson and outfielder Kal Daniels had a physical confrontation over it in the clubhouse. Some Reds believe that Daniels and Eric Davis have received preferential treatment from Rose, that he has two sets of rules and fails to communicate.

“What I saw here last year was a lackadaisical attitude, especially at the start,” Jackson said during the conversation in Florida.

“We made a lot of mistakes early and got too far behind. There was a feeling that the talent would take over, but talent doesn’t get you anywhere unless there’s some drive and hard work along with it.

“People can sit here and blame Pete for not doing this or that, but we had our meetings last year where he pointed out what we were and weren’t doing.

“What more can a manager say? It comes down to the players. We have to go out there ready to perform or we can forget it. There’s no time for mental breakdowns or lackadaisical attitude in this division.”

In Rose’s four seasons as manager, the Reds have gone 95-56 in September. Cynics have suggested that they play best when the pressure is off. There will be unique pressure from the start this year, and the Reds seem stronger than in any of Rose’s previous summers.

The signing of veteran Atlanta Braves pitcher Rick Mahler as a free agent bolstered a strong rotation. The trade for Boston Red Sox first baseman Todd Benzinger, who drove in 70 runs in 405-at bats last season, provides switch-hitting power in the middle of the lineup.

The addition of veteran relief pitcher Kent Tekulve and utility men Joel Youngblood, Manny Trillo and Ken Griffey provided, in Jackson’s words, “respected leadership and experience.”

“Despite everything that’s happened lately,” Jackson said, alluding to the Rose investigation, “my gut feeling is that we’re going to do it this year.

“I like the attitude, and we’re much stronger than we were last year when we were picked to win it.

“Now we’re being picked to finish third or lower and maybe that will be a motivation in itself.”

THE RACES

NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST

So, can the Reds win it? Can they survive the possibility of an early-season managerial change and the recent tendency to self-destruct?

Braving the elements, the answer is yes. They are deeper and stronger than at an any time in Rose’s tenure, and the feeling is that Davis and Daniels--both capable of carrying a team--have tired of finishing second and now boast an appreciation for the team approach and quest.

The addition of Eddie Murray, the probability of an offensive comeback by Alfredo Griffin and the likelihood of a banner season by a more svelte Mike Scioscia, in the last year of his contract, should benefit the Dodgers, but the pattern that haunts all teams attempting to repeat seems to be established already. Note Kirk Gibson and John Tudor and the struggle of Fernando Valenzuela to regain health and form.

The finish: 1--Cincinnati; 2--San Diego; 3--Los Angeles; 4--Houston; 5--San Francisco; 6--Atlanta.

NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST

Amid predictions they would eventually self-destruct, the New York Mets have simply won 90 or more games in each of the last five seasons. The threat of internal combustion is there again, but so is the likelihood of another 90 to 100 victories.

Gary Carter, 35, and Keith Hernandez, 34, are coming off bad years, but the few question marks are overridden by the quality and quantity of a pitching staff that will force left-hander David West--the pitcher everyone wants in trade--to return to triple A.

The finish: 1--New York; 2--St. Louis; 3--Pittsburgh; 4--Montreal; 5--Chicago; 6--Philadelphia.

AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST

In a division that seems superior to the East, the Oakland Athletics should repeat because of the depth of a pitching staff that was enhanced by the signing of free agent Mike Moore and the thunder of an offense led by Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire, capable by themselves of 90 to 100 homers and 250 runs batted in.

The wrist injury that is expected to sideline Canseco for most of April will give the A’s an opportunity to take a long look at Felix Jose, who may follow Canseco, McGwire and Walt Weiss as the A’s fourth consecutive rookie of the year.

The Angels, with a potentially effective offense, represent something of a sleeper, but the depth of the rotation, despite the hoopla surrounding Jim Abbott, seems terribly suspect, and the defense may give too many games away in the outfield corners.

The finish: 1--Oakland; 2--Minnesota; 3--Kansas City; 4--Texas; 5--California; 6--Chicago; 7--Seattle.

AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST

Though no longer baseball’s best division, the East remains highly competitive, with the 1989 race looming as a tossup among the Toronto Blue Jays, Milwaukee Brewers and Boston Red Sox.

Tab Toronto. In a season marked by injuries and internal bickering, the Blue Jays showed heart down the stretch, winning 22 of their last 29 games to finish two games back for the second consecutive year.

This season Manager Jimy Williams and left fielder George Bell seem to have found peace in our time--Bell even invited Williams to his golf tournament in the Dominican Republic--and the Blue Jays’ list of problems simply seems shorter than any of their rivals. They will also receive a midseason stimulus, leaving unpopular Exhibition Stadium for the major league setting of the Sky Dome in June.

The finish: 1--Toronto; 2--Boston; 3--Milwaukee; 4--New York; 5--Cleveland; 6--Detroit; 7--Baltimore.

THE ROOKIES

The era of parity is also the era of force-feeding. Another bumper crop of rookies will have significant impact on both leagues.

Abbott, of course, is making the biggest jump, moving from Ann Arbor to Anaheim.

Ken Griffey Jr., 19, and never having played a full season above Class A, will open in center field for the Seattle Mariners.

Jerome Walton, 23, will play center field and bat leadoff for the Chicago Cubs, one of three Cubs up from double A. Joe Girardi, 24, will be the opening day catcher, replacing injured Damon Berryhill, and left-hander Steve Wilson, 24, will be in the bullpen.

New York Mets infielder Gregg Jefferies, 21, and Milwaukee Brewers shortstop Gary Sheffield, 20, a nephew of Dwight Gooden, are early favorites for rookie of the year laurels, but the A’s are high on Jose, 23, and there are a number of pitchers who might challenge for the honor.

Abbott, 21, is one. Others who will be starting regularly as rookies include Erik Hanson of Seattle, Bob Milacki of the Baltimore Orioles, Cris Carpenter of the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-foot-10 Randy Johnson of the Montreal Expos by way of USC, and Derek Lilliquist of the Atlanta Braves.

Tom (Flash) Gordon, a minor league strikeout sensation, will pitch middle relief for the Kansas City Royals, but may soon become the much needed closer.

Three of baseball’s most highly touted rookies will open the season in triple A. They are Dodger pitcher Ramon Martinez, seeking greater command of his curveball; San Diego catcher Sandy Alomar Jr., who will be given the opportunity to play regularly until traded to a club that does not have a Benito Santiago ahead of him, and Mike Harkey of the Cubs, the former Cal State Fullerton pitcher who incurred a tender shoulder early in spring training and was hit hard while attempting to regain stamina and form.

Harkey accused Manager Don Zimmer of lying to him, saying Zimmer promised he would open the season as the Cubs’ fourth starter no matter what, but a long conversation with Rick Sutcliffe eased Harkey’s anger and persuaded him to report to the Cubs’ minor league base the next day.

Like Martinez and Alomar, Harkey should soon be rejoining 1989’s freshman class.

THE PROBLEMS

The Rose investigation, having already darkened baseball’s image, will not account for the only April shower.

On April 15, arbitrator Tom Roberts is expected to make a long-awaited announcement regarding financial penalties in the Collusion I case, setting a precedent for Collusion II. The 26 clubs may be fined up to $120 million for acting in concert to restrict free-agent movement in those two winters: 1985-86, 1986-87.

Litigation is the name of the game now. Acrimony will again haunt the new season, the last under the current collective bargaining agreement. New negotiations will begin at some point during the summer with the clubs seeking new forms of financial restrictions--be it salary cap, revenue sharing or tighter limitations on free agency and arbitration.

Collusion died last winter when the average salary rose about 11% to $475,000, but the clubs seem intent on economic reform despite income of $15 million per club from the new national television contracts.

The lockout clauses written into contracts spanning 1990 are there for a reason. “If negotiations fail by Feb. 15, we won’t start spring training,” Barry Rona, executive director of the owners’ Player Relations Committee, said of next year’s plans. “The owners will not be vulnerable to going into a season threatened by a strike.”

In other words: enjoy 1989. There are no assurances regarding the 1990 season.