Reds Can’t Stop Henderson, but Can the A’s Stop Them? : Baserunning: Piniella has plenty of speed at his disposal. Steinbach and Hassey rate an edge from Johnny Bench.

See Rickey run.

See him steal 65 bases during the regular season and bedevil opposing pitchers and catchers. See him succeed in 12 of 13 attempts on artificial surfaces like the bright green carpet in Cincinnati’s Riverfront Stadium, site of Games 1 and 2 of the World Series.

“If I played on (artificial) turf, I’d steal 160 bases,” Rickey Henderson, the Athletics’ left fielder, said after Monday’s workout. “You get a lot better traction and power. And this turf is faster than a lot of turf I’ve played on.,”

See the Reds wince.

“It’s sort of intimidating,” Cincinnati catcher Joe Oliver said.

To keep Henderson and the A’s from running away with the World Series, the Reds have resolved to keep Henderson off the basepaths--as much as it’s possible to stifle a .325 hitter.

They will also rev up their own running game, which produced 166 stolen bases--25 more than the A’s--and featured seven players who reached double figures, compared with three for the A’s. Billy Hatcher and Barry Larkin shared the club lead with 30 steals each, five more than Chris Sabo.

“We’re going to run in the Series,” Manager Lou Piniella said. “We’ve got to get people on base to be able to do what we’d like to. Overall, we probably have a little more team speed, but it only helps you if you get on base.

“They key (with Henderson) is getting him out at the plate. If he can get on base, he’s nearly impossible to stop. Once he’s on, you can’t lose your concentration on whoever’s up there because they’re all capable of hitting it out of the ballpark.”

Henderson hit .294 in Oakland’s sweep of the Boston Red Sox in the American League playoffs and stole two bases in three attempts. Willie McGee and Jose Canseco each added two steals.

“Everybody talks about Rickey running, but McGee and Canseco can steal a base, too,” said Oliver, a .231 hitter whose arm put him in the lineup instead of Jeff Reed. “It’s not going to be easy.”

Cincinnati’s catchers threw out only 60 of 195 base stealers--that’s 31%--during the regular season and two of four during the Reds’ six-game National League playoff victory over Pittsburgh.

“Joe and even Jeff have a chance of throwing him out, but if Rickey gets his best lead and best jump versus our best release, he’s going to beat us,” said Red coach Jackie Moore, who managed the A’s from 1984 through June, 1986, and was their first-base coach in 1982 when Henderson set the single-season steal record of 130.

Oakland catchers Terry Steinbach and Ron Hassey threw out 44 of 117 runners--38%--during the regular season and were victimized once by Boston. Hassey plays rarely but is expected to catch Bob Welch in Game 2, as he has in 67 of Welch’s last 69 starts.

“There could be some more pitchouts and things like that, but we’re not going to drastically change anything now,” Steinbach said. “I’m not going to change my thinking or start thinking I have to throw quicker or better. If the pitcher gives me a good chance and I get off a good throw to the second baseman, most of the time I’m going to have a good chance of getting the guy.

“They have five or six guys who like to run, and I’m sure they’re going to be running. That’s been a strong part of the game for them all year. But I can only worry about what Terry Steinbach can do behind the plate. I can’t try to throw off my knees. I have to stay with what’s worked for me. . . . You try to keep the pitchers as quick as possible without messing up their whole delivery, but our pitchers are pretty experienced, and they know what they have to do.”

Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench, an announcer on Reds’ telecasts during the season and a radio analyst for the Oakland-Boston series, said Steinbach and Hassey could have an edge over Oliver and Reed behind the plate.

“Steiny is one of those guys who digs down in the dirt but is sound fundamentally, and his basic defense is very good,” Bench said. “Joe Oliver has a good arm, and Reed doesn’t throw as well as Oliver. As far as handling the pitching staff, you’ve got to look at Steinbach and Hassey. They can fall out of bed and know what they’re going to do. A lot of times a catcher can see a hitter step into the box and know how to pitch him. Oliver is new to it.

“They’re not going to stop Rickey Henderson. The catcher’s role is to stop the rest of the guys. Rickey is going to get nine of 10 in a bad week and the catcher is going to feel lucky he got that one. Oliver can do it, with the right pitcher, but it’s really a matter of getting the other guys.

“The Reds have more people who can run or will run, but (Dave) Stewart and Welch are former Dodgers, and they learned their (pickoff) moves well.”

Henderson will make his moves regardless of who is pitching.

“I don’t know anything about the Reds and I ain’t studying now,” he said. “I really don’t know the moves of any pitchers in the American League. I just focus on what I have to do.

“We’re going to run if we get on, but we’re not going to run more because we’re on turf. If it’s running time, we’ll run. If it’s not running time, we won’t. We’re just going to stay within our game plan.”