BASEBALL / ROSS NEWHAN : Dibble’s Antics, Sniping All Around Cramp Reds

Beyond Rob Dibble and his recurring “brain cramps,” as teammate Bill Doran puts it, the Cincinnati Reds are on the verge of chaos, if not already there.

They have lost 14 of their last 17 games, a concern to those Reds who weren’t too busy sniping (1) at the front office for failing to trade for pitching help or (2) at each other.

Among those who seem sincerely concerned is Jose Rijo, who returned from the disabled list Thursday to pitch six innings of a game the Reds lost to the Chicago Cubs, 6-5, in the 13th on a dropped fly ball.

“We’re playing like amateurs, a bunch of rookies, and there’s no exceptions,” Rijo said.

“I don’t know if some of us think we’re world champions, but we’re not. That was last year. We’re now 6 1/2 games behind the Dodgers (8 through Saturday), and we have to play better or we’ll drop into last place.

“I don’t know about the rest of the team, but I’m tired of seeing it every day. It’s gone too far. We have to do something quick.”

The suggestions coming out of the clubhouse have dealt with the need for pitching, but General Manager Bob Quinn basically has chosen to play a pat hand in which the wildest card is Dibble.

“When you keep making the same mistakes,” Doran said of Dibble’s latest antics, “saying ‘I’m sorry’ doesn’t mean anything anymore.”

Dibble fielded a ball and threw it at the legs of Doug Dascenzo of the Cubs as he was running out a successful squeeze bunt Tuesday. Dibble said the ball slipped.

Having already served a three-day suspension for a beanball incident with Eric Yelding of the Houston Astros and facing a four-day suspension for hitting a woman with a baseball he threw into the stands, Dibble is unrepentant about the possibility of another suspension and/or fine.

This time, he is not even saying he is sorry. He went on a talk show in Cincinnati after the incident and opened up on unidentified teammates.

“There are a lot of guys who don’t like my style of play, but there are a lot of guys on this team whose style I don’t like,” he said.

“I think we’ve got some dogs on our team. What’s worse, me taking three days off for a suspension or some guys taking two weeks off with unbelievable injuries? There’s a sickness here.”

By dogs, Dibble wasn’t referring to Schottzie, but he wouldn’t be specific. It’s more his style to go at people from the back, generally with a 90 m.p.h.-plus fastball behind the head.

Manager Lou Piniella, who has done his share of sniping at the front office and at NL umpires to the extent that his team might pay a price on close calls, met with the players Friday in St. Louis and asked them to stop the bickering and focus on winning.

The focus keeps getting distorted, however.

--The Reds, at one point, had three starting pitchers (Rijo, Norm Charlton and Scott Scudder) on the disabled list.

--Barry Larkin and Eric Davis have been in and out of the lineup because of injuries, disrupting an offense that is ninth in the league in runs.

--Piniella has bickered publicly with relief pitcher Randy Myers over his inconsistent use and with catcher Joe Oliver over his inconsistent play.

--A roster gaffe forced the Reds to trade touted first baseman Reggie Jefferson to the Cleveland Indians, resulting in more criticism from the players.

--And on Thursday there was the appearance of front office uncertainty again when, to make room for Rijo only about an hour before he was to start, the Reds sent down shortstop Fred Benavides three days after he had been recalled because of injuries to Larkin and Mariano Duncan.

“There was Lou standing by the batting cage and praising Benavides for having made himself into a major league player, and a couple of minutes later he’s out of the lineup and off the roster,” said a source, requesting anonymity.

“I mean, they waited until the last minute to determine if Larkin or Duncan felt they’d have to go on the disabled list.”

Neither felt they did, but neither was ready to play, forcing Piniella to use Luis Quinones, a natural third baseman, at short, where he botched a pivotal double play in a one-run loss.

Amid all this, Quinn has been dodging bullets only a few months after winning the 1990 executive of the year award.

Quinn said he accepts the sniping as part of the job, particularly in an era when players have greater freedom of expression because of their contractual security.

He reflected on the three pitchers who have been traded recently and said the price for Tom Candiotti was too high, and that he and Piniella agreed that neither Ron Darling nor Oil Can Boyd would have made a significant difference for the Reds, particularly at a time when Rijo and Charlton were ready to leave the disabled list.

Sometimes a deal can do as much for a club mentally as physically: a statement by the front office that it believes in the players and is trying to help them win.

There was a long period when Rijo and Charlton weren’t that close to leaving the disabled list, when the Reds were without three starting pitchers and the inactivity of the front office became the focus.

“That may be true,” Quinn said, “but I’m not going to be held up in the middle of the season by a team wanting a package of prospects for a pitcher like Darling, who may or may not have the capability of winning five games.

“I believe our pitching is strong enough now to catch the Dodgers, but we have to put the pitching and hitting together.

“It’ll be an uphill battle, but it can be done, particularly since we’ll be going head to head in our own division for most of the last two months. That’s time enough for anything to happen.”

Much has happened to the reeling Reds, and among those now saying they aren’t surprised is Pete Rose.

Their former manager insisted this week that the Reds’ success of last year was misleading, that they were not that good, that their 91 victories indicated they merely took advantage of a division that played poorly. The sniping doesn’t stop at the clubhouse door.

THERE’S NO JUSTICE

The Reds aren’t alone. There has been unrest among the Atlanta Braves regarding the prolonged absence of David Justice because of a muscle pull in his lower back.

Justice went on the disabled list June 27, hitting .297 and leading the league in runs batted in with 51. First baseman Sid Bream went on the disabled list June 26, had knee surgery and is expected to be activated Monday.

Justice was due back by next weekend but aggravated the condition in unsupervised running Tuesday. It is uncertain now when he will be back.

Some teammates have questioned his absence, and broadcaster Skip Caray referred to it on the air the other day as a “mysterious back ailment,” prompting an angry Justice to call Caray with a rebuttal.

“A mysterious back ailment makes it sound like I’m faking or sitting back and doing nothing,” Justice said. “That would be the most ridiculous thing in the world, considering I was hitting over .300, had 11 home runs and was leading the league in RBIs.

“When you term an injury mysterious , people think, ‘What’s wrong with him?’ It’s as if no one ever had a muscle pull before.”

General Manager John Schuerholz said he had no problem with Justice’s injury or the length of his rehabilitation.

“Anyone who says otherwise isn’t qualified to make a medical decision, isn’t familiar with the pain David Justice is experiencing or just likes to hear himself talk,” Schuerholz said.

IRON MIKE?

In the wake of Mike Marshall’s release by the Boston Red Sox, General Manager Pat Gillick of the Toronto Blue Jays offered the following view: “This is a guy who likes to complain a lot about not playing, but that’s what he does best . . . not play.”

The Angels’ willingness to test that theory--and risk clubhouse fratricide if Marshall chooses to dog it--seems to suggest that they are devoid of shame. Then again, maybe not.

If Marshall is ever going to honor his obligation to the lineup card, it will be during the final two months of the 1991 season. If he is ever going to reverse the perception of Gillick and others, he must try to do it now, with the three-year contract that he received while still with the Dodgers about to expire.

It is really a no-lose proposition for the Angels. They have no major financial investment, no obligation beyond this season and no interest in demanding that Marshall perform on a regular basis--for the present, at least.

And they could benefit if Marshall recognizes that he is down to his last stop. The Red Sox found no takers when they attempted to trade him. Unless he uses the Angels as a platform to change the perception, his next contract will have to be written in Japanese. He will have worn out too many welcomes--and trainers’ tables--in the United States.

ROCKIES RUMOR

John McHale Jr., son of the longtime baseball executive, is considered the leading candidate to become general manager of the Colorado Rockies, the National League expansion franchise in Denver.

McHale recently resigned as director of the stadium authority there to enhance his candidacy, though others are expected to be interviewed. Among them are Ralph Nelson, assistant general manager of the San Francisco Giants; Walt Jocketty, director of baseball administration for the Oakland Athletics, and former Angel general manager Mike Port.

The hiring of an administrative-type general manager would not preclude Whitey Herzog’s appointment as a field manager who has authority over personnel moves, but it is thought that if Herzog signs on, his primary responsibility will be that of manager.

EXPANSION II

Bill Lajoie, who was forced out as the Detroit Tigers’ general manager after the 1990 season and is a special assistant with the Braves, has emerged as a front-runner in the Florida Marlins’ search for a general manager, along with Doug Melvin, the Baltimore Orioles’ assistant general manager.

If it is Lajoie, the manager is almost certain to be Pittsburgh coach Gene Lamont, a first lieutenant to Pirate Manager Jim Leyland.

TALL TALE

Randy Johnson, the Seattle Mariners’ 6-foot-10 left-hander from USC, beat New York, 6-1, Tuesday, improving to 8-7 and striking out nine to pass Roger Clemens for the American League lead with 141 in 124 innings.

Johnson’s potentially dominant stuff has been hurt by control problems. He has walked 103, including 10 Brewers in four innings of the start that preceded his victory over the Yankees.

“When you’re 6-10 and a power pitcher, it’s hard to be graceful,” he said. “I’m either going to strike out a lot of guys or walk a lot of guys.

“I’ve been trying too hard to throw the ball by people. Coming off a game like the one in Milwaukee, I told the groundskeeper at Yankee Stadium to put a railroad spike in the plate because it’s been moving around on me.”

GWYNN AND BEAR IT

Having dropped more than 30 points off his batting average of .373 on June 9, Tony Gwynn was 10 for his last 55 through Friday, with four RBIs and three extra-base hits, in July.

Although he continues to lead the National League in hitting, Gwynn’s slump has produced boos in San Diego.

“I may not like it, but their reaction doesn’t surprise me,” Gwynn said, adding that the slump is magnified when measured against his success of the past and that no one is immune from being booed.