BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Davis: Reds Need a Leader

Even before the Cincinnati Reds had fallen out of first place Wednesday, Eric Davis wondered about their staying power.

“Can the Reds win it? I don’t know,” Davis said about his former team. “Right now I don’t think they have that leader down the stretch that they had when I played there.”

When the Reds won the World Series in 1990, Davis batted .351 from Aug. 22 until the end of the season, with nine home runs and 29 runs batted in.

Davis’ home run in the first inning of the first game of the World Series stunned the Oakland Athletics and inspired the Reds to a four-game sweep.

“There were times that year when I remember, I just wouldn’t let us lose,” Davis said. “Every team needs somebody like that, and I don’t know if the Reds have that person.”

In the wake of his postgame speech Wednesday about changing the direction of the team, Fred Claire said that he is not waving a white flag, as some have suggested.

“Just because I said we would be recalling a young player or two means I have given up on winning? That is wrong. That is not what I meant,” Claire said Thursday. “Just like I told the players earlier this week, giving up is against my moral fiber. I will never quit on anything.”

Besides Bob Ojeda, the Montreal Expos may be looking at Todd Benzinger this weekend. They need a first baseman and Benzinger has been hot, with six hits in his last 18 at-bats.