BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : AROUND THE MAJORS : Reds Players Snub Bowden

Cincinnati Reds General Manager Jim Bowden received a cold reaction from his players Wednesday as he tried to end the tempest over his firing of Manager Tony Perez.

Bowden called a closed-door meeting before the game against Atlanta two days after he replaced the popular Perez, whom he informed of his firing by phone, with Davey Johnson.

Bowden walked out of the clubhouse with a stern look on his face and didn’t acknowledge reporters waiting for him.

“It was short. That’s all I can say about it,” pitcher Tim Belcher said. “Only one guy talked.”

Bowden invited the players to say what was on their minds. None did.

“I guess nobody had anything to say,” shortstop Barry Larkin said.

Several players lashed out at the front office on Tuesday, calling the firing gutless and indecent after only 44 games.

The players said he admitted to one mistake--firing Perez by phone.

Meanwhile, owner Marge Schott, who is not allowed to participate in team decisions during her one-year suspension for using racial slurs, skirted the suspension Wednesday by passing a note to Johnson in the dugout during the game.

Schott, who can sit in a box seat behind the Reds’ dugout, stood as the team came off the field following the top of the fourth inning, tossed a piece of paper to a batboy, who handed it to Johnson. Johnson read it and put it in his pocket.

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The National League announced Wednesday that Howard Johnson of the New York Mets has been suspended for three games, effective immediately, and fined an undisclosed sum for bumping umpire Jerry Layne and grabbing his arm in Friday night’s game against the Atlanta Braves.