Placards in the windows of downtown businesses proclaimed this old river town the “home of professional baseball.”
Baseball found out Tuesday night that you can’t go home again after all.
Fans might be jumping on the baseball bandwagon in Seattle and Cleveland, but, in the original major-league city, they reacted to the opener of the National League Championship Series with something less than excitement.
The smallest postseason crowd in Riverfront Stadium history, 36,762, showed up in the 52,952-seat ballpark. The outfield upper deck was deserted, and there were empty seats scattered throughout the rest of the stands. Each unoccupied seat seemed to shout that the fans hadn’t forgiven the owners and the players for the strike of 1994, which wiped out the playoffs and World Series.
It certainly didn’t have to do with the weather on a faultless autumn evening in the Ohio River Valley.
On three occasions, more than 54,000 spectators had turned out at Riverfront to watch their beloved Reds battle Pittsburgh in the 1990 NLCS, and 53,000-plus watched the Reds put away the Los Angeles Dodgers in the final game of the divisional series last Friday night.
Justice serves: David Justice started in right field for Atlanta despite having had blood drained from his swollen right knee.
Brave manager Bobby Cox decided two hours before gametime to go with Justice after watching him run in the outfield. Justice also took batting practice and said the injury didn’t hamper his swing.
“There won’t be any excuses for hitting,” said Justice, who fouled a ball off his knee Saturday night against Colorado. “There will be no excuses on defense, either.”
Justice went 1 for 4 and drove in the tying run in the ninth on a grounder to second.
He’s No. 3: Cox will start John Smoltz in Game 2 and hold out ace Greg Maddux, who struggled against Colorado, until Friday night. But Cox denied Maddux, who threw 200-plus innings for the eighth straight season, needed the rest.
“I just felt he would be stronger if I use him on Friday,” Cox said.
Cox said he’ll probably bring Tom Glavine back in Game 4 and that Glavine could start three games if the series goes the distance. Cincinnati will go with its lefty-loaded rotation: John Smiley in Game 2 and Davis Wells Friday night and probably will bring Pete Schourek back in Game 4.
