It was a rough first inning for the Rockies' Dante Bichette.
The Reds bombarded Colorado's left fielder with an assortment of line drives and fly balls, almost as though he was a rookie cornerback being singled out by a veteran quarterback.
''For a while there I thought their game plan was that they were aiming for me,'' the slugger said.
Knotholers have a saying: You can't hide your worst fielder. Bichette wished he could have hidden on Tuesday afternoon, but the ball kept finding him. He is still recovering from reconstructive knee surgery last October.
Particularly damaging among the first-inning shots was a well-hit ball by Deion Sanders directly over Bichette's head (a ground-rule double) and Reggie Sanders' line drive that landed in front of Bichette and
then bounced over his head for a triple.
''Boy, what a first day and a first inning,'' Bichette said. ''It's very disappointing, what happened today. That took us right out of the game in the first inning.''
Bichette is one of those guys who doesn't dodge the media, no matter how embarrassing the day. He answers every question, even the repeats.
''It was a huge disappointment what happened to me out there today,'' he said. ''It shows me where I'm at. I'm not as far along
(with the knee) as I'd like to be ... I just know I have to get better, and quickly.''
Rockies manager Don Baylor said Bichette had a ''difficult'' time: ''He got .
turned around on Deion's ball, and the other ball he went to charge and it bounced completely over his head. You'd have to be Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to catch it.''
Baylor said Bichette will have to adjust his positioning to accommodate his knee.
''He's not going to be able to get to balls (now) that maybe in June or July he's going to get to. He's not going to be able to play in the same spot.
''He was trying to play his normal position today. That's where he got trapped ... He charged too hard (the ball hit by Reggie Sanders).''
Bichette said he was playing Deion Sanders too shallow.
''We went over the scouting
report, and they wanted me to play Deion in,'' Bichette said. ''That probably was not smart (on Bichette's part to listen to the advice). I'm not real comfortable with turning and going back right now.''
He said he ''broke at an angle instead of straight back.''
''I immediately started playing deeper right after that,'' Bichette said. ''We've already talked about how at Coors Field I can play deeper, maybe toward the gap a little bit more.''
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BOUNCES WILL ADD WRINKLES FOR REDS Tim Sullivan column
MR. RED COULD GIVE BASEBALL A BIG HEAD Cliff Radel column
NOTEBOOK: REESE SENT TO INDY
ALLEN HEARS POSITIVES FROM FANS
BAN DOESN'T KEEP SCHOTT OUT OF SPOTLIGHT
REDS HONOR McSHERRY
