SARASOTA, Fla. - All the news on Barry Larkin Tuesday was good, except for one thing.
''He won't be ready Opening Day,'' said Dr. Timothy Kremchek, the team's medical director.
But it may not be too long after that.
''He's doing unbelievably well,'' Kremchek said. ''He has full range of motion . . . he's ahead of schedule. We're still looking at four to six weeks, but it could be a little sooner.''
Larkin had surgery March 13 to repair a protruding disc in his neck. Four weeks from March 13 is April 10. If Larkin can return by then, he would only miss nine games.
He returned to Sarasota Saturday. By Monday, he was taking ground balls. He may take some light batting practice today.
''He's doing everything in a controlled situation,'' Kremchek said. ''He don't want him diving for groundballs. He had a big operation. He still needs time to heal.''
Larkin knew the operation was a success almost immediately. The disc was putting pressure on a nerve, effectively paralyzing his left deltoid muscle.
''I couldn't lift my left arm,'' he said.
He said after the surgery a nurse came in and asked how he was doing.
''She said I raised my hands over my head,'' he said. ''I don't remember doing it. But before the surgery, I couldn't do that. The operation must have instantly freed up that nerve. It was sending signals to the muscle again.''
Larkin said after the surgery was when doctors first mentioned paralysis. They explained that the nerve blockage that he was experiencing was what causes quadriplegia. Larkin's problem was isolated and temporary, but the mere mention of such things scared him good.
''That was reality,'' Larkin said.
Larkin said he feels great and, except for a small scar on the front of his neck, he looks fine as well. But he left the timetable to Kremchek.
''It will be sometime in the month of April,'' Larkin said. ''It's better to miss the games down here than the ones that count.''
The fact that Larkin is out Opening Day means it is the first time since 1986 that someone other than he will start the season at short for the Reds.
''The whole thing has been frustrating,'' Larkin said. ''Hopefully, this has taken care it, and I'll be out there the rest of the way.''
Until Larkin is ready to go, Pokey Reese will start at shortstop. Larkin, the 1996 MVP, is coming off a year in which he was limited to 73 games by Achilles' problems, which eventually led to season-ending surgery.
The Reds were 49-43 in the 92 games he missed.
''Pokey will do a good job for us,'' Reds manager Jack McKeon said. ''He proved last year that he's a good defensive player. But anytime you put Barry Larkin in the lineup you give yourself a boost.''
And that boost may come sooner rather than later.
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