Sunday, August 9, 1998

This is not the Sean Casey of May, who was hitting .150 and got sent to Triple-A Indianapolis.

In the 37 games since his June 19 recall, he's hitting .289 with two homers and 17 RBI. He is hitting .313 since the All-Star break. Now he thinks he came back too quickly from the April 8 surgery that repaired four bones around his eye and inserted a plate with five screws. Casey was injured by a thrown ball in batting practice. "Then I was back May 5. I think I might have come back too soon, no doubt about that," Casey said before Saturday's game. "At the time I thought it was right. I'm sure everyone else did. You're in the big leagues so fast and instead of being rational, you're only thinking about playing. . . . But looking back, it was a traumatic experience."

There is talk Casey more closely resembles Hal Morris than he does Fred McGriff. He's got 12 doubles, two homers and 20 RBI hitting in 168 at-bats. He tied a major-league record with two doubles in the same inning Friday night by finding some gaps.

"I think I've driven the ball pretty well," Casey said. "I think I'm going to get my share of doubles. I'm going to get my share of homers, drive in runs. But I'm just going hit the ball hard and whatever happens, happens."

Streaking Boone

Third baseman Aaron Boone continues to make a strong comeback from his early season blues. He hit in his eighth straight game Saturday. He chalks it up to waiting for his pitch.

"I've done some stuff with my swing, but just the normal stuff," Boone said. "I think pitch selection has been the thing. The guys up here are so good, they throw you stuff that looks good, but it really isn't."

For example, before he hit his bases-loaded double Friday night, he let a slider away go and found himself controlling the count at 2-0.

This and that

Reds Manager Jack McKeon thinks the Randy Johnson trade will give the Astros the NL Central title, but won't get them into the NLCS. He sees San Diego and Atlanta playing for the right to go to the World Series.

But he compares the lift Johnson gives the Astros to the one Graig Nettles gave McKeon's 1984 NL champ Padres. McKeon, the San Diego GM, pulled the deal just before the season, "and it really boosts your other guys by 20 percent. They knew we had a chance, but that really lifted them. . . ."

Farmer's Night Saturday: Stan Belinda and Scott Sullivan milked cows; Guillermo Garcia was a calf feeder and Aaron Boone and Todd Williams tossed corn.

Up next

Reds right-hander Steve Parris (1-2, 5.10) faces Brewers left-handers Scott Karl (8-6, 3.80) in a 1:15 p.m. game.