Tuesday, March 09, 1999

Shoulder sets Neagle back

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Weakness may delay first start until mid-April

BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Deanny Neagle might miss the first week and a half of the season. (Craig Ruttle photo) | ZOOM |

        SARASOTA, Fla. — All the hints have hardened into reality: Denny Neagle has been too weak to pitch.

        Neagle admitted Monday that he must strengthen the back of his shoulder before he can think seriously about pitching in the regular season. Once considered a candidate to start on Opening Day, the Reds left-hander even speculated that he might not pitch until the season's 10th game.

        Though the prospect of Neagle's pitching that late was news to manager Jack McKeon, they did discuss the subject in general. “We talked about maybe putting him back at the end of the rotation,” McKeon said Monday.

        Neagle, the former 20-game winner obtained from Atlanta in last November's Bret Boone trade, has continued his throwing and exercise programs and doesn't appear to be seriously hurt. He threw “live” batting practice, approaching full velocity and intensity with his deliveries, for 11¹/₂ minutes Monday, and might pitch in an exhibition game as early as Saturday.

        “Obviously I'm not in midseason form or anything like that, or close to where I'd like to be in spring training, but it's coming along,” said Neagle, who won 52 games in the last three years with Atlanta. “Will I be ready for my first start of the season, whether that be game 1, 3 or 5? Time will tell in the next couple of weeks.”

        Under one scenario, Neagle's setback could indirectly help the Reds' pitching staff.

        If Neagle doesn't pitch regularly at the beginning of the season, as McKeon indicated, left-hander Steve Avery probably would be part of the four-man starting rotation. Avery also has been trying to improve his arm strength, along with his pitching mechanics, and would need steady work to have a chance at regaining his effectiveness. Opening the season in the bullpen as the fifth starter, who won't be needed until April 24 due to scheduled days off, could keep Avery from being sharp.

        Neagle said his shoulder problem “kind of went hand-in-hand” with the strained left quadriceps (thigh) he suffered on Feb. 23, which prevented him from throwing for more than a week. Obviously, the inactivity hurt Neagle's progress. But he said that the Reds noticed a defect when pitchers underwent physical examinations on Feb.16.

        “Every single (test) showed the same thing, that I'm just really weak in the back (shoulder) area,” Neagle said. “That's where I always get my tightness and stiffness over the course of the season. So that's what we've been working on, trying to hit that really hard and get all the strength back in there. It just takes time.”

        Neagle also indicated that his shoulder woes were chronic.

        “I'm to the point where, (being) 30 years old and pitching the amount of innings I've had, it was a matter of time before I'd start to break down and fatigue a little bit,” he said “In the past, it's been something you just kind of overlook ...

        “I finally hit that period where I just couldn't bounce back from it anymore. The last couple of postseasons, it was like I barely got through the season with just enough juice left in the tank.”

        Neagle praised the Reds medical staff for making him stick with a rehabilitation program that has included weightlifting and working with medicine balls. He also said that they told him he wouldn't regain all of his strength until close to the end of spring training. Cincinnati opens the season April 5 against San Francisco.

        Neagle could tell he wasn't whole as he pitched batting practice to catchers Brook Fordyce and Jason LaRue.

        “It felt good except for when I wanted to reach back and get a little extra on some (pitches),” he said. “I can feel I'm still kind of weak and I don't have that ability. Though ... I'm not the type who reaches back and fires it by anybody anyway. But for the velocity I do get, I don't feel like it's there quite yet.”

       

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