Wednesday, April 21, 1999
REDS NOTEBOOK
Belinda rehab duty could begin Thursday
BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Reliever Stan Belinda could begin an injury rehabilitation assignment as early as Thursday, enabling him to test his shoulder while regaining his feel for pitching.
Belinda was placed on the disabled list March 24 with tendinitis, one day after he made his last of eight spring appearances in a “B” game against Minnesota. The right-hander proved ready enough to resume game activity Tuesday by pitching “live” batting practice to Mark Lewis and Mark Sweeney.
“We feel like he's ready to give it a whirl,” pitching coach Don Gullett said after Belinda's 12-minute outing. “The longer he threw, the better he got. The last five or six minutes were better than the first five or six minutes.”
Belinda sounded eager to return to action. “You have to get out there and get a feel for it again, seeing hitters and recognizing what they're trying to do,” he said.
Manager Jack McKeon said Belinda had outgrown pitching in simulated conditions: “Sooner or later, you've got to throw him in the fire.”
Conveniently, Triple-A Indianapolis plays at home through Sunday.
No movement on Baerga
Infielder Carlos Baerga passed the first checkpoint on what he hopes will be a brief trip back to the major leagues. Unfortunately for him, apparently nobody wants him yet.
The minor-league contract Baerga signed on March 23 stipulated that the Reds had 48 hours to trade, release or promote him if another team expressed interest in him by Tuesday. But Bowden has found no takers, though he said he discussed Baerga with teams that needed infield help, such as Seattle.
Baerga, playing third base for Indianapolis, began Tuesday batting .275 with no homers and four RBI.
Skipper says
McKeon said that the protracted negotiations surrounding the Reds sale never distracted the team. Still, he was pleased to see how it ended.
“It's nice to see high-class individuals take over the club who have interest in putting a good product on the field for fans of Cincinnati,” McKeon said. “There's no question we're delighted that it went through Mr. (Carl) Lindner, who's a high-class individual, a guy who has tremendous confidence in (General Manager) Jim Bowden and (Managing Executive) John Allen. That's a big plus, because it should keep the continuity there.”
Garcia back
The Reds reacquired catcher Guillermo Garcia by purchasing his contract from the Florida Marlins and optioning him to Double-A Chattanooga. The Reds traded him to Florida last Dec. 2 for right-hander Manuel Barrios, who's currently at Triple-A.
Garcia was 1-for-4 with two strikeouts in four games with Florida this year. He hit .194 with two homers and four RBI in 12 games as a Red last season.
Proven veteran
John Franco's 402nd career save was a little more precarious than most of the others. But he survived, as he usually does, to seal New York's 3-2 victory.
The Mets' relief ace, who pitched for the Reds from 1984-89, allowed a ninth-inning run and walked pinch hitter Jeffrey Hammonds to load the bases before retiring Mike Cameron on a called third strike and snuffing out Barry Larkin on a pop-up to first base.
Of his confrontation with Cameron, Franco said: “I'm trying to get a strikeout or a ground ball to (shortstop) Rey (Ordonez). I'm just trying to make a good pitch and make him hit my pitch.”
Of Larkin, Franco said: “He's a guy you don't want to face in that situation, especially when he's swinging the bat well. Fortunately, he's struggling a little bit right now. Nine times out of 10 he'll come through in that situation. I got away with one tonight.”
Etc.
• Blue ribbons, the symbol for stopping child abuse, will be distributed to the first 10,000 fans entering the gates for Saturday's game with Houston, when the Reds will stage “Safe At Home Day” with the Ohio and Kentucky chapters of Prevent Child Abuse America.
• Former Reds reliever Rob Dibble will provide commentary on ESPN's broadcast of tonight's game, which is the backup telecast behind Baltimore-Tampa Bay.
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