Saturday, May 01, 1999

Young loses battle with outfield wall

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BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati Enquirer

        Dmitri Young finally received a chance to play. But his return to the lineup Friday was a painful one.

        Young crashed into the left-field wall in pursuit of John Smoltz's eighth-inning double, bruising the ribs on his right side. Postgame X-rays taken of Young's torso revealed no fractures, though he was in obvious discomfort.

        “This whole right side is killing me,” Young said. “I'm having trouble breathing.”

        Young somehow maintained his typical sense of humor.

        “I ran into the wall, and the wall won,” he said. “I think I'm going to go to the Andruw Jones Academy of Wall-Climbing.”

        Young's intensity also was intact.

        “If I had the chance to do it all again, I'd still try to run through that wall to catch it,” he said.

        Young, who has been replaced in right field by Michael Tucker, started in left field as Greg Vaughn missed his first start of the year with an injured left ankle.

        Young, who hadn't started since last Saturday against Houston, went 0-for-3, though even Smoltz thought the fourth-inning grounder he hit to deep shortstop was a hit. Young was safe as Walt Weiss short-hopped his throw to first base.

        Young could have used the hit. After batting .310 last year, Young is now at .200.

       

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