Saturday, July 24, 1999
REDS NOTEBOOK
Taubensee should play again soon
BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
SAN FRANCISCO — Eddie Taubensee's strained right wrist required a night of rest and a cortisone shot Friday — the latter indicating that the Reds' No. 1 catcher could be sidelined another day or two, though probably not much more.
Taubensee said he suffered his injury on his final swing as he struck out in Thursday's first inning, though he can't figure out exactly what he did to hurt himself.
“It's weird,” said Taubensee, whose wrist was noticeably swollen. “I could throw, but it was excruciating to swing. I thought it might loosen up, and between innings I swung a bat just to see how it felt. I just felt sharp pain. That's the first time I ever came out of a game in my life.”
X-rays of Taubensee's wrist were negative, leaving him optimistic about returning in a couple of days. But he might not be able to catch today for starting pitcher Pete Harnisch, who likes to have him behind the plate.
Taubensee insisted that this injury was totally unrelated to the torn ligament he suffered in his right wrist during the offseason, which required arthroscopic surgery on Jan. 13.
BERE BETTER: Jason Bere enjoyed the most encouraging performance of his injury rehabilitation stint Friday night with Triple-A Indianapolis.
Bere left the Indians' game at Norfolk after allowing two runs and three hits in five innings. The right-hander walked three, struck out three and left with a 3-2 lead. His outing included a neat four-pitch first inning.
Bere, who's striving to re-establish himself in the Reds' plans after losing his place in the starting rotation and suffering inflammation in his elbow, was 0-1 with a 19.80 ERA in his previous two starts for Indy. He had allowed 12 hits while walking 11 in only five innings.
Catcher Brian Johnson, recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, began his rehab assignment by going 0-for-3 with a strikeout in three at-bats.
MAJOR MEMENTO: Harvey Hodgerney, the visiting clubhouse attendant at 3Com Park, asked the Reds to contribute to his ongoing project that will commemorate the San Francisco Giants' final year at the stadium.
Hodgerney has asked visiting players to autograph a large, sliding wooden door covering a clubhouse closet. In the middle of the door, which already is festooned with
numerous of signatures in multicolored pens, are two white baseball-shaped circles which remain blank. Those, said Hodgerney, are being saved for the Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers, who will play the final game at the stadium formerly known as Candlestick Park on Sept. 30.
BY THE NUMBERS: Barry Larkin's recent performance proves that statistics can be made to say anything you want to say.
Larkin, who has kept his average above .300 since June 20, began Friday having gone 27 games without a homer, 16 games without an RBI and 10 games without a stolen base. Yet his season totals (.310, nine homers, 52 RBI, 15 steals in 20 tries) remain impressive.
He also has continued to get on base, drawing 16 walks in July alone.
San Francisco hasn't been among Larkin's favorite stops. He entered the series with a .233 career average here (53-for-227), with eight homers and 28 RBI.
UP NEXT: Pete Harnisch will test his balky shoulder, along with his four-decision winning streak, when he faces the Giants and Mark Gardner today.
Harnisch (9-6, 3.50) is 4-0 with a 3.45 ERA in his last six outings, though he knows he'll need surgery to repair the damage in his shoulder.
Like Chris Brock, San Francisco's starter Friday night, Gardner (3-8, 6.73) could be pitching to keep his spot in the rotation. He received no decision on Opening Day at Cincinnati, yielding five runs (four earned) and nine hits in 5 1/3 innings before the Giants outlasted the Reds, 11-8.
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