Saturday, February 19, 2000

REDS NOTEBOOK

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Reyes out 3 days with tendinitis

BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Baseball, sun and palm trees - it doesn't get any better than that. (Michael E. Keating photo) | ZOOM |

        SARASOTA, Fla. — Tendinitis will prevent left-hander Dennys Reyes from throwing for at least three days, though the ailment wasn't considered serious.

        Dr.Tim Kremchek, the Reds' team physician, said a magnetic resonance imaging examination of Reyes' shoulder showed nothing abnormal.

        “It seemed like he tried to take a crash course before he got here, throwing a little bit too much,” manager Jack McKeon said. “But he's going to be fine.”

        McKeon said having an excess number of pitchers in camp allows him to give Reyes all the rest he needs without taxing the other pitchers. The Reds have 34 pitchers in camp, excluding injured right-handers Mark Wohlers and Javier Martinez and stranded Dominican right-hander Willis Roberts, who's having visa problems.

        OPEN ASSIGNMENT: McKeon said he hasn't decided between Pete Harnisch and Denny Neagle as his Opening Day starter for the April 3 game against Milwaukee at Cinergy Field.

        “Those two guys would be your logical choices right now,” McKeon said. “But you don't know how Neagle's throwing and you don't know how Pete's throwing.”

        Both Harnisch and Neagle, who experienced shoulder trouble last year, threw batting practice without pain.

        As the Reds' leading winner for the last two years, Harnisch, 16-10 in 1999, is the more obvious choice to start the opener.

        Neagle, who won his final six decisions last year, has never started a season opener.

        HARSH REALITY: McKeon delivered a warning in his pre-workout address to pitchers. He told them that the oversized spring roster, the relative scarcity of available jobs and the need to prepare established pitchers for the season might mean limited opportunities for some to prove themselves.

        “I tried to explain the facts of life to them,” McKeon said. “They all seemed to have a pretty good attitude.”

        The Reds need a starter and a reliever to replace Brett Tomko and Stan Belinda, respectively, who departed in separate trades.

        MORE ARRIVALS: Position players, who don't have to report until Monday, continued to trickle into camp.

        Friday's arrivals included first baseman Sean Casey, outfielder Michael Tucker and shortstop Travis Dawkins, who worked out informally.

        Asked how much time he spends hitting in the offseason, Casey said: “I do a pretty decent amount. I'll hit for a month a few times a week, starting in January, but nothing like live pitching. Just batting cages.”

        NO. 1 FOR NO. 1: Though Ty Howington said he felt “a little nervous” during his first workout of major-league camp, the left-hander appreciated the experience.

        “You get to watch what (the veterans) do and see how they handle themselves,” said Howington, Cincinnati's first-round selection in last year's amateur draft.

        Howington's offseason baseball pursuits included participating in the Florida Instructional League and rehabilitating a weakened rotator cuff in his shoulder.

        “I started throwing five or six weeks ago and began working off the mound about three weeks ago,” the 19-year-old said.

        Howington, who signed too late to play professionally last year, probably will open the season at Single-A Dayton.

        GRIZZLED VETERAN: Here's another reflection of baseball's rapid roster turnover: Right-hander Scott Sullivan, he of the boyish features, has the longest continuous tenure of any Reds pitcher. He joined the Reds May 17, 1997.

        “I get older every time people say that,” said Sullivan, who turns 29 on March 13. “That just tells you nothing's guaranteed.”

        Only shortstop Barry Larkin, who has been in the majors for more than 13 seasons, and catcher Eddie Taubensee, who arrived from Houston in a trade April 19, 1994, have spent longer uninterrupted periods with the Reds.

        “That's very strange,” Sullivan said.

        Spring training schedule

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