Tuesday, March 21, 2000Leisure suits Reds
Today's day off will be just that
BY JOHN FAY
The Cincinnati EnquirerSARASOTA, Fla. — Ask nine different Reds what they were going to do on today's day off and you got nine different answers. But they are unanimous on one thing: They're all going to enjoy it.
Today's day off is the only one of spring training.
Steve Parris will pitch in a minor-league game today, and Dmitri Young will get treatment for his strained groin muscle. Everyone else is barred from showing up.
A sign on the clubhouse chalkboard said: “Doors will be locked Tuesday. Gone fishing.”
“I want them to get away from it for a day,” Reds manager Jack McKeon said. “It's been a long grind. They've worked hard. They can use a break.”
McKeon would have liked another day off earlier in spring training. The Reds hit the wall a little bit in a stretch of six road games in a six-day period (including split-squad games).
So the respite is welcome, even if the get-away plans vary.
The team's stars, Ken Griffey Jr. and Barry Larkin, are hosting a group at their Orlando homes.
“They should have some toys for me to play with,” third baseman Aaron Boone said.
They will.
“We'll jet ski a little,” Larkin said. “Sit on the couch a little, just relax.”
Griffey doesn't know if he's up for the jet ski portion of the program.
“I can't tell you,” he said. “Because I don't know. When I was 19, I would have had it all mapped out. Now that I'm 30, I don't even know. Depends on when I get up and how I feel.”
Catcher Eddie Taubensee planned a fishing outing with his sons Justin (3) and Benjamin (11/2).
“Well, a friend and I will fish and they'll play around the water,” Taubensee said. “We'll put some bobbers on the line without hooks. They'll have fun.”
Strenuous activity didn't appeal to any of the Reds, so much so that first baseman Sean Casey changed his plans.
“I was going to take my wife to Disney World,” he said. “But that sounded like a lot of walking around. So I begged off it. I'll do something with my wife ... maybe Putt-Putt, nothing too tiring.”
Relief pitcher Scott William son planned some golf with outfielder Brooks Kieschnick.
“We'll probably play 36 (holes),” Williamson said.
He says pitchers have more energy this time of year.
“We don't do as much on the days we don't pitch,” Williamson said.
The grind of 30 straight days without a break takes it toll. The season being two weeks away makes that worse.
“It's especially tough this time of year,” Boone said. “A lot of guys are thinking about going north. You want to get after this thing. You get anxious this time of year.”
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