Sunday, April 02, 2000

Casey out 2-3 weeks with broken thumb

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BY JOE KAY
AP Sports Writer

Sean Casey finds reason to laugh despite the cast on his right hand. (Michael E. Keating photos) | ZOOM |

        First baseman Sean Casey will be sidelined for two or three weeks with a broken thumb on his throwing hand, ending the Reds' remarkable run of good health.

        Will Clark's hard-hit grounder deflected off Casey's right thumb Saturday during an 8-3 exhibition loss to Baltimore in Chattanooga, Tenn., causing an injury that was initially thought to be a bruise.

        X-rays and other tests performed in Cincinnati early Sunday found that Casey had chipped a bone on the inside of the thumb. Dr. Timothy Kremchek said there should be no lingering problem once it heals in a few weeks.

        It's the second time in three years that Casey has suffered a significant injury in the first days of April. On April 2, 1998, he was hit on the right side of his face by a thrown ball during infield practice, breaking bones around his eye.

        That injury also affected his vision temporarily and wiped out half of his season.

        “I've been through it before with the eye injury,” Casey said. “That was more life-changing. I don't think my right thumb is going to change my life too much. Things should be fine in a couple of weeks.”

Dmitri Young, who moves from LF, breaks in a first baseman's glove. | ZOOM |

        The Reds put Casey on the 15-day disabled list and called up D.T. Cromer from Triple-A Louisville.

        None of the Reds' regular position players went on the disabled list last year, one of the reasons why Cincinnati was able to win 96 games and come within one victory of making the playoffs.

        “We were fortunate last year, so the odds were that something was probably going to happen this year,” backup first baseman Hal Morris said. “You hope it doesn't, but it's inevitable that it's going to happen.”

        Morris pulled leg muscles in the Reds' final Florida exhibition last Thursday. Although manager Jack McKeon said he would wait another day before deciding his lineup for the season opener against Milwaukee, general manager Jim Bowden said that Dmitri Young would start at first base and Michael Tucker would start in left field.

        “We'll definitely miss Casey's bat,” said Young, who started six games at first last season. “I wouldn't say it's a terrible loss because he'll be back in a couple of weeks. But I know he's upset.”

        Casey played in 151 games last season, hitting .332 with 25 homers and 99 runs batted in. He made the All-Star team and received the Hutch Award, given annually to a player who shows character.

        The friendly first baseman had a wan smile on his face and was speechless when he walked into the clubhouse Sunday morning with a white cast on his right hand.

        Pitcher Pete Harnisch, who will start the opener, got wide-eyed when Casey walked over to him and showed him the cast. Many players were still unaware of the severity of his injury.

        “Obviously we know what Casey brings, but the fact is that it's a two-week deal,” third baseman Aaron Boone said. “In the grand scheme of things, it's really not that big a deal. If it was a 6-to-8-week thing, it would be a big blow.”

        Casey was stunned when X-rays found the chipped bone. He went to a hospital for precautionary tests when the team arrived from Chattanooga late Saturday.

        “I thought it was just a bruise, the way it felt,” he said. “It's another freak thing.

        “I'm not depressed about it. It happened. It's something I have to deal with. I'm glad it didn't happen in September or October when it's the end of the year and it really means something.”

        He found it ironic that the injury occurred on a hard grounder hit by Clark.

        “It's funny because I idolized him growing up,” Casey said. “I talked to him before the game and afterward he came to see how I was. So if anybody did it, maybe it's all right that it's Will Clark that did it.”

       

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