Saturday, April 22, 2000

Larkin out 2-4 weeks

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Shortstop has surgery after tearing finger ligament

BY Scott MacGregor
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Barry Larkin is helped off the field by trainer Greg Lynn. (Jeff Swinger photos) | ZOOM |

        Just as the Reds were coming together, they've been torn apart.

        Barry Larkin's best April in years turned sour Friday when he tore a ligament in his left middle finger attempting to dive for a ball. The Reds' 10-time All-Star shortstop had surgery to repair the ligament Friday night and is expected to miss two to four weeks.

        Larkin was placed on the 15-day disabled list late Friday night, and the Reds recalled prized shortstop prospect Travis “Gookie” Dawkins, 20, from Double-A Chattanooga to take his place as the starting shortstop.

        “We wouldn't bring him up if we weren't going to start him,” manager Jack McKeon said.

Larkin was injured on this play. | ZOOM |

        The injury came just as the Reds finally were playing as they had expected to this season, getting back first baseman Sean Casey from a broken thumb Wednesday and seeing Ken Griffey Jr. begin to emerge from his slump. But with Larkin out, the Reds will have played only two full games with their best starting eight intact until at least mid-May.

        The night's dual losses — the Reds dropped the opener of a three-game series against the Dodgers 9-2 — sapped a measure of momentum that had been building in the clubhouse, but the Reds were inclined to focus on what they must do in Larkin's absence rather than dwelling on his loss.

        “Whew,” Griffey sighed. “Any time you lose a front-line player like that ... We just got Casey back, now this. It's rough early. He's one of the guys who's been here for a while. You expect him to be there, and for the next couple weeks, we've got to go out there and do it until he gets back.”

        “Barry's a strong man. He'll come back strong,” second baseman Pokey Reese said. “You hate to see him out for even a day, but it's encouraging it's only two to four weeks. It's a shame. He was doing great.”

Gookie Dawkins

        Said general manager Jim Bowden, “Obviously, it's a tough blow, but if you're going to lose your MVP shortstop, better in April than September.”

        Larkin, who has started slowly the last two Aprils, is off to his best start since 1995, helping the Reds stay afloat while many of their other stars have struggled. His first-inning single Friday raised his batting average to .355, and his first-inning stolen base was the 350th of his career. He hit his second home run of the season Thursday and has 13 RBI, second on the Reds behind Griffey's 18.

        It's a marked contrast to Larkin's career .266 average in April, his .200 average last April and his .169 mark in his first 25 games after returning from the disabled list in April 1998.

        With two on and two out in the top of the second inning Friday, Dodgers second baseman Mark Grudzielanek grounded a single up the middle, just to the left of second base. Larkin dove and came down hard on his left hand as the ball rolled into center field to score two runs.

        Larkin was in pain as he rose to his feet, and he left the field with his hand being cradled gingerly by Reds trainer Greg Lynn. Aaron Boone shifted from third base to shortstop, and Mark Lewis, coming into play third, took Larkin's spot in the batting order as the Reds captain was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital for evaluation.

        “You know it's bad if Barry comes out,” Reese sad.

        Bowden called it “an AstroTurf injury” — the theory bring that natural grass would have absorbed the blow, whereas the hard turf jammed it — and took a not-so-veiled swipe at Bengals president Mike Brown, who refused to allow the Reds to install grass at Cinergy Field this season.

        “We should have grass right now, and you wouldn't have the injury,” Bowden said. “It was out of the Reds' control.”

        Left fielder Dmitri Young didn't blame Brown by name but did blame “another Cincinnati team. If you want to point blame, you know who to point the blame at. And his name is not Marge Schott.”

        Reese, who broke his thumb in 1998 when it jammed in the AstroTurf, said grass definitely would have avoided the injury. “Without a doubt. There's nothing you can do.”

        Larkin, who turns 36 on April 28, was injury-free last season, playing in a career-high 161 games and hitting .293. He missed the first week of the 1998 season after surgery to repair a protruding disk in his neck but played in 145 games and hit .309. In 1997, he missed all but 73 games with leg injuries, including surgery to repair his Achilles' heal. Before 1997, he hadn't been on the disabled list since 1993.

        Dawkins, 20, is hitting .280 with three homers, six RBI and one stolen base in Double-A. Bowden decided to recall Dawkins instead of infielder Chris Sexton, who is hiting .419 for Triple-A Louisville, because the Reds believe Dawkins is the better player.

        “We think Gookie Dawkins has a chance to be a star player in the big leagues for many years to come,” Bowden said. “He has the range of the Pokey Reeses and Barry Larkins. He showed in spring training he can play shortstop in the big leagues. He's got a good arm, and we think he's going to hit enough. Are we rushing him? Yeah, maybe. But when you have a special talent like that, we feel we have a better chance of winning games with Gookie.”

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