Though other relievers have complained that the postseason all-star tour of Japan wreaked havoc upon their pitching arms, Danny Graves isn't worried that he'll be affected by this year's trip.

        Graves will be part of the contingent of major leaguers scheduled to play eight games in early November. At least two other relievers will join him: Boston's Derek Lowe and the Chicago White Sox's Keith Foulke.

        Graves said that keeping his arm limber during the month between the end of the regular season and the tour should prevent him from suffering the same fate that other relievers did.

        “I see how you could hurt your arm if you didn't do stuff in that short period of time,” Graves said. “But I made a commitment to the guys at Major League Baseball and the (players') union that I would do the best I could to stay in playing shape. When you gt a free paid vacation for you and your wife to play baseball in Asia, you make that commitment.”

        Graves wasn't worried about being overused. “We're playing only eight games,” he said. “You're not going to pitch a whole lot. Maybe one inning here or one inning there. Other guys are going to get a chance to pitch.”

        Tigers relief ace Todd Jones recently told the Detroit News that he spurned the chance to go to Japan because other bullpen stoppers, Houston's Billy Wagner, Anaheim's Troy Percival and Boston's Tom Gordon, complained of the wear and tear on their arms that the trip caused.

        SHORTFALL EXPECTED: Though this might be stating the obvious, chief operating officer John Allen doesn't believe the Reds can approach a franchise attendance record in 2001, as they did this year.

        The partial demolition of Cinergy Field, which will result in the disappearance of 14,000 seats and a reduction in seating capacity to about 40,000, will rob the Reds of their bigger crowds, such as the ones they draw for Opening Day or against the Cleveland Indians.

        “It's tough to make those up unless you were to be in the heat of a great pennant race,” Allen said.

        ETC. Reds general manager Jim Bowden said that infield prospect Gookie Dawkins has been bothered by a strained knee, limiting his playing time for Team USA at the Olympics. Dawkins managed to start Sunday against Australia and went 0-for-3 with a run scored as the U.S. trounced Australia 12-1 to advance to Tuesday's semifinals against Korea.

        • The Reds finished with a 7-5 season record against Houston.

        UP NEXT: The Reds have a day off today, their last of the season, before beginning a year-ending trip featuring three games each at Milwaukee and St. Louis.

Reds 4, Astros 3 Box, runs Statues will honor Nux, Klu, Robby, Lombardi Reds' attendance second only to '76 Graves joins Japan tour

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