Larkin's injury worries Boone

SARASOTA, Fla. — Manager Bob Boone admittedly was apprehensive over Sunday's announcement that shortstop Barry Larkin would not play in exhibition games for at least a week after aggravating his strained right groin.

Asked if he felt concerned, Boone said yes, citing the game preparation Larkin will need before Opening Day on April 2. Boone estimated Larkin could get himself ready for the regular season in four or five days. Nearly three weeks of exhibitions remain. But that allows little margin for error for Larkin, who missed 59 starts last year with two different finger injuries and a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee.

“You've got two weeks,” Boone said, subtracting the week Larkin will miss. “If (the injury) hasn't responded by then, I'll be really concerned.”

Larkin's absence will delay Boone's plans to try him in the leadoff spot. Instead, Boone will experiment with Pokey Reese, Alex Ochoa and perhaps even Deion Sanders at the top of the order, though Sanders' con tractual status prevents him from playing with the Reds before May 1.

Larkin played Thursday, Friday and Saturday after missing six days with the groin injury but reported a muscle twinge, Dr. Tim Kremchek said.

Kremchek scheduled an MRI examination for Larkin on Saturday night. While the MRI was described as unremarkable, the physical exam of the 36-year-old Larkin was more conclusive.

“You get the MRI to make sure you're not missing anything,” Kremchek said. “He had a little bit of a muscle twinge.”

Kremchek said Larkin will be allowed baseball activities that don't bother his groin, such as throwing, taking batting practice and light running.

MORE INJURIES: Kremchek said left fielder Dmitri Young (bruised shoulder) should resume playing sometime this week.

Kremchek examined Young and reported that he has “full range of motion and good strength.”

Left-hander Justin Atchley strained his left middle finger while pitching in Sunday's seventh inning. Atchley, a non-roster invitee, has not yielded a run in 5 2/3 innings spanning five appearances.

Texas center fielder Gabe Kapler suffered a bruised right hand and left the game after he was hit by Scott Williamson's pitch in the second inning.

TRIAL AT THIRD: Third baseman Gabe Alvarez, a college teammate and friend of Reds third baseman Aaron Boone, joined the ranks of top minor leaguers not on the spring roster to participate in exhibition games.

Alvarez made a definite impression.

Formerly a leading Detroit Tigers prospect who played 92 games in the majors in the past three years, Alvarez had a sixth-inning RBI double for the Reds' lone run.

Alvarez, with a reputation as a poor defensive player, opened the ninth inning by backhanding a grounder behind third base and making a long, strong throw to first for the out. But he also committed a two-out error and stumbled as he tried to field a difficult grounder later in the inning.

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