CHICAGO — Dmitri Young doesn't have to feel healthy to play. He just wants to feel better. The left fielder was in manager Bob Boone's original lineup for Tuesday night's series opener against the Chicago Cubs but had to be scratched when his bruised left knee felt too painful.

        “Well, that's a bummer,” Boone said after learning Young would miss his second start in a row.

        Said Young: “It wasn't right — at all.”

        The switch hitter, who led the Reds with 152 games played last year, took batting practice but ruled himself out of starting after he tried to run.

        “I don't care about it being 100 percent,” said Young, who was injured Saturday night at Houston when he collided with shortstop Donnie Sadler as they pursued Orlando Merced's pop- up. “There isn't a part of my body that's going to be 100 percent throughout the season. I don't mind experiencing a little discomfort. But it's a little more than I can bear.”

        The Reds hoped that Monday's off day would help Young, who's batting .295 with five homers and 22 RBI. But spending the day resting his leg and strolling briefly with his wife, Rebecca, didn't ease his agony.

        With Young sidelined, Boone put Ruben Rivera in center field and moved Michael Tucker, originally in center, to left. Boone thought about starting Deion Sanders in left, then indicated he might start today.

        Sadler started at third base Tuesday.

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