Friday, June 29, 2001
Rijo can't give up
What Jose Rijo wants is closure. He wants to leave the pitching mound under his own power, on his own terms, in his own good time.
He wants to leave baseball with his right arm held high, waving farewell to his fans, not clutching his elbow in agony. Nearly six years since he last pitched professionally and nearly six months since he received his first Hall of Fame vote, Rijo continues to resist retirement in an effort to rewrite his exit scene.
“I love this game too much,” he said Thursday. “This is the only thing I've done my whole life, and it's not easy for me to give it up. I want to be able to stand out there on the field and say goodbye to the people the way it should be. ... I want
to make believers of a lot of people in the world.”
On the theory that the game is never over until the last ligament is frayed, the Cincinnati Reds are indulging Rijo's comeback bid. They studied his stuff during three simulated innings Thursday afternoon at Cinergy Field, and they have proposed that he pitch a real game Wednesday for Single-A Dayton. Where the story goes from there will depend on how well Rijo handles the hitters.
“I'm tired of him putting off retirement,” general manager Jim Bowden said. “We told him, "You're either going to make it back or we're going to retire you. Enough is enough.'”
In the awkward aftermath of the Deion Sanders debacle, the Reds would not seem to need another novelty act just now. If Rijo's comeback were a stunt designed to fuel flagging ticket sales, it would be the club's most cynical act since Tony Perez was hired to improve Marge Schott's image among minorities.
Encouraging?
Yet the Reds have done nothing to encourage Rijo's dream and/or delusions. For years, Bowden has been urging Rijo to make his retirement official so the club could stage an appropriate ceremony for the 1990 World Series Most Valuable Player. The Reds have monitored his progress more out of curiosity than conviction.
Rijo, however, believes there is enough left in his right arm to stifle the diluted lineups of an expansion era. He is still only 36 years old, at least according to the Dominican calendar. Watching Rijo's fastball repeatedly register between 86 to 89 mph Thursday afternoon, Reds director of baseball administration Brad Kullman said it would not embarrass the ballclub if Rijo started Thursday night.
Interim hitting coach Mike Greenwell, one of three Reds to face Rijo Thursday, watched one of his pitches slice sharply across the plate and remarked, “I remember that.”
When bullpen catcher Mark Berry called a borderline pitch to outfielder Brady Clark a ball, Rijo came off the mound to complain.
“The (strike) zone's bigger now,” he shouted.
Then he returned to the pitching rubber and fired a third strike past Clark's tardy swing.
Boone's impression
“He looked all right — better than what I thought it would be,” Reds manager Bob Boone said. “His command was pretty good. I could tell he hasn't been out there a lot. His arm speed has slowed down. He'll really have to pitch to be effective. (But) It's probably worth a try.”
If it doesn't work out, at least the Reds will have afforded Rijo the opportunity. If it does work out, can Tom Browning be far behind?
E-mail tsullivan@enquirer.com. Past columns at Enquirer.com/columns/sullivan.
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SULLIVAN: Rijo can't give up
