Tuesday, July 17, 2001
Rijo getting impatient
Threatens to give up comeback if he's not in majors soon
By JOE KAY
AP Sports Writer
Jose Rijo is running out of patience and is considering ending his comeback if the Reds make him stay in the minors.
“Without offending anybody, I've got good stuff,” he said Monday, standing in a corner of the clubhouse where most of the pitchers dress. “I'm not going to be a superstar, but I'm going to be doing better than other people here.”
Rijo wants to pitch in the majors now, but the Reds aren't ready to give him the chance just yet. General Manager Jim Bowden wants him to make at least two more starts to improve his stamina. The Reds' rotation has pitched the fewest innings in the NL and doesn't need another limited starter who will strain the bullpen.
The 36-year-old pitcher gave up five hits and two runs in four innings Saturday for Triple-A Louisville. It was the third minor league start in his comeback, but the first at Triple-A.
Rijo, scheduled to pitch Thursday in Louisville, met with Bowden during the Reds game Monday night. Afterward, Bowden said Rijo needs more time in the minors.
“He would like to be up here now,” Bowden said. “We would like to bring him along at a sensible (pace) so he can come up here and be effective. He'll pitch Thursday and then again at Louisville.
“Everyone's rooting for him. We want him to have the miracle comeback.”
Rijo was the Reds' 1990 World Series MVP and started the clinching Game 4 against Oakland. He had the first of four major elbow operations in 1995, the last time he pitched in the majors.
The right-hander tried several comeback attempts, but never made it past spring training because the elbow kept bothering him. He abandoned his comeback in 1998 so he could build and operate a baseball academy in the Dominican Republic.
His elbow felt good when he threw at the academy, prompting him to try one more time. For the first time Monday, he said he's considering going home if he's not in the majors soon.
“I've got a good thing going in the Dominican that I can be doing now,” he said. “By me being here, I'm losing a little money in the Dominican. In the Dominican, I'm a businessman, not a player anymore.
“I don't want to keep pitching in the minors until I pitch a perfect game or a complete game. No way, Jose. That's not going to happen.”
Rijo's impatience also figured in his elbow problems. He had the elbow rebuilt in August 1995 and was ordered by doctors not to throw breaking pitches in spring training the next year. He went out, threw a 90 mph fastball and the slider during a spring game and tore up the elbow again.
Rijo also has been known to say things for effect, then backpedal. Last weekend, he told a reporter for a Dominican newspaper that he wanted to make his first big league appearance in Miami later this month.
When Rijo got back to Cincinnati, he said his first appearance will be at Cinergy Field. Asked if he just told the Dominican reporter what he wanted to hear, Rijo said, “Yes. Absolutely. That's one thing about baseball: There's a little bit of politics involved.”
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Rijo getting impatient 
