ATLANTA — Diagnosing Chris Reitsma's recent struggles as the product of a tired arm, manager Bob Boone announced Monday that the right-hander will skip his next scheduled start Saturday against Florida.

        Tentatively, Reitsma won't start again until Aug.4 at San Diego. That would give Reitsma, who's 0-4 with a 6.40 ERA in his last six outings, 12 days between starts — though Boone said the rookie might tune up his arm with a relief stint this weekend.

        Cincinnati's upcoming scheduled off days on Thursday and Monday afforded Boone this luxury. The remaining four starters can pitch on their regular four days' rest.

        Boone and Reitsma stressed that nothing is physically wrong. But the 206 innings Reitsma has pitched in the past year — including the second half of the 2000 regular season, the Arizona Fall League, spring training and this season — may have begun to erode his stamina. Noting that this is a heavy workload, given Reitsma's elbow problems in 1997-98, Boone said, “I've been concerned about him for a little while. ... With where we are in the standings, I want to start thinking about getting him ready for next year.”

        Though Reitsma said his “competitive nature” made him balk briefly at Boone's decision, he quickly understood why he's receiving a break.

        “That late life on my fastball wasn't there yesterday,” said Reitsma, who allowed seven runs (five earned) and eight hits in 2 2/3 innings in Sunday's 11-7 loss at Florida. “I respect them for their decision. It's because they want to take care of me, and I really appreciate that. At first I was a little hesitant, but I think it'll probably be a good thing in the long run.”

        FUTILE FOUR: Frankie Rodriguez didn't sound like a man who had pitched his way into the record books.

        Rodriguez dwelled on the four runs he allowed in his two innings Sunday at Florida, not on the four strikeouts he recorded in the seventh inning. Ryan Thompson reached first base after flailing at a wild pitch for strike three, giving Rodriguez a chance for an extra K.

        “It would have been a lot sweeter if it came on the back end of a good outing,” Rodriguez said.

        Rodriguez still became only the fourth Red to strike out four batters in an inning.

        ETC.: Having caught Jesse Garcia stealing in the eighth inning Monday, Jason LaRue has thrown out 30 baserunners, a major-league high. He hiked his overall caught- stealing ratio to 60 percent (30-for-50) by throwing out 13 of the last 16 opponents trying to steal.

        “He may be second to (Texas' Ivan) Rodriguez,” Boone said, praising LaRue's throwing.

        • Wilton Guerrero, who entered the game with a .323 lifetime batting average (10-for-31) against Atlanta starter Tom Glavine, replaced Todd Walker in the lineup at second base Monday. Boone said he'll probably rest shortstop Pokey Reese tonight before giving breaks to third baseman Aaron Boone and center fielder Ken Griffey Jr. later this week.

        • Four consecutive Reds player representatives have been traded — Mike Remlinger (1998), Brett Tomko (1999), Ron Villone (2000) and Michael Tucker (2001). Assistant player rep Aaron Boone takes over Tucker's role, at least temporarily.

        UP NEXT: Jim Brower (4-7), who worked seven innings in a 2-1 loss to Atlanta last Thursday at Cinergy Field, opposes John Burkett (7-7) tonight.

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