Monday, February 18, 2002
Reds notebook
Stinnett survives return to action
By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer
SARASOTA, Fla. — Kelly Stinnett was going to try to take it easy. But he realized that might be difficult.
“When everyone else is turning it loose, it's hard to hold back,” Stinnett said. “It's human nature.”
Stinnett, the No.2 catcher, did let it loose when the Reds opened spring training on Sunday — but without repercussions. Stinnett had season-ending surgery on his right elbow and his right knee on Sept.7. He hadn't thrown hard before Sunday or caught live pitching, so it was a big test.
“Everything felt pretty good,” he said. “I was blocking balls, throwing to second. It felt pretty lively. In three or four days, everything will probably be dead. But it's good now.”
Stinnett, who spent most of the offseason in a rehab program, showed up looking fit. He's still carrying about 225 pounds on his 5-foot-11 frame.
“But I re-distributed hopefully,” he said. “I did the spinning classes to take some of pressure off my knee. I was rehabbing three days a week and working out three. It kept me going.”
Stinnett was troubled by the elbow much of last year. He missed 10 games between July 22 and Aug.2 because of it. He shut it down for the season on Sept.2. The surgery removed bone chips and loose cartilage and released pressure from the ulnar nerve.
Stinnett played in 63 games before the injury. He hit .257 with nine homers and 25 RBI. All the squatting Sunday did not bother Stinnett's knee.
“The Knee Savers really help,” Stinnett said, referring to the device catchers wear on the back of their legs that takes weight off the knee while squatting. “I wish they had them 10 years ago.”
There's plenty of work for all the catchers with 37 pitchers in camp. The Reds did bring in two extra catchers, giving them six in camp.
FEELING GOOD:
Right-handed pitcher Jose Acevedo had surgery to repair a hernia on Dec.18 — his 24th birthday by the way — but he is ready to go for spring training.
“I'm 100 percent,” he said. “I didn't do anything for a week and a half after the surgery. But I couldn't sit around after that. I started working out again.”
NO-SHOWS:
Three pitchers — Jose Rijo, Ricardo Aramboles and Luis Pineda — did not arrive in time for Sunday's first workout.
“It's a concern, sure,” Reds manager Bob Boone said when asked if the three might fall behind. “But I'm not going to worry about it. It's not me falling behind.”
REDSFEST:
The dates for the 2002 Redsfest have already been set. It will be Dec. 7 and 8, roughly the same time it was in 2001.
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