TAMPA, Fla. — Jose Rijo is on record as saying he'll work as batboy to be on the Reds this season.

        But Rijo, who has gone from relief to starting to relief again, is getting a little tired of the uncertainty.

        “I would just like to know,” he said. “What do we got left? Ten days? I don't know what I'm doing. I need to know.”

        Rijo retired all three batters he faced in the Reds' 5-3 loss to the New York Yankees Tuesday, running his streak of hitters retired to 20.

        Before the game, Reds manager Bob Boone said Rijo is out of the starting rotation, at least for Opening Day.

        Rijo wasn't aware of that.

        “I got no idea,” he said. “I just do what they tell me to. I'm still happy to be here. But there's no vision. They haven't told me anything at all.”

        Rijo is in camp as a minor-league free agent. He says he doesn't even know what he'll make if he makes the team.

        “My agent (Tim Reich) has been talking to (Reds general manager) Jim Bowden,” Rijo said. “They said, "Wait 'til (chief operating officer) John Allen is down here.' He's been here a week. I still don't know.”

        WILLIE STRUGGLES: Scott Williamson, coming back from surgery, struggled in his third outing of the spring. He went two-thirds of an inning, allowing four runs on two hits and three walks.

        “I couldn't control the ball at all,” he said. “Everything was running on me. It's only my third time out. I'm not worried. I would be if it was the 15th or 20th. I've got to keep pitching.”

        LARKIN UPDATE: Barry Larkin's minor setback might be more major than first thought.

        The plan was for Larkin to return to the lineup for today's game against the Texas Rangers at Ed Smith Stadium. But after Larkin took batting practice and ground balls Tuesday, Boone was not ready to commit to that.

        Larkin left Thursday's Reds-New York Yankees game because of discomfort in his lower abdomen and hasn't played since. Tuesday's game with the Yankees here was the fourth straight Larkin has missed.

        “He could still feel it (Tuesday),” Boone said. “He could possibly still play (today). It's a decision we'll make just before game time.”

        The discomfort is thought to be related to the surgery Larkin had Aug.24 to repair a sports hernia.

        HITLESS WONDERS: The Reds came into Tuesday night's game against the Yankees with a team batting average of .211. That's the worst in baseball by 25 points; the Montreal Expos were next-worst at .236. And only the Expos, with nine homers, have fewer than the Reds' 10.

        The lack of hitting is the big reason the Reds headed into Tuesday on a five-game losing streak and with the worst record in baseball at 6-13. Still, there is no alarm in the clubhouse.

        “In spring training, there are days when it's tough to get excited for the game,” first baseman Sean Casey said. “The adrenaline isn't there like it is in the regular season.”

        Said third baseman Aaron Boone: “It's not something we're worried about. Our hitting is going to come around. That starts to happen when you know you're going to get a certain number of at-bats a day.”

        Today is the day that happens. Bob Boone has said he'll begin “playing it straight” today when the Reds play the Rangers at home.

        That means the regulars each will get four or five at-bats. That means relief pitchers will come on in the middle of innings to pitch out of jams. That means the Reds will play to win.

        “The key is to be ready April1,” Boone said. “That's when it counts.”

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