SARASOTA, Fla. — Austin Kearns did not report to the Ed Smith Stadium complex Monday, a violation of team rules. Kearns, who was upset about being sent to Double-A Chattanooga, is expected to return today.

        “We have a 9 a.m. meeting with Austin and farm director Tim Naehring,” general manager Jim Bowden. “Austin is a competitor. He came to spring training with a chance to make the big league club. If he didn't, he was going to go to Triple-A and play every day. But Austin didn't have the kind of spring we expected him to have. It will do him good to take a couple of days off to clear his head.”

        Bowden said Kearns, the No.1 pick in 1999, is dealing with the lingering effects of the thumb injury he suffered last season. Kearns was limited to 59 games at Chattanooga last season by a torn ligament in his right thumb.

        “It's nagging him,” Bowden said. “He didn't have much success at Double-A last year. He needs to go down and be successful and we'll move him on.”

        JOINING KEARNS: Other players from the big league camp who will join Kearns on the Chattanooga roster: pitchers Ty Howington, Luke Hudson and Ricardo Aramboles.

        "We're backed up with pitching right now,” Bowden said. “Ty, Luke and Ricardo have things to work on. That's where Tim Naehring and pitching coordinator Sammy Ellis think (Howington, Hudson and Aramboles) should be. I support them 100 percent.”

        As with Kearns, that is not to say any of the three won't be with the big club before the season is over. “We're going to have competition,” Bowden said. “If they're pitching better than the five we have here, we'll move them.”

        RIEDLING TO START: John Riedling will start Wednesday against the Boston Red Sox in Fort Myers. Riedling will go one inning. The scheduled starter, Joey Hamilton, will follow him. It is the first action of the spring for Riedling, a 25-year-old right-hander who had shoulder surgery Sept. 4.

        HAYNES SHARP: After pitching six innings against Boston Monday, right-hander Jimmy Haynes left the game, only to throw another 20 pitches in the bullpen.

        “I hit my spots and had everything working,” Haynes said. “The main thing was fine-tuning and getting ready for the season.”

        The six innings he pitched was his high for the spring. He allowed five hits and three runs during a 7-3 Reds win. The victory broke a four-game losing streak.

        READY REDS: The pitching matchups are set for the season-opening series against the Cubs.

        Right-hander Joey Hamilton will face right-hander Jon Lieber on Opening Day Monday. Right-hander Elmer Dessens will face right-hander Kerry Wood on April 3, and right-hander Jose Acevedo will face right-hander Juan Cruz April 4.

        FULL HOUSE: Monday's crowd of 7,464 was the largest to see the Reds at Ed Smith Stadium this spring. The previous high was 7,426 against the Red Sox on March 3.

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