PHILADELPHIA — Sean Casey was able to laugh about it a day later.

        “I looked at myself in the mirror and said, "Thank God I'm already married,'” Casey said. “It looks like they sewed two French fries to my ear.”

        The surgical work on the ear — which included lancing it to drain blood; the French fries were gauze strips — was the only visible reminder of the incident Saturday when Casey was hit on the head by a Robert Person fastball.

        “It was scary,” he said. “You think about your wife, your son. I took a 94 mph fastball off the head. It was the weirdest thing. I couldn't stop crying.”

        Casey didn't play Sunday. He hopes to return Tuesday, and will see a doctor in Cincinnati to make sure his eardrum is OK. He was still feeling woozy on Sunday after suffering a concussion from the blow.

        “I don't feel totally normal,” he said Sunday morning. “I feel a little sick to my stomach. I didn't sleep very well. I probably got about three hours.”

        Casey remembered very little of what happened.

        “I saw the replay,” he said. “But I didn't remember the pitch or going down or anything. The first thing I recall is (trainer) Greg Lynn saying something in mid-sentence.”

        Casey's wife, Mandi, was not watching the game. Equipment manager Rick Stowe called to tell her about it.

        “That almost gave her a heart attack,” Casey said. “She said, "Rick Stowe never calls me. I knew something was wrong.'”

        Mandi was obviously upset.

        “She said some weird things like maybe I shouldn't play anymore,” Casey said. “I said, "How are we going to pay the bills? What else am I going to do?”'

        But Casey shook off the incident. In typical Casey form, he felt bad that Person felt bad.

        “He wasn't trying to hit me,” Casey said. “It's part of the game. I won't be afraid to get back in the box. That's part of the job.”

        Casey and Person talked before Sunday's game on the phone.

        “He was very apologetic,” Casey said. “I told him I understand. He throws lefties in. He wasn't trying to hit me.”

        Again, he was able to laugh about it. “(Aaron) Boonie told me I should auction (the gauze) off on E-Bay,” Casey said. “He said it looked like Marge Schott's cigarette butts from the 1990 World Series.”

Phillies 3, Reds 1 Reds box, runs Scary moment gives jovial Casey pause Reds notes: Regulars get rest; bullpen dominates Hamstring injury forces Bonds from game Tigers remain winless; Mariners undefeated away from home

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