Monday, May 27, 2002
Bad pitch? Walk right this way, Mr. Dunn
Reds slugger just can't swing out of the zone
By John Fay, jfay@enquirer.com
The Cincinnati Enquirer
ATLANTA — Adam Dunn wants to swing. He really does.
“But I can't,” the Reds outfielder/first baseman said. “I tell myself to. But I don't.”
The subject is swinging at bad pitches — not bad so much as pitches out of the strike zone.
Dunn walked in the ninth inning of Sunday's 7-5 Reds loss to the Atlanta Braves, extending to 12 his streak of games with at least one walk. It's the longest such streak since the Braves' Chipper Jones walked in 16 consecutive games in 1999.
Dunn has walked 17 times overall in those 12 games. He went into Sunday with 47 walks overall, second in the majors to Giants slugger Barry Bonds' 57.
Ken Griffey Jr.'s advice to Dunn: It's OK to swing at a bad pitch every once in a while, especially with runners at second and third.
“Bob (Boone) has talked to me about the same thing,” Dunn said. “I agree, but for some reason I can't do it. I'll get a hitter's count — 2-0, 3-1 — and they'll throw a fastball in the black and I won't swing. I don't know what it is.”
It's hard to argue with Dunn's record so far this year. He entered Sunday's game second in the National League, again to Bonds, in on-base percentage at .460. His on-base percentage plus slugging percentage (OPS) — a stat baseball insiders love — was .996, 11th-best in the majors.
“I've always looked at it as a walk's as good as a hit,” Dunn said. “When I'm seeing the ball real well, like I am now, I always walk a lot.”
Dunn might start seeing more strikes in the coming days. Sunday, he hit in front of Griffey, a spot where Dunn is 3-for-7 in two games.
JUST LIKE DUNN: Austin Kearns' plate discipline is equal to, if not better than Dunn's.
Kearns' on-base percentage, entering Sunday, was .459, a point lower than Dunn's. Kearns' OPS was 1.025, seventh-best in baseball.
COOL WITH CASEY: Reds first baseman Sean Casey was OK with getting Sunday off. When Griffey is in the lineup, Casey, Dunn, Kearns or outfielder Juan Encarnacion is going to sit.
“You play so many games,” Casey said. “A day off can help you. I think when one of the five of us is out of the lineup, it strengthens the bench. Hopefully, I'll get used in a crucial situation (Sunday).”
Casey did hit in the eighth inning Sunday, grounding out with runners at first and second.
GOOD SIGN: It got lost because it came in the second inning of a 7-5 game, but Griffey made a nice play to keep Wes Helms' ball from getting to the wall. The ball looked like it was headed for the left-center field gap, but Griffey raced over and made a sliding stop to cut it off and hold Helms to a single.
It was the biggest sign Griffey's knee is sound.
“I was just trying to keep it from going to the wall,” he said. “(the knee) is fine once it heats up.”
SAVING SULLIVAN: Boone, as per plan, did not use right-hander Scott Sullivan.
Sullivan hasn't pitched since getting a cortisone injection on Tuesday. It was to relieve the swelling around the elbow that came as a result of getting hit by Richie Sexson's comebacker May 13 in Milwaukee.
“He still feels it a little bit,” Boone said.
Sullivan is most effective when he pitches a lot.
“We don't expect him to be sharp right away,” Boone said. “It's something we have to live through.”
REHAB DUTY: Right-handers Jose Silva and John Riedling each threw two innings for Triple-A Louisville on Saturday.
Silva allowed two hits and no runs, striking out two. Riedling struck out the side in both innings, although he gave up three hits and a run.
UP NEXT: The Reds are off today. It's their first off day in 17 days. They open a three-game series Tuesday in Florida against the Marlins.
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Bad pitch? Walk right this way, Mr. Dunn
