A couple of hours after optioning Austin Kearns to Triple-A Louisville on Sunday in part because he wasn't getting enough at-bats, they wished they could undo the move because Ken Griffey Jr. may be sidelined by injury for a few days.

        “We've been snakebit,” Reds manager Bob Boone said. “We make the (Kearns) move and then Griffey pulls up lame.”

        The Reds recalled reliever Luis Pineda from Louisville to take Kearns' place. The move, which left Kearns in tears and the Reds even shorter on power hitters, was seemingly the first admission that the Reds' plan to rotate five players in four spots may have backfired.

        “I think this rotation thing may be affecting him somewhat,” Boone said. “Part of why he's struggling may be because he's in a role where he's not playing every day. And to be his age (22), that's something that we can't have happen.”

        There's a lot of uncertainty swirling here:

        • The Reds are holding off on disabling Gabe White, their only left-handed reliever, to see if he can recover from an infection in his left hand in time to pitch next weekend against first-place St. Louis.

        • If White goes on the disabled list, Cincinnati must decide whether to put left-handed starter Bruce Chen in the bullpen. If they don't, he would start Thursday in Chicago and the Reds would be without a single left-hander for the St. Louis series.

        • Pineda's status — starter or reliever — likely must wait for the White and Chen situations to be resolved.

        • Reds general manager Jim Bowden has talked about bringing up red-hot infielder Brandon Larson (.328, 20 home runs, 56 RBI) from Louisville.

        The Reds talked about Kearns going to Triple-A perhaps only for a few days; he could be recalled immediately if and when White goes on the DL. Yet with the team in an offensive slump, it's not automatic that Kearns is the one promoted.

        “Nothing in baseball is automatic,” Bowden said. “Obviously we need to get our guys out of the slump. If they don't snap out of it, we'll start making more drastic changes.”

        Kearns, batting .284, was hitless in his last 12 at-bats and 5-for-his-last-34 (.147). He leads NL rookies in home runs (eight) and RBI (28). He, Griffey, Adam Dunn, Juan Encarnacion and Sean Casey have been rotating among four positions since May 24.

        The Reds were hamstrung by the fact reserves like Juan Castro, Wilton Guerrero and Reggie Taylor have no options remaining. Kearns is one of the few players who has options. He was crying in a private room after hearing the news and declined comment to reporters.

        “The rotation thing wasn't really working too well,” Dunn said. “I hate to say "odd man out' (in describing Kearns) because the guy is Rookie of the Year. It's one of those things where, what do you do? He's probably upset and he's got a right to be.”

        Boone and Bowden said they needed to make a move because of pitching concerns. With White out indefinitely, and with Scott Williamson, Jose Silva and John Riedling all on limited duty while they recover from injuries, the Reds needed another arm.

Athletics 5, Reds 1 Reds box, runs White not on DL, may pitch later in week Frustrated Griffey tweaks leg again Kearns move rotates Reds into a dilemma Kile autopsy finds blocked coronary artery Reds at Cubs series preview Dodgers send Red Sox home in second place Notes from Sunday's games Red Sox get left-hander Embree from Padres Louisville 7, Norfolk 6

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