HOUSTON — First baseman Sean Casey is battling a strained muscle in his left shoulder — “it's where my “lat and tricep meet,” he said — that has required a cortisone shot and gotten him into some bad habits at the plate, although he did have three hits in Friday's 6-3 loss.

        He had another hit Saturday and scorched a groundout to second base.

        “(The doctor) told me a while ago that the only way to heal was to take four weeks off, but I don't have four weeks,” Casey said. “Some days are better than others. A couple of days ago it really hurt. Today (Saturday), it feels pretty decent.”

        OPEN SEASON: Over the last couple of years, and unbeknownst to himself, Jason LaRue had gradually begun closing up his batting stance (moving the front foot closer to the plate than the back foot) to the point he wasn't getting his right eye into the act the way he used to.

        Manager Bob Boone noticed the flaw on the road in Chicago two weeks ago and pointed it out LaRue, who opened his stance back up and has been getting more hits ever since but still is striking out too much. He has hit safely in six of his last 10 games but has struck out at least once in every one of them.

        “This is the most comfortable I've been in three years,” LaRue said. “Now, it's a timing thing. I have to stay back more. A 95 mph fastball looks like 88 to 90, and I'm too anxious to get to it.”

        TALISMAN: Tal Smith, the Astros' director of baseball operations, never specifically asked permission from the commissioner's office to have a hill (aka the Crosley Field-style terrace) in center field of the Astros' ballpark, which opened in 2000. He didn't disguise the fact — it was on the blueprints as clear as could be — but he didn't call attention to it by specifically seeking approval.

        The Reds wouldn't have come up with a terrace for Great American Ball Park, even if the Astros hadn't done it first. John Allen, the Reds' chief operating officer, wanted to keep the Reds' new field as fair to all teams as possible and not introduce the risk of injury from a contrived terrace.

        But there's a lot to be said for paying homage to past ballparks and for having a distinctive field that affects the game.

        After the first season of Houston's new ballpark when it was such a bandbox, there was talk of maybe toughening it up — the left-field line is only 315 feet and the 19-foot-high wall doesn't really compensate enough for it — but pitchers have adjusted. The ballpark now ranks only 11th in baseball as the biggest generator of home runs.

        The Reds players love Minute Maid Park. Aaron Boone said it is near, if not at the top, of his list, and Barry Larkin said he probably prefers only San Francisco's Pacific Bell and maybe Pittsburgh's PNC. Casey likes it, too.

        “Not only is it a good place to hit, but it has a lot of personality and the atmosphere is great,” Boone said. “I like the train up there, the wall (in left field), and the center-field area (with the terrace). It's cool. It adds character, and this place has a lot of it.”

Astros 2, Reds 1 Reds box, runs White's broken little toe has big consequences Will baseball strike out? DAUGHERTY: Baseball losing its allure for fan Minute Maid's ode to Crosley Casey fights through pain at the plate Reds Chatter Youngest All-Star was Simpson, not Bench or Dunn And now, it's 2002, Part II Cinergy Countdown #19 - Sept. 7, 1993 Cardinals activate Drew from DL Trade could ignite Marlins' fire sale Yankees send Clemens to DL NL roundup AL roundup Bats 3, Red Sox 1 John Fay's MLB Power rankings Notes from Saturday's games

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Preps Insider

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