Monday, July 22, 2002
Casey in terrible hitting funk
By John Fay jfay@enquirer.com
The Cincinnati Enquirer
First baseman Sean Casey wasn't in the starting lineup Sunday. That had more to do with New York Mets left-hander Al Leiter being on the mound than Casey's sore shoulder.
“Leiter really beats up on lefties,” Boone said.
Casey is struggling, and the shoulder has something to do with it. Casey is 0-for-his-last-11 and 1-for-his-last-21. He's hitting .136 since the beginning of July.
“Hitting is tough enough when you're 100 percent,” Casey said. “If anything's off, everything's off.”
His average is at .265 — 46 points below his career average.
Casey's problem is that the shoulder requires rest to get well. One day doesn't help.
“It really doesn't,” Casey said. “I thought the All-Star break would help, but it didn't.”
Four to six weeks of rest is what Casey needs.
“He doesn't have that luxury,” Kremchek said. “We're trying to find ways so he can play in less pain.”
Kremchek said he is certain that Casey will not further injure the shoulder by playing.
“If that were the case, we wouldn't let him play,” Kremchek said. “We've done two MRIs on his shoulder and neck. He's going to have some days that are better than others.”
Casey has never thought of going on the disabled list.
“It's never been where I've said, "Wow, I can't lift my arm,'” he said. “It's never gotten that bad.”
WHITE TEST: Reds left-handed reliever Gabe White, on the disabled list with a broken right little toe, has been able to throw the last two days.
“It was good, actually,” White said. “I want to keep my arm in good enough shape.”
White still can't plant his foot or throw off the mound.
“I don't want to push it before I'm even eligible to come off the DL,” he said.
White can come off the DL on July27.
SILVA UPDATE: Right-hander Jose Silva (ro tator cuff) threw one inning and allowed one hit in a rehab assignment Sunday at Triple-A Louisville. He threw 17 pitches, 12 for strikes.
FARM REPORT: Right-hander Luke Hudson made his second straight quality start for Louisville, going six innings and allowing two earned runs in the Bats' 3-2 loss to Durham on Saturday.
Outfielder Wily Mo Pena went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI in Double-A Chattanooga's 8-4 loss to Birmingham on Saturday. Pena is hitting .264 with seven homers and 32 RBI in 64 games, but he has struck out 77 times in 235 at-bats.
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Casey in terrible hitting funk
