Monday, July 29, 2002
Larkin planning to return Tuesday
Reds notebook
By John Fay, jfay@enquirer.com
The Cincinnati Enquirer
NEW YORK — Barry Larkin expects to be back in the lineup when the Reds open a three-game home series Tuesday with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The shortstop missed the Reds' final two games against the Mets in New York.
The Reds said the injury was a right calf strain, but Larkin said Sunday that it's his Achilles tendon.
“I'm pretty nervous about it,” Reds manager Bob Boone said. “We'll probably have it MRIed. Anytime you get in that area, you're always worried about tearing it.”
Larkin had surgery on his left Achilles in 1997, but he said this injury isn't that severe.
“Oh, no,” Larkin said. “It's something that has been bothering me for a while. I just aggravated it the other night.”
Larkin was encouraged by the improvement from Saturday to Sunday.
“It's much better,” he said. “It's not as tight. I plan to play on Tuesday.”
ROTATION SET: Boone set his pitching rotation for the Dodgers series. Ryan Dempster will start Tuesday, followed by Brian Moehler and Elmer Dessens. Dempster is going first because he has gone the longest between outings. He hasn't pitched since Monday.
“It's been awhile for Dempster,” Boone said. “Moehler will get a couple extra days of rest, and Dessens and (Jimmy) Haynes will get an extra day.”
Jared Fernandez will probably start on Friday and Haynes on Saturday in the first two games of the Reds' road series with the San Diego Padres.
Chris Reitsma is out of the rotation for the time being.
“But not indefinitely,” Boone said.
WHITE UPDATE: Boone is holding out hope that left-handed reliever Gabe White will come off the disabled list Tuesday. White has been on the DL since July 13 with a broken right little toe.
White can throw well enough to be activated, but his foot is too tender to field or run the bases.
When White is ready, the Reds will face a player move as difficult as sending catcher Corky Miller to the minors.
The two candidates for demotion seem to be Reitsma and John Riedling. Neither deserves it.
“I won't talk about it,” Boone said. “There are a lot of possibilities.”
Riedling has pitched well since being recalled from Triple-A Louisville on June 11. He is 0-1 with a 2.49 ERA.
Reitsma has been the forgotten man since he was taken out of the rotation. He has pitched only once — one inning of scoreless relief in a 7-2 win over Pittsburgh — since his last start on July 20. Reitsma is 4-8, but his ERA (3.47) is lower than any Reds starter other than Dessens.
GOOD EFFORT: Outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. and Reds publicity director Rob Butcher made a trip to visit a terminally ill child in a Manhattan hospital before Sunday's game. But the child had been released after his chemotherapy treatment.
Butcher got Griffey's home-run ball from Sunday's game and planned to add it to a gift packet Griffey put together for the boy.
EARLY RISER: The Reds promoted No. 1 draft pick Chris Gruler from rookie-level Billings to Single-A Dayton.
Gruler, a right-handed pitcher, made four starts at Billings and was 0-0 with a 1.08 ERA. He allowed only 11 hits and six walks while striking out 11 in 16 2/3 innings.
Billings is considered a tough league for high school draftees such as Gruler, so pitching in Single-A puts Gruler on the fast track for Cincinnati.
MORE FARM: Matt Boone, Bob's son, had a big night in Dayton's 11-4 loss at Fort Wayne. He was 2-for-3 with two doubles and two RBI. . . . Left-hander Lance Davis had another rough start at Louisville. He allowed six runs on nine hits in four innings in an 11-6 loss at Charlotte.
Jose Silva followed Davis and allowed followed five runs on five hits in two innings. . . . Dustin Moseley picked up the win in the Double-A Chattanooga's 6-2 victory over Birmingham. Moseley went 6 2/3 innings, allowing two runs run on nine hits. Moseley is 3-3 with a 3.57 ERA at Chattanooga, not bad for a 20-year-old.
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Larkin planning to return Tuesday
