By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Suffering from cabin fever? Sunshine deprived? Feel the need to speed the calendar toward summertime?

We have the perfect solution for you: a trip to sunny Sarasota for Reds spring training. Pitchers and catchers report Feb. 13. Full-squad workouts begin Feb. 19. The team's first Grapefruit League game is Feb. 27 when the Reds go to Tampa to take on the New York Yankees. The Reds home-away-from-home opener at Ed Smith Stadium is Saturday, March 1 against the Minnesota Twins.

Sarasota, a 15-hour drive from Cincinnati, is one of the garden spots of spring training in Florida. You have the beaches of Siesta Key and Longboat Key. You have old Sarasota's quaint downtown. And we mentioned the weather.

Spring training in baseball is a kinder, gentler version of the regular season. No one really cares who wins. But it's a chance to see the game in tiny, intimate ballparks.

Ed Smith Stadium has 7,500 seats - the worst of which is still close enough to the action to hear the center fielder call off the shortstop on a ball in short left.

The most expensive seat is $14; general admission seats go for $5.

The games, of course, aren't the only attraction at camp. The workouts on the back diamonds are open to the public and free.

The Reds generally hit the fields at 9 a.m. You can get very close to the action, and some players interact with the fans. A tip: Don't ask for autographs during workouts.

This year, the Reds are offering a preview of the future. Fifty-five of the club's top prospects will be in Sarasota working out in the Minor League Accelerated Program. The MAP begins Feb. 19 - two weeks before the regular minor-leaguers report.

You may see Ty Howington pitch to Wily Mo Pena from the same vantage point you'd get at a high school game.

The plan is for the prospects to take the field in the afternoon after the big-leaguers are done for the day.

E-mail jfay@enquirer.com

2003 spring schedule

FEBRUARY

Day	Date	Opponent	Site	Time
Thu.	27	N.Y. Yankees	Tampa	1:15 p.m.
Fri.	28	Boston	Ft. Myers	1:05 p.m.

MARCH

Day	Date	Opponent	Site	Time
Sat.	1	MINNESOTA	SARASOTA	1:05 p.m.
Sun.	2	Pittsburgh	Bradenton	1:05 p.m.
Mon.	3	PHILADELPHIA	SARASOTA	1:05 p.m.
Tue.	4	Cleveland	Winter Haven	1:05 p.m.
Wed.	5	Toronto	Dunedin	1:05 p.m.
Thu.	6	PITTSBURGH	SARASOTA	1:05 p.m.
Fri.	7	Pittsburgh (SS)	Bradenton	1:05 p.m.
Fri.	7	PITTSBURGH (SS)	SARASOTA	7:05 p.m.
Sat.	8	BOSTON	SARASOTA	6:05 p.m.
Sun.	9	Philadelphia	Clearwater	1:05 p.m.
Mon.	10	Boston (SS)	Ft. Myers	1:05 p.m.
Mon.	10	BALTIMORE (SS)	SARASOTA	1:05 p.m.
Tue.	11	TAMPA BAY	SARASOTA	1:05 p.m.
Wed.	12	N.Y. YANKEES	SARASOTA	7:05 p.m.
Thu.	13	Baltimore	Ft. Lauderdale	1:05 p.m.
Fri.	14	Boston (SS)	Ft. Myers	1:05 p.m.
Fri.	14	DETROIT (SS)	SARASOTA	1:05 p.m.
Sat.	15	Minnesota	Ft. Myers	1:05 p.m.
Sun.	16	TORONTO	SARASOTA	1:05 p.m.
Mon.	17	FLORIDA	SARASOTA	1:05 p.m.
Mon.	17	Detroit (SS)	Lakeland	6:05 p.m.
Tue.	18	Philadelphia	Clearwater	1:05 p.m.
Wed.	19	OFF DAY
Thu.	20	PITTSBURGH	SARASOTA	1:05 p.m.
Fri.	21	PHILADELPHIA	SARASOTA	1:05 p.m.
Sat.	22	Toronto	Dunedin	1:05 p.m.
Sun.	23	CLEVELAND	SARASOTA	1:05 p.m.
Mon.	24	BOSTON	SARASOTA	1:05 p.m.
Tue.	25	MINNESOTA	SARASOTA	1:05 p.m.
Wed.	26	Boston	Ft. Myers	1:05 p.m.
Thu.	27	Pittsburgh	Bradenton	1:05 p.m.
Fri.	28	CLEVELAND	GABP	7:10 p.m.
Sat.	29	CLEVELAND	GABP	1:15 p.m.

All times are EST and scheduled to change.

Home games are in CAPS.

(SS) denotes split-squad games.