By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer

SARASOTA, Fla. - It's early - very early. But Adam Dunn looks a lot more like the first-half Dunn of last season than the second-half Dunn.

That's a good thing.

Dunn hit .300 with 17 home runs and 54 RBI in the first half and .190 with nine home runs and 17 RBI in the second half.

"His mechanics are better," Reds manager Bob Boone said. "That makes his swing shorter. He's got a good feel right now."

Dunn went 0-for-3 Monday in the Reds' 7-2 win over Philadelphia. But he's hitting .250 with a home run and a team-high six RBI through five games.

"I feel good right now," he said. "I've done some little things with the lower half of my body that's made my swing shorter and quicker."

Ken Griffey Jr. hears the conversation and says: "Come clean. Tell them that it's because you don't have (Jim) Lefebvre in your ear."

Dunn wouldn't say that, but he will say this: "The less stuff you have to think about, the better."

Tom Robson, who replaced Lefebvre as hitting coach, takes the simple approach.

But the second-half slump was something Dunn had to get himself out of.

"He's been able to rid himself of the demons of the second half," Boone said. "It's something we all go through."

MORE DUNN: Dunn hit fifth in the order as he's done in all five games this spring. So is the grand experiment with Dunn at leadoff ever going to happen?

"Stay tuned," Boone said.

DOUBLE SCRATCH: The Reds' two corner infielders both were late scratches from Monday's game with the Philadelphia Phillies.

First baseman Sean Casey's left shoulder, which he had surgery on last season, was "fatigued."

Third baseman Brandon Larson tweaked a rib cage muscle while throwing during infield practice.

"I don't have any pain. Zero," Casey said. "But I've hit four days in a row. We talked about hitting every other day. But I felt great this morning. Then I went out for batting practice and it was like I had a dead arm. Maybe going every other day is the smart thing to do for a while."

Larson could have played.

"It just felt a little uncomfortable," he said. "I've played with worse. But they said it was best to rest it and get treatment."

Casey will play today against Cleveland in Winter Haven. Larson will be held out a few days.

RIJO'S DEBUT: Jose Rijo, the 37-year-old medical miracle, was hoping not to have to face Jim Thome with a runner on in his spring training debut Monday.

But that's what happened. But Rijo struck out Thome to end two scoreless innings of work.

"Fastball, bro," Rijo said when asked what he got Thome to swing through. "Surprised? Thank you very much."

Rijo's fastball is hitting 90, 91 mph and he's able to put it where he wants it.

"Last year, he could hit that on the gun," Boone said. "But he had to throw all he had to do that. Now, he locates it."

"I've got confidence in my fastball," Rijo said. "That makes my slider better."

B TEAM BOMBERS: The Reds beat Tampa Bay 12-4 in a "B" game Monday.

Jose Guillen, Ruben Mateo, Wily Mo Pena and Corky Miller all homered.

Guillen went 4-for-4 with three runs scored and seven RBI.

Ryan Dempster went four innings, allowing two runs on three hits, in his second outing of the spring.

WORKING ON VERSATILITY: Boone plans to use Pena at third base.

Felipe Lopez played at third for the first time this spring. He'll also play some second base.

Dunn will play some first base.

SIGNED: Austin Kearns, Reggie Taylor and Lopez all agreed to one-year contracts Monday. Only Dunn, Chris Reitsma, Mateo and Russell Branyan remain unsigned.