By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer

PHOTO GALLERY

Photos of Monday's game

CHICAGO - The way this Reds team was set up, the starting eight had to stay healthy for Cincinnati to have a chance. So far, the opposite has happened.

Shortstop Barry Larkin joined Ken Griffey Jr. on the disabled list Monday with a strained left calf muscle. The move was retroactive to Thursday when the injury occurred. Larkin is eligible to return April 26.

With Griffey and Larkin out, the Reds are running a starting lineup with an average age of 25.7 years, and playing with a $37.8 million payroll - the second lowest in baseball.

"It's tough," Reds general manager Jim Bowden said. "It's a major blow. These first 12 games have been an embarrassing nightmare. We've had bad starts before and we've rebounded. You can't feel sorry for yourself. Life goes on."

The Reds filled Larkin's roster spot with Juan Castro, who was at Triple-A Louisville rehabbing his knee.

Castro becomes the extra infielder. That means the Reds are going to ride out the slow starts of third baseman Brandon Larson and shortstop Felipe Lopez. Larson entered Monday night's game against the Cubs hitting .088; Lopez was hitting .120. Neither has played well defensively.

"The left side of the infield has struggled," Bowden said. "You don't let it go indefinitely. We believe in them. You want them to come out of it here, rather than being sent down (to the minors) to work it out."

Castro, known for his defense, was hitting .219 with one home run and five RBI in nine games for Louisville.

Larkin was unhappy with the move to the DL, but he understood.

"We're caught in a bad situation," he said. "There's no extra infielder. That puts the team in a tough spot."

The biggest concern for Larkin is that he'll aggravate the strain in his left calf muscle.

"(Dr. Tim Kremchek) is very concerned," Larkin said. "I could go out and do something and end up in a cast or a boot for weeks or months."