By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer

SAN DIEGO - Ray Knight is trying to teach Reds hitters to be selective and aggressive.

Those things might sound mutually exclusive, so let Knight explain:

"We want them to work to get deeper in the count," he said. "But we're taking pitches 2-1 we could hit for a double."

But when the count gets to two strikes, Knight wants to see a different approach.

"We've got to get away from taking so many called third strikes," he said. "With two strikes, you've got to protect the plate."

Knight was moved from bench coach to hitting coach and third base coach when Bob Boone, hitting coach Tom Robson and third base coach Tim Foli were fired last week.

Before Friday's series opener against the San Diego Padres, Knight had an early batting practice session for eight Reds.

Knight threw to hitters, often stopping to give on-the-spot instructions.

"I was throwing certain balls that they should lay off of," Knight said. "It's like starting over. We've got a lot of young hitters."

Adam Dunn was among those participants Friday. He likes what he has seen so far from Knight.

"I'm a guy that needs to do it," Dunn said. "I can watch tape forever. But in BP, you can get a feel for it. That's what I've been working on."

The Reds struggled at the plate in the three-game sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They hit .198 in the series and were 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position. Pitching was a factor in that. Teams are hitting only .230 off the Dodgers this season.

Knight won't be having the extra BP every day.

"This is August," he said. "Guys are beat up."

NEXT MOVE: Manager Dave Miley said before Friday's game that no decision had been made on who will be optioned when Aaron Harang is activated tonight to start against the Padres.

"Right now, I'm leaning toward keeping the extra position player," Miley said.

Russell Branyan still hasn't played in the field since spraining his ankle a week ago. Barry Larkin had to leave Wednesday's game after irritating scar tissue in the area where his sports hernia was repaired two years ago. Larkin was back in the lineup Friday.

"With Branyan and Larkin, we don't want to leave ourselves short," Miley said.

Mark Budzinski probably will be sent out if the Reds go with a position player. Joe Valentine is the likely choice if a pitcher goes.

TAKING THE 5TH: Josh Hall made a strong case to get another call-up when the Reds need a fifth starter Aug. 16.

Hall went seven innings, allowing three runs on eight hits in Double-A Chattanooga's 5-3 win over West Tennessee Thursday.

Seth Etherton, the other leading candidate, had his scheduled start for Louisville rained out Thursday. Etherton is 7-7 with a 4.38 ERA.

UP NEXT: Tonight's start will be the eighth in the majors for Harang, a 24-year-old right-hander obtained from Oakland in the Jose Guillen trade.

Harang spent most of the season in Triple-A, where he was 8-2 with a 2.71 ERA. But he made seven starts for the A's, going 1-3 with a 5.34 ERA.