By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Dave Miley managed the Reds in the final 57 games last season. But he had the real Reds for none of those 57.

That should change with Opening Day 2004. Eleven Reds finished the season on the disabled list. Three more were on the shelf for precautionary reasons.

Seven of the players who ended the season on the DL - Ken Griffey Jr., Austin Kearns, Adam Dunn, Barry Larkin, Reggie Taylor, Brandon Larson, Jimmy Haynes and Jose Acevedo - will be back for 2004. Paul Wilson, Danny Graves and Ryan Wagner, who were held out as a precaution, are also back.

"That's what I'm looking forward to most," Miley said, "to put a Griffey, a Kearns and a Dunn out there. Those guys make a huge difference."

From all reports, all will be 100 percent when spring training opens.

"We're pretty optimistic," Reds medical director Dr. Tim Kremchek said. "Everyone is on schedule. We had no problems."

Players like Larkin (sprained finger), Dunn (thumb ligament) and Acevedo (sprained ankle) just needed time to heal. No rehab was necessary.

"I'm ready to go," Larkin said. "I could start right now."

Griffey, Kearns, Taylor and Larson all had shoulder surgery. The Reds are being cautious in all four cases. All have full range of motion and strength, but they won't be allowed to hit until January.

Kearns is the only one who injured his throwing shoulder. He'll begin a throwing program in January.

Griffey also had ankle surgery.

"His foot still hurts occasionally," Kremchek said. "But he's running and doing everything he needs to. He's working with a personal trainer again."

The Reds also expect to get back minor league pitchers Luke Hudson (shoulder) and former No. 1 pick Chris Gruler (shoulder) from the DL.

Hudson has some of the best stuff in the organization. He could be in the mix to make the Reds.

Brandon Claussen, the principle player in the trade that sent Aaron Boone to the Yankees, falls into the category with Graves, Wilson and Wagner. He finished the year early as a precaution.

GOOD-BYE SEATTLE: Competitively, it's probably a break. But the Reds lost a sweet trip and an interesting story line because of a schedule change.

The club is going to Cleveland June 11-13, instead of Seattle. The Indians requested the change.

That means Griffey won't have his Seattle homecoming and the Reds don't get to visit one of the premier cities in the American League.

WOE IS WILY: Wily Mo Pena is hitting only .190 after 23 games with Aguilas of the Dominican League. He has one home run and five RBI.

One of general manager Dan O'Brien's next decisions is whether the Reds can afford to carry Pena on the roster for another year.

WINTER BALL: D'Angelo Jimenez is hitting .414 for Licey in the Dominican League and Ray Olmedo is hitting .315 for La Guai in the Venezuelan League.

FREE AGENTS: O'Brien said the Reds have been "quietly active" on the free agent market. We're not talking about Vladimir Guerrero here - O'Brien has said the Reds will pursue free agents that don't require compensation in return.

There will be quite a few more free agents on the market after today. Today is the last day teams can offer arbitration to their free agents. Are the Reds looking mostly for pitching? "You hit that right on head," O'Brien said.

REDSFEST: Redsfest IIX drew 8,485 Friday and Saturday at the Convention Center.