By Kevin Kelly
The Cincinnati Enquirer

SARASOTA, Fla. - Extended spring training is a lonely, glamourless place reserved for the promising and the injured. Josh Hall falls into both categories.

Reds pitchers Josh Hall (front) and D. J. Mattox are on rehab, doing conditioning work outside the training room. (Michael E. Keating photo)

"It's not going to be any fun when the season starts on April 5 and everybody is out of here," the Reds pitcher said after a recent workout. "Nobody likes to be in extended spring training.

"But I knew that coming in, and I knew that was a possibility."

Getting his shoulder fully functional is all that matters these days for one of the Reds' few homegrown pitching successes.

Hall got a six-game taste of the big leagues last year. A second shoulder surgery in four years, he hopes, will not prevent him from making an encore.

"He's had a great attitude," Reds head trainer Mark Mann said. "For a guy as young as he is and going through his second surgery, he's got a great frame of mind.

"He's got an outstanding work ethic and is not a guy that you have to push or stay on constantly. ... He's asking you if he can do more."

Doctors repaired a torn labrum in his right shoulder Sept. 29.

The surgery is expected to keep Hall, a seventh round draft pick in 1998, off the mound until mid-April.

"This one wasn't near as bad as the first," he said. "The first time I had pretty much everything done."

The pain never completely disappeared after that first surgery in 1999.

"I would have good days and bad days," Hall said. "Some days were worse than others.... I don't think I was quite 100 percent after that."

Hall remembers only a handful of instances last year when his arm wasn't screaming for anti-inflammatories.

"I tried to come off them, but it just didn't work," he said. "I just battled (the pain) all year."

The Reds twice recalled Hall, who possesses a devastating curveball, from Double-A Chattanooga last season. He finished 0-2 with a 6.57 ERA in 24 2/3 innings pitched.

"He had a couple of really good games," Reds catcher Jason LaRue said. "Now it's just a matter of getting healthy and getting back on that field and working his way back here.

"He showed me the potential he has to become a good pitcher."

Hall made a respectable major league debut against the Giants on Aug. 2 at Great American Ball Park, allowing two runs over five innings in a no-decision.

The highlight came on Sept. 14, when he held the Cubs scoreless for seven innings at Wrigley Field.

"What can I say? It was a great game," Hall said. "I felt good. I was hitting my spots. That's what it's all about: 40,000 people at Wrigley Field, pitching against the Cubs."

Throw out those two performances, however, and Hall was 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA in his three other starts.

"We were pleased with the fact he got the opportunity to have some success," Reds pitching coach Don Gullett said. "He also had some failure. He can compare what he did right to what he did wrong."

The Reds are taking a conservative approach when it comes to Hall.

"If he doesn't have any setbacks," Mann said, "we're looking at him completing his mound program sometime in late June."

The rehabilitation program requires at least four hours of workouts per day, and isolates Hall from the rest of the team.

He throws on flat ground Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Hall will increase his throwing distance to 180 feet before getting on the mound again.

There are also several different strength-building and flexibility exercises included in the program to help protect his shoulder in the future.

All of the work is geared to getting Hall back for a prolonged encore.

"I know I've got to work hard," he said. "I want to be out there, but I've got to get right first."

The Josh Hall file

Position: Pitcher

Born/resides: Lynchburg, Va.

Age: 23

Bats/throws: Right

How acquired: Drafted by the Reds in the seventh round of the 1998 draft.

2003 Reds Stats: 0-2, 6.57 ERA, 6 G, 5 GS, 24 2/3 IP

Hall's 2003 Reds appearances

Aug. 2 vs. Giants: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K

Sept. 6 at Cardinals: 1 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 0 K

Sept. 9 vs. Pirates: 4 IP, 10 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

Sept. 14 at Cubs: 7 IP, 7 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K

Sept. 19 at Phillies: 5 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 3 K

Sept. 24 vs. Cubs: 2.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 0 K