By Bill Koch
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Ryan Freel still doesn't take it for granted. He has started all of the Reds' first 14 games this season, but every day when he arrives at the ballpark, the first thing he does is check the lineup card, partly to see if he's on it and partly so that he can savor the feeling when he is.

"It's awesome," Freel said Wednesday. "This is something I've trained for all my life."

But one day soon, perhaps as early as Friday when the Reds arrive in Pittsburgh to begin a four-game series with the Pirates, Freel may look at that card and see Brandon Larson's name at third base instead of his.

He knows it's coming. He says he's prepared for it. But it's going to be tough returning to the bench after he has played so well in Larson's stead.

"I'll probably be disappointed a little bit," Freel said. "But I'm prepared for it."

He shouldn't have to be.

Freel, who's hitting .283 with three stolen bases, has been a joy to watch during the early days of what has been a surprisingly pleasant start for the Reds, handling third base adequately, even though the position is new to him and providing a dash of speed to an otherwise plodding lineup.

But it's his approach to the game that sets him apart. We don't often see a player sprint to first base with such an apparent love for the game the way Freel does. When we do happen across one, it's something to savor.

And it's something worth holding onto.

Great home run hitters make fans pause so they don't miss a prodigious shot into the bleachers. Freel is that rare singles hitter whose presence at the plate also causes a purist fan to stop and watch, if only to see him bust his tail down the line after slapping a ground ball to second.

It's the way we were taught to play the game as kids, the way we all know we would play if we ever got the chance in the majors, the way everyone should play the game, but doesn't.

Freel, 28, has played this way ever since he was spotted dogging it himself while he was in the Toronto Blue Jays minor league system. Jimmy Hoff, then the Blue Jays' farm director, pulled him aside and told him he had too much talent to squander by not giving the game everything he has.

"Now I couldn't imagine not running a ball out," Freel said.

The strange thing about baseball is that sometimes your status isn't determined by how well you play. Players get bypassed in the minors all the time by less productive players because the organization has more money invested in them.

In Freel's case, he'll soon find himself in competition with Larson, a first-round draft pick who has yet to realize his vast potential.

Freel has been around the game long enough to understand how it works, which is why he's preparing himself for the worst.

"We'll see what happens," Freel said. "I want to get in there and play. I know that I can help this team win. To be sitting on the bench, maybe getting one pinch hit every couple of days, I'll make the best of it, I'll give it all I've got still, but it's going to be a tougher role for me. I'm so used to playing every day."

No one has told Freel that he will return to the bench when Larson returns - and manager Dave Miley has been non-committal when asked about it, other than to praise Freel's value as a utility player - which may not be a good sign.

Freel is versatile, all right, and that may ultimately cost him his starting spot. That would be unfortunate because he has earned the chance to continue to look at that lineup card and bask in the glow of seeing his name on it.

E-mail: bkoch@enquirer.com